Grapeviney

I’m surprised we haven’t seen more about goody’s flaws on here: * stubborn * no plan b * still playing his best mate Melksham * not a good gameday coach * doesn’t reward form at casey * bad at press conferences * still hasn’t reviewed the 2018 PF!

It was an awful year SD - we won 1 game, by 1 point. Don't stress, things will pick up soon, as Ron assures us we're in the market for "some top-name interstate recruits"! If you look carefully in the top right corner, the number for the changerooms is listed!

They've barely played a dozen games together. The idea that any of Grundy, Gawn or the club have made up their minds on the experiment at this stage is pretty hard to believe. Grundy is more cerebral than most players, and would have come into this situation with his eyes wide open about the risks and rewards. Let the media chase their tails with their silly stories - the real yarn is watching how it all unfolds over the coming months, at the selection table and on the field.

Bizarre thing happened to me tonight during that final quarter. I was screaming at the umpires, and all of a sudden I had a couple of security people at my row giving me eyeballs. I wasn’t swearing, nor was I being abusive. My voice wasn’t noticeably louder than anyone else’s. Just shouting like 38,000 other people, I think the phrase I was yelling at the time was “hopelessly inconsistent”. Pretty tame stuff. But the glaring continued, much to the bemusement of everyone around me, which is family and a bunch of friendly Dees who we’ve now sat with for years. It was clear no-one had complained. A few people started telling them to move on, and the game looked gone at that stage, so I really lost my cool. I kept shouting, but I was now facing the security guards, yelling that “I will barrack as loud as I want” etc. It genuinely looked like they were going to turf me, and I was goading them to do it, but without crossing the line. As I say, the whole thing was just bizarre. I probably acted like a bit of a goose but I wasn’t going to shut up because of some power-tripping security dudes - since when do we have to be quiet at the football? Wish they’d still been there at the end when I was celebrating!

Love that - a good opportunity for Bont to learn from the best in the business.

The standard margin of confidence needs to be adjusted against Collingwood to account for their supporters. As Gerard Whately observed of their comebacks a few weeks ago, once they kick a couple of goals, "the crowd seems to will it into existence". That momentum can turn into an avalanche in the blink of an eye. That's what known as 'the Chris Sullivan line' thanks to @Supermercado. 47 points early in the last quarter.

Happy with Ang but dubious about where it might lead. Mourinho, Antonio and whoever else has been in the chair since Poch has been unable to properly loosen Levy's purse strings (Poch couldn't do it either), so there's no reason to expect that will change now. The owners seem content to be contending / qualifying for CL, rather than seriously chasing silverware. Talk at the moment has 3/4 of the squad being shipped out, and if Kane goes too, then a rebuild is basically on the cards - something which probably should have started a few seasons back.

The reputation bit is everything in Oz defamation. If he can prove that the allegations have lowered his reputation in the eyes of others - that some people now believe him to be racist - then a handsome settlement awaits. I've been involved in two defamation proceedings (on either side of the fence) and won them both. A sporting publication defamed me on their front page, saying I was an "unprofessional journalist who likes to hit the bottle of Scotch before he hits the keyboard"! It was complete BS - I drink bourbon, not scotch 😆

In the UK, only 200 of the 380 Premier League games are shown live, and none of them are on free-to-air (the BBC has a highlights show). To watch those 200 games, you need to subscribe to 3 different services - Sky Sport, BT Sport and Amazon. That’ll set you back £68 per month / £815 per year, which is about $1400 in our money, for a little over half the season. And obviously that doesn't take into account any of the other cups and comps. It's little wonder that illegal streams proliferate. Let's hope our own game doesn't follow the same path, but there's been enough noise made during previous broadcast rights negotiations to suggest that's exactly where we are heading (having to buy from multiple services to get all the games).

Lol - just got an email from Foxtel telling me the cost of my subscription is going up. Impeccable timing! Edit: And now a second email from Telstra that phone / net services are going up too. Happy days.

I thought the Hawks looked threatening early. Then the game started.

Hi everybody, I’m actually out here at Waverley right now, still stuck in the car park from a game in 1986.

Excellent. Now we should troll the league by resting him this week.

Just in case he doesn’t see this thread.

It was 3-0 inside 15 mins last night against Liverpool. Came back in the second half and levelled in the 93rd, only to concede the winner a minute later. The most spursy thing ever. Anyway, I hope @Deestroy Allenjoyed it - missed you mate, great to see you back on the boards.

Credit to North - they really took it up to us in the first 45 seconds.

Tottenham were down 5-0 inside 20 minutes last night - I've never seen anything like it in 30+ years of watching football.

Not easy to do when you’re speaking to someone for the first time, without being in the same room or seeing each other. And so much of it depends on the player, many of whom are young and not experienced storytellers in public. Judd was pretty good methinks, that would have been one of if not the first interviews he’s done. Sometimes you happen upon a diamond - the Jakovich interview is so good (and so long) because he was able to relive games in such vivid detail, kick by kick. Andy does a good job setting up the discussion without falling into the trap of forcing or faking a non-existent bond, which can make for really awkward listening.

OMG they think they can play finals - that is so cute!

Spurs don’t really deserve a CL spot, and were lucky to be gifted a win on the weekend with the worst VAR non-decision I’ve seen, a clear penalty that - at the very least - should have seen the ref go to the screen. It could have huge ramifications because Brighton are one of the teams in the mix for top 6. They got an official apology but it’s not the first time VAR has cost them points this season, nor the first apology they’ve received. Speaking of Spurs, Dele Alli was making headlines today after photos emerged him of inhaling nitrous oxide (laughing gas) balloons in what looked like a very grungy scene. He got booted and booed out of Besiktas recently (in his final appearance for them he was benched after 30mins against a 3rd division team in a cup match) and I think Everton have cut him off the books completely now. There’s prescient footage in the Amazon doco on Spurs of Jose warning him that he’s going to regret it one day if he doesn’t pull his finger out.

As I understand it, Nev and Koz aren't uncle / nephew in the same way that he is with Byron. It's a more distant relationship that fits within the traditional Aboriginal kinship system. And I don't quite get Byron's role in this latest development. Surely if his opinion carried weight, Koz would have sought it privately or would already know. Seems weird that it's part of a publicised pitch.

When you sit near me at the footy, all you'll hear is witty repartee. For example when JVR got his first free kick the other day, I yelled out 'bout bloody time - they've been doing that his entire career!!'

This is the one. A question for you @WalkingCivilWar, something which Andy pointed out the other day. How come the cheersquad no longer shows off both sides of the banner to all parts of the ground? This used to be standard procedure, which meant everyone got to see the main design and the sponsors advertising. Is it a case of not risking it coming apart by putting it up and down multiple times?