Match Day Thread 2016/17 Premier League, Cups & Euro Watch

The problem I have with poppies is that they are now a universal symbol of support for soldiers not just in World Wars 1 and 2 but also in modern conflicts. Those guys who fought and died in the forces in WW1 and 2 should rightly be commended and commemorated, they were courageous and most of them had no choice so willingly went to their deaths in a war that was constantly botched in WW1 or to stop a very terrible force at work in the world in WW2.

For me the basis of a lot of modern wars that the UK has been and is involved with is much more tenuous politically and militarily. War is full of cynicism and economic and political engineering now. Not that this was lacking from WW1 and 2 but those wars were going to be fought and had to be fought. Modern war is also stocked by recruits who willingly sign up to fight in them, despite the lessons both government and themselves should have learned form history, and they know what they will be getting into in terms of in the field combat, severe injury, death and the potential after-effects. Some of whom also possibly want to be part of it for underhand reasons. The festival of remembrance that I saw some of at the Royal Albert Hall was a manipulative piece of misty eyed, cloying disinformation. The fact they used You'll Never Walk Alone for part of it was absolutely galling, you're taking a song, now an anthem for many leftist, anti-establishment causes (through football particularly) and expecting me to find that an appropriate and moving way to remember victims of contentious, disturbing conflicts enacted by the establishment and the political centre and to seat it as some sort of chorus for traditionalist sentimentality and delusion. Come off it. It was all very hollow.

That's why I don't wear a poppy anyway. I'll give the dignity and respect to the soldiers from the great wars but through another means than wearing a poppy, who says that you need to have a bit of cheap paper and plastic pinned on yourself to do that anyway, who says that's the only right way to commemorate if you so wish? It's actually an absurd and (another) cynical notion that a poppy is the most appropriate way of doing this. Is God going to look down despairingly that even though I have thoughts about some soldiers, oh oh, he's not wearing a red poppy, there's the heaven ban-hammer. I refuse to sanction and give any dignity to suspicious and false modern wars, that let's not forget, also end up in multitudes of unnecessary death on sides other than our own. And who's commemorating that? Not us.

 

Now back to the footy ... I hope this early game is a 0-0 draw

 

I wonder how they'll hype the monday night game? west brom v burnley? Their marketing department will be crying over that one.

 

I would agree that a lot of "modern wars" seem to be more about the influence of big business, especially the weapons industry, but wars in the past were often about access to commodities or building empires so were always political in most respects. As for supporting troops, unfortunately the armed forces have no say in were they are sent to fight, it would not be possible to have an armed service if troops could decide if they agreed with a particular conflict or not before they decided to fight or not.

I had a relative who refused to kill in WW1 as taking a life was not something he was prepared to do. He served as a medic and was on the front line many times helping the wounded, but never fired a weapon throughout his service. He came home and would never talk about it accept to say he never shot at anyone, but he was there.

 

Nice to see Wayne is sober enough to play.

 

Good early pressure from United on Arsenal.

Top dive from Herrera there to win a free kick though

 

See that's courageous. He's lucky he was a medic, if he'd been on the front and pulled that they'd have killed him themselves. One of my relatives got shot in the head during WW1 and survived it.

As for them not having a choice where to fight now. Well. True enough. But they wouldn't have to fight anywhere if they didn't sign up at the local recruiting office. The marketing though - the tv adverts for example - of a career in the armed forces as somehow sensible and advancing is a joke and will pull in a few. They also turn up at university fairs now to try and sucker in more recruits. How inverse to progress is that?! Forget trying to become a future important physicist. Come and shoot some **** in Syria.

 

Certainly no bus parking going on OT looks like mourinho has been forced to pick a team that can attack.

 

Look much better going forward with players that can actually run in Rashford & Martial than Ibra who is very static.

 

I don't know which would be more satisfying to see ... Mo Mo's tears and tantrum approach after his first loss to Weng Weng, or Weng Weng's wrinkle sweat excuse making after extending their Old Toilet losing streak to 10 years

 

A draw and them both drop points would be nice

 

that be what i said arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

0-0 fankyoupleases

 

Man Utd have such a poor midfield, no creativity in it.

 

Daaaaaaaaamiaaaan should be off

#corrupt

 

HTF has darmian not been booked

 

Never a penalty that.

 

Because it's the Mancs at home in their toilet bowl and the ref is paid by the BBC

 

Mourinho's reaction was like he just walked into the communal bathroom at Saint's old fogies home on shower day

 

Pogba just looks like such a passenger. Carrick at his age is still far better

 

Someone get Valencia a parachute