Fierce_LiNk

Isn't part of the argument that "Leave" on the ballot paper could also potentially have meant "Leave Everything" as in exit with No Deal? That's the problem when a referendum has such a weak question and very grey options. If this is the case, then did the public want "No Deal" or did they want a softer Brexit? It really displays how flawed a Referendum can be. (not setting a limit of, say, 60% of the vote (or a more definitive percentage (52-48 is not definitive) to become legally binding or something along those lines was also a mistake, imo) We'll see what happens tomorrow if/when the deal fails. I'm not going to be particularly upbeat about anything if Article 50 gets an extension because it doesn't necessarily mean that a plan will materialise from somewhere. I get the feeling that May will continue to push and push her deal until she gets some form of it through. I can just picture the rhetoric right now.

Unless we see an extension to Article 50, I do think that it's very late in the day for May to start pursuing a Norway plus deal. From what she's been saying so far, she wants us out of the Single Market and Customs Union. Of course, it all may change once the deal gets voted down this week. I'm very uncomfortable with just how close the deadline is, yet a lack of a definitive plan being put in place. I've often heard of the "No Deal by accident" phrase being used, which is quite conceivable. If we must leave the EU, I think an EFTA/Norway style of deal is the easiest one to stomach out of all of the available options.

Big game tomorrow. I feel that we'll put in a good performance but will do well to come out of it with a draw. I'd love to somehow get a 2-0 victory, but I'm not sure if our defence is good enough to keep a clean sheet, plus we seem to make a lot of defensive errors and are also a bit shit at set-pieces. With my sensible hat on, I'm thinking 2-1 Spurs, but with enough there from United that it won't be a totally demoralising result.

That's really good going, so far. Even if you don't reach the ultimate goal of 70kg, it's still in the right direction and you can still count it as a win. It's just varying degrees of how much you can win by. How much cardio did you do last year, or was it purely lifting weights + diet?

I'm quite interested to hear an outside perspective of Brexit, because it's hard to shake the feeling that we are coming off quite badly from this. It's always interesting going to Belgium to see @Eenuh's family and what their take on the situation is. The UK just don't seem to have a unified gameplan with how to approach such a divisive issue. The clock continues to tick and the solution doesn't seem to be within reach. We've literally spent 2 and a half years mucking around to negotiate worse than what we already have in this country, at least in my opinion. The Irish border issue crops up every once in a while, then gets kicked to the sidelines for a while. Unfortunately...I imagine that the reason why it isn't being mentioned more (particularly from the English perspective...not necessarily Scotland or Wales) is because there seems to be a lack of interest in or, dare I say, care. Personally, I am worried about the Irish border situation, mostly because of the history of violence in the area, but there doesn't seem to be a solution to that or at least one isn't presented. We'll see what happens after the vote next week. My personal prediction is that I feel that the prospect of No Deal will be too much for many to stomach, so some form of deal will ultimately go through, at the very last minute. (by last minute, I mean before we leave, not Tuesday) A Theresa May + deal, or some form of rebranding of what she already has.

It has been 2 and a half years since the EU Referendum was held and there are now less than 79 days to go until we will be out of the European Union. It has certainly been a rollercoaster ride during the last few years, with the result of the referendum and the fallout resulting in a very tumultuous time in British politics. For reference, I voted Remain and I have not seen anywhere near enough evidence to suggest that the decision to leave the EU will result in the UK being in a better position than it is currently, in a multitude of ways. I feel that the country has effectively been on pause for this duration, with other important issues having to be brushed aside whilst the Government seems to be fumbling and struggling to come up with a solution of how to make this work. We've seen a Prime Minister resign (in what feels like such a long time ago, now), snap elections caused, a hung parliament, Brexit secretaries come and go, all the while whilst not one, but two national scandals are experienced in Grenfell and Windrush, with both dominating headlines but are now seemingly pushed aside with Brexit taking full focus. It's been a while since we've discussed this on the forum, so it will be interesting to hear other people's views on this. In my opinion, the most important UK political event to happen in our lifetime.

I originally started off by working out in my bedroom in a flat that we rented. I bought a set of retractable squat stands, a bench, a bar and lots of weight plates. It wasn't easy though and it was tough navigating in such a tight space. To squat, deadlift and shoulder press all in the same workout, I had to move the stands into a completely different area in the room (as well as the weight plates) due to an overhead beam. Then, to deadlift, I had to move the bar and all the weights back to the other side of the room, whilst being careful not to hit the bed with the barbell due to the width of the room! We had juuuuust about enough space to be able to squat, deadlift, shoulder and bench press. The shape of the room really, really helped us out there and we got lucky. The best thing you can do is work with the space that you have available. I'm lucky that the house that we bought contains a garage with just enough space to be able to fit the cage. A garage is perfect, especially as these days a lot of houses come with driveways, often making a garage redundant. If you can find a house with a garage, it contains so much potential. The other alternative is to build a studio or something in the garden, depending on space available. Obviously, that'll be more expensive, though! We made it a priority to look for a house with a garage to enable us to exercise at home. Pretty sure the estate agents thought we were weird for making a garage a priority when looking for a house! Good luck with the house hunting. It's fun and stressful at the same time.

I can definitely say that life has been a lot easier for me since I started exercising at home. It started off very small, just a small set of weights and dumbbell bars. Then, I gradually built on that. Fast forward a couple of years and I haven't set foot in a gym since then, own a cage and have expanded to bumper weight plates. It started out small, but it's always something that you can build on. It's just so much easier because you have more freedom when it comes to the timing of when you want to work out. Good luck!

Waaa, I adored A Quiet Place. I loved the concept and the execution of it. I'm interested to see the direction they take with the sequel! We watched The Big Short yesterday and I have to say that I thought it was outstanding. Brilliant film, but very fucking terrifying at the same time. There's this whole other world out there that we never, ever get to see and barely know anything about, where people fling around and gamble with millions of pounds/dollars and do not give a shit about the consequences except for how it affects their bottom line. Loved the film, but there were about 20 different emotions that I went through whilst watching it.

Cheers for the post, man. I really appreciate it! I'm quite similar to you too in that I'm not super techy either and have always worked within a budget (except for the drum kit). I absolutely love the look of this and have been looking at comparisons between that and the Pro. It does have active elements, as you say. Hmm! Think I would go for the Pro. It's my birthday this month, so I'm reeeeeally tempted as a present to myself, but we also have quite a few out-goings this month and it is rather close to Christmas. May wait a month or two. I'm looking at a video review for this and the bass sounds wonderful. I think I'm in love! Also, this just arrived today: Donner DT-1 Chromatic Pedal Tuner. £17 and seems to fit the bill for what I need. I know that Boss do a pedal that's about 3 times the price of this, but I think this will suit me just fine. I've given it a quick go and it seems great to use.

You said the movie was good. The premise is good, but I do agree with your point about the house. Overall, I'd say that it's a decent/good film that's worth watching and I enjoyed it. It certainly isn't as good as A Quiet Place, which is possibly the most comparable film to it.

Here we go, again! Here's to a successful 2019 to all of you people out there who will be going out into that field to grind, grind and grind some more in the hope of levelling up your stats. This year, I'm hoping to improve my strength, stamina and HP! I'm recovering from my first two sessions of the new year. Yesterday, I destroyed my legs with back squats, front squats, deadlifts, stiff legged deadlifts and calf raises. I used to do the front squats with the crossed arms motion, but I've now learned to do it the "proper way" in the clean/fingers and wrist bent back position, which actually feels quite comfortable now. I've struggled with consistency, particularly with balancing work and exercise. So, the goal is going to be to exercise a lot sooner and to not keeper "putting it off". E.g. do it straight away when I get home from work, or do it as close to waking up as possible. That's the plan!

I was excited about watching some football on terrestrial tv when I learned that it was the FA Cup this weekend. But then, I quickly remembered that we don't have that anymore. Quite an average performance from Man Utd today and, aside from Romero, there was nobody from the second string who I thought could improve the first team. I'm still struggling to see what Fred can offer at the club as he just constantly gives the ball away and doesn't seem to do an awful lot with it. I hope he just needs time, but I also get the feeling that we can fast forward to five years down the line and still be having the same conversation about the player.

Bird Box was only 124 minutes, which isn't thaaaat long really. About the standard for a film. Arrival is awesome and I definitely need a re-watch of that. Really enjoyed it and rate it highly.

That reminds me. I still have all of the House of the Dead games to play on the Wii, including Overkill. Not sure I'm ever going to get around to it!

Good luck with all of your resolutions and plans, people! How have our first few days of 2019 been? I'm currently sat with a hot water bottle, a sore throat and some Lemsip. I've been pretty solid over the last few months, so I guess I was due to fall under the weather! Booo. On the plus side, I've played a loooot of guitar this week and have really enjoyed it. I've set myself some personal challenges of songs or even whole albums to be able to play through as close to perfectly as possible. I'm tackling the entirety "Siamese Dream" by the Smashing Pumpkins at the moment.

@Vileplume2000, I'm actually on the lookout for a new bass guitar and that Thunderbird IV has been taking my eye. I've actually always been drawn to the look of them. What is it actually like to use? My current bass was bought for little to no money and is of really low quality, so this is automatically going to be a step up. Is it good value for money? Instruments can become really expensive and I'm just wondering if there are any other alternatives out there for a similar budget? Haven't got the money to spend a grand on a guitar!

We watched it on New Year's Eve and thought it was alright, too. It's your typical 7/10 film. I've seen a lot of criticism directed towards the ending, most of which I think is harsh. It has an interesting premise, some neat ideas and overall the acting is decent, too. It's not going to win any awards, but it was a good watch. I feel that a lot of viewers were expecting some sort of reasoning as to why the events seemed to be occurring, which wasn't really the point of the story, imo. I enjoyed it and found it satisfying enough.

I can still remember writing last year's resolutions. Are we sure that there aren't meant to be more than 365 days in a year?! First up... To save up and actually, finally organise a wedding. Well...this one is proving to take longer than we expected! Who has the time to plan and organise a wedding and find the time to work and enjoy life at the same time? We've started on a guest list and are going to be looking at venues soon. So, we'll make great progress on this one, it'll just take a bit more time! I think we have a good idea in our head for the sort of day that we want, so it's just a case of finding the right venue that can match up with that. Next year: *ahem* To plan our wedding. Improve the house! We've done a few little things here and there, but there's still loads more that we'd like to do. We've just had a guy turn up this morning to have a look at attaching a shower door, so it's that and the staircase next. Once the little odd jobs are done, we might begin to think about a few more things, like saving up to extend. The trouble with a house is that it's essentially a money pit. It's a bit like a car in the sense that there is also something to throw money on, or something that needs fixing, etc. We haven't really touched the garden yet, aside from adding a few pieces of nice furniture here and there. Think this one will drag on. Next year: Improve the house! To look ab-solutely fabulous. Ehh. it's been a rather inconsistent year that I would say. It's been hard to find rhythm due to the busyness of life and work, so I need to get a bit better at sticking to routines. The end of the year has especially been tricky to work out due to travelling to see Ine's family and so on. It's also been hard to get motivated to push myself, as I'm usually tired before the workouts begin! Will get out of this rut somehow. The bar is set reasonably high as I'm used to working out maybe 4 times a week, with cardio thrown in, so that's quite a bit to keep up with when you've got other commitments, too. Next year: work out more regularly To enjoy Italy and begin to look at other holiday destinations Italy was immense and I really enjoyed my time there! Looking forward to going back at some point in the future. I've heard lots of stories about Rome and I thought that maybe it would turn out to be a bit overrated, but the place was truly fantastic and I fell in love with it immediately. Florence is, of course, beautiful, but there is something about Rome that I really took to. Also visited Milan and took a trip to the San Siro, which was fantastic for me as I grew up enjoying Italian football thanks to the awesome Gazzetta Football Italia! As for where to go next, I'd quite like to visit Germany as I've never been there before. Japan is on our list, but we know that this is going to cost an absolute fortune, so that will be our super-long-term goal. Disneyworld is definitely on our list, but again...expensive! Next year: go on another holiday...somewhere. Not quite sure where at the moment. I think that I'd like to maybe visit Germany. Last year: to get better with languages, especially Dutch! My Dutch has really come on over the last year and I find myself understanding a loooot more and have finally got a good hold of the sentence structures and all that. I'm finding the vocabulary a lot easier too, so this has been a huge success. I've also got better with the Spanish and did pretty well with speaking Italian when I was in Italy. This has probably been my biggest success this year and I think I'll just continue to get better with the Dutch especially, due to the frequency in which I use it. Ine and I are planning to really get into Japanese this year, so we'll see where we are in a year's time! I've already done a little bit of it, but the Kanji side of things is reaaaaally difficult and will no doubt take a lot of time to get my head around! The tricky thing is finding the right materials, because a lot of language stuff out there is aimed at absolute beginners. There isn't really all that much for people who are not yet fluent, but who are fairly advanced or have a decent grasp on the language. I've been using Memrise, which is pretty great due to all of the additional courses that are on there. I've found this amazing one for Dutch for vocabulary which has already been quite useful, so I'll continue to persevere with this one! Next year: to become awesome-er at languages! Last year: music stuff. To get a drum kit and get better with guitar playing. After around a decade of not having my own drum kit with me, I finally bought an electric kit! When I was looking for that perfect dream kit, I found that they were becoming more...and more expensive. So, I ended up buying a Roland TD-50k. It's pretty much one of the best e-drum kits on the planet and it will last me for years and years to come! So, this is THE kit. I'm in love with it. It sounds beautiful to play on and you have so much control over what you can adjust, such as volume control, but also the sound options are just ridiculous. I've already ear-marked some things that I'd like to do to upgrade the kit, such as maybe another cymbal to be used as a crash cymbal and possibly a bigger pad to act as an improved floor tom. There's so much potential here. I've been playing a fair bit of guitar, too. I'm trying to get better at the theory/song-writing side of things and it's all starting to make a bit more sense now. I'm finding that it's easier to decode songs than it was before and I'm just finding it a lot more enjoyable to do these days than compared to before. I had an opportunity this year to play bass guitar at a performance in school, which is the first time I've ever stood in front of more than mirror with a guitar. It was daunting, but I enjoyed it and can see the appeal. I'll probably get used again for something in the future, so maybe I need to get used to it! I'm looking at buying a better bass guitar as my current one was bought second hand for a tenner over a decade ago! So, I'm definitely in the market for a new one! Next year: buy a new bass guitar! Get better at music theory! Maybe record a song with a drum, bass and guitar part. Looking back over the year, it has been a good one and I've enjoyed it a lot. Definite highlights were Italy, going to a good friend's wedding, going to see Mogwai live in Brighton and just generally working on music and languages. Hope 2019 is going to be as good at 2018 was!

Sorry to hear that you're having a bad time. For the people that I know, Christmas can be very hit and miss. I know some who thoroughly love the day and then I also know some who find the whole experience to be stressful or who just can't wait for it to be over. For some, it just leads to arguments or disagreements. It can be quite difficult if there's loads of family members who you normally wouldn't see or associate with, like the typical awkward auntie or uncle. Was there something that went wrong during the day that led to this? Like an off-hand comment or something like that?

Merry Christmas, N-E! It's been a busy time. We had a Christmas play to put on in school, which was attended by well over 200 parents. The children did an amazing job, possibly our best ever and we received tons of amazing feedback as a result of it! A week later, I took a small group of pupils over to a nursing home to sing some songs from the play and a few carols, too. Oldest resident there was 103 years old, which is pretty good going! There's talk of expanding the play to make it bigger next year, like opening it up so that people from the public can come and view it. I've run the last 6 or so and they've just got better and better each time. Huge achievement, considering that we only really had three weeks to put it together as the school was inspected in November! We did our annual Christmas meal and swapped our gifts before going to Belgium, which is where we are at the moment. @Eenuh got me some aftershaves, which were pretty much what I wanted. Some new smells, too! Also received an awesome Smashing Pumpkins poster which features lyrics from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Gonna buy a frame for it to go up in one of the rooms! Also got Spider-Man for PS4, so I'm looking forward to giving that a playthrough at some point. Aside from that, I got lots of chocolates and alcohol from my class and others within the Junior School. So, it's been a lovely month or so. It's crazy how quick it all goes, though.

I don't think the club ever truly wanted to get rid of him right now, but the rot had already set in. We have a divided dressing room, the results are going the wrong way and the performances are even worse. A change had to be made in some sort of capacity and if Mourinho wasn't able to turn things around, then he had to go. I think in this instance, the club has made the right decision, as I don't think there was any indication that things were due to change course. The performances didn't show any hint of improvement. Not just with regards to the Liverpool game, which was a definite low point, but there are many other fixtures this season where the performances have been disappointing. I've made a more in-depth post below to @killthenet, which covers some of your other points. With Mourinho, I'm disappointed more than anything. I feel that he's let a huge opportunity go by and I'm questioning whether he ever fully committed to the club. Continuing to live in a hotel whilst in your 3rd year at the club just doesn't sit right with me. I dislike how farcical the whole situation has become, with Pogba being left out of games, the bluddy press conferences, the information leaked out to the press about certain players not being unhappy. It's created a negative atmosphere around the club and, ironically, is not united. I think that this actually goes beyond results now and is more about the football club itself. We needed someone to not only manage the players off the pitch, but man-manage them off it too, especially in this social media age that we're in. I do honestly think that Mourinho will look back on this third season specifically (because this is the real one that seems to have caused the most trouble...most fans were sticking with him after seasons 1 and 2) and he will regret not making the most of it. With the part you've said about second placed finishes: you can only beat and compete with what's in front of you. It isn't up to Manchester United to determine how well the other teams play. So, if United finished season, then results wise they were the second best team that season. They may have been miles off the top spot (which they were), but that says more about how well City played than the rest of the league did. We can't just discount the result because certain other teams didn't play as well as they could have done. The nature of football clubs has changed now and it's down to more than just what happens on the pitch. That's a difficult one to swallow, but that's the nature of reality for the top clubs. I try not to get too rattled or worked up by the business side of things and concentrate most of my energy on the game itself. Football itself is quite vulgar when you look really deep into it and I can understand why it receives so much criticism due to the inner-workings, the sums of money involved, the agents, the shareholders, etc. That won't change because there is money to be made in the sport. It'll just spread out to other levels of the sport. If there's money to be made by someone, then it will be done. I disagree entirely with your notion that this is a poisoned chalice. The United board were completely realistic in their expectations when Moyes took charge. We know this because they gave him a huge long-term deal; a clear indication that they were willing to give him time. Moyes made a series of failings, from scrapping the backroom staff as soon as he came in (which also impacted on the subsequent managers' reigns at the club), he was given a big transfer budget and messed up in his first transfer window by only bringing in Fellaini for MORE than his buyout clause after he missed that deadline. Not only that, but there were other targets that were missed, so right from the start he put the club on the backfoot. The football wasn't good enough and the results were poor. We finished that season in 7th place after winning the league the year beforehand. His comments about United "aspiring to be at City's standard" that season alienated a lot of the club's following and it became clear that he was out of his depth at this level. That's nothing to do with the role of United boss being a poisoned chalice or the expectations being too great...that's a failing at manager and boardroom level. That's one. Van Gaal had ideas when he came and his vision of how to play the game was clearest of all the managers post-Ferguson. He wanted a more continental, possession based team that would be more comfortable on the ball. The ideas were there, but the results ultimately weren't. He is the one I feel most sorry for post-Fergie because it was clear what he was trying to do and what he was trying to get the players to do, but the players that he brought in just weren't up to it and the high-profile signings of Di Maria and Falcao didn't work out. But, he brought Martial and Rashford to the club. He lost his job as soon as Mourinho was available and when the fifth league place finish indicated that he wouldn't be the one to help the club challenge for top spot. He was given two seasons and took us as far as it was possible for him to take us at the club. That doesn't indicate that the role is a poisoned chalice at all. This is down to a manager being at the end of their career and the style of football not being quite right for the club in question. Mourinho has just been too inconsistent. He's brought trophies to the club and a second place finish, and the hierarchy were willing to give him even more time. We know this because he was given a contract extension in January! But, the style of football has received criticism from United fans, the media, ex-pros, pundits, the lot. That is something that was within Mourinho's control. He was given the money to go out and sign players...I think it was over £400million in total, can't remember the exact figure to the pound. But, that's a lot of money. The fact of the matter is that United have won only 7 out of 17 league games, have a goal different of zero and are 11 points off fourth. Those stats are just not good enough. When you have players on obscene amounts of money, you can't be having results like that, with performances which we've seen this season. I disagree with your idea that whoever gets the United job is doomed to failure or is doomed to come out of it worse than they went in. There are clear reasons why each manager failed and a different set of circumstances for each one. If we're going to call this job a poisoned chalice for the expectations being big, then we have to call the Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, AC Milan, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid, France, Spain, Germany and all other top jobs poisoned chalices, too. The expectations are great, which is true. But I disagree that they are too great. As each manager has been shown, they were given the time, the funds and the access to players in order to succeed. Whilst I have already said that part of this failure isn't solely down to Jose, he has to own a large portion of it. The players have to take individual responsibility too, because there has been a lot of nonsense going on, both on and off the pitch. But, unfortunately, Jose has to shoulder the blame because he is the one who motivates the players, he is the one who chooses the lineups, he is the one who decides who gets to sit on that bench (injury dependent, of course) and he is responsible for the tactics and style of play at the club. That has absolutely nothing to do with Sir Alex Ferguson...that is on him.

First time posting on N-E in a couple of months, I think. I woke up to this news today and am not surprised nor am I that sympathetic towards Mourinho. My general feeling at the moment is that it's about right in terms of timing, the way it was handled and the amount of chances that he's been given. My only criticism is that I do not think the whole of the blame is solely on Mourinho's shoulders, but rather it is a collective failing. The performance against Liverpool was pathetic, in a manner of different ways. Pathetic tactics, bad line-up, leaving out key big game players, poor reaction to what happened on the pitch, poor motivation and individual mistakes. Generally, I think most United fans have got behind Mourinho and have been willing to see him succeed. Even when the club finished second last year, there was criticism with the way that the team played and were set-up, but the general feeling was to stick with Mourinho in the hope that the football would improve. Unfortunately, the football this season has been disappointing and the club need to yet again go through another period of rebuilding. There's a lot that I want to say on this subject. I think back to two seasons ago when I went to Old Trafford to watch United beat Chelsea 2-0. Herrera was outstanding that game, Rashford looked the business and there was a general buzz around the club that things were on the up. Two years from then, Rashford has not progressed. Herrera has not progressed. Nobody truly knows what's going on with Pogba, or Martial, or Sanchez. Mkhitaryan has come and gone. Fred has been signed but never seems to get a run of games. The general feeling amongst fans now is that there's a lot of mismanagement going on, on a coaching level with regards to tactics, to the upper boardroom level. What is the exact transfer or recruitment policy? What is the exact style of football that we are aiming to play? What are our realistic long-term and short-term goals? At the moment, there are lots of questions and, unfortunately, Mourinho isn't the answer to many of them. We have some talented players at the club, but the motivation and hunger doesn't seem to be there. In my honest opinion, you shouldn't need to be motivated before you go into a match against Liverpool or City, but maybe that's a different argument entirely about the modern player. The performance against Liverpool was difficult to watch and at no point did I ever think that we were in control of the game, or looked like doing something special. The manager's job is to manage and I don't truly believe that Mourinho has done that well enough, particularly this season, nor do I truly think that he has the ability to work through this. If we were to stick with him for much longer, it will just create even more disharmony in the dressing room and continue to alienate the players and coaching staff. The general feeling that I have when watching United this season (or even much of last season) is that we don't seem to have a particular style of play. We play defensive football at times, but concede far too many goals and don't seem to be drilled that well to be able to do this. We don't seem to attack with intent. The passing is really poor and the crossing is arguably worse There's no pressure on the ball, no leadership on the pitch and nobody ever seems to bust their lungs trying to make things happen. The tempo is too slow and never seems to go above a pre-set limit. A little story that springs to mind is about the story of Oasis, a band that I grew up absolutely in love with. The story has it that Noel Gallagher unceremoniously sacked Tony McCarroll shortly before the recording of the famous (What's The Story) Morning Glory? album. The reason being that Noel felt that Tony's style of drumming would not be suited to the newer tracks that he had envisioned. Similarly, I feel that this is the same with Mourinho and the direction football appears to be going in. Klopp, Pep, Poch, the big managers seem to be playing a style of attacking football that currently Mourinho is unable to do. Whether that is down to Mourinho seemingly being unable to adapt to that, or just unwilling to coach in this style, is another matter. Whether he went today or stayed another month or went in the Summer, the point is that we are currently out of reach of the top 4 when we should be aiming to challenge for the league and are just going further and further in the wrong direction. We're really stretching and taking the piss a little by referring to the United job as a poisoned chalice. In the seasons post Ferguson, United have still managed to finish in the top four, win the FA Cup, win the Europa League, win the League Cup and then, last season, finish second. That's hardly a barren spell or what many would call a "poisoned chalice". Unfortunately, the managerial choices just haven't been the right ones for various reasons and that's a problem with recruitment at a board room level. With the right manager and with a much rumoured Director of Football, we should see an improvement. Mourinho and Van Gaal were given looooots of money, tons of backing and time to improve things. Mourinho had the opportunity this season to take the club forward and he hasn't done that. That's not the fault of the Manchester United job or it being "poisoned", that is down to him and the ethos of blame and negativity that he has helped to create. What I would like to see is somebody more progressive. Somebody who has a long-term aim of the club playing quicker, more fluid attacking football. The emphasis also needs to be on improving the players when they come into the club, or promoting youth from within. Too many times over recent years have players come in and then proceeded to just get worse.

Was thiiiiis close to triple-captaining Aguero this week but then, for some reason unknown, forgot to do it. City are 3-0 up against Southampton at home after 20 minutes, with Aguero scoring the second goal. Daaaaaammmmmiiiittt.