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The one outstanding attribute of Guardiola's managerial career is not his tactics, nor his scouting. They help.

But the real gift he has - and one that is so, so rare - is an almost unnatural ability to get pampered millionaire footballers to completely buy into a relentless, ego-free style of football. Whether players start, come off the bench, or come in from the cold, they are always bought into playing a high press and non stop running.

All evidence in his managerial career to date would suggest that his little display of emotion won't affect City at all. There is no angle.

As for a "throw ball at a minimum".

The best technique a team could use to get the ball quickly up field, when protecting or defending a slender lead would be for their corner forward to start wrestling with an opponent in front of the umpires every time the opposition looks ominous.

... or a more likely scenario with modern cynical coaching...

Chrissy McKaigue spots that the linesman is going to call play back, and this passage of play is irrelevant, so takes the opportunity to land a high tackle on Con O'Callaghan.

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This post is in no way indicative of Chrissy McKaigue's temperament. He's a fabulous baller. This is purely for the purposes of example.

Referees have been called back, at the next break in play, by umpires and linesmen to discuss off-the-ball incidents, since forever and a day. Some will act on their fellow official's advice and administer cards, some will not. But I don't yet think I've ever seen the previous passage of play cancelled as a result of the retrospective card / cards.

I think some people have been watching too much association football and its bizarre and erratic implementation of VAR, and gotten confused.

Nah, common sense really. Throw ball should be the next step at a minimum.

And what if from the resultant passage of play, a high ball goes in, two players challenge awkwardly, then get up off the floor and beat the reed out of each other in front of the referee?

Is it commonsense to ignore that passage of play too and just take the game back to a free for Derry where Fenton's lash out took place?

The best bit of yesterday for Liverpool fans was seeing Guardiola trying to humiliate Grealish. Pep has every right to manage as he sees fit but that was a show for the cameras, and was about power and control rather than instruction. Maybe there's some underlying resentment about his fee or his behaviour after winning the European Cup, but this was pathetic from the Spaniard. Grealish is a brilliant player and while I was disappointed he chose England, he had every right to, and he seems like a decent lad. For his self-respect he should leave- unless Pep beats him to it.

What happened

A manager explained to a player what wasn't done correctly.

The subsequent huff puff just sums up the overwrought overblown nonsense that is the PL.

In Grealish's next game, if he plays well, there'll be an angle that it was a professional response to the dressing down. If he doesn't play well the angle will centre on Pep losing control of his players, chinks and armour and shit like that.

Same again for the next game.

By a fortnight's time nobody will remember it. Then if city don't win the title, some gobshites in the media will "reinvestigate" the angle and bring it up continually through the quiet summer months. Grealish is leaving City one way or another this summer regardless of yesterday - he's done it all there and his personality seems to be someone who'd who'd be happier as a big fish in a small pond - so more pretend fuels for pretend fires.

All f**king nonsense, every last bit of it.

Referees have been called back, at the next break in play, by umpires and linesmen to discuss off-the-ball incidents, since forever and a day. Some will act on their fellow official's advice and administer cards, some will not. But I don't yet think I've ever seen the previous passage of play cancelled as a result of the retrospective card / cards.

I think some people have been watching too much association football and its bizarre and erratic implementation of VAR, and gotten confused.

Watching the D1 final must have been vexing for Armagh fans.

Derry have closed the gap on Dublin and Kerry, by pressing hard and taking control of momentum where possible.

Armagh, with better forwards than Derry, are getting further away each year, seemingly paralysed by a fear of taking a game by the horns and building up leads.

The biggest problem with Gaelic football is the endless recycling of the ball around midfield areas.

The second biggest problem is that even when we are served up an absolute classic of a match, the majority of comments are about the refereeing.

Lane had neither a good nor a bad game today, certainly not one worthy of lengthy conjecture. He could have awarded a 13m instead of a penalty, nobody would have complained. He could have black carded Shane McGuigan, with 3 mins remaining, and you could see from McGuigan's eyes that he was expecting one. He could have went easier on Fenton but on balance he refereed that passage of play correctly, including the red card. He made a blooper for Dublin's equaliser no doubt. But balance that up with the fact that he facilitated a brilliant, brilliant game of sport.

Leave him alone.

Leave refs alone.

Epic game of football.

And by f**k we needed it after the other games this weekend.

Why can't the rest of the country learn from this?

They have a young panel. They had to start from scratch. If they learn from these defeats they will make a lot of progress.

Down came out of nowhere in 1991.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udAXYoJf6Xo
The semi final was the first time a team from either Ulster or Connacht beat a team from the other 2 in a generation.


When they have a good team they can go all the way. They have the best record in all Ireland finals with an 84% success rate.

Down played in the national league final in 1990. Coming out of nowhere is a bit of a stretch.

They have a young panel. They had to start from scratch. If they learn from these defeats they will make a lot of progress.

Down came out of nowhere in 1991.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udAXYoJf6Xo
The semi final was the first time a team from either Ulster or Connacht beat a team from the other 2 in a generation.


When they have a good team they can go all the way. They have the best record in all Ireland finals with an 84% success rate.

Down played in the national league final in 1990. Coming out of nowhere is a big if a stretch.

The far right huh?

Speed won't keep him in it alone. And the NFL (and America in general) is falling down with athletic monsters.

I'd still like to think that a lad who had 30 international rugby caps by the age of 22 might though be up to the standard of athleticism required.

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Comparing anyone to Derrick Henry is a bit of a tough gig too. He's a different level in terms of an ultra commited physical specimen even by NFl standards.

Top Gun was epic. Loved it.

Never watched Top Gun. No desire to either.  But when  I hear it mentioned , I automatically think  of Team America.

America, f**k yeah!!

I'd imagine   they're pretty much the same movie  anyway

Top Gun 1 yes it was.

The new Top Gun was surprisingly self aware, while never quite dishonouring America.

What are pubs paying Diageo per pint nowadays? Couldn't be much over £2?

Yeah nearly £2 on the button.

So a 7 quid pint has a fiver going to the publican - 440 for a keg. Obviously that doesn't take into account the many overheads a business owner has, but it's mad that small places operating at low volumes can charge much less and still keep going.

The traditional pub model was a ratio of 3:1 on purchases i.e if a drink sold at £3, roughly £1 was for the wholesaler, £1 was for cost of business (staff, heat, light, insurance, tv, etc), and £1 was profit/loan repayments/reinvestment.

Diageo (and other brewers) have made this model unsustainable in recent years, as bars attempting to charge £6 for a pint when the same core product is available in off sales for around £1, should put themselves out of business.

When I say should, Belfast city centre's pub scene is effectively a cartel and they got together during Covid to agree minimum pricing i.e. a return to 3:1 ratios on pints.

Which as a move I suppose I'd support in general, except those shower of profiteering c***ts are now using a baseline 3:1, and are charging upwards on 8:1 ratios for mixed drinks and "premium" bottled beers.

Then they appear in the press every few weeks claiming poverty.

No harm to any of them. If they're converting £12 bottles of Smirnoff into £120 cash on repeat, and still claiming poverty, then they're on the take.