Michael*

If erudite, witty and relevant is what they're after then I should think the stage is set for the peerless Rodney Marsh to make his triumphant return. Harry Redknapp is always an option too of course, perhaps depending on how soon they need someone to provide analysis on why Mason Mount should win the Ballon d'Or.

For my sins, I had a peek at Le Tiss's Twitter earlier today, scrolled for five minutes and only made it to the 21st of August. Presumably he thinks George Soros is responsible for his removal.

Were I a betting man (which, save for the occasional frivolous fiver during the World Cup or the Euros, I'm not), my money would be on him staying. I'll be astounded if the whole caper amounts to more than a fairly cynical attempt to remove Bartomeu.

King's run had some fantastic, out-of-the-box concepts, but dipping into it randomly always felt like a bit of a lottery. You might get something fun and twisty with a lot of bombastic action or something confusing and drearily paced. The ongoing arc with Bane was an absolute wonder, though. I'm with you on that. The various attempts at competing with the Marvel continuity succeeded only in creating a mess, when I dare say most people just want a good Batman detective story.

What better time than now for Leo Messi to make his detractors eat their words and finally settle one of the footballing world's longest running debates. Ryan Shawcross won't know what hit him.

I can only think of one really, the recent series written by Tom King depicted a very introspective version of Wayne who was a bit of a mess and often flew into blind rages. Maybe at a push the Grant Morrison run too, although the characterisation in that was accompanied by that particularly nineties style of comic book "mayhem", which I dare say is probably what people remember about it first and foremost.

So far, the presentation of Gotham as a sort of purgatorial concrete jungle is probably what interests me the most. It looks like a DIY deconstruction of Frank Miller's Year One. The first publicity shot of Pattinson in the suit gave me pause, but the takedown of the clown thug in the trailer mostly sold him to me as having the physical presence necessary.

Just to alleviate the undeniable suspense, they did eventually do a UK release of S1, which I now own. Hopefully, I'll be in a position to post an S2 update by the middle of 2029.

It sounds like Hailee Steinfeld will be joining the cast of Hawkeye as Kate Bishop. I must say, after True Grit, I fully expected her to become the next "young prestige" actress (a la Saoirse Ronan), but she's seemingly leaned towards stuff like Pitch Perfect and Bumblebee, which I guess is more her current brand. With that in mind, a Marvel gig should be a pretty good fit.

I'd much prefer Sony stop trying to milk solo films out of characters that work far better as antagonists or allies for Peter Parker. That being said, Booksmart was a brilliant film and I'm glad to see Olivia Wilde getting a high profile studio gig.

I managed to take care of it but of course, in more of an Al Pacino than Julie Andrews kind of way.

I genuinely can't picture any scenario where Sam's simultaneous use of a regista, enganche and false ten wouldn't just slay them at Camp Nou. Youri, Ivan, Jay Jay, we're getting the band back together. Gael Givet alongside Gerard Pique at the back, job's a good'un. If it's not to be, perhaps for now he can fill the vacancy with the Dutch national team instead. Oranje is the new Black(burn).

If anyone could give me the full rundown of what belongs where, I'd be happy to separate them out.

Least surprising news ever that Setien has been given his marching orders by Barca, perhaps slightly surprising that Ronald Koeman is in the frame to replace him when Big Sam could have had them stabilised by February.

A simple mix-up between two posts, that's all. We should be up to date now.

Almost singlehandedly making the world's least respected instrument look cool.

Looking at their most recent acquisitions (particularly Felix, who looks as if he could become a real star), there probably was a plan to make them a less brutalist watch this season, but it's seemingly not always worked and Simeone has often reverted to type. It's hard to contemplate how dull the Leipzig tie could have been, had it been the first of two legs. Not that I particularly dislike two-legged rounds with away goals, but this drama feels different. Keep it up and UEFA might have to look at incorporating these kinds of games into the regular club calendar. Preferably not with Steve McManaman as co-commentator, though. No one needs that.

Juve seem to have reached that level where they either win the Champions League or implode, despite having underachieved in said competition for a very long time. What price now Andrea Pirlo develops a stress-induced chain smoking habit by halfway through the season that makes Sarri look restrained. Perhaps needless to say though, he'll still be the coolest guy in the stadium. Had the season not been interrupted, their momentum would have surely at least carried them closer, but the collapse of Lazio (collapzio?) after the restart really was mystifying. Just the manner of it and the way in which they seemed completely incapable of getting anything going at all. In general though, it's been a delight to see Serie A re-emerge as one of the top leagues for entertainment after a long hiatus.

That should be us up to date now, cheers everyone.

I suppose you'd have to say the apparent lack of enthusiasm for a semi final between PSG and "definitely not Red Bull" Leipzig isn't too surprising. The fact that the not exactly ancient Thomas Tuchel once coached a 20-year-old Julian Nagelsmann at Augsburg makes for a bit of an intriguing subplot, though. Atletico's long-standing naffness before Diego Simeone arrived has almost faded from memory now, so much so that when he delivers Champions League qualification for the eighth year in a row and "only" reaches the quarters, people think it's been a crap season. That's how much he's elevated them.

It doesn't seem like many tears are being shed for Maurizio Sarri at Juve, despite having to his name a European trophy and a Scudetto consecutively and in debut seasons no less. Which doesn't sound too shabby, at least from an outsider's perspective.

There's an inherent contradiction in the idea of giving power to people you don't trust to manage the changes you require though, surely. The proper channels might work if they were managed by the trustworthy, but there's nothing to be gained by debating people who go out of their way to miss the point. Let's not act like everyone loved or even respected Martin Luther King, either. Roughly around the time of his assassination, several polls reflected that he was one of the most hated people in America, and many folks who invoke his name in the present would likely hate him just as much were he alive today.

By the same token, there are many people for whom "censorship" and "being subjected to criticism" seem to mean the same thing.