I'm trying to understand your position. Scots, English, Welsh & Northern Irish are all British.
I would understand that Castilians, Catalans etc. are all Spanish.
I understand that you don't want Catalonia to be part of Spain just like some Scots don't want to be part of Britain.

I think I understand what British is. I'm not very familiar with Spanish identity
politics. In my mind, Iberian would include Portugal. Including Portugal in your nation seems as weird as if I were to include Ireland in the United Kingdom.

Well, Barcelona they usually kick and pull everyone else when they lose possession, so I expect they will try.

Which is a shame because they are good enough not to need to cheat regularly.

(Disposing of written notes isn't against the laws of football, so it's gamesmanship rather rule breaking.)

Tabloids aren't intended for intellectuals! To make a point about the internal politics of a foreign country out of a gossip piece is just ridiculously inappropriate.

Some Catalans or Scots may not want to be Spanish or British, but they are part of those nations at present.

This is a story in a British tabloid about footballers. There's no point trying to shoehorn in Catalan politics.

The country Batlle plays for is Spain. The island is known to Brits as Ibiza, just as we almost all use Cardiff rather than the Welsh Caerdydd.

Chelsea: Is it time to give 'disruptors' some credit? Chelsea's recent approach has been difficult to understand at times - but Nizaar Kinsella wonders whether it is time to start giving them some credit.

Big picture: is it time to give Chelsea some credit? And where does fair criticism stick?

A look at Chelsea's unique model three years in - a club where you have to forget everything you instinctively know about football.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

I doubt you'll be able to notice any difference whatsoever. It's not as if the Italians and the Spanish weren't employing major gamesmanship anyway.

Well played Hannah. I think it's been done before, quite recently, so Coll should have been alert to the possibility.

Hampton had prepared well by taking her notes to her arm.

But I don't think any keeper should have written notes. What's next? An earpiece with instant AI analysis of the runup.

More than that, lads. Šeško went for £73m and he only had 4 years of contract to buy out. Nico has 8.

That's a big factor, whatever you think of their respective abilities.

I expect #CFC will be hoping for the Sancho price range. I've no opinion on Garnacho's quality, since I don't watch Utd.

I don't know even why we're looking at another winger. We already have Gittens & George for the LW, maybe Simons too. Neto & Estevão can both play LW too.

Inherently, those who have left already tend to be the ones who haven't worked out. The full picture won't be clear for years.

Indubitably there were poor buys in the 1st year when #CFC had no SD & Todd was trying to replace Rüdiger with Koulibaly etc. Since, it's improved, except for Fèlix & KDH.

Gimmicky. Trying to create 'collector's items'.

I don't think they are keen to sell Jackson, unless they get a great offer.

We went into last season with just 2 strikers & had 0 by the end of the Jan window. It would be rash to try again. The 9½s we tried to replace them with didn't work: Neto, Nkunku, 🥶, George.

You probably want the image of Kerr body-checking that idiot who ran onto the pitch at Kingsmeadow.

I like it front and centre. For me, what grates is that the two badges are NOT QUITE the same size.

But that is insignificant compared to the pleasure I'll get from rival fans bleating about how it doesn't matter.

Just reposting this so I can find it again. A very informative, erm... thread.

Excuse me for being dim. I'd like to read the article but can't find a link. Help, please!

Perhaps recency bias. We're all aware Hampton has just been saving penalties so she seems very proficient. How many are familiar with Pickford's penalty record?

The number is greater amongst women, too. Perhaps they've not heard of Pickford.

Chris, I'm not competent to judge the probability of a casual player scoring against an elite GK. I agree, some would score by power or by sending the keeper the wrong way.

4. The 7% of men who think they are more likely to score against Pickford or Hampton woefully underestimate the difference in level between themselves and ANY pro goalie.

The difference in % chance to score against the world's best goalie or the Tranmere youth reserve keeper is negligible for most.

1. Unsurprisingly, women have more confidence in other women than men have in women, and vice versa.

2. Not necessarily evidence that men are more arrogant:

3. Sample bias. Have more men played football than women, & legitimately more confident in their PK ability? Or were only footballers asked?

Poor Broja. He scored those 6 in a purple patch and then struggled the rest of the season iirc. After that, injuries galore. He's struggled to recapture that form, and it's now hard to argue he's a better prospect than Guiu.

Equal opportunity is always important. But it's possible that the Lioness's win creates more willingness in the people to spend public money for the cause. It's just an easier sell.

Five tactical themes that defined Women’s Euro 2025: More systemised, less individualistic It was impossible to watch this Euros and not marvel at how far the women’s game has come - it’s exactly what top-level football should be

a Euro 2025 tactical review. A(nother) tournament where star individuals didn't make the difference. Goal kicks played extremely short compared to past tournaments. A huge number of goals.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/651...

Teams try to play possession, so PL have the = highest defensive ⅓ passes.

Teams are patient and pass around in the attacking ⅓, and they press high so recoveries cut out the middle ⅓, as do quick breaks when they beat the press.

Or an I way off base?

That's intense. Well played, sir.

Bloody hell. I've been reading his name as 'Bruna Boy' until I listened to Scott say it.😳

David Squires on … the story of England winning Euro 2025 Our cartoonist looks at how the Lionesses retained their crown as European champions

Here’s this week’s cartoon for @sport.theguardian.com

www.theguardian.com/football/pic...

The 'he's a genius' commentary from 🥶's Brighton free kick.

Gotta say I'm more than satisfied 😁🦁🦁🦁🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏆