wacmedia

Hi, Impressed with Man Utd and Liverpool . Still to early to judge and I'm sure there will be more signings. I though Bournemouth might go down last year but they survived. Will they survive this season ?

Hi, Sunderland voted, by a large majority, OUT in the Brexit vote. I like David Moyes as well.

Hi, Hope your heart is right.

Hi, Thanks. Have no idea how that happened ?

Hi, This season will be one of the most interesting for a long time. After Leicester City’s great victory last year there will be a foxhunt comprising some of the most elite managers of World football. Guardiola makes his debut in the Premier League while Mourinho returns. Conte also makes his debut after an impressive performance managing Italy at Euro 2016. Add in Klopp and Wenger and the promising young managers Howe, Pochettino and Koeman and one has a feeling that the managers will have a major impact on results this season. Further down the league it will be interesting to see how David Moyes does at Sunderland. They have under-achieved in the PL. Footballers are still an important part of the equation, however. Pogba and Ibrahimovic are big signings for Man Utd and they have got to be in the mix. Man City have just signed Stones and Pep has improved players like Boateng in his position. Boateng was excellent for Germany in the summer and looks a much improved player under Guardiolas tutelage. Chelsea are still trying to buy some players and Conte has arrived late. Add in that Chelsea is a Russian owned club, can’t see them getting too many decisions in the current political environment. Arsenal have their usual injuries, but Granite (good name)seems a good signing. Let’s hope Wenger puts his hand in his pocket a few more times! Arsenal beat the champions home and away last year but still came up short which has annoyed my gooner friends no end. Spurs Pochettino has a difficult job to raise his players after a disappointing end to the season and the calamity of Englands performance at Euro16. Liverpool have bought players who are not big stars but may suit the style Klopp plays. Bookmakers seem to think the title will be decided between the Manchester teams. Of the two, I would prefer City even though Mourinho has kept me in fine Claret over the years. I feel Jose has less top players than Pep to play with this season. Being a gold bug is a boring occupation so I like to have a gamble on the football. Liverpool are 10/1 win only and can be backed each way at 9/1. They are around 2/1 to finish in the top 4. I like what Klopp done at Dortmund, with limited funds, and I think he has a chance of repeating the performance at Liverpool. They are a similar club with great support and not too much money. No one is tipping them to win so wac is going to !

Hi, I met Carlos Santana in the Royal Garden many years ago. I was having a drink with my beautiful French girlfriend. I asked him had he any tickets for his show and he told me to "Fuck Off". He was an unpleasant wee man, and if I'd have had my Glaswegian wing man with me that might have been the last you'd have heard of him.

Hi, I saw Dick Pound interviewed yesterday and he reminded the interviewer that Marion Jones and Lance Armstrong never failed a test. That's a major problem, the more sophisticated countries can evade disclosure..

Hi, I don't think it's worth it. Many of them seem to die young. Remember Flo-Jo ?

Hi, Ah, yes. But would similar action be taken against the US or UK ? It's not like none have been found guilty in the past.

Hi, Lizzie Armistead has avoided being banned from the Olympics on a technicality. She missed 3 tests in 12 months but one of the tests wasn’t carried out properly, apparently ! Russia has been singled out for special treatment because of politics, but drugs in sport are widespread all over the World. In America many of the top players in sports like American football and baseball have been convicted of taking steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. Some of the American athletes who will perform in Rio have served bans for similar offences. In Spain the Government are trying to destroy blood evidence related to many top football and tennis players from Spain and other parts of the World. In Wales even amateur rugby has admitted that steroids are prevalent in their sport and if you look at rugby players from many years ago they were much less bulked than they are these days. The gym can only do so much ! One has to ask another question. What is a “food supplement” and what is an illegal drug ? Who decides which is which ? How about substances being taken which can’t be detected or are not recognised as being performance enhancing ? It’s a massive problem, and I believe the tests should be scrapped as they are being used in a political way. Top sportsmen have a psychopathic personality and will cheat and deny it all day long. It doesn’t matter where in the World the sportsmen come from, they all essentially have the same mental make-up. Smart doctors make a lot of money from doping and they couldn’t care less about the health of their marionettes. Finally, I have been a critic of Lance Armstrong for many years, and he was finally caught. I would like to apologise to him as I’m sure he only took drugs because he wanted to win, and couldn’t compete against the other drug taking cyclists without the help of drugs. I’m sure all his main competitors were on drugs as well.

Hi, Hi, Strong line-ups at that time. Warfield seems to be the only venue still in operation from that time. https://youtu.be/IqQ-0n2I-4o

Hi, Fell across this on Youtube while looking for something else. Very sad song, but great.

Hi, Diplomats aren't as diplomatic as they used to be, eh ?

Hi, Well done to EUFA for the new format. It gives smaller teams a chance to make the finals. Funnily enough most of the small teams would have qualified through the old system this time around. Only Hungary and Republic of Ireland , of the teams who made some impact, benefited from the new system this time around. I have been critical of Mark Clattenberg in the past, but he had a good month. Best Englishman at the Euros. Well done to the French for running a good tournament.

Hi, After being outplayed by Germany it was questionable if France deserved to win the tournament. They were a little unlucky but should have been able to put away a tough but limited Portugal. Portugal always have good technical players but seem to lack really good strikers. Well done Portugal anyway. I feel I was a little unlucky that my bet on Croatia went down.

Hi, I thought Germany would have won with a full team. They were short some important players and didn't get the run of the ball. Looks like France name is on the Cup. Sometimes things go like that.

Hi, It's all up for grabs.

Hi, The French showed the English how to beat Iceland. Well done Iceland for such a great show overall.

Hi, I'm with the OP. I hope Quintana wins it this year. Apparently lots of mountains this year which will suit him.

Hi, I knew when I saw the 2 new defenders for Belgium that Wales had a chance. Kompany and 3 other defenders were out before the tournament and Vertonghen and Vermaelen missed last night. It was too much for Belgium to overcome. Wales played well and deserved victory. Wales has only a few million people and 100 million sheep, so it is a great achievement. They could win it now.

Hi, I thought Poland got too defensive when they took an early lead in this game. Played for a 1-0 which they were entitled to do with their defensive record. Didn't work !

Hi, I would support Wales, except my money is on Belgium. Germany look strong at this stage. Maybe the managers will decide it ? Italy seem to have a top manager and he is going to Chelsea after the tournament ends.

Hi, The caravan roles on to Paris, without a disappointing England. Italy put in another great display to end the Reign of Spain. Belgium seem to be improving so I'm still hopeful.

Hi, Some of the star players came to the party, at last ! Hazard and Griezmann were good for Belgium and France and Draxler showed why Wenger wanted to buy him in a great display for Germany. It looks to me like a star performance from a player will swing it. Will it be Ronaldo, Hazard, Griezmann, Draxler or Iniesta, or some new star who wins the Cup for their country ?

Hi, For me the most interesting games are Croatia v Portugal and Italy v Spain.