I'm pretty sure we're first and second in terms of pitch sizes in the PL.
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Maine Road's pitch was Massive. Absolutely Massive.

Yours was a swamp

Just for clarity, we don't have owners in plurality. We have a single owner in Mansour and it is in his own private investment that we were bought. There is no ownership or involvement on the part of the Abu Dhabi government. I'm saying that for no other reason but to make sure people are using the facts.

It is a difficult balance, but I would argue that in the UAEs case, their closeness to the west and the business ties that they have created are actually a good thing, in that it has forced a spotlight on the hr issues, which although are viewed as extreme by organisations like Amnesty, they are far more progressive than some of their neighbours.

They have made strides in the last few years that I doubt would have happened without that exposure (the one reason for supporting a Qatar world cup bid as well).

I'm not a fan of exclusivity, particularly with countries like the UAE, as I don't think it does anything to improve anything. I'd rather a policy of inclusivity and change over time as it is the only way I see lasting change actually taking place.

That is something I can agree with Melton, whilst they are backwards by our standards when compared with somewhere like Saudi Arabia their a liberal paradise. In fact by middle eastern standards in general they'll come out looking pretty good.

I don't necessarily disagree with your part about the business deals and forcing them to improve on these issues by doing them.

Its one I somewhat struggle with because I almost feel such deals should be the rewards for well behaved countries rather than what we hope will help drag them forward.

To go back to Saudi Arabia for example doing business with them doesn't seemed to have helped at all and once you get them wealthy and powerful they can really flex their muscles.

But there are good arguments either way.

Economies are built on deals for better or worse, it is however an economy is reliant on weapons deals to the extent that it keeps thousands of people in jobs.

I can't support death and destruction across the world on the basis of a few thousand jobs and one or two British companies....

I'd argue the net benefit to the taxpayer from those would probably be minus once you take into account how much we spend trying to police the world.

Although that policy wouldn't win you any votes!

I see it more akin to positive encouragement. If you isolate a child because of their behaviour, I don't think that has the same impact as including them and aiming to see behavioural impact over time.

It's not quite the right analogy, but I hope it shows my point.

I get your point and I wouldn't argue it too much, I am not sold on one or the other myself to argue for one...

Although the Saudi kid clearly has a very bad attitude, unfortunately he's also the teachers hook up for coke so he's allowed to get away with murder!

Swalesey was a right toe-rag though wasnt he?

The Saudi kid has had a few generations teaching him it as well though, he hasn't had chance to see another way of doing things. Nature vs nurture and all that.

How long can we stretch the analogy for? A bit longer yet I reckon!

The only place I can think of to go from here is the teacher needs to go cold turkey or find a new hookup, as I think the spoilt untouchable Saudi kid won't learn his lesson when he gets it all his own way.

Moving out of it for a second they are one of the very worst and one I don't have much hope for, some of the others you can see progress or some signs that things are started to progress. Saudi Arabia just seems like a less insular N.Korea.

No absolutely, I wouldn't suggest my analogy works with Saudi btw. I think UAE, due to their more progressive starting point and willingness to learn and adapt means that a different approach could and should be taken.

Swetty,

Another drab home 0-0 non-event.

Are you concerned that van Gaal's just a rich offshore corporation's bad imitation of Stuart Pearce? Will the Dutch beanie make its appearance soon?

That bad Stuart Pearce imitation has us sitting above you in the league with a worse team....

So what does that make Pellegrini... the Chilean Steve Kean?

If Steve Kean draws the same correlation to Pellegrini in his premier league history then yes, yes he is.

Then I feel you should be far more concerned than us, as bad a manager as Pearce was, he was a bit better than Kean!

Gone right above your head to be honest SAF. As usual.

But please continue.

The Pearce era was personally the worst period for me. I preferred the relegation seasons. That was just mind numbing.

comment by meltonblue (U10617)
posted 1 minute ago
The Pearce era was personally the worst period for me. I preferred the relegation seasons. That was just mind numbing.
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I still kept fishing my seasoncard out of the bin to torture myself most weeks during that time.

Froze my knackers off yesterday in Turin watching that garbage.
Im fecking concerned

In terms of right now, I'm slightly concerned (as much as you can be considering we are through in the CL and sat well in the pl).

What will concern me is if either we keep getting injuries to our spine or if the players come back and it doesn't get better.

comment by mancWoohoo - Maximus Mardius Cob-onius (U10676)
posted 14 minutes ago
Gone right above your head to be honest SAF. As usual.

But please continue.
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As if you could understand a concept that would go over anyone's head!

Pearce to LVG is just as weak a comparison as Pellegrini to Kean but if it makes you feel better

Are you winning?

Sack it. You win.

Steve Kean,who made the honours board in the Premier league and cups campaigns, can be compared to Pellegrini.

May I ask you to update his wiki？

I realise reading isn't a strong point so maybe get a nearby adult to explain this sentence to you.

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Pearce to LVG is just as weak a comparison as Pellegrini to Kean
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On the off chance you haven't got someone nearby to explain it....

What I mean by this sentence is that they are both equally poor comparisons and not that one of those comparisons is perfect or even a very good comparison.