Michael*

New Dead Weather single. Fun fun fun! http://youtu.be/3lYstaUzjHs

i think she looks her age too 21 yes If anything, I'd argue that Nina actually looks quite mature for her age. Not in an 'old before her time' kind of way, but in the sense that you could easily imagine her looking exactly the same in ten years.

I'm sure he knows what he's doing and it helps when the actor/actress is actually serious about the role. So far Ben is serious about playing Batman, he's working out in the gym and even went to Christian Bale to ask him for advice. Snyder sees something in Gal and Ben so we'll have to wait and see them actually acting as that character before we judge. We also have no idea what WW's role in this movie will be. Perhaps a teaser for her own movie or even a Justice League? Besides, he knows he has to get WW right because she's loved just as much as Superman and Batman. Warner Bros probably won't let him screw up in any way because they need Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. If he fails, all hell will break loose. I'm sure she's committed to the role, it's just that the studio's apparent 'wait-and-see' approach has left me pretty bemused. It doesn't really inspire confidence that they're interested in giving Wonder Woman her own movie or using her to flesh out the DC universe. Men get so many more chances to play lead superheroes than women, and if Gal doesn’t steal the show in what is essentially going to be Affleck and Cavill's movie, it wouldn't be hard to imagine the studio going cold on the possibility of 'taking a chance' with a female superhero again. Time will tell though, my fingers are crossed.

I'm favor of Manure getting a bye until the quarterfinals. Why does UEFA even try to pretend this thing is not rigged? A very favourable draw for Moyes, but one that will probably just delay the inevitable. United would struggle against any of the likely winners from the other pairings. Should be some cracking fixtures to watch there, though.

So Spuds have sacked their most successful manager (in terms of win percentage) of the premier league era. When it comes to shooting themselves in the foot, Spurs are a club like no other. Without wishing to over-indulge in dreary discussions about net spends, three of the four teams who finished above them last year strengthened significantly, without losing any of their perceived star players. Spurs had to spend big just to stand still, and even now find themselves only five points below the top four (I say 'only' because I'm rationalising being 'only' five adrift of West Ham ), having also steamrollered through their Europa group. If anything, I'd say AVB was overachieving. Whoever comes in might as well just move into a hotel, that way they can clear out quicker when the chop comes.

Gal's resume doesn't worry me too much (Henry Cavill and Chris Hemsworth weren’t exactly veterans either), my concern is that they’re treating an iconic female character and one of DC's few genuine draws as an afterthought. Snyder's track record of directing good female performances is decidedly iffy too, it took the presence of Amy Adams in 'Man of Steel' to push into the realm of decent acting.

Score one more for the Sessegnon curse, he's seen off almost as many managers as Roman Abramovich.

RIP Peter. Always a class act.

I'm drawing a line under the current discussion, as it's beginning to look like a celebrity gossip thread in here. If anyone wishes to conduct further conversations about Barbara's love life, please do it either via PM or off the board.

Attack Music / These New Puritans

Somewhat neutral on this, as I never really liked Cheadle's take on the character as much as Terrence Howard's in the first Iron Man movie. That being said, I suppose it would be something of a plot hole if America was attacked, and the military (with War Machine/Iron Patriot at their disposal) didn't respond.

Another track from the forthcoming new Warpaint album just appeared. And here's a live performance of 'Love Is To Die' from the Pitchfork Festival in Paris.

It's going to be a little odd to have a World Cup without Scandinavian representation, must be many a year since the last time that happened.

Agreed. I don't think anyone has played as good as Ronaldo has this year. Unfortunately there are so many people who would disagree, even though his record says it all. The extension of the voting deadline will have undoubtedly put Ronaldo firmly in the driving seat, but I wouldn't rule out Ribery as a contender. There’s something of a precedent for the most successful team's perceived star player winning the Ballon, and Bayern have, of course, won the most significant trophy of the year. Take Fabio Cannavaro for instance - he was always a ridiculously good player, but he never came close to it before captaining the World Cup winning Italian side in 2006, and never came close to it afterwards.

Only Arsenal fans could take this much doom and gloom out of three defeats in thirty games, and qualification from an extremely difficult group that they didn't expect to have a prayer in. They may not welcome the prospect of being paired with Barca or Bayern in the knockout stages, but unless I'm very much mistaken, playing against Europe's best is kind of what happens in the Champions League. Also, 'could they do it on a cold, wet, snowy Wednesday afternoon in Istanbul?' is the new 'could they do it on a wet Tuesday evening at Stoke?'.

Golden Graham strikes again! Well, once.

Despite Big Sam's current aversion to crossing the halfway line, I'm sure we’ll find some new and original way of sticking a couple of own goals in.

Lead newie from St. Vincent. The album's set for release on February 24, 2014.

Launch trailer.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Another reasonably creditable performance against a stronger team, another scandalous non-award of a blatant penalty, and another calamitous own goal proving to be decisive. What with the other seemingly condemned teams improving and even winning, it's all starting to look rather grim.

Jackpot for Argentina and France. Decent draw for Belgium, raw deal for the USA. Could have been worse for England, I don't think we're as doomed as many will no doubt predict. Uruguay are a team packing immense firepower and a track record of performing when the chips are down, but they're also an ageing side who lack a healthy process of renewal, and who required a play-off against Jordan to even reach the World Cup. I prefer the mindset of fearing our opponents though, if I'm honest. There can be a fine line between confidence and complacency, and our players are far too often guilty of ending up on the wrong side of that line.

Thread cleaned. A friendly reminder - conversations that are irrelevant to their thread are against the rules, as are bashing and baiting of any kind. Please, let this be the end of the current discussion.

Thread cleaned. Guys, a friendly reminder - bashing, baiting and flaming of any kind are against the rules. Please, let this be the end of the current discussion.

Before they were famous...

Since it's almost time for that all-important draw, I hereby declare our official World Cup topic open! A minority viewpoint I'd imagine, but I’d actually prefer it if England’s worst case 'group of death' scenario came true. Four years ago, we expected an easy ride in the opening stages, followed by Ghana in the second round, which of course went south after inept performances against USA and Algeria. So give me games against Brazil and Italy over Iran and Honduras in the groups any day - let’s be honest, we're not going to win the thing, might as well test our mettle against as many heavy hitters as we can before we have to bog off home. If you so wish, fill in your own predictions here.