maqroll

"Rather baroque attacks?"

Dunno. But speaking of Rock memoirs, Keith Richards wrote a great one. No ghost writer, either.

Excited for the football again! Should be a massive weekend of high intrigue.

I really hope it's not one of my heroes like Ray Davies, Mick Jagger, or...Pete Townsend.

I still marvel at how Pete Townsend was able to wriggle out of his "problem" a while back. The guy admitted to watching child sex abuse videos. It's possible his explanation was legitimate, and I want to believe him but...not many people who admit to doing that would've been let off the hook like he was, by both the police, and the public.

Clarkson wouldn't be a shocker

Maybe, maybe not. I think for some of these owners it's got just as much if not more to do with the action of competing against other rich guys and the status symbolism that comes with owning a famous old football club. It's a gamble they're willing to take with the massive funds at their disposal.

Their cynicism, nihilism and fundamental lack of faith in the country is profound. Their reckless neglect of democratic traditions and their embrace of fascist populism is manifestly what their party was always going to evolve into. Eight years of a black presidency was enough for them to push all their chips in for an openly white supremacist despot.

I see nothing wrong with the thread title. We have a Latin America & Caribbean thread and a Middle East thread as well. I suppose someone could open up a Paraguay thread or a Burkina Faso thread, but a regional catch-all thread makes more sense, IMO. Great idea for a thread, too. Africa is so many things and there's a lot to talk about. Of course, what explains contemporary politics in Africa is inextricably linked to the past, particularly the colonization of North Africa by Arabs and it's subsequent re-colonization by Spain, France and Italy, and then of course the broader European conquest of most of the rest of the continent. A crippling colonial legacy, neo colonial exploitation, and political corruption are a great hindrance to the continent in general. All that said, some of the African nations are pretty stable and where there is stability there is hope and opportunity. Young people are online and many of them have university degrees. Ghana is an example of stability, democracy and progressive development, with a middle class that has spending power. Nigeria could be more of a global powerhouse if it were more politically stable. I believe they'll get there in time. Lagos will eventually be probably the biggest city in the world along with Kinshasa given the projected birth rate of sub-Saharan Africans.

Yes, great doc.

He's a young guy and grew up online and he'll want to be connected to social media like everyone else his age, but if he hasn't done so yet, he might consider logging off his social media accounts, or just deleting them. If you make your world smaller that way, you can narrow down the abuse you receive to a tolerable degree. He'd only have to deal with away fans or angry United fans at matches, and the rest of his time he could just do the things my generation did at that age. Obviously much easier said than done of course. Ben White says he doesn't watch football, and because of that, he probably isn't fully plugged in to the online footy world and the mountain of manure that shapes much of it. The Premier League is an absolute crucible, and I think if I were a player, I might also try to completely check out of that world when not at training or on match day.

Witnessing the endless tsunami of abuse and ridicule that Harry Maguire continues to endure makes me really feel for the guy. Some people say that because he makes more in a week than most people make in a year, he should just grin and bear it. No player in the pre-social media age received this level of steady, brutal treatment other than African players in Serie A or other leagues where racist abuse was commonplace. Yes, his gaffes are endless and funny and because he's Man Utd, there's extra glee involved in the ongoing spectacle. But the personal attacks and shaming are a level beyond just having a laugh. As we've seen with Dele Alli, Sancho and Richarlison, some players are particularly vulnerable psychologically. And we cannot forget Gary Speed. I worry for Harry and I think a move to a new club and maybe a new league would benefit him mentally and on the pitch. Online abuse is an intractable problem though and it will bite him again at the first blunder. You have to wonder if the guy is ever tempted to just hang up his boots.

And they were openly using their newfound status to enrich themselves by the billion. What Ivanka and Kushner did was exponentially worse than the things Hunter is being indicted for, and they've gotten away with it. And of course, the Republicans had no problem whatsoever with their corruption and grifting.

It'd be funny if there was a big dong hanging from the middle area

@Stephen_Evans @Captain_Townsend It's a joke! A very bad one, but still a joke!

This one could look cool on the change strip. I love the detail.

Plenty of European badges have a ball on them. Spurs an obvious example, so Im not sure it's an "American" thing per se. But it'd be controversial nonetheless. I think if done properly it could look cool.

Yes please!

I didn't know you were an Ulsterman

It doesn't have to look exactly like this. But this is the general idea. Lion with old timey football.

I agree. If they do use a stand alone lion, they should include an old fashioned football.

Something more like this

The idea being a lion with a football, but not the corny, dated graphic I posted.

Very handsome shirt, and very understated branding by Adidas. No sponsor helps as well. The circle around the shield is a little unusual. I don't particularly like it, but don't hate it either. Just the shield wouldve been enough.