Tommygilf

I can't say I've really followed any news on them but have they invested in their defence that much? Eddie Howe seems very emotionally connected to the club. Could he do a job at another premier league team or would he even want to? I honestly don't know. Having brought them up from the doldrums he's certainly got capital in the bank and won't be sacked.

Could this be a start of a slide for Bournemouth? I don't know enough about their ownership etc but a bit like Huddersfield town and Wigan (two recent but of course not the only examples) will they drop back to "normal levels" having now been relegated?

Don't put any more salt on that chip on your shoulder mate.

Come on Huddersfield!

Yeah mate I really think its a problem. It extends down the pyramid too. Look at Derby and Villa that have had to jump through silly hoops of selling their grounds to their owners so that they can access finances to improve the team. In both cases they could be in the Championship next year having wasted that investment for little benefit. Its an anti-growth, anti-competition position typical of those with long held hereditary power feeling the new money taking that power out of their grasp.

Man City win their appeal and have their UEFA ban overturned for FFP. I have to say this whole scenario has exposed Financial Fair Play for what it was at the highest levels; a way of maintaining the elite clubs and putting down challengers. I'm not a City or PSG fan but empathise that they need serious investment to get them to the level to compete in the champions league that the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus, Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal have had over decades. I really don't like Chelsea, but it seems their rise under Abramovich has really rubbed some people up the wrong way and FFP was their palatable solution to it. I understand the worries of rogue investments from essentially state ran companies in the Gulf and elsewhere. I just do not believe that FFP genuinely is targeted at them for that.

An erratic keeper is a nightmare for the defence and indeed the whole club. It means everyone, even the crowd, is on edge with nerves any time you're defending. Its not an easy fix for that individual keeper either.

Hopefully with an excellent coach in Ancellotti he can make the team more than the sum of its parts.

5 nil today from Leeds after a big win against Blackburn too. Could have been more. 72% possession as well 500+ passes vs 150. Total domination. Swansea on Sunday then Barnsley next Thursday followed by Charlton. Hopefully it will be wrapped up by then but Brentford in 3rd are playing very well.

Absolutely true, we need another CB and hopefully sign Ben White up on a full time basis also. Our problem is depth and real quality in certain positions so I think a Central midfielder, attacking midfielder and striker should be on the cards this summer also. People forget that other than a couple of good loan players/signings, this is essentially the same squad that finished 13th in the championship 2 years ago. Bielsa has improved these players dramatically so in terms of bang for buck Leeds don't have to go huge in the transfer market but do need to get players that work hard. Talk is Eduoard from Celtic is on the radar but its more about attitude than ability for me - see the JKA saga. The game against Arsenal in January was interesting as it showed the defensive fragilities as well as the go out and win mentality. It'll be interesting to see whether Leeds go for the top straight away (as happened last time after promotion), as I don't see Bielsa's style working well in a park the bus relegation scrap.

Unsurprisingly given the relationship between Guardiola and Bielsa those Man City stats are almost exactly the same as what we've seen at Leeds. Huge domination of games and loads of chances on goal but some games whereby the opposition get 2 chances and score both and you lose 2-nil. Yet the same team against different opposition can come and win 3 or 4 nil a few days later. Both play really excellent football but when teams are happy to sit nine players in the box they can become vulnerable to counter attacks and their own defensive lapses in concentration. Essentially, it works very well against sides that come out and attack as Guardiola/Bielsa will back their teams to be better in that head to head.

He gets that accusation a lot and I do understand it but he's still an excellent coach though and genuinely improves players. They have a very good budget at city but they've rarely gone for "galacticos" level signings, just a lot of quality in depth - which is far more sensible imo. Undoubtedly he's been fortunate to coach at some of the best clubs in the world but his style of football is world class.

Povetkin is still knocking about and always has exciting fights to watch. At the more youthful end the excellent Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk has made the step up from Cruiserweight and will be a World Champion one day. He's a brilliant fighter. Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev is one of Joshua's mandatory fights. I'm sure there are some others going around. Some top fighters in the lighter weights such as GGG and Lomachenko.

It does seem rather shocking that playing for a team that doesn't want the league to restart and therefore relegation to be instigated (Dynamo Dresden, Brighton, Bournemouth, Hull City) does seem to be connected to an increased risk of contracting Coronavirus... Hopefully this is just a brief correlation and doesn't end up shutting down the restart.

They weren't relegated for cheating, they were relegated for accounting problems leading to their insolvency which have recently emerged were dubious at best and way off the mark at worst. This article shows how particularly HMRC caused problems with them initially pushing for nearly £100million and subsequently dropping that to 20 now. Cheating or not through the EBT scheme, such a monumental ballsup on behalf of HMRC is not in any way fair. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-scotland-50727197 I'm saying this as a Celtic fan. What does the administration of 1 club 8 years ago have to do with the current situation now?

I've heard similar, though ironically being in Edinburgh they probably do have the money and don't want to bother with Glasgow lol

That's missing the point though isn't it (though I think the time to merge would have been at the dawn of the Premier League). With a game in hand, plus 2 games against their bitterest and closest rivals Celtic, I don't blame them for feeling aggrieved.

Not even a twinkle in my 6 year old father's eye I'm afraid! I do however have a great uncle who played for Hibs and Celtic in the 1920s so I can certainly vouch for an historic affinity between the teams; alongside a shared animosity for Hearts and Rangers. The Facebook comments sections certainly have their views on this and the sectarian aspect is only heightened by the claims by Rangers of impropriety by the Scottish Premiership, accusations of bullying and bribery of Scottish clubs, the fact that Celtic's current 9 in a row has been completed without opposition effectively for the most part, the injustice felt by Rangers fans because of everything surrounding it and that Hearts are the team that has gone down.

Yeah like I said I'd be livid if I were a Hearts fan. The prospect of lawsuits, bullying and bribing accusations is something we really need to avoid in England. The recent statement from the Football League provides a lot of hope for Leeds I think. Its a tight one but I can see the League getting the 51% of clubs voting to end the season now sending Leeds and WBA up automatically and the current 4 teams in the playoffs with Barnsley, Luton and Charlton down. That said Leeds have repeatedly before and since the statement had a commitment to playing on to finish the season and I wouldn't feel comfortable with sending Charlton down in 22nd place when 1 win could rocket them to 19th, 3 places from safety.

Yeah I mean I still think Celtic would have won, Rangers have gone off the boil after christmas, but it still doesn't feel great I guess. I agree the bottom is really the controversial bit of this. Naturally with it being Rangers losing the chance to catch Celtic AND Hearts going down there's a sectarian nature to many of the complaints, particularly on social media. For Leeds I think we're in a scenario now where we're going up. The Premier League are not going to deny promotion and the same bottom six clubs just keep throwing a new idea into the pot every day in an attempt to have relegation canned. Relegation and promotion aren't mutually exclusive I suppose but its clear the null and void option is not happening now I don't believe. Either the League will be finished as is, PPG or we find a way to play on. Either of those scenarios make it almost certain Leeds will go up automatically. As with all the scenarios, without playing out the season, its the relegation movements which are the most difficult. Followed by playoff places. I am missing sport so much!

Obviously

Its like Wigan's shirt from this year!

As a Celtic fan I'm happy the bhoys have won the title but it does feel a bit cheapened. Rangers having a game in hand plus an old firm and all that. I'd be particularly livid if I was a hearts fan, being relegated despite only being 4 points from safety seems a wee bit unfair and more like being voted out of the league tbh. Safe to say this nine in a row is worth it to wind up Rangers fans but doesn't hold the same weight for several reasons. That said if they handed my real footballing love, Leeds united, promotion tomorrow then I'd bite your hand off.

They had a cracking mainly SL based side at the last world cup, its a shame we haven't seen a game between them and England.

Great! Hopefully it gets going here for the players as much as the national federations.