Soda Jerk

SOUL GLO https://soulglophl.bandcamp.com/album/tour-tape-2k18-for-the-homie Annoyingly this is only 3 tracks, but it's so great. Their older stuff isn't quite as frantic and tight as this, though still pretty good.

Czarface and MF DOOM did a thing. It sounds exactly as you think it would sound. Good. https://youtu.be/pFciweAYwR0

Whatever. I didn't want it to come home anyway.

I hadn't heard the new Vein album, but I'm sure I have a couple of EPs by them. I vaguely remember them being good but not great. A quick listen to the album, it definitely sounds better. A lot more going on.

Blimey. This is a riot. I'd also not heard Frontierer, and they're grand too. Twofer!

Hi lyrics being supposedly tongue in cheek doesn't give shit rhymes a pass though. He uses a lot of shit rhymes. A lot. There are plenty of rappers that are humorous and over-exaggerated without being shit. Hip-hop is all about the words, and when they're terrible, I can't listen to it. I can listen to the majority of his first three LPs. After that he became a bit of a joke, whether he means to be a joke or not.

Looks like this has started happening on a fairly small scale after the Sweden result. People jumping on cars. I think some even jumped on the roof of an ambulance, and climbing up buses and jumping off. Because football. There's definitely going to be some deaths if England win the whole thing.

What the hell is this, and why do I like it? IT MAKES NO SENSE.

He was better in the 2nd half, to be fair. Those two one on ones he fluffed (though he ended up being offside for one anyway, though it was a late flag) were both horrendous though, despite that excellent first touch on one of them. He made the Swedes chase him a bit, but he never seemed to really threaten even when he got them in good positions. The BBC guys touched on it pre-game, how he gets the ball in good positions and has space to run at, but he continually turns back and goes sideways, and how he plays on the shoulder but when a team mate has the ball between the lines, Sterling doesn't make that run. He did it again today, numerous times. What's the point in being on the shoulder if you're than just gonna drop back? I'm not Rashford's biggest fan but I think he'd have stretched that defence too and been more direct at the same time. Southgate just doesn't seem to want to use him, and has even brought a 50% fit Vardy on before Rashford in that Colombia game.

Sterling is garbage.

BBC have also shown highlights of finals from Italy '90, France '98, South Africa '10, Brazil '14 during coverage. Have you seen some of the other shite they've filled the BBC half time analysis with because they don't have advert breaks? They showed a segment where Alex Scott and Matty Upson made soup, and then Philip Neville decided which one he liked best (he spat Alex Scott's soup out FWIW). In comparison, actual football highlights are somewhat relevant, and they've been fairly consistent with showing final highlights.

If you're speaking simply about English pundits wanting England to win, then that hasn't particularly dissipated, but it's not anywhere near as demanding as it was, nor is there the unwarranted belief that England even deserve to win, when there was once a belief that England should be winning tournaments. There's much less of the Billy Big Bollocks air of superiority we once had, which was massively unjustified. Bias is rife in club football punditry (you ever seen McManaman or Souness talk during a Liverpool game or Ferdinand or Scholes during a United game? It's like watching Fanzone) and there will always be allegiances. I think it's unreasonable to expect otherwise. But even during Euro 2014, English pundits were very much behind Wales (except when they played England, where it was genuinely a lot more balanced). I even remember watching Scotland at France 98 (the most recent example I can give, because Scotland are a bit shit at the whole qualifying thing) and the English pundits in the studio were right behind Scotland to beat Brazil in that opening game. I watched that game at my mates house and the pub across the road from him was showing it on a projector in the beer garden, and the place (occupied by 99.9% brazen Yorkshiremen) went mad when Scotland scored that penalty. The presentation of international tournaments would seem more balanced if more home nations qualified, as I'm sure the pundits would rally behind them all, as they have done previously and often do during qualifiers/playoffs etc. Expecting them to tone it down just because other home nations didn't qualify is a little embittered. And the whole "they always hark back to 66" is as big of a myth as "Andy Murray is British when he wins and Scottish when he loses".

Clive Tyldsley can certainly get wrapped up in it. He always seems desperate for his next "Can they score? They always score" soundbite that will be repeated forever, and some of the stuff he says is just cheeseball nonsense as a result. If England win it and you're watching ITV coverage, you might want to switch over as soon as the final whistle goes. He might be the most over-egged human being on earth. I haven't found anything else to be particularly grating this time around though. The punditry is bad because the ex-pros tend to know very little about anything, and have been routinely put to shame by Alex Scott and Eni Aluko. (Phil Neville repeated almost word for word what Alex Scott said about Colombia's opening game, like that famous Fast Show sketch about being locked out of the car) From my perspective, it's not been bad because they're being particularly overbearing. They're just bad. In previous tournaments, up until 2010 anyway, there was ridiculous expectation for England's "golden generation" (lol) to win it from all corners of the media, to the point that it was just hideous to read or watch. This time around, it's a young team, young manager, all relatively unproven, there's zero expectation, if England get done by Sweden, that'll be that. There certainly won't be burning effigies of Jordan Henderson hanging from a noose like Beckham had to face, or every tabloid's collectively boiled piss being metaphorically hurled at the team as they arrive home. However, I think it's quite fair that if England win the World Cup, the English are going to be pretty chuffed about it, to the extent of a bit more than just a whispered "get in there" and a discreet fist pump by the water cooler on Monday morning. Name a country that would act any different.

MEAT SHIELD https://meatshield.bandcamp.com/album/gouge-the-eyes-ep Found this EP whilst tag-surfing on Bandcamp. Is good.

Oh dang. Didn't spot that. Now I'm the dweeb.

That is some excellent Bot Conversation Sniffing. They've got a 7 page thread over there, and no one seems to be talking about how it's definitely a bot. Bunch of dweebs.

Coldplay would seem remarkably strange to the boy at school if all he listened to was perhaps David Gray and the Lighthouse Family.

Yeah, I assumed it was. It's a little clever, but I still don't like it. Maybe if someone more likeable did it. But I already didn't like Lingard's pratting about before he started doing it, so he can't overcome my irrational dislike of his personality, that dancing goober. I'd be surprised if he doesn't already have JL merch. Actually, a quick look suggests its on its way, and he's supposedly already filed for a trademark.

TL:DR

Surprised you mentioned Vardy. He was taken on merit over the course of the last few seasons, but I don't think Vardy suits this England team or the way they play, I'd certainly not have him as one of England's better players. Maybe that will change when they play better teams and have to sit back a bit more, but Vardy is a pure counter-attack centre forward. He can't hold the ball up and his positioning in the box isn't great. A ball through/over a high line, and Vardy is the man you'd want on the end of it over any other striker around. I can't see England being in that position often though or him being utilised in a way that gets the best out of him. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see it. He'd have to be a completely different player. I don't agree with Stones either. Great with the ball at his feet, bags of technique, but as an out and out defender, he's not great. Stones is arguably the reason England are playing 3 at the back, Stones in a 2 would be suicide, but he's integral to the way Southgate wants this team to play, but that might come undone against better opposition. You mentioned Loftus Cheek earlier too, and he too is the epitome of the brutish English centre midfielder if there ever was one. Power and speed over actual talent. Last night it looked like couldn't trap a bag of cement. He runs a lot, which makes him appear threatening, but what is he actually good at? (He's still better than Bakayoko though, who Chelsea paid big £££ for instead of playing RLC, which was silly). It was similar when Ross Barkley burst on to the scene, he was all huff and puff, charging around at 100mph, scoring a few 25 yarders, but he didn't really do anything particularly well and his technique was severely lacking. Now it's debatable if he even still exists. I don't think there's much room in the modern game for the all action gung-ho midfielder, yet work rate and physicality seems to be more eye catching to English football's audience than being able to pick a pass before you've even received the ball, or being able to find space at the right time. That sort of stuff doesn't get on your "Skills and Goals 17/18 | Despacito (Remix)" Youtube compilations, but it's much more functional, and takes a lot more skill. Anyway. Lingard. I saw him play just about every game for United, his close control and protection of the ball is better than Rashfords and I don't think it's even close. Rashford's touch is heavy and inconsistent. The amount of times he runs the ball over the by line with a heavy touch is just mad. I'd peg Lingard's use of the ball as better than Sterling's also. Lingard is also a better passer than both. Rashford's final ball is naff and his passing in general is a bit wayward. Sterling always seems like he needs to take that extra touch, he slows things down unless he's running at a defender. Lingard has that Silva/Iniesta thing about him where he can play the ball on the move without needing to come to a stop and look around. Obvs not saying he's anywhere near Silva/Iniesta overall, that would be silly, but having that agility to move the ball and play it positively whilst in motion is often overlooked. Carragher did a MNF bit about Lingard and his technique in general, so I'm pretty much regurgitating what he said, but it's an underrated trait. He made United's attack tick more than any other player, more than Mata, Pogba, Sanchez, etc. and when he didn't play, United tended to struggle. On current form, especially as Alli seems to have regressed a little and Sterling has been poor, he's probably the most important attacking player in the England squad behind Kane. If they're all on top form, then it's probably Kane then Alli by a distance, though I'd still have Lingard over Sterling. Sterling is better at getting the ball past a defender, For me, that's the only facet I'd rate Sterling as better than Lingard at. Over the course of the season, even with Sterling playing in a well functioning attacking team and Lingard playing in a pragmatic and inconsistent team, Lingard has still been the better player IMO. I disagree Lingard has over-performed. He hasn't just come out of nowhere. Fergie said some years ago he'd be a late bloomer, and he's made gradual improvements over the last 3 seasons. United fans were a bit desperate for him to fail, because he's impossible to like and is an insufferable arse 100% of the time (and United fans are mostly dickheads who revel in their own failure to have something to moan about) but they're having to accept he's actually a good player, and arguably United's best player last season after De Gea, and maybe on a par with Lukaku.

The bots start all the best threads tbf. We'll gang up on anything, even a not-real poster.

I thought that cheating lark turned out to be nonsense? Not that I really care. The celebrations are wack though. that JL hand mask thing he does is super cringey.

I disagree. I think Lingard's overall technique is underrated. He's not launching past people at speed, but his close control under pressure is good, and is one of few players who seems to not need to take that extra touch to play the ball. Somewhat underrated traits in the blood-and-thunder mentality of Premier League football. Personally, I think he's got more to his game than Sterling, who is mostly speed, and little else. Sterling makes far too many wrong decisions, and his finishing is beyond woeful, but he's threat because he's quick, yet I don't think he can do half the things Lingard can. On current form, I'd take Lingard over Dele Alli too, who hasn't been great this season, and seems to have not really moved forwards in the last year. He has a face you just wouldn't tire of powerboming through a table. Also like Delli Alli. And most of the England team. Pickford, actually, is front of the queue for a powerbomb. God just look at it.

How about now? He's got United fans reluctantly eating humble pie. The belief was it was a purple patch, and it would level out in a few weeks, but over the course of the season he was one of United's most important players. He's also been one of England's best players in Russia, even aside from his goal. There's something very easy to dislike about him, which is probably why United fans do. He seems like a total bell, but he's turned out to be pretty good.

Mid-career footballer autobiography is the weirdest genre of book, but Ozil using an Arsenal pun in the title makes me really want to read it. Is it as terrible as it sounds? I read Theo Walcott's for a laugh some time ago. Some tabloid kept posting daily excerpts from it, and I was hooked at just how fucking boring he is, I just had to go out and ILLEGALLY DOWNLOAD buy it. I'm still struggling with The Colour of Magic. I keep putting it down and reading comic books instead and never going back to it. I'm about 60% in, so it'd be daft to bin it off now, but it's just so... draining and not at all fun to read.