This will really be an interesting question for the so-called global south. Since most countries there are generally considered to politically align with China/Russia due to “anti imperialism”, it’s going to be interesting to see if they remain on the side of Russia although this is now the side of the US or whether they alternatively remain opposed to the US but find themselves on the same side as the Europeans.

Exactly. That’s what convinced me that Liverpool would edge past PSG. Normally no team that steals a result on an off day and then improves in the second leg goes out. This match showed that this feeling was premature.

I honestly did no see this coming. PSG ertainly is a stronger team than it was a few years ago and is playing some real football. However, after winning the first leg, I was convinced that the Reds would also manage to get this tie sorted. Well, I guess it’s likely “only” the Premier League title for Liverpool then.

I believe it’s less of an issue the smaller the league is. Already in the Dutch league I feel like I can still afford the price of admission and the spectacle is still solid with full stadiums and generally good atmosphere. If even that level is still too commercialised, I recommend giving your local village team a visit. It’s usually a blast and the “Bratwurst” at the matches here in the Verbandsliga Südhessen is very affordable.

Man, I remember using Eutelsat to send and receive E-Mails in Afghanistan in the early 2000s. Of course back then we needed a giant receiver in the back yard of the compound. It was slow as hell, incredibly expensive, but the only reliable way of getting an internet connection after the end of the (first) Taliban regime. The world really has changed so much in the last twenty years, unfortunately more for worse than for better in my opinion.

Turns out the supply chain for such a complex machine is in itself very complex. Some components are manufactured by suppliers in various countries formerly believed to be allies. This includes stuff like the ejection seats and some electronics that are made in the UK, parts for the wing sets that are made in Italy or inserts for the weapon bays that are made in Canada. Additionally the Netherlands currently houses the supply hub for spare parts for the European countries. It is estimated that there are spare parts to keep hundreds of F-35s in the air for a while there. The most worrying aspect certainly remains the software support, without which all the precious hardware loses much of its utility, even if there isn’t a master kill switch.

United really have the habit of turning managers who were successful at other clubs and who regularly go right back to being successful after moving on from United into depressed mediocre looking chaps.

Looking for someone to finance a new stadium is fine, but seems speculative at best right now. It’s hard to imagine any serious investors really gushing about such an opportunity at the moment.

In terms of cutting costs: in my opinion there was a lot of room for savings when it came to the Dan Ashworth hiring and firing. Additionally the way the decision makes at the club wasted millions on renewing Ten Hag’s contract and then firing him soon after also seems imprudent. Apparently it’s easier to fire the proverbial tea lady instead of making some more sound long term decisions by the management.

Yes, most teams are playing in modern, large stadiums or are in the process of having them constructed now. My wording was probably a bit off. What I wanted to express was unease with the fact that the current management is squeezing pennies out of common people working for the club in the name of fiscal responsibility while at the same time planning major expenses for this project just seems … off.

Obviously this is another brilliant idea by Sir Jim. Just increase ticket prices, multiply by number of seats and … voilà, line goes up. Why didn’t anyone else think of that?

Oh, and don’t forget to charge extortionate rates for handicapped parking, because why not.

Haha! We had one supercup in 2021 that was played in Tel Aviv of all places for some reason. Well, at least the league has promised never to do anything like that again after some serious backlash.

Although I don’t know MLS, your description could also be true when considering smaller European leagues. As a Dutchman I somewhat follow the Dutch Eredivisie. There we have a generally well developed fan culture, full stadiums with good atmosphere and several teams challenging for the title all while not being skinned alive as English fans often are.

As someone who really started watching football when United started their absurd phase of dominance in the early 1990s, it still feels weird seeing them muddle around in mid table now. I guess this is how my father’s generation must have felt about Liverpool until Klopp took over and turned things around.

I thought that was the entire point of the show; to get the highlights of the matches!? I mean, it’s not Gary Lineker’s charming personality.

As a Dutchman living in Germany I can attest to the immense difference that dubbing makes. While even young children in the Netherlands consume tons of English language media and have done so for decades, their peers in Germany generally get only dubbed versions. This leads to a lackluster immersion when “properly” learning English.

Thanks for compiling the data. I suspect the data could be heavily skewed by the different employment models of the clubs. Some likely opt to cover many functions with in house staff while others probably prefer outsourcing various duties. Does this model account only for staff of the “football company”; does it include subsidiaries like club TV stations and the like?

Some of these really stretch the definition of what I’m comfortable with as “Pizza”

While I agree with you that it was a very wise decision by the Général to retain an independent nuclear deterrent and develop modern aircraft independently, the French tank development has been sorely lacking. There are roughly five times as many Leopard IIs in service as there are Leclercs. I hope the joint development of a next generation tank can deliver, as European armies really should try to work towards a common and independent development of systems.