Good luck to Aston Villa in Istanbul tonight. Just been asked on the radio whether Villa will win the Europa League final. Unai Emery and his staff will have done all their homework on Freiburg, analysed the strengths and weaknesses of Bundesliga’s seventh-placed club. Johan Manzambi is a box-to-box force. Vincenzo Grifo on the left can be a threat. Villa will respect Freiburg but not fear them. Emery is brilliant at preparing for challenges like this.
Emery has shown with Sevilla and Villarreal (does he live in a villa?) that he holds the map and compass for the Europa League journey, and now from the Bull Ring to Istanbul. He knows the way to glory. Emery also has John McGinn leading the way. Any team with a strong character like McGinn has a strong chance.
He’s 31, at his peak, a player who joined Villa in the Championship, fought hard to get them up, Rotherham away, down to 10 men, Mings off, Abraham missed pen, but a tough Scot drove them on to victory. “John McGinn was so good I thought there were two of him,” Dean Smith said. Villa back to fifth, play-offs, Wembley goal, promotion, Europe. McGinn deserves every accolade currently bestowed on him.
Youri Tielemans is a man for the big occasion. Any team with "Little Emi" Buendia and Morgan Rogers will have a supply line to goal, complemented by full-back forays of Lucas Digne and Matty Cash. Any attack with Ollie Watkins in this prolific vein of form (10 goals in 11 all comps) has a very good chance of chances being taken.
Any defence with Ezri Konsa has pace and composure, and a goalkeeper of great experience and belief in "Big Emi" Martinez. Villa have the players. They have the manager. They have the impassioned support. If Villa repeat the intensity that swept aside Nottingham Forest and Liverpool recently (McGinn scoring three times), Villa will win. #AVFC #UEL #UELfinal
Flew back to the UK yesterday afternoon from Lyon and as we go through passport control an airport worker directs us to the non EU aisle taking great delight in saying
“that’s what you get for Brexit!”
Weird bitter ex wife vibes.
Dad thumbs up from me mate, long range staring from me with my son on my left photo shopped in from last time he went down a water slide. Splendid weekend had by all in the Rhineland ⚽️
This woman has worked for years to get to this level. Only for an entitled, coward of a man to take it away. We see you. We’re disgusted by you. You are not one of us. #IStandWithAngelaCarini
Bruh… these transgenders competing in women’s Boxing AT THE OLYMPICS… male born transgenders, is fucken sickening. It’s fucken disgusting that the Olympic committee would let these guys/girls who still look like men compete against women. And these biological men who want to compete in women’s boxing must be saddists or somthing cos any man knows how much stronger they are than females and it’s also why a man hitting a women is so bad.. the biological difference IS REAL. What the fuck. Honestly unbelievable and sick. #Olympics
JD Vance takes a shot at the UK Labour Party:
“What is the first truly Islamist country to get a nuke? And we were like, maybe it's Iran, maybe Pakistan already kind of counts. And then we finally decided maybe it's actually the UK since Labour took over.
Yesterday from early morning thoughts on IG, head clearing across the hills, clashing the heavy stuff about, a near garden drowning through to good times spent with good souls on the evening.
Glad to see the back of Sunday Rum-day football drinks for a while though
@CDriscoll99 The hats will be a fad every two years 😂, the DT image will roll forever and so it should do in my opinion.
78 yr old man rolling out the way of gun shots whiles the “bloke” on the other side sits staring at an auto cue
@CDriscoll99 Might tone it down a little and make it say MEGA “make England great again” and ride the wave a little tomorrow, bollocks joke aside that pic of DT holding his fist up after the shooting will become an iconic image