StrongStyle

Philip Mulryne.

Giuliano Grazioli.

Sieb Dijkstra.

33 minutes ago, Scott Malbranque said:

Ah jaysus...

Lad's a good manager. Better than some of the other tripe Everton have had since (discounting Carlo, who is class).

Everton are a strange one. On paper, the ingredients have been there for a while to turn into a top team but it seems like stupid decisions in recruitment and being money marks always hinders them. It has been discussed earlier, but the idea of bringing in Lingard or Jones for an exorbitant fee seems to perfectly sum up their transfer model. 

They aren't without ambition as it probably took a lot to bring a manager of Ancelotti's calibre in - but is he really the man for the job? He has always reportedly had a languid, hands-off style where he lets the best players find the solutions on the park. I thought him and Duncan Ferguson would make a good pairing, as Dunc would be the guy giving the players a kicking at half time while Carlo went for a fag in the toilets. But it hasn't happened so far. I think until long-term success looks tangible, Everton need a manager in the Moyes (or maybe even Martinez) mould who will demand the absolute maximum out of them at all times in order to even touch the glass ceiling.

Not that Moyes is that man in the modern day: he has aged about 200 years in the last two!

Shawn Michaels at any given point could be the answer here. WWE-approved content will always focus on Michaels post-2002 and how he was Mr. WrestleMania etc. I imagine that because he is, ostensibly, embarrassed by his earlier body of work as it is not in keeping with his 'born again' image.

The reality is that Michaels is probably the most natural heel in the history of wrestling. Like you say, he was a detestable, smug, annoying and deeply unpleasant twat whose face you would never tire of punching. It isn't a coincidence that he seamlessly slotted into being a heel again in 2005 for his feud with Hogan: it is in-built to his DNA and I don't think I ever properly bought him as a face outside of being a 'super worker'. His heel run against Hogan was probably the best character work of his 'born again' career.

Surely The Undertaker's American Badass debut falls into this category? Yes, they ballsed up his music which meant that they ran almost the exact same introduction on the following night on Raw, but I will never forget just how cool this seemed at the time. That Iron Man match was actually bloody amazing, and then with all the chaos at the end, Undertaker turning up on a motorcycle and wearing a bandana, sunglasses and a leather trenchcoat blew my mind. The character was interesting for a period, but it wasn't long before he was about 80 stone and wearing those trousers against Kurt Angle at Survivor Series. He successfully rehabilitated the character again in 2002/2003 with the Big Evil aspect, but this was predated by a largely awful 2001.

I don't think The Undertaker has ever seemed as amazing as he did that night.

I will probably buy it purely for fan service reasons, but there's something about the footage of the gameplay that makes me think I will get bored of it quickly. There is no doubt that Z is the main event when it comes to the DB franchise, and I suppose that in itself is a very expansive story: but it would have been nice if the game documented from the beginning of Dragon Ball right through to Super, or dare I say...GT.

50 minutes ago, TildeGuy~! said:

About 25% into Dragonball Z Kakarot and really enjoying it, the combat is very samey but if you’re a fan of the anime this is probably the best Dragonball game they’ve ever made, I’ve got a ton of nostalgia for this from the music that plays in the background to the cut scenes that play out, load times are frustrating but other then that it’s a solid game for anyone who hasn’t witnessed the entire Z saga.

I will probably buy this in a few months - I love Dragon Ball, but the game itself looks a bit repetitive and lacking in depth. You say it's the best DB game ever: is it really better than Dragon Ball Fighterz? For me, that was the definitive DB game in terms of graphics and gameplay. I can't see how they could top that in a hurry. Obviously one is a beat-'em-up and the other is a RPG, but I cannot see Kakarot giving me the same feeling as Fighterz. That was literally the game I dreamt of when I was 12.

Connor McLeod of the Clan McLeod is looking well in 2020.

Watched Klaus on Netflix last night. The Santa origin story you didn't know you needed - beautiful animation, charming characters and a lovely feel to it overall. I hope it endures as a modern Christmas 'classic'.

8 hours ago, MPDTT said:

So unfortunately Brexit is unstoppable. At least we will be a low tax, low regulation and open immigration country under Boris. I wanted a hung parliament, but that aside this is the best result. Boris's majority means he doesn't have to pander to the extremes of his party and the size of Labours defeat means they will hopefully realise that Socialism is dead and revert to New Labour and become a credible opposition again.

I mean this in the nicest possible way - fuck off you insufferable, right-wing Tory cunt.

Scottish independence or bust. Yes please.

Watched Marriage Story tonight. Yet another feather in the cap for Adam Driver who is surely one of the best actors working just now. I thought it was a lovely film that had some gentle humour and some really heart-wrenching moments.

Highly recommended!

Laura Kuenssberg is a right Tory cunt, isn't she? It would be preferable if her next shit was a hedgehog.

6 hours ago, RedRooster said:

On paper Hearts and Hibs have two of the strongest non-Old Firm squads in the league. It’s a real shame to see them struggling in the way that they are, and it almost feels like a reverse Romanov era at Hearts, in that you have a manager in charge who wields so much power he can’t actually be shifted. I hope for their sake he decides to step aside soon, or at the very least step back into his old job.

Seems you have a point - Hearts have sacked Craig Levein but he remains at the club. Too much power there for sure.

It's apt that our league splits into two, because this season is very much a tale of two halves. The teams in the top 6 all have at least something about them: Celtic and Rangers look to be going back to the O'Neill/Advocaat dates of winning nearly every game. Motherwell have almost completely rebranded their style of play in the last year and it's paying dividends. Killie look to have stabilised and are adjusting to life without Clarke. Aberdeen are horrendous but you know they will pick up enough results over the piece to keep them in the argument for a European place. And Livi are, well, Livi: you know what you're getting there.

The bottom half are absolutely abysmal, and I include my own team Hibs within that. If we were going to make a decision about Heckingbottom, it should have been before now as it would be too harsh to bin him after the semi final against Celtic unless we lose about 7-0 or something. Hearts look totally bereft, and as much pleasure as it gives me: a club with their resources shouldn't be 11th going into November. It says it all about the bottom half that St Johnstone have been chronic since the start of the season and are up to 8th after two good results. There is as much to play for at the bottom as there is at the top, as I'd say all six clubs are in trouble as it stands.

Lanny Poffo had a night in to himself, it would seem. Didn't realise he had relocated to Blackpool.

Where are the reviews for this game? It's available to buy and there are very few reviews with actual scores out there. I understand that 2K can embargo the reviews until the date of release to mask as much negative press as possible, but as far as I can see, none of the regular outlets where I would expect to see  (IGN, Gamespot etc) have a review.

This is surely time to break up with 2K, scrap the tired formula which has basically been built on since Smackdown! on the PSOne and try something completely different. A new console generation is on the way and this is surely the most embarrassing "big game release" of the year. You can only blame the separation from Yukes so much - ultimately, WWE and 2K were disingenuous enough to release this at full price, so it should be judged like any other major release. It's great fun seeing how poorly it is being received, but when you strip away the hilarity and the piss-taking, it's disappointing: I would like for there to be a top quality wrestling game out there. I'd buy it for sure. Just like how I'd like to watch the real WWE product but don't because I find it unrelatable, boring and a farcry from what it should be.

23 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

I don’t think it will make a difference to be honest, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be implemented. A racist isn’t going to be put off being racist by the thought of being docked three points.

Do you think so? I reckon that's basically the ONLY deterrent for these people - imagine being the guy in the supporters' club who everyone knew was proven to have racially abused an opposition player and got the club docked 3 points? 

Yet another allegation in Scotland.

Hearts have opened an investigation after claims that Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos was racially abused in Sunday's Scottish Premiership draw.

The Colombian was allegedly targeted as he celebrated his equaliser in front of the Hearts supporters at Tynecastle.

Police Scotland say they are unaware of any complaints, with the only arrest made being for a separate incident.

"The club is aware of an incident of alleged racism and is currently investigating it," read a statement.

"It goes without saying that Heart of Midlothian Football Club utterly condemns any form of racism and any individuals found guilty of such an offence will face an indefinite ban from Tynecastle Park."

I am in support of bringing in stadium closures and docked points. It's the only solution that we haven't tried yet.

Fair enough - I'll "take the L" on this one. You seem like an intelligent lad and I spoke somewhat out of turn. For maximum transparency, it doesn't make me feel better that Shay Logan was racially abused by Rangers fans as well. As I've stated previously, I'm a Hibs fan, so do not take my defence of Celtic's fans as support. If anything, the Rangers anecdote makes me even more depressed that we have a serious problem with racist abuse in Scotland.

I suppose my ultimate axe to grind is that it's often too easy to blame the Old Firm clubs as they are the best supported and have a highly publicised history of bigoted rivalry. That makes it easier to apportion blame onto them.

1 hour ago, David said:

You have "perhaps" fudged your words? That's an understatement and a half.

You've basically done your best to justify the racial abuse of a footballer, using some weird half-arsed argument that Aberdeen has some of the most racist fans you've seen in Scotland or something. You can try to back out of it, but it's all right there. Which leads me to...

Nice try. It's clear that "the accuser" you were referring to was Shay Logan, which is why you then went on to explain how much of a cunt he is. In your eyes, him being a cunt at least partially explains why he was abused, racially or otherwise.

Just admit that you came steaming into the discussion and proceeded to make a roaring cunt of yourself.

Please present to me, in plain English, where I have justified the racial abuse of Shay Logan. I've done nothing of the sort - I did concede that my language regarding Logan was reductionist, but at no point have I ever said that the racial abuse he experienced was fine or justified. It was a case of Logan's word against Tonev's - it was rightly investigated and a verdict was reached. I have an axe to grind with Logan in that he perceives being booed out of the building whenever he plays Celtic as racist abuse. It's surely nothing to do with the fact that he's forever trying to establish himself as a hardman (and failing) by picking fights with Scott Brown, who has made him look like a bitch on countless occasions.  Like I said earlier on, you can't brand 60,000 people as racist. It cheapens the argument and it is a perpetuated fallacy that Celtic fans have some sustained hatred of Logan because he had the courage to speak about about racial abuse.

I've already somewhat admitted to making a roaring cunt of it - I should have just copped out and blamed it on the "Bigot Brothers".

The alleged racist abuse Logan received from Aleksander Tonev is deplorable and exactly in line with why this thread is created. I'm happy to concede that I have perhaps fudged my words regarding Logan: I intensely dislike him but racial abuse strips him of his humanity. Believe me when I say that I would never pull the "brings it on himself" platitude given that Neil Lennon previously managed my team and that is the line most associated with him.

When I say "is the accuser always holy", I am pointing the finger directly at fans like yourself who rely on tired cliches such as the "Bigot Brothers" to reduce the debate to a sectarian motive when it is clear that our clubs are having extreme difficulty in eradicating racial prejudice.