Michael*

Xia has bagged one of the most famous clubs in the English game for the price of two Roberto Soldados. I suppose the hope is that he's already looking at the sustainable models, not only at the likes of Swansea and Southampton, but also analysing how many Spanish and German clubs are able to enjoy more successes with fewer resources than their English counterparts, many of whom have been stuck in the 'Harry Redknapp football consultant' mindset for far too long. Any preferences for a new manager, Fred?

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As much as I'd love for an England manager to eschew tradition completely and stop naming over-hyped duffers like Rooney in the squad, I think for the most part, you'd have to say that the realistic alternatives are no better or worse than the ones who got in. There are some whose inclusion you could obviously make a case for, like Noble, Carrick, Baines or Jagielka, but whether or not any of those four would make a vast difference to the squad's performance, I would have my doubts. Genuine 'outside the box' options are fairly thin on the ground, too. Michail Antonio should probably have been given a chance by now, and I would certainly have had Jermain Defoe in there ahead of Rooney and Rashford. Then again, I suppose I would say that.

If his Real Madrid predecessor's career trajectory is anything to go by, old 'ZZ Top' could easily be managing in the Championship by this time next year.

Roy's England squad more or less as expected, then. At first glance it's a group with good potential, but one that in recent months has shown an alarming lack of form (Rooney, Stones, Sterling, Delph, Lallana), fitness (Sturridge, Wilshere, Henderson), motivation (Barkley), self control (Vardy, Drinkwater, Alli, Dier), and composure under pressure (Spurs). I'd like to be proved wrong, but I suspect that we'll once again be found out in the early going, although we may have enough up front this time to make up for some of the obvious deficiencies elsewhere.

I'm so relieved that we were already safe going into the game against Watford, officiating like yesterday's would be your absolute worst nightmare if you were fighting for survival on the last day. It's taken Big Sam most of the season to arrive at a system good enough to make it hard for the opposition to beat us, but he's done an excellent job of it. He appears to have full control over recruitment, and as far as I can tell, is very good at getting the right players in and the wrong players out. This was our tenth year in the top flight, and the eleventh will be our biggest and (most probably our last) opportunity to consolidate. My fingers are well and truly crossed that by this time in 2017, we'll be just another dull middle order Premier League project.

As may be obvious, I bloody loved it. There wasn't a moment I'd change, and it's a struggle to think when I last felt that about a movie. What struck me was how much of it was the culmination of careful planning, it really felt like a continuation of 'Winter Soldier' with every plot point linking to Bucky, and that made it so much more cohesive than 'Ultron'. Things like Tony's parents, his guilt complex, Ross's attitude to the group, and the overall effect of past movies came to natural conclusions, but within the context of Steve's desire to keep his friend safe, which was obviously the emotional core. I think the Russos have demonstrated the best understanding of villains in the MCU so far, too. It’s no bad thing to have a Loki or Ultron in reserve for the next big smashy blockbuster, but it's a well that could easily run dry if they're not careful.

The thing about Deadpool is that he's a pretty niche character who doesn't have a great deal of recognition beyond very specific circles. Fox's marketing department made up for that by bringing in viewers who were just as interested in seeing it as a raunch comedy as they were in seeing it as a superhero story. I wouldn't say it worked because it was R-rated though, far from it. I think it worked because it was anarchic and irreverent and used the freedom of that rating to amp up those elements. It took advantage of existing inside a known universe and subverting it, a bit like punk rock kicking against a more corporate product.

Another one to really look forward to. I was excited about Boseman in the title role even before 'Civil War', but the prospect of seeing more of T'Challa's world on the big screen got a whole lot more intriguing afterwards. The supporting cast looks stellar. Jordan is one of the most promising actors of his generation, and Lupita Nyong'o can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes. It's a real shame that the X-Men universe is off-limits, she could have killed it as Storm. I'm not that familiar with Coogler's work, but for this to be a genuinely Afrocentric story rather than a mix-up of developing world stereotypes, Wakanda will need to be handled with care. Fingers crossed that he's up to the task.

I must have pressed the quote button before finalising the switch, so for good measure, I've edited your new username into my last post. Future quotes should automatically display the new name from now on, too.

Sorry, but name changes are only granted to members who have been here for three months or more. The only exception we make is when a member has accidentally misspelled their display name.

For four consecutive seasons now, we've walked the exact same path. Start the season calamitously, the manager is sacked, a new one parachutes in and, by hook or by crook, drags us to safety. At various points along the way we look completely doomed, obituaries are written and then torn up when we pull away from danger at the eleventh hour. Unfortunately for many of us, this club is infectious, rarely through quality but through passion and effort, bravery and stubbornness. One of these days, we might actually get it together and become a half decent, stable Premier League side, like I vaguely remember us being for about half an hour at the start of the decade. Perhaps if we're really lucky, we'll look back on next season's campaign and recall just how bloody uneventful it all was.

Done.

Not sure if it's going to mean much in the grand scheme of things, but the phone number is certainly real enough. This is the voicemail message you hear if you ring it.

I thought it was really good. It was more dense than Daredevil which, while also excellent, takes more of a 'by the book' approach to superhero action. This brought some real issues to the fore, and I liked the fact that the questions and the grey areas of complex morality arose from the plot in more of a natural way, instead of being grafted onto it. Slightly mixed feelings on Kilgrave though, I somehow felt that the more I saw of him, the less effective he became as the villain. During the first half of the season, he was probably only onscreen for about a quarter of an hour in total, and came off as legitimately terrifying.

Tuned in last night as a neutral hoping for a good game. Not quite sure how City pulled it off, but they managed to isolate Aguero, concede the midfield and look vulnerable on the break, all at the same time. That certainly takes some doing.

Got to see it earlier today. I'm aware that a lot of people haven't had the chance to go yet so I'll keep it as vague as I possibly can, but I'm happy to report that everything about it just hit the mark for me. The story is a bit of a slow burner with a very economical approach to action, which I personally prefer, but the fight scenes that were there were superbly done. The plot worked like a Swiss watch, the development for the supporting characters was better than that of main characters in most films and the dialogue was sparkling. I'm pretty sure it's my favourite MCU effort to date.

All three are available, so it's just a question of which you prefer.

It wouldn’t be Spurs without that trademark Spursy element, although in fairness, it was never really theirs to lose. I'd be lying if I said I cared for Leicester's style of play or some of the characters in their squad, but ultimately, when it's down to you to seize the points and you do it more than everyone else, you're the champions and deserving of everything that brings.

The impression I get from the Maxim cover is that their staff spent ages trying to drop poor old Sara into one of those portable dunk tanks you sometimes see at carnivals. Far be it from me to complain about the results, though.

Sounds good. I had no idea that Wonder Man was ever affiliated with the Guardians team, but as anyone who saw 'Firefly' will attest, Fillion can do the rugged spacefaring thing standing on his head.

Sorry, we already have a member by that name too. Is there another name you'd like, or perhaps a variation on one of your original choices?

In fairness, although none of my initial gripes with 'Revenant' have really changed, I read something much later that made me consider the ending in a completely different way. I'd be lying if I said I've ever felt the need to watch the whole thing again from start to finish, but I must admit, I've warmed to it a little bit more now.

If it's all the same Fred, I'll hedge for a few more weeks on the potential new thread title, as I could still find myself inhabiting that particular Emporium by then. I've probably seen about a dozen promotions and relegations while following my club, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that football supporters will forgive a multitude of quality-related sins. But when a player admits that he wasn’t really that committed and, by extension, not that bothered about results, it doesn't just speak volumes about their lack of pride or ambition in their own job, it's also an insult to the folks who pay north of £40 to watch it every other week. That the likes of Lescott seem unable or unwilling to grasp such things only goes to show how detached from reality they must be. Hopefully, Villa now put a decent coach in place (i.e. not Eric Black), boot out the big time charlies who've been stealing a wage, promote the best of the youngsters and acquire a few decent summer signings.