I daresay Souttar would expect to start at Cagliari, in which case it's not such a bad idea.

I think it's more that 30% of Australian citizens were born overseas. Argentina vs Spain in the world cup final is going to be a much more enticing fixture than Australia v Turkiye to the over 1 million English and Indian Australian residents, for example.

I wonder how many hours those Wanderers fans spent drawing then painting that massive dick? Feels a bit homoerotic if you ask me.

Great news! From that press release: "The prolific young striker has an exceptional record in front of goal, with 48 goal contributions to his name for Sunderland in 67 appearances." That's an outstanding record, surely the kid's got a real future?

Flying is my favourite. It means I'm going on holiday somewhere. I just sit there for however many hours watching movies while people are contractually obliged to bring me alcohol and work can't bother me. It's a million times better than going to work!

Grounded in reality? That's an interesting take to say the least.

It's the hottest ever summer in the UK (and probably also the coolest for the rest of our lifetimes) and Burnham's first policy is to announce an increase in fossil fuel extraction. The short-sightedness of politicians is so depressing.

You seem to have a pretty vivid imagination mate. The vast majority of people, including young affluent London labour voters, will just focus on what his policies are.

A new owner for Canberra United has been found, with an option of an A-League team in two years: https://aleagues.com.au/news/apl-announces-australian-sports-group-as-new-owner-of-canberra-united-fc/ https://football360.com.au/canberra-united-ownership-details-a-league-women-men/ Does anyone...

Makes sense, they're part of City Football Group and appear to have sold their starting goalkeeper. That would be a decent enough move I think?

Who actually makes the decision about the national team manager? I assume Kugeler makes the decision with the footballing executives (Garriock in particular), which is then ratified by the board? If that's right, interesting that we have our first non-Australian at the helm (though he's been in...

I have literally never posted on Reddit, so I don't know what you're talking about. The Guardian has a leftist editorial bent, but as I mentioned pages ago, it's one of multiple news sources that I read. That's how I maintain balance in the media I consume. I was interested to understand...

Brother, you started the slurs by calling me a green haired leftie like six pages ago. The lack of self awareness is fucking astounding.

I come onto an internet forum to engage with and hear the views of real people, not views generated by algorithms running on data centres in California. Maybe people don't care, and that's fine, I'll leave it, but I sincerely think AI generated slop cheapens the experience of an internet forum.

No he didn't. There were allegations to that effect but Turnbull has denied them. The fact that he joined, and was subsequently leader of, the Federal Liberal Party, would be a strong indicator to anyone with half a brain that Turnbull wasn't a Laborite. I might have lost all credibility in...

The ball is the post, and the post was obviously AI generated. Stick to embarrassing yourself on the politics forum mate.

Where did you explain why Malcolm Turnbull is a "laborite"? I questioned that view, and rather than answer it like a rational adult, you ignored the question and told me to worry about UK politics. You're the one who can't grasp basic fucking concepts, jesus christ. I also didn't have a "giant...

Mate, stop trying to silence people. You've clearly got a problem with being called out on your incoherent and poorly reasoned views. At the slightest hint of a challenge, you just tell everyone to piss off or stop posting rather than explain yourself. That's how a toddler behaves. I'm...

Yeah, Turnbull, that famously pro-union Labor man. Honestly, what the fuck are you talking about.

There's the issue of whether Australia as a nation needs a footballing identity, and the separate one of whether it's the national team manager's role to cultivate that identity. Ultimately, if we want to be a nation that plays proactive football, I think that probably needs to come from the...

I didn't want to assume their gender, I don't know it.

No, I disagree and my view is informed by the fact that (in the ABC's case at least), it literally has an impartiality charter which requires it to be balanced. Just because you keep saying the opposite, that doesn't make it true. At least you didn't tell me to "piss off" or disparage a hair...

Ha, you're right, their response was pretty funny/pathetic.

Not sure if I'm being thick, but does anyone have the link to this interview?

OK champ, more good chat.

What do you highly doubt? That I read the media organisations that I listed? What are you talking about? The ABC ombudsman is independent, to avoid the exact issue that you're referring to.

On what basis do you say that? You're just making stuff up champ.

Yes, I also read the Guardian, AFR, Daily Telegraph, Conversation, SMH, Fin Review and Australian. I am not aware of that happening, but if you have evidence otherwise I'd be happy to consider it.

I did, and you refused to accept them.

That might be your subjective view, but it's not one that has been shared, by and large, by the bodies entrusted with enforcing the ABC's impartiality standard. My read is that, actually, the ABC's impartial reporting doesn't track with your world view and that has triggered you. Also, the...

LOL OK mate. If I can't use a media organisation that literally has a statutory impartiality charter as an example, I think I'm going to struggle to meet your subjective requirements of what constitutes "balanced" media. This has been an extremely frustrating conversation and I don't think...

When did I whinge? I asked a question about whether you read any balanced media, that's all.

Fucking hell man, you really do have an unhealthy way of dealing with opposing views. This is an internet forum inhabited by actual human beings with their own opinions. It's not your personal safe space from which you can banish people who disagree with you.

Yes, I follow both of those reporters closely and I don't accept they demonstrate a left wing bias. I mean come on, Laura Tingle was the political editor for the AFR for a decade!

Yeah that's a fair criticism. I used to watch the Q&A program and my impression was that it attracted people with left-wing views more so than conservatives. I found that frustrating and near-sighted at times (but not always). In particular, guests seemed to focus on niche social issues in...

I'm not trying to silence you champ, I'm repeatedly asking you to explain your position. I'm genuinely interested in trying to understand why you feel the way that you do, including about the ABC's purported left-wing biases. That's literally the opposite of silencing you.

Akon leaving now would feel too early to me. He might be good one day, but I'm honestly not sure either way yet. I think it would be better for him to stay put for a few years.

I do plan on coming back, and as I said in other posts I engage in multiple other media sources. You seem to have an inbuilt tendency to try and silence people. It's disturbing and, to be frank, pretty sad.

There's a very big difference between trying to cancel someone, and asking them to provide a basis for their seemingly flimsily held beliefs. Scrutiny isn't oppression champ, it's the basis of the functioning democracy.

No I'm not, I'm an Australian (as I am constantly reminded here) who lived the first 29 years of my life in western Sydney and then moved to London for work. We aren't talking about the UK, so whether or not this place is a "basket-case" is completely irrelevant. I've spent my whole life...

It's probably time to wind your neck in on this big fella. I really hope we can all coexist happily here so long as we show each other a modicum of respect.

What's left-wing about the ABC? They have a statutory impartiality charter. I don't see anything left-wing about them at all (unless you've gone down the culture-war rabbit hole). Which other media do you read?

Ok mate. If you reckon you constructed that post without extensive AI assistance I completely believe you. No need for name calling.

Mate, I literally just asked you whether you read any balanced media out of interest. If the answer is no, just say that. I promise it won't keep me awake at night.

What a weird thing to say. Obviously I'm not AI generated. Just post your own views mate, not whatever ChatGPT reckons. We could all do that in our own time; it contributes nothing to the forum.

Was it AI generated or not?

Broadly agree (SMH perhaps more centrist but that's a minor quibble), which is why I read them all to keep myself honest.

:ROFLMAO: Fair enough, but in my defence I only had a potted transfermarkt history to go from...

I understand that opposing views might be difficult for you to process, but you aren't the arbiter who gets to post on this forum, so with the greatest respect I think I'm going to stay here and continue to contribute ("cooked" as I may be).

I didn't accuse you of derailing the thread, I accused you of degrading the forum by using AI slop to construct a long-winded post. I'll address what you contributed if, indeed, you contributed it yourself, rather than using AI to compose it. You haven't answered whether or not you used AI...

The ABC, whose charter requires it to be balanced. The AFR, Guardian or SMH are other examples of reputable media institutions, in case you hadn't heard of them. Do you read them, or no? It's just a question mate.

What's Bonada's story? Seems to be an Argentinian just knocking around the various NPLs for a few years?

Which was clearly sufficient cause to call me a "green haired leftie" :rolleyes:. Chill out brother, I work for a large corporate law firm in London and I'm largely grey.

In the way that you've obviously used AI to generate it, because it bears all the hallmarks of an AI generated response. The most obvious hallmarks are the use of "but" to start a sentence, the fact that half the sentences aren't actually grammatical sentences, the rhetorical questions, and the...

Ok mate, good chat.

I really do feel that obvious AI slop like this degrades the integrity of the forum, whether I agree with it or not.

Oh, literally anything else

Out of interest, do you read any balanced media, or just right wing stuff like sky news, 2GB, the nightly and the Spectator?

Presumably this was to allow the teams to fly home that night after the games?

Multiple months? Does that mean 2 or 12?!

I wonder if France has ever considered letting their centre backs take penalties?

One of my Sydney FC mates observed that Okon Jr might have had a minimum fee release clause, given his age, pedigree and the fact he signed a 3 year deal with us. No idea if that’s correct or not but it would make a lot of sense and explain the relatively low transfer fee.

14th in the Bundesliga looks exactly the right level to head to. Does €1M seem a bit on the cheap side though? I can’t imagine a 21 year old World Cup starter from Crvena Zvezda or Dinamo would go that cheap…

Or the strikers take penalties, but given most teams only play with one, players in other positions need to take penalties as well. (Mo Toure the obvious exception to the rule here...)

I, for one, cannot believe that Rugby League's biggest game somehow managed to out rate a Switzerland v Colombia game played at 6am east coast time.

More on the Stamoulis story from the SMH: Billionaire emerges as potential white knight to save beleaguered A-League club Property tycoon and billionaire Harry Stamoulis has emerged as a potential white knight to save Western United as he mulls a bid to buy the embattled A-League soccer...

Satoshi Tanaka's move is bad news for Dylan Leonard's potential to get Bundesliga minutes. Otherwise, just really impressive stuff from the Japanese as always!

Unless I’m missing something, he hasn’t scored in the Serie A. His only goal for Roma came in the Coppa Italia.

I'm not sure Serie C is better than the Championship or J-League, and maybe not even the SPL! I'm also not sure Pescara is better than Norwich, Machida Zelvia or Dundee United?

What's weak about Albanese? He's consistently made difficult calls on principle and kept his front bench disciplined, all the while having to negotiate two inflationary crises not of his own making. He's been a strong leader in my view.

https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/10276-federal-voting-intention-july-6-2026 Labor consolidates its lead considerably in the latest Roy Morgan poll, with support for One Nation declining 9% since Hanson's address at the national press club. Psephologists around the country wondered how well...

Hand choppers have been all over them!

Haha yeah fair enough, my point is that two centre mids is one fewer than most modern teams play, and so we tend to be outnumbered in that area of the park. That makes the players who play there look worse/less dominant, when I actually think our CM options are decent enough.

i dunno if we "lack" CMs, I think we just don't bloody play with any! Poppa's system is pretty heavily reliant on the wingbacks to provide width, and unfortunately our two first choice RWBs were out, and our first choice LWB got injured just before half time. We were doomed from the start...

Behich did, and then Volpato hit the post, but that was it from my memory.

Haissem Hassan. He played in the u17 World Cup for France and so would have required a change of association, but none was registered on the FIFA portal. There's a Football360 article about it (which some Egyptians appear to have found, if you look at the comments)...

Subject to resolution of whether Egypt fielded an ineligible player or not, that's right.

Yeah it was reported in the Dutch press: https://www.dvhn.nl/sport/fc-groningen/fc-groningen-laat-oog-vallen-op-wk-deelnemer/158158706.html

Right, so next game against Argentina (after Egypt are forced to forfeit for fielding an ineligible player). I'm not confident, but it's all a bonus from here on in.

I looked on the FIFA change of registration platform and he's not on there: https://knowledge.fifa.com/change-of-association-platform If so, it'd be a massive fuckup from Egypt.

The more I think about it, the more Italiano's injury has fucked us. At any rate, this is what I want to see: To explain the thinking: I want Bos on the left hand side, both to assist Herrington defending against Salah, and also to exploit the extra space left by Salah given he's injured...

You're comfortably the best tactical analyst in Australian football. We are not worthy!

I think reasonable minds can differ on whether the speed and breadth of the response was appropriate, but it's a pretty wild (and, dare I say, wilfully inflammatory) accusation to say that antisemitism was the motivating factor. I've just seen no evidence of that at all, and the only people who...

I'm not disagreeing with any of that, I'm just miffed that someone thinks Labor politicians have engaged in any of the antisemitic behaviour you listed. I'd be very happy to reconsider my position if I'm provided evidence to the contrary.

Being antisemitic and criticising Israel are two different things, unless the one is motivated by the other (and I haven't seen anything to suggest it is, in the Labor party's case).

Who? What did they say?

You think Labor are antisemitic?

Obviously hindsight is 20/20, but Boyle (or even Younis) over Velupillay and Leckie would have been my preference and they would have gotten minutes. Otherwise, a backup wingback would have been very handy. The problem, of course, was that nobody's form was good enough to demand selection.

Thanks, suspected as much. Are there any other revenue streams? Do SMFC own a social club separately that generates a bit of revenue? I grew up nominally supporting Marconi in the old NSL (though my passion for them was somewhat tempered by playing against their youth teams as a junior, who...

:ROFLMAO: FMD forget I asked lads

Isn't he going to Gamba Osaka? I would have thought he'd command a transfer over AUD1M but who knows.

Genuine question from a Sydneysider who moved to London and doesn't know much about NPL Victoria; where does all the money come from? Cashed up owners?