Lord Duckhunter

UEFA giving FIFA some clog. Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line. Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not. A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension. When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined. Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition. Football is the most loved sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws. A tournament is never a pure standalone and, if the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole. We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.

It’s not just the outrageous price of Fish & Chips, the quality & service is awful round here as well. I don’t know about where you blokes are, but here it’s wank compared to 10 years ago. They close about 9 o clock. Because they’re so fucking paranoid about waste, everything is cooked to order, apart from the chips, and even then, they never cook enough. So you end up waiting around in queues of Grockles. The chips are poor quality, im sure it’s not just nostalgia, but you genuinely can get better ready meals now. I’d be surprised if half of them will still be here in 5 years time. You can get a Supermarket deal 3 course for 2 & a bottle of wine far cheaper, and when the snap dragon has been out with the coven all day and can’t be arsed to cook, we much prefer that. As an aside I think pub meals are getting worse as well, maybe I’m a miserable old twat, but I’m sure they’re using inferior ingredients more and more.

What revenue will the birds team generate if they reach the promised land? What will be their average attendance, what sponsorship deals will they sign, and how much will the local economy, pubs etc benefit from their home games?

TT said all along that this would be a World Cup of moments, and he’s picked a squad for those moments. This morning showed exactly what he meant. Dan Burn, right man at the right moment. Experienced pro to come on in that atmosphere to kick, head & block in that area. All the substitutions were well timed & everybody contributed, real backs to the wall stuff. The keeper needed a big game after DRC and he produced one. Bellingham different class, let’s hope it didn’t take too much out of him. I thought the ref got all 3 big decisions right. Although he’s a bit of a cock, you have to feel for Henderson if that’s his WC over with. It’s bad enough suffering an injury playing, but getting injured like that in your last WC is pretty soul destroying.

The BBC were praising Mbappe for his “class” and the nodding dogs on the panel stating how much they respected him after the game. This has to be the worst World Cup for fawning over the top players, fucking hell, messi could knock one in off his arse, and the panel would be putting it in their goal of the season category. “Look at the way, he moved his left buttock to caress the ball into the back of the net”. Their like star struck teenagers, fuck me they’re getting as bad as Rio “Ballon d'Or” Ferdinand. Do your job. Nobody brought up Mbappe refusing to shake the keepers hand at the end, don’t want to spoil the narrative. “I extended my hand to congratulate him, but he didn't pay me any attention, as if I wasn't there.” Yeah real classy.

He wouldn’t even be the top free kick taker in the side, let alone the league. When was the last time he scored one?

Fucking hell, some of the pearl clutching on here is worse than those chumps in the BBC studio. Nothing about the French over reacting and pretending they were hurt, the worst being Mbappe. Bloke hardly touched him and “chappers” (or whatever his name is) was crying like a big girl “Beckham got sent off for that”, nothing about Mbappe trying to get the bloke sent off for it. What were Paraguay supposed to do, try and out play the French? There wasn’t a bad tackle in the game, just a bit of afters to try and goad the French into responding, a tactic that’s as old as the hills. The BBC chumps are supposed to be neutral, they highlighted the Paraguay over reactions, but nothing when the French did it. That one bloke with the dodgy hair & Hart, saying how great it was Mbappe was laughing at them, I was hoping someone would take one for the team, and chin him. As for messing up the penalty spot, that’s common practice in Europe, but as soon as a South American does it, they come over all moral. The best team won, and deserved to win. But save get off your moral high horses FFS.

Cole of other points I forgot to mention. The airport at Tivat is pretty horrendous on way back. Not really fit for increase in tourism. They also have a weird system of tabs or settling bills. You have to be given a receipt whether you want one or not. There’s signs everywhere saying “you must take fiscal receipt “, taxis, shops, even ice cream stands, must give you a receipt, and in bars the receipts are for every round. So if you bought 3 rounds, it wouldn’t be all on one receipt, you get 3. One of the hotel staff explained why. Historically, they don’t pay taxes, the culture was that only mugs paid tax. Because they want to join the EU the Government have clamped down on this. Tax inspectors actually visit bars, restaurants and other businesses & if patrons haven’t been given a receipt the establishment face massive fines. If you use Apple Pay, you can’t say you don’t want a receipt, they have to give it to you. Cash as well. Must be given receipt. They actually bring the receipt over with the drink, even if you haven’t paid yet. This is to stop someone ordering a beer & leaving €5 on the table to cover it. If you did that & a tax inspector saw it, the bar would be in trouble. It’s a bit weird really…

This is why Wokegate was such a fucking failure . Perfect opportunities don’t come around very often, a home game at Wembley against a poor Italian team was one, as was the 2018 World Cup . This time we’re probably going to have to beat Mexico at altitude, Brazil, Argentina, then Spain or France. What did Wokegate get, Columbia, Sweden & Croatia.

Are you really trying to compare Barcelona, which is pretty much the sporting and cultural standard-bearer for Catalan identity, with Southampton? 😂 You’ll be comparing Emma Hayes to Pep next….

Losing £2M We are a men’s football team, not a bloody sports & social club.

More evidence that the club are heading in the right direction both on & off the pitch. They’re getting the priorities right.,

⚠️ England fans have called for an end to pint throwing celebrations! 😲🍺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Football fans up and down the country have urged pubs and bars showing the England games to ban customers who throw their drinks in the air when England score a goal. 31 year old, Richard Stroker, spoke to the press and said "Throwing your pint over other people to celebrate a goal is just ridiculous. I haven't spent £120 on a shirt just for some twat drinking dark fruits to ruin it because we've scored an equaliser against Congo." Eric Shun, from Yorkshire, added; "You won't catch me doing that. If I'm paying 6 quid for a pint, I'll be drinking it not chuffing throwing it." 🍻 However one fan, didn't see a problem and said "It's only a bit of beer, they need to stop complaining. They should be thankful it's not piss."

Just finished a week on Budva Riveria. Beautiful beaches, fantastic weather & clear seas. A lot more touristy than Albania, but very similar in beaches and landscape. The beach vibe was more Italian with expensive beach clubs. Some of the sunbeds were ridiculously expensive, particularly the front row and like Italians they get there early as well. There were minimum spends at some as well, €50 for the beds plus minimum €150 spend in bar & restaurant connected. Overall pricing a lot more than Albania but cheaper than France & Italy. Food was good, but make sure you’re not on a diet. Their culture is that it’s an insult if your guests go home hungry, and fuck me they make sure you don’t. The portions are huge. Fucking cats everywhere as well. Couple of things surprised me, the English wasn’t great. I’m not one for wanting foreigners to speak my language, but all I’d read said everyone spoke it. They don’t, some really struggled & it’s not like France or Germany where you know a bit yourself, google translate was out a lot more than in Albania where pretty much everyone spoke good English. The service was also a bit hit and miss. Whereas the Albanians had Greek like hospitality, these were more French or Italian, particularly the youngsters. The hotel staff were great, but out and about, not so much. Loads of Serbians at least 30% of staff we spoke to were from Serbia & walking round in a Saints polo shirt twice had lads coming up to discuss Tadic. How did it compare in the most important categories of beer & birds. There was no comparison, Albania wins by a mile. All the bars in montinegro were the usual imported Carlsberg/ Carling shite. The local stuff was ok when cold, but was horrendous if you didn’t neck it quickly. The local stuff in Albania was decent. The chicks in Albania are different level as well. It was a great place, but preferred Albania. Whereas the snap dragon preferred Montinegro. There’s no doubt this coast & Puglia the other side is my favourite part of Europe. If you want a “wing & a prayer” type holiday, will there be a power cut, broken card machines, bit edgy, in a place which will change beyond recognition soon, choose Albania. If you want the normal tourist trip in a beautiful location which is good value, easier to get to, but is more expensive, choose montinegro. My advice would be take 2 weeks and do both, you won’t regret it….

Mexico are bottle jobs, always have been when it really matters . Piece of piss…3-1 win