#if they add a few quality players next summer honestly they are going to be incredibly competitive

[mchiti]

There are teams out there that are failing even after spending 600 millions in less than one year and then there's Roma, with that team they have now, that is currently third in serie A, most of it thanks to Mourinho who is doing wonders. And that's when you know there are managers that really deserve to be where they are. Some others managers, well, honestly they don't.

[ospreyarcher]

Whumptober: Nightmare

This is a fic for Elizabeth Wein’s Code Name Verity, and as such it has spoilers for the whole book, so I’m putting it behind a cut.

***

The dream is not a nightmare, exactly. 

Maddie has it every year or so. In the dream, she and Julie are walking among the damask roses in the garden in Ormaie. Julie is not a ghost, nor yet has she been saved from the prisoner transport; instead, Maddie always has the sense that the garden is simply somewhere that they like to walk, that they meet and walk there often, and the roses are always in bloom.

They walk side by side, not touching, and Maddie pours out all her news, although when she wakes she can never remember what she said. And then it occurs to her that Julie is not talking, and then Maddie says, “How are you?” 

And Julie turns to her - and smiles - and then Maddie wakes. 

It doesn’t frighten her, this dream. But it makes her so sad that the feeling seems to sit on her chest like a weight.

But one night, the dream is different. The roses are the same, the garden, the two of them walking side by side, and the sunlight shining on Julie’s hair. But this time, when Julie turns and smiles at her, it’s not Maddie’s friend Julie Beaufort-Stuart - but Maddie’s daughter, Julie’s namesake, whom they call Jules. 

The only reason Maddie doesn’t scream when she wakes is because she can’t catch her breath. She slips out of bed, out of the bedroom, down the stairs to the phone, and it is only when she has put the call through and the phone is ringing that it occurs to her that perhaps she shouldn’t call Jules at 12:32 am. 

But someone picks up on the second ring. “‘Allo?” a cheery girl’s voice says, and Maddie can hear clinking glasses and laughter and the Beatles on the record player. 

“I must have called the wrong number,” Maddie says. “I meant to reach Julie Beaufort-Stuart…”

“Oi! Jules!” the cheery girl calls; and then there’s a rattle as the phone is handed over, and the squeak of a hinge - Maddie has visited Jules’ flat, and knows that she’s shutting herself in the coat closet - and then things are much quieter.

“Is everything all right, Mum?” Jules asks. 

“Oh, yes. I called because… This is going to sound mad. I had a dream and… well, I felt I had to call you.” 

“Probably my ghastly boredom reached all the way to Scotland,” Jules jokes. “They’re all Mona’s friends out there.” Mona is Jules’ flatmate. “Very clever and so forth. You’d think clever people wouldn’t be boring, wouldn’t you?” 

“Yes,” Maddie agrees, although honestly she’s having trouble following the conversation. She’s just so very glad to hear Jules’ voice, cheerful and high-spirited - and it strikes her for the first time that Jules is older, now, than Julie was when she died. 

And Jules still seems so young to her. Julie was so very, very young. 

“Really, Mum, is everything all right?” Jules says, and Maddie realizes that Jules has been talking on and Maddie has said nothing. Jules has always been like this: their sunshine girl, who chatters to cheer everyone up. 

“I’m sorry,” Maddie says again. “The dream just shook me up. Julie was in it - your aunt.”

“Ooooh.” Jules has always enjoyed Julie stories. “Perhaps she’s contacting you from beyond the grave?” 

She makes her voice shivery at the end, as if she’s telling a ghost story. She likes to playact: it’s one of the few qualities she shares with the first Julie. But today Maddie can’t play along. “It was just a dream,” Maddie says, perhaps a little sharply, because Jules lapses into silence. “She was younger than you are when she died,” Maddie says, more gently.

“Was she really?” Jules sounds astonished. There’s a long pause, and then Jules says, “This is going to sound terribly silly, but I never really thought of her as a real person before. I mean I knew she was,” she adds hastily. “But she felt like a character in a story. Even in the stories that were true,” she adds, because somehow Julie had turned into a bedtime story, and her real childhood adventures in Scotland were supplemented with expeditions across Antarctica and a stint on a pirate galleon. Maddie sometimes felt uncomfortable about this, but Jamie said Julie would have loved it, and of course he was right. 

“So brave and dashing and grown up,” Jules muses. “And now I’m as old as she was.” Her voice is more serious than usual, and then she says, “Mum, am I old enough to hear how she died? We always wondered, growing up, because you and Dad always got so quiet whenever that came up...” 

The air leaves Maddie’s lungs. She manages to mumble something about the Official Secrets Act.

“All right, all right,” Jules says hastily: always so quick to smooth over any upset. “I’m sure you prefer to think of her alive, anyway. And she does seem awfully alive,” she adds, “like the characters in the best stories.” 

Maddie nods, as if her daughter can see her over the phone, because she’s too choked up to speak. She knows Jules is trying to be kind, and in one way it’s a very sweet thing to say - but it’s not the same thing as really being alive, as being real. 

“Would you like to go to France?” Maddie asks. 

“To France!” Jules sounds aghast. She speaks beautiful French, but when she has to speak it to a French person she goes stiff and shy. 

“With your father,” Maddie adds. Jamie can do the talking so Jules doesn’t have to. “Next summer. I just thought,” she says, and she hesitates, “perhaps it’s time for you to see Aunt Julie’s grave.” 

“Oh, that’s sounds jolly. Well, not jolly, but…”

“We’ll try not to embarrass you by blubbing the whole time.”

“Oh, I’m too old to be embarrassed by my parents,” Jules says. “Blub all you need. If I get tired of it I shall wander off and buy myself eclairs.”

They chat just a little while longer. Then someone throws open Jules’ coat closet, and Maddie can hear the strains of “Yellow Submarine” through the phone line. “Go have a nice time,” she tells Jules. 

“Bye, Mum!” 

Maddie returns the phone to the cradle only after Jules hangs up. She gazes at the dark window as if she can see outside in the night. 

In her mind’s eye, she sees the garden with the damask roses. Perhaps if she goes back, one more time, she can finally lay Julie to rest. Perhaps that will be the end of the dream.

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff’s Best of 2018

WARNING: I just want to say cheers to you for making it through another year. I send you best wishes for next year to be fruitful. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy.

Dedicated to Stan Lee, Stefán Karl and Stephen Hillenburg, the number ones of children entertainment

Bow Whacka Wow, playas and players. 2018 gave us quite a lot to consume while society continues to fumble like a Tumblr update. While hopefully the chaos has died down for the final weeks of the year, I’m counting down the best cartoons/animations I’ve seen and loved this year in no particular order. Only two rules, no sneak previews of future projects (sorry 101 Dalmatian Street and MP100) and no potential entries from last year’s list (sorry True). With that said, roll it....

10. UNIKITTY!

I love the Lego Movie. I’ll potentially like the sequel. I like Unikitty. She got a show, and it was a great show to start off the year. Upbeat, colorful, off the walls sometimes, perfectly capturing the spirit of the eponymous character. I’m glad the other characters are just as enjoyable, I never get tired of the theme song, every episode had me smilin’ one way or another, it’s just a quality bottle of positivity juice. Don’t know how else to explain it, Unikitty, the show and character, just makes and continues to make me smile.

9. POP TEA-- SIKE!

This anime ain’t nothing but unfunny randomness and skits with a forgetful arc in the first and final episode. I don’t get it, never gonna get it, so I don’t want to get it! MORE LIKE POOP TEAM EPIC, ‘nuff said. Which is why the actual number nine is....

9. BOB EPIC TEAM

Honestly, there is something endearing about the way Bob Epic Team presents itself. The simplicity and variety of its animation is remarkably good and makes it feel timeless sometimes. The comedy works in a way that gives you a clear grasp on the two characters while letting them do whatever they want. The surrealism of this is fun to think about, showcasing a hedonistic philosophy that rivals that of Epicurus. The duo’s chemistry is what especially got me, as they felt like the best of friends, potentially love birds *wink wink*. This anime was just creative in every sense of the word and, like Unikitty, it was a great anime to start of the year.

8. CRAIG OF THE CREEK

The ska is RAH. I honestly find this to be the loose spiritual successor to Hey Arnold and Recess. Like the playground, the creek is a well fleshed out setting with the many characters that hang there, from the TAZ trio to the loving witches of the creek. Though I will say the best episodes are when we get insight on the main three’s personal lives with their families and when the characters themselves go through a personal trial to understand themselves a little better. The shows thrives in the theme that the creek is a place where you can enjoy getting your hands dirty and work towards something you want, even if it doesn’t add to any concrete long term benefit beyond learning a thing or two about yourself and others. And I say for somebody that relates to Craig as a character, that’s a welcoming thought that the show has yet to perish. And the ska is a welcome choice of music, IMO.

7. THE EPIC TALES OF CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS

It’s funny in how a little over a year of getting a movie, Captain Underpants gets an animated series with not only original stories in lieu of just animating the already printed stories, but puts it all in a format similar to reading a book with a sardonic narrator and separating the plot of the episode into chapters with subtitle cards; one of the first I’ve seen do this. But really, a “Captain Underpants cartoon” is something I can’t say would turn out bad, and I’m right as this is a show that revels in what made CU great in the first place. George, Harold, Melvin, and Mr. Krupp/Captain Underpants are all great characters with the additional supporting cast providing welcome life to the world. Every Incredible Violence Chapter is brilliant in their own right, and while I wasn’t a fan of the ending they had for the season, it’s great that almost every episode is self-contained, boosting its replay value. Honestly, any compliment I have for this was already said in my review of this and the movie, so I’ll just say this too was faithful to its source material and benefited heavily for it.

6. GARY AND HIS DEMONS

Rick and Morty done better. BOOM, send tweet! It is safe to say that this was quite the sleeper hit and I can’t help but say it’s lowkey one of the best adult cartoons this year next to Ballmastrz and Final Space. And while I certainly appreciate the other two *hint hint* this one got a step above on the grounds that it works as a comedy and a solemn tale of a chosen hero that stumbles through years in the office life. It’s improv humor feels natural and it can be as melancholic as Bojack Horseman without making it all too deep like so; has a great balance of both. Main man Gary, unlike Rick for the most part, is a guy that’s both reasonably reprehensible yet pretty relatable. Not to mention, while it was bittersweet, it had a very satisfying finale to where I feel like this was a complete series all together. With a rough art style that compliments it’s tone, this was a series that surprised me in its sharp quality.

5. APPLE & ONION

I’ll admit. Initially wasn’t a fan of it as it felt like a knock-off to Regular Show (may it rest). Just had a duo of bros living together, doing mundane labor while coming up with impromptu tunes along the way. Then again, I was gladly proven wrong because the charm of it generally being a simple show, even with every person being food, somehow more regular than Regular Show. Every song they make is upbeat and catchy, all of the characters are endearing, and with only 10 episodes, each one was well paced and had quality writing to the point where I teared up a couple times. It stinks that this and Summer Camp Island have generally been receiving the shaft this year after their premieres, but I'm just glad that they haven’t been truly forgotten by CN and are getting more episodes next year. Plus, I love food and this show is about food. Debate over.

4. LEGEND OF THE THREE CABALLEROS

I was familiar yet never saw The Three Caballeros, ironic since Donald is one of my favorite Disney characters. But then, out of the blue, I found this and I was stunned, amazed, confused, nonetheless invested. It has a bumpy start, but it’s a joyous adventure from that start to end. The look of it is something I’ve rarely seen in animation since... freakin’ Wakfu. I love Xandra and I was glad to see her be an active player on the team. The villains are such a hammy delight. And Jose and Panchito were very lively and entertaining foils to Donald’s cynic nature while all three work as well together like the 3 stooges. Donald himself gets a great arc of his own throughout the season. And the theme, HO MY GOD I LOVE THIS THEME! It’s a damn shame Disney hasn’t released this already (since it’s all online already) because this series is much better than it has any right to be.

3. GOLDEN WIND/VENTO AUREO

I say, the beauty of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is that regardless of what part you start from, you’re enthralled into its world and ya feel compelled to dig into it more. Parts 3 was what got me into Jojo, like most I bet, but it was part 5 that got me “Oh yeah, this series [just] works on more than level”. The characters are what keep me hooked, regardless of Crunchyroll refusing to give their stands proper English names [Zipper Man, CR?], Fighting Gold and Freak ‘n You will never get old, and David Productions putting great effort into the small details and giving life and style to the original manga. I’ll just say, as one who’s read and loved the manga, this anime has not ceased to keep me impressed and guessing for more.

2. INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

Funking superb, you afro having web-slinger. I hate to say it, but 2018 didn’t have the most impressive line-up of western animated features. Most were average, entertaining sure, but nothing felt like 110% was given. Until Spidah-Man came on the scene and I was like “WIG...

The only major problem I have with this film, besides a bit of slow pacing, is more of a missed opportunity where the stakes of getting the Spidermen back to their dimensions before dying felt like an afterthought. Then again, that’s ALL I have for problems. It looks fantastic. The action is smooth, coherent, and satisfying to see. The tiny details and comic book aesthetic of it was a blessed touch. I loved almost every character here. Nick Cage and John Mulaney. The fact that it has so much yet was able to juggle it all blew my mind. Even the post credits scene made this such a love letter to the wall-crawler. This film was refreshing to say the least and the central theme behind the idea of Spider-Man made this as great of a superhero movie as Infinity War and Lego Batman. Just saying, this better make its budget back and THEN SOME. It deserves it.

1. HILDA

Netflix, we’re not on good terms mind you, but ya done did it again. This is honestly one of the few shows that I genuinely took my time with as opposed to binging it, because binge watching is a devil in itself. Like the Spider-verse movie, it got the style of its source material down to cozy colored T with its autumn color palette and etched lining in the characters. Like the Captain Underpants series, while having a grounded arc of Hilda journeying through the city life and her colliding wildlife, each episode can be generally be enjoyed on their own. Like Gary and His Demons, it felt like a complete season and the fact it’s getting a season two made things all the better. But above all, it was a generally peaceful yet captivating fantasy cartoon to watch with incredible animation, an endearing main character, amazing looking folk creatures of all sizes and powers, and a cuddly deerfox for a pet. I say this is to the fall what Harvey Beaks was to the spring, and if I can compare a show to Harvey Beaks you know you’ve achieved greatness. Like True and the Rainbow Kingdom, gives you a moment of honest bliss and happiness that can influence your outlook on looking forward to better things because like Hilda herself, you push forward and have some fun exploring.

Just saying, I cannot stress this enough this is NOT my number one favorite show of the year, hell of all time. THAT goes to....

1. 👏TEEN 👏TITANS 👏GO, BABEEEEEEY!!

ONCE AGAIN, Teen Titans GO reigns supre-- Huh, what’s that? Oh my god, you’re serious?! The Number One is

TOTAL DRAMARAMA OUT OF NOWHERE! IT IS NOW CARTOON NETWORK’S ‘NEW FAVORITE SHOW’.

THE STREAK *DING DING DING* IS OVER

[crimsonrevolt]

Congratulations Amos you’ve been accepted to Crimson Revolt as Gideon Prewett!

↳ please refer to our character checklist

First of all, I have to address that there’s a wonderful irony in accepting someone with the same name as my character in the rp. But honestly, your app was a delight to read -- the depth of exploration in your personification of Gideon absolutely beautiful. You left us with such a clear picture of the character, both in his backstory and in the potential future effects of the war, all while bringing through Gideon’s humor as well. We’re so thrilled to welcome you into the rp and can’t wait to see you explore all of the dimensions to Gideon that you presented in your app! *your FC change to Eddie Redmayne has been accepted!

application beneath the cut

OUT OF CHARACTER

INTRODUCTION

Amos, 20, he/him, GMT

ACTIVITY

I won’t lie, I can get extremely busy, I am currently training at drama school in technical theatre, and some weeks it is manic, that being said, I have missed writing so much, and I have missed being part of an rp group even more, I am committed to making it part of my daily routine again. My uni work should calm down for the next couple of months and I really want to write as much as I can in that spare time. 5/10

TRIGGERS

*removed for privacy

HOW DID YOU FIND US?

I searched for HP RP in tumblr and your ad was one of the most recent posts, I had a click around your blog and really liked the look of you!

WHAT HARRY POTTER CHARACTER DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH MOST?

I am a Neville Longbottom through and through. I could be painfully awkward,self conscious, under confident, clumsy, making goofy mistakes, but in the last couple of years I think I’ve really come a long way. I’ve found my voice, and my confidence, I am happy with who I am as a person, and am no longer striving to be someone I’m not, I have recently decided to stop being so embarrassed all the effing time and just accept that sometimes I do silly things and it’s better just to laugh about it than worry over it for the next week. It has honestly enhanced my life. I’m still waiting on the magic physical transformation into a greek God though.

ANYTHING ELSE?

If there is anything in my app that doesn’t fit with your current Fabian’s headcanons and such, then I will be most happy to adapt if I got in and had a chance to speak with them!

IN CHARACTER

DESIRED CHARACTER

Gideon Prewett

FACE CLAIM

I would be happy to keep Ryan Gosling, although in Fabian’s bio it says the twins look exactly the same, so I would also be quite happy to take on Eddie Redmayne. I would quite like them to be identical, unless of course Beth would prefer them to be unidentical.

REASON FOR CHOSEN CHARACTER

I have been in love with the Prewett twins for a good couple of years now. I wrote Fabian in another rp for a long time and got very attached to him, although I have played both Fabian and Gideon at various different points. When I first started I thought every rps interpretation of the twins would be very different because there is so little on them in the books, but it turns out everyone has very similar ideas. I love that, I love that their character shines through those small details and through the legacy of their family in the books and through the reputation of the Order and through what we imagine the first wizarding war must have been like.

I love that they are essentially broken people trying so hard to make everyone else around them safe and happy, and I love that they are the kind of people who rebel against growing up. I do think it’s very important to see them as individuals, but I think their relationship with each other is one of their most essential qualities. I think it is what makes them unique characters to write. Even if you were writing other twins, I don’t think you’d have the same kind of experience. I think it’s that relationship that keeps drawing me back to them. Their personalities and their backstories, occupation, hair colour whatever, can change from rp to rp, and I love exploring each slightly new character, but most of all I love finding out how they interact with their twin, and what their priorities are during the war, and what lengths they are willing to go for their family.

I think my interpretation of Gid in this rp, is someone who is not necessarily hiding their negative emotions by putting on a brave face and cracking jokes, but instead, he is separating the good from the bad. He doesn’t mind when people see he’s having a bad day, or if people can tell he’s angry, or stressed, he won’t do much to hide it whilst the situation is still having that negative affect on him. But as soon as he gets to the party or the pub, or he’s having a laugh with a friend, he lets go of whatever is bothering him and enjoys the moment. And think it is people who generally make him happiest, like, he can find enjoyment in food and sunsets and such, but it’s interacting with people that really brightens his mood.

PREFERRED SHIPS // CHARACTER SEXUALITY // GENDER & PRONOUNS

No Preferred ships as yet. Bisexual but with a higher preference for men that he’s not quite willing to admit yet. Male, he/him.

CREATE ONE (OR MORE!) OF THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR CHARACTER:

Gideon works in the Department of Magical Transportation. It’s not his dream job, or something he’s particularly enthused about, but it keeps him busy and it pays the rent. He got a job in a low level position a couple of years after graduating Hogwarts, thinking it would simply be a filler until he found what he was really supposed to be doing. However a summer temp job turned into 7 years of small talk, paperwork and rank climbing. The truth is he never really figured out what he wanted to do, apart from boyhood dreams of being a quidditch player, he never found a career that grabbed his entire attention. Now with the war, he has higher priorities than finding his true calling. It is a stable job and it gives him a good position in the Ministry, which is helpful for Order work. Despite what all this may point too, Gideon is a very intelligent individual, perhaps not academically outstanding, but his brain is always ticking along, even when it is being numbed by repetitive form filling and box ticking.

Gideon is very interested in the arts. He always liked music, but after graduating from Hogwarts and moving to London he fell in love with muggle artist like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. It started with him curiously walking into a muggle record shop and buying a few singles, now he is hooked on Ginsberg’s poetry, and Robert Mapplethorpe’s photography. Particularly Mapplethorpe. Gid really likes that they don’t move, like a one way mirror, he can take as much as he likes from the photo but it doesn’t take anything back, it almost feels like a secret, and being a twin, he doesn’t get too many of those. A couple of years back he picked up a guitar, and now he can play a few chords or pick a few tunes. He also likes to scribble down ideas whenever he gets a chance, half finished lines of poetry or prose litter his apartment collecting coffee stains and dust.. Sometimes he thinks maybe he was meant to be an artist, but he brushes those thoughts quickly away.

Gideon isn’t great at relationships anymore. A couple of years ago he had a fling with a guy at the ministry called Anthony. Gid fell head over heals, he felt it was a lot more than a fling, but Anthony insisted that it was just a bit of fun. He didn’t allow Gid to tell anyone, explaining that his family wouldn’t be very understanding if they found out, and at first he was fine with that. At first everything was spectacular. But eventually Gid ended up giving a lot more into the relationship than he was getting back. Gid was essentially at his boyfriend’s beck and call, but if Gid ever had a bad day, Anthony always had some excuse for why he couldn’t come over. It went as far as Gid being guilt tripped into missing the birth of one of his nephews because his boyfriend had a cold and needed looking after. Anthony often asked to borrow money from Gideon and although Gideon barely had anything to give, he would give it freely, to the point where the boyfriend spent money Gid needed for food on a new pair of shoes. Anthony would near constantly flirt with people infront of Gid, but if Gid so much as looked at someone else the wrong way, Anthony would fly into a jealous rage. In short Gid was miserable, but he was living in those moment of blissful hope where Anthony would make him feel like the only person in the entire world who was worth a damn. Unfortunately, those moment became few and far between. Eventually someone (probably Fabian, let’s be honest) got worried about how far Gid had declined from his old chipper self, and intervened. Gid had to break up with Anthony, and after a tumultuous on again off again period Gid finally broke ties completely. On the outside it appeared like Gid soon bounced back to his old self, but underneath he still carries the scars of the relationship. He finds it hard to commit, or trust people’s affection, the insecurity that probably lead to the relationship getting so out of hand in the first place, even more pronounced now. He never thought he would be sucked into abuse like that, always the first to speak up about other people’s injustices, but he quickly found out it was much different when he was submerged in the situation himself.

IN CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

♔ If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it? Feel free to name it: Right, I was thinking about this the other day, and I think it would be really very useful to have a spell that let me see round corners. Because, the other day, I was in the arse end of London, at a pub, a muggle pub I should add, those places are crazy! But anyway, I needed the toilet quite badly, I stumbled in, there are just two stalls, neither of them have door so I storm into one, and there’s two people furious shagging on the loo, now, if I’d been able to see round that corner, I would have made a strategic retreat before getting anyway close to that cubicle. Although, I suppose, being in muggle London, I couldn’t have used magic anyway. And really, if I hadn’t been so drunk I might have taken the loud moaning and groaning as a cue too. But, you get my point! It would be a handy thing to have up your sleeve!

♔ You have to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest one night. Pick one other character and one object (muggle or magical), besides your wand, that you’d want with you: Fabian, of course, in this purely hypothetical situation that we have never done before because it is completely FORBIDDEN and not allowed at all. But I’d probably bring a packet of smokes, maybe something a little stronger, Fabian could bring a wireless because I’m cheating and assuming he’s getting one item too. Then we could find a nice little clearing somewhere and relax far away from the troubles of the world, closer to the very real troubles of getting speared by an angry centaur. Again, like I said, a purely hypothetical situation.

♔ What kinds of decisions are the most difficult for you to make? It takes me forever to decide what to eat at restaurants, everything sounds so good, the whole place smells amazing, the guy across from me has something on his plate that looks delicious, but it’s all so expensive! Maybe I’ll just have a salad. Oh no, but you’re ordering a steak and my mouth will water the whole meal, Screw it! Bring out three pheasants, oysters and a bucket of champagne!

♔ What is one thing you would never want said about you? That I don’t care about something I definitely do care about. I don’t care if someone says I don’t care enough about signing Stacy’s leaving card, because honestly I spoke to Stacy once and I really don’t care about signing her leaving card. But if someone dared say I didn’t care about my family, they were have a hex coming their way. I know sometimes I can come off a little nonchalant because I like to have a good time, but that does not mean I don’t care. I care way too much for it to be discarded by an offhand comment from someone who has no idea what they’re talking about.

WRITING SAMPLE

It was the hottest day of the year so far. Gid could feel the sweat making his shirt stick to his back, his school tie and cloak had long since abandoned. Nearly everybody was down by the lake. Couples were sitting on the grass enjoying the last light of the sun giving their significant other’s acne clad faces a golden glow. Groups of friends pretended to do their homework whilst exchanging the latest gossip and daring each other to throw things at the squid. And then there was Gideon and Fabian. They stood apart from the rest, purveying over the scene in front of them. Gideon was relatively satisfied by the turnout, of course, the poor fools didn’t yet realise they had turned out for anything.

“You definitely set the timer up right?” Gideon asked Fab as they waited.

“Yes, definitely. Any second now.”

“Really? Because that’s what you said last time. Remember how disappointing that was. Just a good job we didn’t advertise this time.” Gideon smiled despite himself and Fabian gave an amused huff.

“Any second n-”

Fabian was cut off by the abrupt explosion from across the lake. Reds and greens and purples burst into the twilight sky. Flowers and streamers of light illuminating the faces of the Hogwarts populations as they looked on in avid fascination. Gideon very nearly fist bumped the air. The fireworks were an incredible success. People were gasping and laughing and screaming.

People were screaming.

Gideon came too. He was on his knees, sweat slick hair stuck to his face and his head hung uselessly on his chest. His hand clenched around his wand feebly at first, then stronger. People were screaming. They were running. They were terrified. Someone booted his leg as they ran past and stumbled over his inanimate body. He barely felt it.

His eyes were open, but he couldn’t see anything. Just dust, the thickest cloud of dust, he couldn’t even make out the ground in front of him. He struggled to remember where he was.

He had lit a fuse. He had been told to light a fuse. He had thought it would be a good idea. He had thought it would make a difference. Now people were screaming. There was a baby crying somewhere. The dust and chaos cleared fractionally and Gideon could make out the wreckage of the blast.

What had he done? He tried to get to his feet, but his legs wouldn’t work. He dragged himself over to a wall, he couldn’t breath. Every time he drew in a breath, he sucked in the dust and began to cough. He would die here. He couldn’t breath. He had killed people here. Innocent people. The baby had stopped crying. He had to get out.

[adatedreference]

On the Creation Club and Boycott

So I just made this (rather long) post to make arguments against the Creation Club to someone on r/Fallout and I felt it should be shared here too. I’ve done some minor editing to make it less direct but anyways, here goes:

I know there are people who rather foolishly moan and complain about DLCs and increased base-game costs but those gripes are mostly foolish; a game can be a Complete Experience and still have room for DLC to add things and increased development costs are a real thing hat effects Devs. But those aren’t the issues that effect the Creation Club, as much as people like to bring them up as a response to the criticism against it... and unfortunately as much as some people against the Creation Club bring up just the idea of DLC in general as an in issue with the Creation Club. But here are some of the many real, critical issues with Bethesda’s Creation Club:

The Creation Club is Bethesda leveraging the passion and effort of the Community for its profits and its benefits with almost no benefit coming back to us. Mods keep the Game alive and kicking for years after its Market Expiration because people can keep coming back to get some new content they'd always hoped for — usually for free, sometimes with the option to contribute specifically to the creators of the content. Bethesda is taking the fact that the Community undertakes these projects of passion to squeeze more money out of the players for things that would all but certainly be made anyways.

Pricing. The Creation Club is priced very wrong. See I really want the faction paint jobs for the weapons, especially the Minutemen ones because I'm a Settlement (Over)Builder and the Minutemen are the epitome of that. Let's say I determine that I would spend money on this mod? Well it's not worth its current cost ($1.33) to me, it's worth maybe $0.25, $0.50 at most but that's not at all what they're asking. I'm not miserly about spending money on these kinds of things, look at General Dave's Wasteland Walls; I quite like Evil Viking and when he announced the project, I decided I should start start putting my money behind what he does and have given him $5/month ever since. Name an appropriate price or ask me the right way and I will pay, ask too much of me and you lose a potential customer.

The Creation Club is not the product we were sold. When they talked about the Creation Club their marketing campaign painted great, vast swathes of content made at a quality just below the studio's own and more ambitious than most mods normally could be. The Creation Club can't facilitate files that large, hell Better Breezehome for Skyrim — which is a phenomenal mod despite being fairly small — is either too big or at the very upper bounds of what they could manage. They sold a product that promised things like Beyond Skyrim Bruma but in reality can only deliver us Better Blade of Woe — Better Blade of Woe is nice but if you're going to make me choose one, well I can deal with a named Orcish Dagger thank you.

Its implementation. Do you know anything about how Creation Club files are downloaded? If you do, me mentioning it should make you cringe, if you don't (or you're someone reading this argument who doesn't because I'm not just framing this discussion for the person it's directly a response to) well... I have some shitty news for you. So the way it works is that Bethesda downloads all the files with every upload and then just puts up a pay-wall for the content in your game. For some that might not seem terrible at first glance but look at it another way: Content you may not want, that you might protest/detest, that you may never elect to pay for will take up space on your SSD/HDD no matter your objections for as long as you decide to keep the game installed.

The Mods are coming out in a way that is very different than what most of us long-term Modded Gamers are use to and, I would argue, certainly not for the better. Creation Club mods hit the CC when they are finished and bug free. Cool. Now what makes that substantially different and worse than Classic Mods from the nexus? Well looking again at the Faction Weapon Paint Jobs — because I want this mod and so I'm going to pound on this drum til the skin tears — on the CC at release it is and will only ever be 10 weapons. On the Nexus it would probably launch at about 5 Skins and then over the course of a couple of months to a year it would expand to cover all but a few of the more unique weapons from Vanilla (like the Broadsider). It would also likely be quite modular, with editions to include paints for Various DLC weapons, and maybe an extra version that turns down the goddamn American Flags down to a 5 from their current 11, since the Commonwealth isn't the Full USA. And that would all be one single mod. Now look at how sad the CC version looks. Sure it has no bugs but it's also lacking in character or growth, restricted utterly for no reason except to fit into Bethesda's store set up.

It, Bethesda.net and the various fiascos following Bethesda's efforts to both monetize Modding and force its adoption for Consoles (Mods should be on Consoles they (that's Bethesda and Console Devs in general) need to improve the infrastructure for the Mods) are SEVERELY damaging the Modding Community. Look at DDProductions83, FO4's NIF-Messiah; love him or hate him personally, as I understand his personality was not exactly universally acclaimed, he made absolutely amazing mods at an incredible rate even when the tools available to us were middling-at-best. He left the Community because of some of the shady and shitty practices going on in the early days of the Bethesda.net Mods and I mourn that loss deeply. Another example is 5Like, his amazing mod 'Thematic and Practical' is one of the most amazing, if simple, mods ever added to FO4 and was likely to grow even better... and all the baggage tied to the Creation Club left such a bad taste in his mouth that he washed his hands of the project and declared it dead. How much better off would the modding community for Fallout be with those two still working and impassioned over these hobbies of there's? How much, comparatively, have we really gained with such inspired mods as Camo-patterned Pip Boys and Hot Rod Flame paint guns?... You can guess which I'd choose.

So yeah, that's why I personally boycott the CC. I would love to hear rebuttals or things I may not have considered but honestly, This is how I see Bethesda in 2016, licking their lips at the idea of Paid Mods and fittingly this is where I see them by next Summer. Maybe there's a side of this I don't see, and if you think that's the case please make your case — a new perspective on a troubling issue is always welcome. But until something changes, be it my views or their practices, I really want Bethesda to crash-and-burn a bit on this venture — not enough to damage them long term and jeopardize some of my favourite IPs in existence but enough to dissuade them.

[anfieldcentral]

Liverpool FC and the Injury Nightmare |

204. That’s how many seperate injury issues Liverpool have had since the start of the 2009/10 season. That’s an average of 25 individual injuries per campaign, meaning that the Reds generally suffer an injury issue once every 135 minutes of Premier League football. That’s absolutely remarkable - and for all the wrong reasons. 

Lack of Continuity Amongst Line Ups |

When winning the Premier League title, a manager needs to be sure that his best XI is going to be able to feature in near enough every single one of the 38 league games his side plays in a season. If you’re Jurgen Klopp you’d be likely hoping to field your best line up in at very least 32-33 of the total Premier League fixtures your team plays with a little rotation room to allow for injury niggles, the odd red card and to manoeuvre around fixture congestion. For Liverpool that’s just simply not been the case so far. 

Of course there’ve been other factors - AFCON caused all sorts of problems with Joel Matip and Sadio Mane - but injuries have hugely disrupted the Reds in recent years and not only hindered their progress but ruined entire seasons. The Reds have already sustained 30 separate injury problems to 21 different players this season alone and we’ve only played 29 Premier League fixtures. Add to that the fact that the injuries have generally been to important players in important positions - Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip, Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho have all missed sizeable chunks of the season through injury - and it’s a wonder how we’re actually in the position we’re in right now. 

Potential to Derail a Season |

We all know the Daniel Sturridge saga very, very well by this point and it’s sadly a perfect example of injuries derailing seasons for Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers Liverpool team in 2014/15 was originally built around the Englishman in a 4-2-3-1 system that saw him leading the line while being flanked by Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho. Adam Lallana slotted into the number 10 role and Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard were played in the centre of the midfield. Things looked good in August for that season honestly as the Reds beat Southampton at home and strolled to a 3-0 victory over Spurs at White Hart Lane. Then things went entirely tits up. 

Sturridge went down on international duty with the first of 7 injuries he’d sustain that season, forcing him to miss a total of 6 months of football across the season while Adam Lallana continually seemed to be stuck in a cycle of play a month, miss a month. With Rodgers having to constantly chop and change his line up, repeatedly wedging Mario Balotelli in up front despite protests from everyone including Mario himself, it’s my belief that we honestly did well to finish in the Europa League spots. 

Last season and this season have been very much the same. Jordan Henderson’s injury last season saw the skipper’s form nosedive as he struggled to hit 100%, causing an imbalance in the Reds midfield, while constant injury issues with all of Mamadou Sakho, Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren saw Klopp struggle to maintain any consistency in his centre back pairings - a trend that’s continued this season. Klopp was even quoted as calling the word hamstring the “shit word of the season,” after the Reds sustained an incredible 9 hamstring injuries across November, December and January, putting out 9 different players for a combined 15 and a half months. 

The Reds had a fortunate start to this season in fairness. The opening few months of the season saw them blow away teams week after week with very little serious injury worries to first team regulars. In fact, up until Coutinho’s injury in November, no first team player had missed more than two weeks of fixtures with Adam Lallana’s injury against Swansea the most severe. Since Coutinho went down clutching his ankle in agony against Sunderland however, the Reds have suffered 18 injuries and a subsequent nose dive in overall form across a horror start to the calendar year. Injuries to key first team regulars Matip, Lovren, Sturridge, Firmino, Henderson, Lallana and Emre Can have caused a huge imbalance in the side and Klopp has struggled immensely to name what’s become recognised as his first choice line up. 

In fact, prior to Coutinho’s long term injury, the Reds played 13 league games (including the Sunderland match) and lost just once - to Burnley. They’d scored an incredible 32 goals and taken 30 points, sitting top of the pile. Since Coutinho’s injury however, they’ve not just lost players but dropped off in terms of both goals scored and points taken per match. 16 League games have seen the Reds score 29 goals and take 26 points. It’s not been a disastrous drop off when looked at in those terms but in the bigger picture, it’s allowed Chelsea to move not only ahead of Liverpool on the table but 13 points clear of them with a game in hand. 

Something to Think About |

For me, this is something to think about this Summer for Liverpool. Whether it’s luck, a better quality of fitness staff or just higher levels of robustness in their players - it’s no surprise that league leaders Chelsea have suffered very minimal injury problems this year with the same being said about Leicester during last season’s miracle. Both Ranieri last season and Antonio Conte this season managed to settle on a consistent line up and field it in all but a select handful of games. This continuity is what wins you the league and Klopp surely must have that in his mind this Summer. With Klopp’s intense style of training and football there’s always going to be injuries - we’ve had 54 since he arrived - but the fact that Liverpool have had 20+ injuries every season barre one since the 2000/10 season is alarming and perhaps says more about the type of players we buy than anything. 

This Summer the German needs to look for players who will give you 33 league games a season minimum while also being able to feature in a European campaign and important cup ties. It’s no good selling on the likes of Daniel Sturridge only to attempt to strengthen the squad with similarly injury-prone and brittle boned players. Similarly when it comes to the defence, Klopp will need to have a long hard think about who he looks to bring in with Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan having missed a combined 5 months of football through injury. If Klopp is going to shore things up at the back, then consistency has to be a priority. Communication and understanding is so vital in a centre back partnership and Liverpool need to bring in a strong, robust defender who will be able to feature constantly across next season, rather than having to chop and change every 2-3 games. 

Of course, injuries become less of a problem when you have a sufficient amount of quality squad depth at your disposal but with the Reds likely to be fighting on four fronts next season - the league, EFL Cup, FA Cup and European football of some extent - Klopp will need to do everything he can to minimise injury problems. We’ve seen through other Premier League clubs like Arsenal as a prime example how much of a season’s potential can be wasted and derailed by a poorly timed injury crisis and Liverpool must avoid that next season. 

[mcpennino-blog]

Chapter 6

Virginia Tech Athletics is only as good as the product that we give our fans, the benefits that fans get from coming to events and being Hokies. The tricky part of the sports product is that it is tangible and intangible. The tangible t-shirts, pom-poms, and jerseys that we give fans are only as good as the intangible experiences and emotions that they get at the event. This can be the experience of jumping to Enter Sandman at a football game, watching Bede make a three pointer, or the excitement of the crowd when our favorite “Shout” video comes on. These all add to the experience, however, some of these intangible products can be hard to control. For example, the information about Mike Vick and the dog fights are still hurting the quality of our product for some fans. It is not consistent from fan to fan and can be hard to control, especially because marketing is such a small part of the experience the fans are getting. We cannot control the game, the actions of the players, or the consistent experience fans get at the concession stands. It is difficult to make sure the product is being received the same from every fan, but oh boy do we try. 

Chapter 6 spoke about the sport product. It can be hard to control in terms of marketing, however, it is marketing’s job to make sure the fans are having a great interaction with our product (i.e., their experience is great, they got the giveaway they wanted, and enjoyed the game). The book shared that there are two parts that make up the product: core elements and extensions of the product. As marketers, we barely have any control over the core elements and must focus our efforts on making sure the product extensions are superb. The core elements are the apparel and equipment, rules/techniques, the players, venue, fan behavior, and personnel and process. These are items that we have no control over, but that really effect the experience, and therefore, the product that we put out. Think about it. If you’re in Lane Stadium and Ryan Willis continues to throw duds, it starts to ruin the experience right? No one likes when their team is losing. Or you’re in Lane minding your own business and a group of loud, intoxicated individuals start yelling profanities. That begins to ruin your experience after a while as well. These are all items that as marketers we cannot control, but that we will still get complaints about from fans. It is funny, on our surveys from fans about their experience they mention items that we cannot help with  such as poor player performance or a unruly fan. But what we can change and help fix are our extensions of the product. These items include memories, tickets/programming, and helping create fantasies for our fans. When reading this in the chapter I immediately thought of football games. In my opinion, Lane Stadium is one of the best College Football Gameday experiences in the country. We provide an experience unlike any other, and I believe marketing helps create these memories for fans starting at the very beginning of the day. On football game days, we have so many areas for fans to create experiences. We have Hokie Village, an area for fans, especially those with young children, to go and create memories. We have other sporting teams come and interact with kids, we have a DJ, games for kids, and food and drink to enjoy before going into Lane. Aside from that, we have tailgates put on by different organization’s to help get fans excited and make memories before even going into the stadium. The next product extension that I think coincides with memories are the fantasies. I believe that I have helped create fantasies come true for fans with an experience that I worked on this summer called Maroon and Orange memories (MoMems). MoMems is an experience app that you can use to pay for different experiences on game day. Over the summer I helped create some new experiences. Some of them include delivering the game ball, jump to Enter Sandman from the sideline, and my personal favorite, take the walk from the locker-room into Lane with the team. Marketing puts together these experiences every year for fans to live out their fantasies of being on the field or to pretend that they are walking into Lane about to play a game. I have talked to so many of the fans that have done Maroon and Orange Memories saying it was an experience of a lifetime that they will never forget and a fantasy that they are finally able to live out. It is really cool to think that fan will never forget that game because you created a special way for them to experience the game. I think creating an experience on game day is something that Virginia Tech does especially well, no one can top Lane Stadium on a football Saturday. Another item that was brought up in the book that marketing can control with the product are our ticketing packages and programs. This is not as exciting for me, but is true. We create ticket packages that best help reach all sorts of fans. We have single tickets, group plans, flex plans, VIP plans, etc., to help create the best experience for our fans. 

We help create an amazing experience, and that’s great, but how do we keep that going throughout all sports? How are we different from other schools so fans continue to be Hokies and come back? We have Enter Sandman, and that is something that we carry throughout all sports. It is also something that has brought people halfway across the country to see (seriously, I’ve spoken to families who have traveled for hours to see our entrance). But I think our real way of differentiation is our drive to be creative and to be leaders in our field. Our marketing office is continually trying to new things, and we are not afraid of a flop once or twice to see if we can create a great new way of marketing to our fans and creating a better experience. As mentioned in the book, differentiating yourself is one of the hardest parts about sports products. We continually create items that have a positive connotation in our fans’ minds and reinvent it, never becoming dull or letting our competitors grab that niche that we have. However, I think the biggest challenge that all of athletic marketing departments have in these next coming months is how to keep the interest of our fans during the era of social distancing. How do we keep them engaged in spring sports that will not be able to touch the field again for another year? This is a struggle that I am currently having with our softball team. We are trying to utilize social media and create a content plan to continue to give our team the recognition they deserve without being able to play or having the ability to get new footage to post on social media. It has honestly been a huge challenge that we are working through, but will see how it affects our product next season. This is a new competitor that no one was prepared for, but one that has truly halted any way of creating an experience for our fans or to have them enjoy our product, sporting events. It is a new challenge that has been a topic of conversation for the past few weeks. However, hopefully, this will all be over soon and the only worry we will have again is how to have the energy and experience of Enter Sandman last the length of a sporting event. 

[spursroundup]

Ranking all Tottenham signings since the sale of Gareth Bale

Hey everyone! It's a very slow day at work and I've been daydreaming about actually signing someone in the upcoming transfer window which led me to thinking about all the past incoming transfers. Selling Gareth Bale was the point that I believe Tottenham started to move into the next phase to where the club is at now. So here you have it, every signing ranked since the summer Bale left for Real Madrid:

.30) Vincent Janssen

Poor guy... It's tough to put him at the very bottom as he has shown brief glimpses of quality here and there (especially in his first year). However, going from a 25+ million pound signing and top scorer in the Netherlands to not even having your name or number on the match day program is pretty awful.

29) Clinton N'Jie

Someone who had so little impact on Spurs that it's tough to even say anything about him here. Never really showed what he was capable of and was sold fairly quickly after being bought.

28) DeAndre Yedlin

Strange signing even when it happened. Never showed that he had the quality for a side at Tottenham's level at any point during his career. However, he was fairly cheap, brought in some new fans from America, and is still doing a passable job at Newcastle.

27) Federico Fazio

He should feel hard done by with this transfer. Honestly he is a fairly capable CB on his day. He was just so slow and with the way Spurs play with the high line was just never going to do a good job.

26) Roberto Soldado

It hurts me to put his name so far down this list as he showed more heart than many others. He just never could quite get the confidence he needed and couldn't score from open play. We'll always have that goal against Everton though :')

25) Pau Lopez

Forgot we even signed this guy to be honest. I can't even remember if he made a single appearance for the first team. He was cheap (or even signed on a free?) though so he isn't in dead last. Yay.

24) Vlad Chiriches

The most terrified I've ever been watching a Tottenham CB. You never knew what he would do next whether it be lob it over an oncoming attacker's head or give away a PK in the 3rd minute of a game. Was never a stable part of the Tottenham back line.

23) Benjamin Stambouli

Nothing much to say about him. Never was quality enough and it was tough to understand the transfer at all.

22) Etienne Capoue

Another one in the similar vein to Stambouli, but Capoue did show good flashes here and there. Still doing a solid job for Watford so good on him.

21) Georges-Kevin N'Koudou

Similar to N'Jie in that he came from France as a pacey winger and never did much. He did jump like 5 spots in this final ranking though for that cross to beat Fulham this year. What a guy.

20) Kevin Wimmer

Was an absolute world beater that one season filling in for an injured Vertonghen, then never found form again. Strange career with Spurs and still hasn't been able to pick up form again at Stoke. While I was sad to see him go, I was mainly heartbroken that Son lost his best friend.

19) Michel Vorm

I guess you could call Michel Vorm a serviceable backup to Lloris? Never made any huge blunders from what I can remember, but a lack of game time and major positives put him far down the list.

18) Paulinho

Won't ever forget his inspired half against stoke before the dirty prick Charlie Adam put him out for a few months. More of a problem of AVB's brand of football than Paulinho's actual ability (as evident by him being pretty good for Barcelona of all teams), but he never seemed to show up for Tottenham.

17) Paulo Gazzaniga

Ok honestly, I made this list and I think he should be ranked higher. But, it's hard to justify with the very limited time he's had so far. He's been as good of a backup as you could hope for but there just isn't a large enough sample size to justify ranking him higher, especially with Lloris still being as good as he is. If this list is re-made in two years it's very possible Gazzaniga is ranked much higher.

16) Juan Foyth

Young but with lots of promise, Foyth is one to watch for the future for sure. Very prone to errors but is energetic and pretty skilled from what I've seen thus far.

15) Serge Aurier

Not quite the RB replacement we have all been clamoring for, but been good enough to be a solid rotation option with...

14) Kieran Trippier

Trippier just edges out Aurier in these rankings by virtue of being with Tottenham for longer. Neither are quite strong enough to be the first-team RB for Spurs (and I hope RB is something that's addressed this summer) but either is a fine choice.

13) Nacer Chadli

Again, partly a fault of AVB's system, but Chadli showed flashes of excellence while also being a consistently decent player. Never one to really be the star of the team, but had enough goals and assists to justify his price tag and was a solid staple of the squad for a few years.

12) Fernando Llorente

Yes he runs like a newborn giraffe but you can't deny that he has scored some CRUCIAL goals for Spurs this season. He was signed to come in and show experience and class when Kane can't play and he has done that as much as he could.

11) Ben Davies

People sometimes forget that there was a time when Ben Davies was regularly keeping Rose on the bench due to his consistency and defensive quality. Never quite as good as Rose at going forward but he has picked up the odd goal and assist here and there. I hope Davies stays with the team as long as he's happy to rotate with Rose.

10) Moussa Sissoko

Holy hell if this list was made even a year ago I think most people would have put Sissoko toward the very bottom. But dear god has he pulled through for us this year. What a player he is turning out to be.

9) Victor Wanyama

Injuries are unfortunately starting to take their toll on Wanyama and it seems like his time with Spurs is probably coming to an end this summer or next... but in his prime he was absolutely unplayable. Unbelievably strong off the ball, fantastic defensive work rate, and who could ever forget the rocket against Liverpool.

8) Lucas Moura

On his day, Lucas is absolutely immense. His pace, dribbling, and skill is untouchable if he hits form. His form is wildly inconsistent though. Against United and Huddersfield this year he was the best player on the pitch by a mile. He works hard and runs blindingly quick but does seem to have a tendency to go invisible at times. Also don't forget that when signed in January, did almost nothing that spring part of the season.

7) Eric Dier

Another player that seems to have fallen off a bit this year but Dier has been a very solid midfield option for us since Poch moved him from CB. Great player to add depth to the team and best friends with Dele on top of all of that.

6) Erik Lamela

Signed as a direct replacement to Gareth Bale, Lamela never reached even close to the highs that we were promised...... at first anyway. While I may be blinded by my giant bias for him, I don't think any other player works as hard off the bench as Lamela and he always injects a bit of creativity to the game. Most would probably rate him a bit lower but fuck it I love Erik.

5) Davinson Sanchez

Woo-hoo top 5. Sanchez is still so young, but is slowly starting to cement himself as a very solid option at the back. Whether it's filling in for Toby or Verts, or slotting into a back 3 with them he rarely puts a foot wrong and is going to be a CB of the future for Spurs.

4) Heung-Min Son

Honestly, any of these top 4 could have a case for #1. But Son gets the 4 spot here from me as early in his Spurs career he really wasn't living up to his hype. Obviously in the past two years he has been absolute quality though and as his time at Spurs continues he will only rise further up this list.

3) Dele Alli

Creative, clinical, and hilarious as well, Dele Alli is a player I hope to see at Spurs for his whole career. Changes the game when he is playing and is a positive influence on and off the pitch. Happy he has cut the shithousing out of his game a bit, and oh did I mention he only cost 5 mil and is better than Ozil?

2) Toby Alderweireld

Formed one of the best CB partnerships in the world with Jan Vertonghen by his side, helped turn the old WHL into a fortress the final season, plays diagonal balls to the wide forwards with pinpoint accuracy. Legend.

1) Christian Eriksen

The heartbeat of the team. Whether it's placing a cross perfectly onto Kane's head or Dele's boot, smashing two free-kicks in the same game, or scoring from 30 yards out in the final minutes, Eriksen is one of the best Spurs signings of the modern era. Please Levy, have him sign it.

There you have it! I almost definitely could have found something more constructive to do in my down time but I think this was a good call. Feel free to rip apart my decisions, I was going solely based on memory and researched almost nothing. COYS.

submitted by /u/fearthyfiori [link] [comments]

[theleaderdotinfo-blog]

Bjørn welcomes eight automatic qualifiers to Team Europe has been published at http://www.theleader.info/2018/09/02/bjorn-welcomes-eight-automatic-qualifiers-team-europe/

New Post has been published on http://www.theleader.info/2018/09/02/bjorn-welcomes-eight-automatic-qualifiers-team-europe/

Bjørn welcomes eight automatic qualifiers to Team Europe

Europe’s Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn welcomed the first eight members of the European Team to face the USA in Paris after his countryman, Thorbjørn Olesen, took the last available automatic spot at his home event, the Made in Denmark. Olesen was in direct competition with Matt Fitzpatrick and Eddie Pepperell for the last available automatic qualifying spot, but the English duo both had to win the event to stand a chance of leapfrogging Olesen on the World Points List. Olesen is the fourth and final player to make the team via the World List, joining Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Alex Noren; while Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood qualified from the European Points List. Bjørn said: “First of all I want to congratulate the eight players who have automatically qualified for The 2018 Ryder Cup Team. They have all played some incredible golf to make it, and every single one of them is a world class golfer who will represent Europe with pride and commitment. I am honoured and extremely proud to be their Captain.” Europe’s Captain will now turn his attention to completing his 12-man team on Wednesday when he announces his four Wild Card picks. That will be a tough task with so many talented players available, but it is a problem Bjørn would rather have than not. “It’s a great position to be in,” he agreed. “A lot of guys are playing well. We're in a situation where we're going to make some guys happy and we're going to let some guys down, but that’s the way it is and the way it has always been. But there is no doubt that myself and the Vice Captains will go with the decision we feel is right.” Bjørn’s eight qualifiers are naturally delighted to have made the team and are relishing the opportunity to reclaim the Ryder Cup in Paris in four weeks’ time. Molinari said: “It’s going to be a great honour to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup again. One of the many benefits of winning The Open was that I knew then that I was going to be in the team so it has been a very enjoyable qualification for me this year. I think all of the guys will say the same - I am excited to be part of Team Europe again and will do everything I can to help Thomas and the Team try to win back the Ryder Cup.” Rose said: “It’s always a long wait for the Ryder Cup and then all of a sudden you realise it’s upon us and a lot of our focus now will turn to doing everything we can for our Captain and Team to bring that trophy on European soil. It’s going to be a great Ryder Cup with two very good teams going head-to-head and it feels like it’s going to be a very close battle this year in Paris.” Tyrrell Hatton: “I’m glad that it’s finally here. I obviously managed to get a lot of my qualification points early on the process so it has been a long wait for me. So to be able to finally get there and get going will be a bit of a relief in some ways. My game is in good shape too so hopefully I can be there to help the Thomas and the Team whenever they need me.” Tommy Fleetwood: “I’m so happy, honoured and extremely proud to have qualified for the team. I absolutely believe it will be one of the best Ryder Cups ever with the quality of both teams being as high as they are. The atmosphere will be amazing at Le Golf National. Honestly can’t wait for this experience!” Rahm said: “I have to say that I am really excited to make my Ryder Cup debut for Team Europe. I have spoken to a lot of the guys about it and everyone tells me how amazing of an experience it will be.  Both Teams look to be very strong and hopefully we can come out on top.” McIlroy said: “You can definitely feel the Ryder Cup build-up, especially now that we have our eight qualifiers confirmed. I think we have the makings of a very strong Team and I know that Thomas and his Vice-Captains will think long and hard about the best four players to add to our group on Wednesday. I think Thomas is going to be a great captain. I chatted with him on the phone twice last week, just talking about a few things. He's keeping everyone in the loop.” Alex Noren: “I think we have a great team already and I am sure Thomas and the Vice-Captains will add even more strength to the Team next week. I’m looking forward to playing my first Ryder Cup – it is something I have thought about for a long time. I’m very happy that we are playing at Le Golf National too – having won around there this year I obviously can play well around there so hopefully I can help the Team win as many points as possible.” Olesen said: “Relief is my first emotion, that's for sure. It's been a tough week, a long week. A lot of things on my mind. It's been difficult but it's been great to learn that different kind of pressure. I think I handled it pretty well. There were a couple of things that could have been better, but it was a tough week and I feel pretty happy now. To make the team automatically probably makes it that little bit more special, but it's nice to place yourself in the team, and being inside that top eight will probably make me feel a little bit more comfortable when I get to The Ryder Cup. I'm happy and I'm very proud of myself, the way I've done things this summer and I've handled myself.”

[itsfurty]

Here we are in July. Hope everyone has been having a great half of the year and a good summer! Things are exciting in my end with a new job starting soon and will be having me moving halfway across the United States once again. As I prepare my move I figured I'd do another set of reviews. This one has less indie focus than previous entries but I think it'll be just fine. If you want to catch my last post just click here and hopefully my gibberish thoughts and opinions are of some interest. Also I changed these posts to be called Quick Thoughts since my posts aren't really in depth reviews. We'll see if I stick to it.Steamworld DigI’ve already played Steamworld Dig when it came out on the Wii U but I decided to pick it up for the Switch considering how much I enjoy the series and especially its sequel. Well I gotta say, the sequel is better in every single way after replaying this one but I do think the original is still worth your time. The basic premise is you dig. You dig for gems and power stones to upgrade your character so that you can dig faster and through tougher stones. There is a very simple plot with characters that have some personality but it isn’t much to be honest. The visuals are also just okay. To its credit the game was originally a 3ds game and then ported to other platforms. The style looks fine but it gets massively improved upon in future entries. Really the hook here the aspect of digging and gaining new skills as you unlock equipment in test rooms. You’ll unlock a double jump, power drill, and dynamite amongst other skills and items as you play. The test rooms are honestly some of my favorite parts of the game as it makes for some fun quick puzzles and platforming outside of the regular digging you will do. I should mention you will encounter some foes to bash with your pick axe but the combat is just all about holding “A” and dodging any attacks. You will also have to watch out for toxic water, spikes, and some other surprises the deeper in you go.The biggest thing holding the game back is the length and lack of replayability. You can easily clear this around 2 hours and that’s with doing all the test rooms you come across. There are some secret gears to collect in the rooms but it doesn’t add that much extra play time to go through and collect them. Honestly you can skip Steamworld Dig and just go into its sequel. But if you really want to play the game 10 dollars is a decent price but I’m sure during the holidays there will be a decent sale for a more reasonable price.Still it isn’t a bad game, it’s just too little of a game without its truly own identity since it plays so much like the old flash game Motherload. Now if only a sequel to Steamworld Heist would get announced!Price: $9.99 Time played: Less than 3 Hours Verdict: Wait for a sale Flint HookDamn. I really wanted to like Flint Hook but too many aspects just had me wondering why play it over the (personally) better roguelikes out there. I mean visually the game is outstanding. This is the same team behind Mercenary Kings so the pixel art and animations are top of the line. Its colorful, charming, and just fun to look at. The music is also outstanding. The main theme when the game starts up gets me pumped to do a run and has me forgetting all the reasons I didn’t enjoy this game but then I start playing it... The biggest hurdle I thin this game has is it should not have been a rogue like. The dig draw in this game is you have a grappling hook that can pop bubbles or grab onto certain locations to have you zip around really tiny levels. Already the bigger focus is on movement and platforming as you avoid cannons, lasers, spikes, spike balls, motion detection enemies, regular enemies, ghosts, fire, and so much more. This should have been a platformer with carefully crafted levels right from the beginning rather than what feels like an attempt to chase the indie roguelike genre.Just consider the actual content in the game. The way it works is you pick a boss bounty and and complete a few ships (levels) to get to the boss. During this time you will retread very similar rooms with no interesting abilities unlocked. Most are passive like more health, more gold, higher critical chance hits, or faster movement. Nothing that makes you excited to pick up and encourage multiple replays since these are minor passive change ups with no major adjustments to gameplay. The worst part is the obvious hook is the grappling hook but only 1 or 2 abilities you can find changes how it works. It’s like the devs made a really cool mechanic but didn’t know what to do with it. Also, the shooting and combat was clearly an after though as the majority of enemies stand still and do not move. Some don’t even attack and could just be replaced by targets that need shot. The ones that do shoot back have really basic attack patterns. The bigger challenge is moving around the screen with your hookshot and avoiding stage hazards. I honestly had way more fun traversing the maps in the game than fighting any enemy. That should have been the focus. Anyways, back to the content. The bosses you fight will always be the same no matter what. Attack patterns are the same and you will always fight the same boss when you reach the end of a run depending on the bounty. It makes runs feel like there are only 5 variants, one for each boss, as opposed to nearly limitless mix ups.The game contains a lot of collectibles in the form of lore and relics. Neither of which effects the abilities of the layer but rather add background to the game. I found these uninteresting as I do not find reading text on the screen about a watch exciting or a good way to provide purpose to a game’s universe. Relics at least offer XP to your character so that you can unlock new starting skills but again the skills are just not interesting that I did not care about this aspect. I know this mini review negative and disappointing but that is just how I felt when playing Flint Hook. It is a game with great visuals and charm but lacks in gameplay department. It isn't terrible but I think Gungeon, Isaac, Don't Starve, or a Robot Named Fight are way more interesting in what they offer. I really thought I was going to love Flint Hook but it just didn't mesh with me like I had hoped. Price: $14.99 Time played: 15 Hours Verdict: Wait for a sale Splatoon 2 with DLCSo Splatoon 2, it's good, really good. If you’re following Nintendo then you know this game is great. It has risen to being one f Nintendo’s big franchises. I mean this game has so much going for it. It is colorful, some great music, and such an interesting gameplay mechanic I can get my friends and family, that don’t play games, into a match and they’ll have a blast. While at the same time playing ranked can create an incredibly stressful few minutes. So obviously the multiplayer is excellent but single player wise can lease a bit to be desired. I love the hub world where you explore and select the next level to jump into. The traversal of the world by spraying ink is the best part. The enemies don’t really do much of anything in the base game that I’d rather for larger more interesting levels. Plus, the story is pretty simple and doesn’t offer that many exciting moments. Sure the boss fights are a highlight but there aren’t any character moments unlike the dlc, which i’ll get into. Overall with the base Splatoon 2 game the multiplayer is the main draw with the single player offering a decent one time though experience. Sure, you can replay levels with different weapons but nothing major changes that I wouldn't recommend it unless you are a huge fan of the single player.Splatoon 2’s DLC somewhat fixes a lot of the complaints I have with the base game. While it does not offer larger levels, instead smaller for focused challenges, this is still much better than the base game. These focused challenges (I think 80 or so?) levels are a lot of fun. Some will have you reaching a goal with no items, fighting waves of enemies, escorting a ball, shooting shapes out boxes, flying in a jet pack, and so much more. These are great bite sized missions that are vastly better than the single player missions. Sure, they aren’t large open levels to explore like I wish but they’re still great in their own way. The other big fun aspect of the dlc is how much character interaction there is. Pearl, Marina, and Cuttlefish, have a lot of dialogue between each other and they are swimming with personality. They’re a joy to read and watch as they interact with one another. Plus the ending sequence has an actual cutscene which adds a nice cinematic quality to the game. It makes me really excited with where Nintendo takes the single player.Splatoon 2 is a no brainer when it comes to the Switch. I didn't even get into Salmon Run which I have poured tons of hours into. This is easily my most played multiplayer game and maybe my most played game in general. Both the base game and DLC are well worth picking up. Price: $59.99 | DLC: $19.99 Time played: 140 Hours Verdict: Recommend Ys 8Ys 8 is the first game I played in this series and I gotta say I’m impressed. You play as Adol, the silent protagonist, who’s ship is mysteriously destroyed at the the beginning of the game. You wake up on a deserted island and have to reunite with other castaways to find a way off the island. I liked the aspect of finding survivors as they would be added to your base camp which would grow in size as you played. It has a nice sense of progress the more you play and the deeper you explore the island. Sometimes the base camp will come under attack and you will have to fight waves of monsters so be ready to have to travel back from time to time. The story and pacing however is pretty strange. It starts of with a nice hook of ending up on an island and a strange side plot about a mysterious girl who lives on the island. But by the halfway point the story kind of just disappears and you just gather survivors with the vague plot of “find a way off the island” is your only goal. There is no real antagonist throughout the game until the very end. This is where you are hit with heavy exposition and everything comes together and makes sense. It just would have been better if it was better spread out through the game rather just appearing at the very end.While Ys 8 might falter a bit around the plot department the gameplay is a high point. It is all real time and unlike most JRPGs you do not enter a battle arena upon fighting an enemy. You can attack as you please with no transitions and this makes combat fast. You attack with a single button to perform very simple combos but can perform a magic attack with on of the 4 face buttons. You’ll gain a lot in the game so there is a nice variety of moves you’ll perform. For example by the end my main moves for Adol were a vertical arching slash, magic tornado, a spinning air dash, and a long automated ground combo for heavy damage. There are tons more you unlock but that is just what I chose to use by the end. You can have up to 3 party members active at once and you’ll want to switch between them (this is done by pressing “Y”) to fight certain enemies as many are only weak to one type of attack which a party member will fall under (Air attack, smash, or slash). You’ll upgrade armor and weapons as you play but in order to change the visual appearance of characters you’ll need to trade for costumes ( as there is no currency in the game since you’re on an island) which I found disappointing. It did not feel like I had as much control over my character’s visual appearance which I really enjoy doing in these types of games. The last bit of gameplay is exploring the island which is somewhat metroidvania like. You’ll find new tools to let you get through swaps, climb vines, or double jump. Oh, and there is fishing which can be fun to get supplies.The soundtrack to Ys is solid albeit nothing amazing in my opinion. Only a few track really stood out and the rest sot of blended in with that jrpg electric guitar generic sound but nothing out right terrible. The only bad aspect of Ys is sometimes the frame rate and resolution can really dip. Grassy areas are hard on the eyes especially in handheld mode but it is still playable and there are varied environments that you can move to other parts of the game. Also, the translation is sloppy at times with some misspellings or forgetting words in sentences. It’s sloppy but I wasn’t too bothered, although for 60 dollars you’d expect a bit better. If you hate turn based jrpgs then this game might be what you’re looking for as long as you can deal with some anime tropes. There are a few in this game that had me cringe and feel mildly uncomfortable but overall not too bad. Definitely a fun game though and way better than I was expecting. I hope future entries release on the Switch.Price: $59.99 Time played: 40 hours Verdict: Recommend Wolfenstein 2Wolfenstein 2 is another technical marvel ported to the Switch thanks to the devs at Panic Button. Visually it is obviously going to be the weakest compared to the other platforms but it still is quite a game to look at. There were compromises to make it possible to run however. Frame rate is capped at 30 fps, textures can be blurry at times, motion blur is mandatory, and there is a subtle haze to limit the field of view. Still, the game has some great visuals considering the Switch’s limitations. In case you aren’t familiar with Wolfenstein 2 the premise is Nazis won WW2 and it’s time to start a revolution. You will kill a ton of Nazis and it is glorious. You’ll fight inside ruined American cities, Nazi airships, subs, secret bases and other locations. The story is really enjoyable with a great mix of absurdity but also a serious somber tone. There are only a moment or two I felt out of place but over all the game does a great job at setting up characters and moving the plot along. The game is not very long maybe about 10 hours but it’s a quality 10 hours.The weapons, while not as varied as I’d hope, control very well and provide excellent feedback and sound as you dual wield shotguns blasting Nazis to bits. Running and gunning is not the only thing you’ll do as there is some simple stealth in the game. In many situations you can sneak around with a hatchet and knives so you can eliminate Nazis without any hearing a sound. If spotted it just means reinforcements are called in on your area. Now when the game originally released I heard it was deemed to hard and maybe it was changed for the Switch but I’d say normal and hard are perfectly enjoyable experiences. Hard mode will have you hiding behind cover a bit more but it never reached a point where I was frustrated. Gyro aiming is also in the game which is great for fine tuning shots when aiming down sights. I do wish the game had more varied enemy types similar to how Doom does as encounters can sometimes feel too samey at times.In terms of extra content there are extra missions you can play that take place in levels you have already beaten. These are harder than the first time you play these and task you with eliminating a high ranking Nazi in the area. I have not beaten them all but from what I’ve played you have no checkpoints and need to beat it without dying. I wish there was a more arcadey mode in its place where you can just run around killing waves of Nazis as the game feels great and I’d rather just be able to jump in to play rather than having to select one of thee bonus levels but that’s a personal preference. Even with that small complaint Wolfenstein 2 is an excellent game and definitely should be played. If you only own a Switch I fully recommend it. If you have a PC, Xbox, or PlayStation pick it up there as it is cheaper and has better performance. But either way, play this game and enjoyable the world. Also, don’t forget to kill as many Nazis as you can.Price: $59.99 Time played: 10 hours Verdict: Recommend That finishes this set of games. Next time I do one of these I'll be in a new state so I don't know when I'll actually get around to it. I don't think it'll be too long but I'm not sure how many people will actually be missing me haha. Either way, take care and enjoy the rest of the summer months! via /r/NintendoSwitch

[gillsdebate-blog]

OPINIONS: The 3 Departures

It’s been a busy time at Priestfield this summer. Many players have already arrived and put pen to paper on deals at the club but no Gills fan will have missed out on the fact that Billy Knott (to Lincoln), Cody McDonald (to AFC Wimbledon) and Bradley Dack (to Blackburn) have all left the club. We spoke to @DaveGfcMILLER, @Naylor94, @gfcpemble and @TheGatorGood for their thoughts on these 3 high profile departures.

Two high profile departures from the club 

Billy Knott

@DaveGfcMILLER - Knott had a good second half of the season at Lincoln where they got promoted back into the Football League, however it was a very big contrast to the first half of his season with Gills. He struggled for fitness and failed to consolidate his place into the starting eleven under Edinburgh. Then Pennock came in and shipped him out on loan to Lincoln without really giving him a chance, which is why I’m not shocked that Pennock was fast to move him on this summer. It is just a shame that Knott was never really given a fair chance because he was signed to be Dack’s replacement and was one of Bradford’s main men the season previous. So it is rather confusing as to why we let him go on the same day Dack was sold without really giving him a fair chance at the club but it does seem like Pennock is trying to undo pretty much everything Edinburgh did last season and evidently getting rid of Knott was a key factor for him.

@Naylor94 -  Disappointed that Pennock didn't give him a chance. He wasn't really played in a system that worked to his style of play last season under Justin Edinburgh so it feels very much like we're missing out on what could have been. It was obvious that he was brought in to play Bradley Dack's role but with Dacky staying last season, it frustrated Billy to playing a deeper role which didn't suit him. Wish him all the best at Lincoln and just wished Pennock had given him more of a chance.

Letting Billy Knott go, a missed opportunity? 

@gfcpemble - Reasonably hard to have an opinion on this one. Was excited when he signed but was never really given a chance and it does make you wonder whether than was (two) managers faults or his own. Would assume he was one of our highest paid players and so going back to Lincoln would seem to make sense for all parties. 

@TheGatorGood - Billy Knott clearly didn’t get much of a decent shake at playing the position he would have excelled at the Gills. Having said that, on the occasions I saw him start, I also don’t believe he did enough with his opportunities to be played ahead of the likes of Dack or Wright. I probably talked about him as much as any player in the early part of the season – I was excited by his signing and I know I lost count of the number of times I defended his potential, but I don’t think we ever came close to seeing it fulfilled. The irony of his departure now isn’t lost on me either – when Bradley Dack left, Billy would have arguably been our most natural fit to replace him but the timing wasn’t to be. I’ll always be left wondering and will follow his progress at Lincoln carefully. I think he’ll do well there.

@TheGatorGood reckons Knotty will have a good time in the red and white of Lincoln City next season. 

Bradley Dack

@DaveGfcMILLER - With Dack going into the final year of his contract it was important that we cashed in on him this summer and the deal we did get out of him was a very good deal. In comparison to last year where we got offered around £2,000,000, £750,000 doesn’t look that lucrative for the club. After the poor season Dack did have where he failed to really establish any similar form like he did in the 2015/16 season, I was expecting the club to get £500,000 maximum. So for Scally to get that sort of money up front with add ons is brilliant transfer business. Although it was announced a week or so ago that he would spend little of the money made on the transfer is a shame I don’t think many fans can argue it was a great deal for the club. I do agree with the fans who are angered by this announcement as it is obviously frustrating to see your three best players leave and the club effectively state they won’t be replacing them. Again I wish Bradley all the best as he was a great servant for the club and that 2015-16 season will live long in the memory for a lot of supporters including myself and I hope he kicks on with Blackburn over the next few years. 

@Naylor94 -  Probably should have happened 12 months ago but he's finally got his move and I'm glad for him. He's been our best player since the Gang of Four moved him to the Number 10 role in January 2015 and he thoroughly deserves to be playing at a bigger club with the potential of playing a lot higher. Of course I am disappointed he has finally left as you always knew with Bradley Dack on your team, you might just get that one moment of magic to change the game. Last season, however, wasn't his best and you could see he was getting more and more frustrated in playing in a poor team so lets hope he goes onto better things. With regards to the price, I'm reasonably happy with £750,000 seeming as he only had a year left but as I said, he should have left 12 months ago. All the best Dacky and thank you for your thrilling performances each game.

@gfcpemble - One of the inevitabilities of being a lower end of the table league 1 club is that any outstanding players you have do eventually leave and Dack has been genuinely outstanding throughout the last 3 seasons. Yes, he was slightly less good last season as we consistently rushed him back from injury but no one gave more than he did and on his day he still looked like the best player in the league. I actually think he could have gone higher and am a bit disappointed that he didn’t but £750k is a lot of money for us, he should be playing in the championship next year and Blackburn have got a top quality player so probably a good deal for all parties. Again, I hope we re invest the money on someone creative. I’m not holding my breath. 

Blackburn are a big club at this level, but James reckons Dacky could have been plying his trade in the Championship this season. 

@TheGatorGood - As a resident of Blackburn myself, I’m all sorts of discombobulated by Dack’s move this week. I’ve taken countless questions about Bradley from my friends and work colleagues (mostly loyal Rovers fans who usually only talk about my Gills infatuation to mock me!) and I’ve been blunt with them all – I think he’ll become a fan favourite and a star here at Ewood in short time, just as he was at the Gills. The boost to Rovers’ promotion challenge is clearly a huge, huge loss for the Gills. Like Cody, I absolutely don’t begrudge him one bit – in fact, I’d love to get him into my work place to come and meet some of the children who will be singing his name in the future – but the loss to the Gills’ potential creativity this year is huge. Dack’s departure reminds me a lot of how I felt when Matt Jarvis left – Dacky is clearly destined for bigger things. The now club desperately needs someone like Darren Oldaker to bust out of his shadow and see if he can earn that spot if there are no pennies to directly acquire a replacement. A massive ask, I know, but it wasn’t that long ago that Bradley was in the same position…

The departure of Bradley Dack, left @TheGatorGood feeling like he did when this man left. 

Cody McDonald:

@DaveGfcMILLER - This is probably the one departure that’s going to hurt the majority of fans the most, Cody is a modern day legend with this football club and it is going to be hard to replace him and his almost guaranteed 15 goals a season. I wish him all the best and I do hope he recreates the same form he did for Gills at Wimbledon. It appears he has signed for Wimbledon on a two year contract which offers him security and at this stage of any player in the lower leagues career the length of a contract is always a major factor as well as wages. Obviously we don’t know the details and specifics of what the club offered Cody with there being some very contrasting rumours, but Cody’s decision must be respected and I wish him the best at Wimbledon and his future endeavors. 

Cody McDonald - A modern day legend in Dave’s opinion

@Naylor94 -  Controversially the most upsetting departure in my eyes. 81 goals in 223 games. 9th on the all time goalscorers list and only 4 players have ever had a better goal to game ratio, those being Brian Yeo, Brian Gibbs, Tony Cascarino and Steve Lovell. In a time when fewer and fewer players remain loyal to clubs anymore, I can honestly say I'm truly gutted that Cody has left and I'm not convinced we will see a player score as many goals in a Gills shirt ever again. Some people may say he was past it but to score 12 goals last season in a team that created hardly any chances and played to a system that didn't suit Cody at all, I think is a great achievement and I am absolutely devastated that the club didn't do more to keep Cody. Thank you for the memories Cody and all the best at a more ambitious club, you deserve it pal.

Will we ever again see someone score as many goals at the Gills as this man?

@gfcpemble - Lots has been written about this and I find it hard to separate the emotional (I love him) and practical (does he justify the money he’s on?) arguments. What I do know is last season he still looked like our most dangerous striker, he’s got a deal at a league 1 club who comfortably out performed us last season and we don’t seem to have signed anyone approaching his quality. My hope is that his wages have freed up money to bring in a young, hungry goal scorer in which case letting him go will be understandable. However I worry that this won’t be the case…

@TheGatorGood - Count me in the ‘very disappointed’ category with regards to Cody’s departure. At times last year, when I looked at the threadbare quality in our starting eleven, I felt like we’d have a chance in any close game as long as he and Dack were on the pitch. I certainly don’t hold any grudges for him leaving but I’ll admit I feel worried at the dearth of a ‘fox in the box’, natural goal scoring-type left in the current squad. Cody’s tireless work rate always impressed me as much as his finishing did – perhaps that graft can be replaced with good commitment and coaching, but those goal scoring instincts will be missed. I hope he gets a good reception when he returns to Priestfield this year – I wouldn’t put it past him to bang in a hat-trick to make us see what we let slip by!

[anfieldcentral]

Summer Shortlist | 

Welcome to the first part of my ‘Summer Shortlist’ series. I don’t know how many posts I’m going to be doing on this topic - it’ll likely depend on the upcoming matches results - but I’m sure there’ll be a couple. I’m going to start on this post with the deadwood at Liverpool Football Club and the players who while they don’t fall under that bracket, just cannot be starting each and every game next season. 

Simon Mignolet | 

If any player was to be labelled the epitome of Liverpool’s backline in recent years, Mignolet takes the cake and then some. The Belgian enjoyed a mini-resurgence over December and early January, making a number of important saves in games against Chelsea, Sunderland and Manchester United but sadly, this has just been part of his Jekyll and Hyde persona. He’s far from a poor goalkeeper but overall, his game is not good enough to play for a club with Champions League ambitions. 

Spurs have Lloris, Chelsea have Courtois, United have De Gea and Arsenal have Cech. All four are capable of winning their teams 9-12 points a season through big saves, confidence and displaying an incredible command over their back four. Mignolet would be a more than capable deputy to a top class keeper but with Jurgen Klopp likely to persist with Loris Karius for at least another season then Liverpool just cannot afford to keep him around. 

Lucas Leiva, James Milner, Dejan Lovren | 

Only one of these should leave the club in the Summer but all 3 must be removed from starting line ups. I’ll start with Lucas. A loyal, dedicated and long time servant of the club sure but his powers have waned horrifically in recent years as injuries have ruined his legs. Just go back and watch the second goal Liverpool conceded against Hull to see my point. His experience and devotion are qualities that money just cannot buy but unfortunately, they’re just not enough to make him valuable to this squad any longer. 

Now onto Lovren and Milner. Both enjoyed a solid start to this season with Lovren looking much better than the shaky, nervous character he was when he first arrived. Quickly however, things have changed. The Croatian’s erratic nature has shone through on a far more consistent basis in the last 6 weeks while his left back - who he is often played next to - has looked tired, worn down and over it. Milner was a revelation to start the season, looking solid, banging in penalties and bringing extra experience to the backline but he’s not a left back. The Reds need a Jonas Hector or a Ricardo Rodriguez who can provide consistent performances both getting forward and on the back foot. 

Both Lovren and Milner would make invaluable squad players who can more than do a job when called upon from the bench but next season, I fully expect to see a new left hand side of our defence. 

Emre Can? |

This depends solely on which midfielders Klopp potentially targets in the Summer and the current contract issue. My understanding is that Can is seen to be demanding far too much from the club with both Klopp and FSG unwilling to sanction a deal that would put him among the club’s top earners. Rightly so to be honest. The German has been nothing short of poor for much of this season, putting in only a handful of impressive shifts and seeing his development stall drastically. It’s honestly been an incredible fall from grace considering his showings in last season’s Europa League that had people calling for him to be made captain as he was the ‘next Stevie G!’ If the Reds can’t work out a deal that suits both parties while also lining a decent replacement up for him, then it’s probably time to bunk him on. 

Daniel Sturridge |

It’s a tough one with Sturridge and he’s still, on his day, one of the best strikers in the Premier League. However, his days seem to be few and far between at the moment and Liverpool cannot afford to have him digging so deep into their wage bill and providing little in the way of positive contributions. The Reds need a 20 goal a season striker who has the capability to press, contribute to the team work ethic and provide a pacy, deadly outlet up top when the counter attack is on. Sturridge sadly provides us with none of those and for the right price, he should most certainly be moved on. 

Kevin Stewart, Connor Randall |

Deadwood and nothing more in my eyes. Kevin Stewart is older than Emre Can yet offers very little if nothing at all to the Reds ‘B-Team’ line up while Connor Randall is not a Premier League grade footballer and judging by the showings I’ve seen from him in his short career so far, never will be. If the likes of Jordon Ibe and Brad Smith can be seen as dispensable then so to do these two need to be. 

If Jurgen Klopp opts to sell the aforementioned players - Mignolet (12), Sturridge (20), Lucas (5?), Can (15), Randall (3) and Stewart (10?) - he’d likely command a total of roughly 55-60 million pounds. Add in the likelihood that current loanees Mamadou Sakho Lazar Markovic will go permanently and you have a potential addition to our manager’s Summer budget of near enough 80-90 million pounds. Klopp needs to spend every last penny and do it wisely. The Reds need quality, depth and most importantly, players who Klopp can trust to make a difference from the bench. 

Stay tuned as I’ll be doing a part 2 soon to update you on who I personally would be looking at if I was our manager! I’m no professional football scout - nor do I claim to be - but I like to think I know a good player when I see one. 

[junker-town]

2017 NHL mock draft: What if Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier fall?

Nothing is certain about this draft, including the top two picks.

The overriding theme of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft is uncertainty.

The last few drafts have spoiled us. No doubt many fans feel each NHL draft offers someone like Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Aaron Ekblad or Connor McDavid at the top of the pile.

You can’t really blame that sentiment, but it’s not accurate. Especially this year. The first round of this draft is full of quality players, yes, but none are sure-fire best overall players. While Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick have risen to the top of everyone’s draft boards, there’s been enough questions about both over the last year that it’s worth wondering what might happen if neither go first overall.

Patrick has endured an injury-plagued draft season that dampened hype over a guy most expected to be the obvious No. 1 choice. Hischier rose out of relative first round obscurity to the top of everyone’s boards with a terrific season. Heck, Timothy Liljegren dropped from the consensus best defenseman to a mid-first round pick in most mocks after illnesses kept him out of Rogle’s lineup for stretches.

Who knows what might happen? Certainly not us, so let’s imagine a world where the “Consensus Top Two” don’t go in the top two.

1. New Jersey Devils — Gabriel Vilardi, C, Windsor (OHL)

Photo by Dennis Pajot/Getty Images

I honestly think Vilardi’s draft stock has risen to the point that this scenario isn’t ridiculous. That’s thanks to Windsor winning the Memorial Cup, with Vilardi making the Memorial Cup All-Star Team after racking up seven points in four Memorial Cup games. Vilardi was a 1.19 points per game player this year between the regular season and playoffs and impressed many with his ability to protect the puck and make plays below the circles. His patience, vision and intelligence are top-notch and would give the Devils a sure-fire top-six playmaker for years.

2. Philadelphia Flyers — Casey Mittelstadt, C, Eden Prairie (HS)

I realize asking the Flyers to pass on Hischier and Patrick at #2 is past the point of believability, but them’s the rules. Philly has drafted very well on defense and goaltending lately but lack playmaking forwards. Owen Tippett might be a fit here, but if the Flyers somehow pass on Patrick or Hischier it means they think there’s a better player at those two positions. And the only other contender here is Mittelstadt, a high-octane playmaker committed to the University of Minnesota next year.

3. Dallas Stars — Nolan Patrick, C, Brandon (WHL)

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Nolan Patrick 2017 scouting report | SB Nation NHL Draft Match

Nolan Patrick will be a top two pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and it's time you get to know him.

Posted by SB Nation NHL on Monday, May 15, 2017

Patrick wouldn’t fall past this spot. Dallas would snap up the draft’s best all-around forward in the draft in a heartbeat. Often compared to Jonathan Toews or Anze Kopitar, Patrick’s hockey I.Q., mobility and excellent playmaking skills make him a terrific two-way center capable of making a big difference in whatever role he’s asked to play.

4. Colorado Avalanche — Nico Hischier, C, Halifax (QMJHL)

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Nico Hischier 2017 NHL Draft scouting report | SB Nation NHL D...

Nico Hischier has dazzling offensive talents. Will he be a Flyer or a Devil?

Posted by SB Nation NHL on Monday, May 15, 2017

You’re welcome, Avalanche fans. The worst NHL team in about five years didn’t win the draft lottery but somehow gets a top-two player anyway in this scenario. Matt Duchene is probably on his way out this summer via trade, opening up a top-six role for Hischier down the road. He’s quick, he’s elusive as hell and owns superior playmaking skills. This is as far as he would fall.

5. Vancouver Canucks — Miro Heiskanen, HIFK (Finnish Liiga)

Worst possible scenario for Vancouver, who’d love to snap up one of the top four centers with this pick. Instead, Heiskanen falls to them. Not a bad prize at all; Heiskanen is a smooth skater and one of the better puck distributors from the back-end. The best news is that his 6’0 frame isn’t a problem for him. Heiskanen has an active stick and uses positioning instead of physicality to clean up things in his own end.

6. Vegas Golden Knights — Owen Tippett, RW, Mississauga (OHL)

Vegas will need guys who can score, and Tippett might own the best shot in the draft. He’s drawn comparisons to Phil Kessel for his scoring ability, speed and power play proficiency, which led him to 44 goals in 60 games this year.

7. Arizona Coyotes — Cale Makar, D, Brooks (AJHL)

Makar might be the highest riser in the draft this year after an eye-popping 24-goal, 75-point season in one of Canada’s tier-two junior leagues. He’ll face stiffer competition with UMass-Amherst next season, but for now the 5’11 defenseman will make for a fine prize for a Coyotes team stacked with talented forwards to receive his passes.

8. Buffalo Sabres — Cody Glass, C, Portland (WHL)

Another riser. Glass is one of the better two-way forwards in the class who developed into a true scoring threat this season. His 32-goal, 94-point season was pleasantly surprising and indicates a kind of NHL versatility few young forwards possess. Buffalo already has an elite player like that in Ryan O’Reilly, and Glass would be another welcome addition.

9. Detroit Red Wings — Martin Necas, C/W, Brno (Czech)

As Detroit rebuilds, they can hang their hat on one of the more flashy pivots in the draft. Necas lacks size (he’s 6’0) and needs to work on his defensive responsibility but is a threat in the offensive zone and knows how to deceive goalies with his shots. A top-six, playmaking forward Detroit can build around.

10. Florida Panthers — Eeli Tolvanen, LW, Sioux City (USHL)

Jaromir Jagr and Jussi Jokinen are nearing retirement, and the Panthers will need scoring replacements on the wing. Tolvanen fills that need with a bomb of a shot and scoring instincts you can’t teach. However, Tolvanen is small and lacks top-end speed, which may make it difficult for those talents to translate to the NHL game.

11. Los Angeles Kings — Michael Rasmussen, C, Tri-City (WHL)

The front-office shake-up indicates some sort of change in philosophy, but Rasmussen is skilled enough to still fit into those plans. He’s also the prototypical Kings forward: a 6’6 center with excellent net-front skills and a good shot. Rasmussen isn’t overly physical yet, but that can be coaxed as he fills out his frame.

12. Carolina Hurricanes — Elias Pettersson, C, Timra (Sweden)

A playmaking center in the truest sense of the term, Pettersson owns a nice mix of speed, vision and passing ability that makes him an offensive threat. He also has shown some tenacity in board-play and forechecking, indicating he might become a better all-around player than he seems to be now. Carolina could use a center like him.

13. Winnipeg Jets — Juuso Valimaki, D, Tri-City (WHL)

Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images

I really like Valimaki. His transition to the North American game was as smooth as you’d want from a young player. Valimaki’s two-way game shined, racking up 42 assists in 60 games. But his ability to back-track and shut down advances the other way is equally impressive; of all the defensemen in this draft, I think Valimaki might crack an NHL lineup the quickest.

14. Tampa Bay Lightning — Erik Brannstrom, HV71 (Sweden)

Another small (5’10), puck-moving defenseman, eh? And another fast-riser: Brannstrom has the makings of a power-play quarterback at the NHL level. The key with any player of this type is his intelligence at both ends, and Brannstrom already demonstrates that. Tampa Bay adds a defenseman capable of giving their talented forwards the puck.

15. New York Islanders — Klim Kostin, LW/RW, Dynamo Moscow (KHL)

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: a big Russian winger with a high skillset going in the top 15 picks. Usually this is where the Stars draft Valeri Nichushkin and Denis Gurianov.

Kostin plays along those same lines, but with a better shot and willingness to shoot than Nichushkin and an encouraging attention to detail in his own end. A shoulder injury cut his season short, and any KHL forward will draw some wariness, but there’s plenty to like about Kostin’s potential.

16. Calgary Flames — Nicolas Hague, D, Mississauga (OHL)

A 6’6 defenseman who can distrubute the puck with aplomb is a rare thing, but Hague qualifies. He may not use his body as a weapon enough, but a player with his vision, reach and frame can be taught to separate opponents from the puck. His skating is pretty meh, but with patience Hague could become a quality top-four defender in Calgary.

17. Toronto Maple Leafs — Callan Foote, D, Kelowna (WHL)

Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images

Really can’t see the Leafs taking anyone other than a defenseman in this first round considering the kind of forward talent they’ve accumulated lately. With Hague gone, Foote is the next best thing. Despite flashes of two-way play, it’s more likely the son of Adam Foote follows those footsteps as a defensive defenseman at the NHL level.

18. Boston Bruins — Lias Andersson, C, HV71 (Sweden)

Andersson is everything you think of when it comes to Bruins hockey: an intelligent center with a high work ethic and compete level despite a slight 5’11 frame. Andersson possesses the skills to become an offensive weapon and the tenacity to work the penalty kill.

19. San Jose Sharks — Kristian Vesalainen, RW, Frolunda (Sweden)

This Finnish winger fell in draft rankings after a slower year, but the offensive skills are still there. The 6’4 winger is a power forward in the making, with a strong drive to the net and a well-developing defensive game.

20. St. Louis Blues — Nick Suzuki, C, Owen Sound (OHL)

Even if Suzuki doesn’t end up as a pivot in the NHL, he projects as an impactful, all-situations forward. A feared penalty killer for years in the OHL, Suzuki’s offensive game blossomed this season into one of the league’s top scorers. Few draft players compete as well and as hard as him.

21. New York Rangers — Timothy Liljegren, D, Rogle (Sweden)

One considered a top-five pick, a couple of factors have hurt Liljegren this year. First, an illness hurt his playing time. Second, he didn’t improve from season-to-season like other players in the draft. And now he looks more like a boom-or-bust offensive defenseman; a player worth taking as long as you understand the risk-taking style he might never shake. Obviously worth a swing for the Rangers, though, who lack that kind of blueliner.

22. Edmonton Oilers — Kailer Yamamoto, RW, Spokane (WHL)

Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images

This would be so fun to watch. Yamamoto is a 5’8 player and a lock for the first round because his offensive senses and skills are so superior to so many other forwards in this class. He knows how to use his speed and awareness to evade physical opponents. If he can translate that to the NHL, he and Connor McDavid could become must-watch duo.

23. Arizona Coyotes (from Minnesota Wild) — Isaac Ratcliffe, LW, Guelph (OHL)

If you have a system full of skilled forwards, what do you add to balance it out? A humongous-big winger with offensive instincts. Ratcliffe, 6’6, is a force all over the ice, willing to run over anyone in his way to get to the puck. Arizona would have Clayton Keller and Cale Makar to man the boards and point on the power play and Ratcliffe to terrorize defenders in front of the net.

24. Columbus Blue Jackets — Ryan Poehling, C, St. Cloud (NCAA)

A big, two-way center in the mold of Brandon Dubinsky or even Pierre-Luc Dubois, who the Jackets drafted third overall last year. He lacks the top-end scoring talent of Dubois, though, and would fill a more secondary role in the top nine.

25. Montreal Canadiens — Nikita Popugaev, LW, Moose Jaw (WHL)

Popugaev is a massive winger who uses his 6’5 frame to aid his scoring ability as much as remove others from the puck. The knock on him is that he’s a one-trick pony: he waits for the puck and then drives straight to the net and shoots. Can you get him to commit to a 200-foot game and use his strength more? Montreal would like to find out.

26. Chicago Blackhawks — Connor Timmins, D, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

If I’m Chicago, I draft a defenseman. Any defenseman who falls here. Timmins hasn’t fallen as much as he’s risen after a 61-point season that highlighted his impressive puck-moving abilities.

27. St. Louis Blues (from Washington Capitals) — Henri Jokiharju, D, Portland (WHL)

Would the Blues take a defenseman with more flash than defensive substance at this point? I’d like to see them try it out. Much like many of his first round counterparts, Jokiharju is a puck rush-first defender who likes to take the puck and cut into the offensive zone. Think Trevor Daley in his heyday with the Stars: a quick defenseman who may not generate points but drags the play into the offensive zone very well.

28. Ottawa Senators — Jake Oettinger, G, Boston College (NCAA)

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

And the run on goalies begins with a team that has no future goalies to speak of. Oettinger might be the best ‘tender in a quality crop this year, a 6’4 goalie with size and impressive mobility and instincts. He had a fantastic freshman year with the Eagles.

29. Dallas Stars (from Anaheim Ducks) — Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G, HPK (Finland)

Luukkonen is another 6’4 goalie with good agility and starting potential. Like most Finnish netminders, he possesses a calm focus in his crease at a young age. Dallas fans will rejoice at getting a good quality netminder they can look forward to.

30. Pittsburgh Penguins — Urho Vaakanainen, D, Espoo (Finland)

Vaakanainen isn’t flashy at all, but have you seen the defensemen the Penguins have rolled out this postseason? They’ll take safe and sound any day.

31. Nashville Predators — Shane Bowers, C, Waterloo (USHL)

A two-way center with tons of skill and upside. Fills a massive need for the Predators, who might lose Mike Fisher this summer to retirement and don’t have any great center prospects in the wings.