J4MES OX4D

They got the deal of the century on the Olympic Stadium only having to pay £2.5m in rent per year https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36043808 on a 99 year lease. There are second hand clothes shops and meat wholesalers in that area that pay more rent for their business premises that the Hammers pay for their entire stadium. Man City had a similar deal with the Commonwealth Stadium which they basically got given to them for free from the council then they went and sold the naming rights for £400m to their sister company allowing them to launder that money into the club without breaking the fair play rules meaning they could buy the league. They pay the council £2m a year to keep them sweet for their original stadium gesture but it allows City to launder money whenever they need it and make money off something that cost them nothing. If it weren't for that deal; they'd be Championship Club again by now. It was only 10 years ago they lost 8-1 against Middlesbrough! West Ham wont exactly go the same way as City but they have a very generous lease that allows them to invest heavily in playing personnel and this is after Brady and Gold pocketed the profits off the Boleyn sale.

Belgium 2-0 England in the Brexit derby. We played well second half and the result was somewhat flattering although Belgium can turn their brilliance on in an instant whereas we really had to grind to create opportunities. Got off to a bad start and the first half was extremely flat. Surprised to see Sterling selected once again but it was great to see Loftus-Cheek get another run and he looks dangerous throughout. Kane looked knackered and he really could do with a playmaker like Eriksen behind him - shame we don't have someone like Scholes or Gerrard right now as he doesn't carry the same threat from open play and has to sit back a bit too much. He's had a good tournament all round though and still on for the golden boot. Pickford had another fine game and could be the player of the tournament for us.

Shaqiri is a strange signing for Liverpool - he's a good player but not of the standard they should be targeting. It would be like Man Utd signing Shane Long for instance. A 5 year deal is a bit much too especially as he's already 26 and isn't going to have any added value going forward. Shakira is worth more😎

Well done to The Culling 2

5 maps available in the beta - Payload, Seaside, Contraband, Hacienda and Gridlock across 5 modes - TDM, DOM, SnD, Control and Hardpoint. Blackout beta begins in September.

Conte sacked https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44820563 It was coming but I didn't expect it to be on the week he returned to pre-season training with the squad!

It was a tough decision with Sterling for Southgate - on the one hand he hadn't scored and missed several presentable chances particularly against weaker opposition but on the other, he was an active threat and there was always that chance he would score a crucial goal. As soon as he became tired last night; that allowed Croatia to play much higher up the field which forced Harry Kane so sit deeper which pretty much written us off as an attacking threat. He definitely played a credible part yesterday even though nothing much came off for him and when he was taken off, we offered very little even with fresh legs. Just wished he could replicate the form he achieves in a Man City shirt - I know he gets carried by World Class players there but I would expect better from him with his experience now. I fear he may go the same way as Walcott and simply never improve or maximise his potential.

Elaboration: We're going home

No complaints here - we were outclassed and were fortunate to take it to extra time. Second half of normal time we got absolutely battered. Could've won it in the first half but too casual and then the play it backwards negativity crept in and Croatia pounced for the rest of the game as they dominated tactically. Kyle Walker should've been replaced by Gary Cahill and Danny Rose should've come on much sooner as we were just inviting them to create more and more chances. We offered little up front and they comfortably dominated midfield. Croatia were definitely the first proper test we've had and tonight proved that we were nowhere near good enough to win it even being so close but it's still a good achievement that we would've been shocked with beforehand. Shame we couldn't at least go one step further with such a presentable chance but with France having a day extra rest and on top of ET tonight; we could've got buttfucked in the final and that would've been worse. Fuck, I just realised we got one more shitty game against Belgium again!

Warcraft 3 remastered please!

France 1-0 Belgium FT. Close game - Belgium had chances and bossed possession but France created quite a lot too and were deadly on the break. They also defended pretty well against a very strong side on paper. Huge blow to Belgium though but they perhaps were a bit cocky and confident at times - they nearly came unstuck against Japan and tonight was always going to be a coin flip unless they could reach their best and I don't think they quite did. France's toughest game so far has still be the Australia one😎

They probably spent the last 6 months dotting the i's and crossing the t's on agents fees which is why it took so long. It was probably a done deal even before January but the modern bullshit of agents and bonuses probably impacted the deal.

Tonight is just a shitty EU local derby😎

Entertaining game between Russia and Croatia. Hosts played a great tournament - they weren't the best team but their spirit was undeniable and it's a shame they have to go out in that fashion but they at least had another shot after looking like they were out of it. Croatia through on penalties and hopefully bloody fatigued in the process for the England game on Wednesday. It would've been a tough game for England either way for very different reasons but it's a very winnable game and I'd rather be in that than playing either Belgium or France.

Only just seen this picture

I had a semi throughout that quarter😎

I think I may give the England game a miss and watch the womens tennis instead with a glass of Pimms🤥

Cracking Bundle for $12 this month - A Hat In Time is a charming platformer like Mario which is fun for for all ages. You also have Conan Exiles which is a recently completed survival game plus The Escapists 2. That's $90 worth of games right off the bat and more to come! Here's some screenshots from A Hat In Time I took from earlier this year

Brazil played well for the first time in this entire tournament tonight - too bad they were already 0-2 down and it was the second half. Even Japan gave Belgium a bigger run for their money. So glad to see the back of Neymar and his disgraceful shenanigans and it's nice to the the refs weren't buying his shit once again. Belgium v France is going to be a huge match and I have to say, whoever wins that will be the firm favourites and it'll be theirs to lose......to England😎

They were always going to struggle without Cavani. Having Stuani as his replacement his like replacing Harry Kane with Emile Heskey!

Any changes would probably be virtue of fitness and fatigue so it mostly depends on that. We could probably bring some fresh legs in and it wouldn't affect our overall quality. Danny Rose would be ideal for a game like this and Rashford could start over Sterling.

Last night it was risky because Columbia were pressing high particularly on with widths and we nearly got caught out on three occasions. The more we did this; the higher they played up the field and the more our wing-backs were drawn back. This was only stopped when we went more direct in the second half of ET down the middle - we started creating chances and looked dangerous again exploiting the space available. Cudrado and Quintero were pressing Walker and Maguire the moment the ball left Pickford's foot and Barios and Lerma persistently shut down the wings yet it took until the 110th minute for us to instead go down the gaping middle which brought Rashford, Sterling and Vardy right into the game where we could've won it prior to penalties. The passing game is fine if played unpredictably and not at a pedestrian pace for large periods. We wouldn't have got away with a lot of that last night if Rodriguez was playing IMO. I'd say the last 10 minutes excluding injury time we began to get sloppy. Our game management was clear - run down the clock with the ball however without the ball we gifted too much space which lead to the shot which lead to the corner which lead to the equaliser. One slip is all it takes and it had been coming in that period. We put ourselves so much on the backfoot in those closing stages that the first half of ET we couldn't even get out of our half with the ball under control. It was a sucker-punch to concede but if you're going to close out a game in that fashion, you have to see it out across the board. We beat Sweden in 2012 and they are a shadow of their former selves now so it's a fixture we should be winning. I don't think they'll pose a threat like Columbia but we must ensure we are on the front foot and take the game to them. We have the players but we need the mentality and the gameplan to see it through. You cannot play the same way and expect to get away with it at this level so these stages will be a true test of our tactical flexibility. I do think our current plan is tailored more towards facing European teams though. 1990😎 We've done so well but the stakes are raised now and we've just got to get behind the lads again and see them through but make no mistake; the expectation is back especially with all the factors going our way. If we go out I will still be pleased with the lads but we wont ever get an opportunity this generous again.

I have to view it as balanced as possible because although we are a young and inexperienced side at international level; these are still footballers who take home over £100,000 a week each and they all play for top Premier League sides. They are open to the same level of scrutiny as any other team I feel and going over the negatives and keeping our feet on the ground is important and that doesn't take away anything that we've achieved. The tables have now turned - we went into this tournament with minimum expectations and have already exceeded them but with the fortunate circumstances that have arisen from big teams going out and favorable draws; we now have a once in a generation opportunity of reaching the final and that has to be the focus now. We definitely need to turn in a better display against Sweden and not reaching the semi-finals at the very least would be a huge disappointment now. This could be the one and only chance of us winning the World Cup in my lifetime and I'd hate to see us bow out to complacency or something basic because we were still too gobsmacked about progressing to the Quarters that we lost focus. I'm certainly in the England expects camp more than the England accepts now🙂

Now that the dust has settled on last nights heroics; I'm so happy we beat those dirty cheats but I don't think our performance was all that great despite the difficult circumstances. Even though we're in the quarters, it's still very hard to gauge how good we really are but we've certainly gone further than many would've expected and still have a clear route through to the final. Ironically, if Columbia weren't cheating and playing so much anti-football, I think they may have won the game because we looked very flat at times and they grew into the contest as time wore on. They pressed us well throughout and we played some risky football and struggled to get out of our half with the ball under control. We gave them too much space and didn't press enough which was why they scored in the last minute - our game management in the final 10 minutes certainly declined and the gaps began to appear. Thankfully we weathered the storm and actually got a greater foothold in the match in the second half of ET and could've won ourselves in normal time. I think Sweden will pose far less of a threat but I hope we aren't too tired physically and mentally. We may even need to rotate or plan to rest a couple of players because of the extra time we played on top of what was already an exhausting match. Ali still doesn't look 100%, Sterling tries too hard and his feet aren't in sync with his brain and Lingaard was a bit anonymous last night - changes may not be a bad idea even at this stage of the tournament afterall. I am a bit worried about Southgate's lack of tactical flexibility and our persistent shape though - it's great we stick to our guns regardless of the score but I'd like reassurance that we have a plan B or C too. We could've done with that in the final 10 minutes yesterday but we stuck it out and paid the price and it could've been worse. Regardless, it's been an incredible World Cup so far and we've done well to reach the quarters and I hope we can continue on what we've achieved so far. I feel more confident about the Sweden game than last night that's for sure!

Probably on Columbian coke - how ironic😎