Heartland

Hello! We are on GW2 already. This post would have been a lot earlier but HL is wary of me typing posts, for some reason.
Coming up this weekend is a smorgasbord of fouls, VAR, pouting, injury time, hairstyles and tantrums, but elsewhere the Lionesses will be providing proper footy in the World Cup Final at 11am on Sunday. It clashes with the Canaries KO at 12, but we will manage.
So far everything is going as normal - Steve has updated things on TCC. Pay attention this week, as there is still a lot of transfer business, mostly Chelsea buying, but Kane is gone, Reya moved and Krul gone to Luton. Big name injuries too - Mings, De Bruyne, Buendia and James are all out for a while. So many new names this season that it’ll take a bit of watching before Wild Cards emerge.

Friday 18 August 2023
Nott'm Forest 19:45 Sheffield Utd Is it too early for a relegation battle?

Saturday 19 August 2023
Fulham 15:00 Brentford Might be quite a fizzer!
Liverpool 15:00 Bournemouth It’s not gone well for Max Aarons the last few times he’s played them…
Wolves 15:00 Brighton Wolves didn’t look too bad the other night.
Spurs 17:30 Man Utd Spurs will be Spursy and Utd the usual. Fergie time is standard for all teams now though
Sky Sports
Man City 20:00 Newcastle This is a real humdinger of a game for GW2. Setting the tone.
TNT Sports

Sunday 20 August 2023
Aston Villa 14:00 Everton Hmmm. Everton really need to get going. So do Villa, but they aren’t so much at risk.Yet.
Sky Sports
West Ham 16:30 Chelsea We can see if Chelsea are together or a hot mess
Sky Sports

Monday 21 August 2023
Crystal Palace 20:00 Arsenal Steve at the ready. Arsenal’s new guns gelled yet?
Sky Sports

Off we go!

Dear Chelsea.
Keep your filthy hands off Michael Olise.

Luton's ground being the local municipal park scuppered my squad this week, forced me to take a -4 hit before a ball has been kicked, not good. Ah well, seems everyone has the same captain at the mo so we all succeed or fail together lol. Some tough matches to call this week, most games could go either way. Good luck folks

Planet Dave wrote: ↑19 Aug 2023, 11:47 Luton's ground being the local municipal park scuppered my squad this week, forced me to take a -4 hit before a ball has been kicked, not good. Ah well, seems everyone has the same captain at the mo so we all succeed or fail together lol. Some tough matches to call this week, most games could go either way. Good luck folks

Apparently the entrance to one of the stands is via someone's back garden

Brilliant innit! Quaint and endearing in every way other than it costing me -4 points this week

Clown shoes defending by Liverpool today

and Utd

emilystrange wrote: ↑19 Aug 2023, 20:44and Utd

Spurs are taking their time but seem to be coming together as a team.
Untidy were a mess today.

All these yellow cards are going to lead to early one match suspensions this season.

Agreed all round. We might be worth watching on more than one occasion! Norwich handed Millwall their backsides on a plate today. all good.

Not sure why Rice didn't go off the pitch to sort his contact lens out.

He couldn't see the edge of the pitch...

Evening. Wildcards played, anyone? They should allow extra transfers until the window closes - so many big names gone. Laporte is the latest. Not sure anyone was even considering picking Greenwood.
Since last post, the Lionesses lost but are still shining lights for all the women and girls who love football. Nearly thirty years ago I started playing for a local team when we sometimes had to change on the bus, often weren’t any facilities for cups of tea for the teams. We were catcalled in league and tournament games, ridiculed and suffered all the usual misogynistic rubbish. Round trips of up to 100 miles for away games were common. To see what we’re able to have now, which still isn’t enough, is just amazing and I’m so damn proud I could burst. Nike need to be grovelling at Mary Earps’ feet for eternity and darn right they’ve done a u-turn on her jersey merch. Infantino and Rubiales are both complete arseholes. Other asses - commentators joking that Dyche looked like a croupier on the touchline when he was dressed to show respect to a worker killed working on the new Everton ground’s.

But in the PL - lots and lots of injury time, but my roast potatoes weren’t burned, I know you worry. Forest saw off the Blades with Aurier running the show - he’s a very good player, you know. Wissa and Mbueno between them hammered Fulham, who could be marked for the drop. Liverpool seem to have steadied a bit, but aren’t back to glory form yet - Salah did score from a penalty but only the rebound. Just keep on hoping he’ll come good. MacAllister’s red was rescinded - what happens to the FPL points on that? Bit like Wolves - they’ve just told City to sod off over Nunes and really need to hang on to him because it’s looking bleak. Brighton on the other hand are looking perky up at the top - who’s this Estupinan guy? 9 yellow cards and a red.

Spurs managed not to lose with the help of an own goal - plenty of action and lots of good signs springing up. Utd need to get their socks on, though Vicario did make 6 saves and Onana 5. I can’t for the life of me remember if I saw the City game but Haaland didn’t do anything pointswise and Alvarez scored a cracker. Sunday was the football marathon - Norwich won in fine style (stupid putting on to clash with Final) though they did let Millwall have one. Villa didn’t let Everton have anything much except for dollops of despair. Calvert Lewin injured again. Some nice play - Villa appear to have a spring in their step. The WHUCHE game went totally wrong for Chelsea who were dominant for a long while. Even with WH’s scorer Aguerd sent off, and trying very hard, Chelsea still lost and missed a pen. Honestly. To round it all off, Odegaard scored the only goal v Palace, who battled and pressed against 10 men but just couldn’t put it in the net. It was a good day to stay on the sofa!

Off to the tables then. Not a good week for IGM!



Dynamo Salah (I wish he was) is in the Yellow Jersey




and also gets the Big Shout Out for 68 points.



Over on the H2H, it’s the same story



And guess who has a clean sweep? That there Dynamo!



Buckle up for tomorrow’s deadline - FNF seems to be a bit of a thing. Off you go to TCC for the week’s intro and good luck!