Grapeviney

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?

Good player but needs to work on his consistency. We can’t afford to carry guys who go missing every 149 games and only get 37 possessions.

Been playing it all morning. The player ratings are warped, but the graphics are amazing!

Don’t think he’s been mentioned yet but welcome back Bowza! All class from the little fire engine.

Is he potentially in double trouble? This pic is on the AFL website.

Good job, but there’s one problem:

We're getting a lot more love from the fans than Robbo. As part of the same article, the HS readers have Oliver at 1, Gawn at 3, Trac at 7, May at 17, and Gus at 20.

Typical biased response from you and others on here. I wouldn't be surprised if most / all of you are Melbourne supporters.