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Anyone with close ties to Hun Sen deserves to be regarded with extreme suspicion. The man presides over an odious, repressive and profoundly corrupt regime. The title 'Prime Minister' is misleading. He is effectively a dictator. When I travelled in Cambodia, I stayed briefly in the capital, Phnom Penh. On the second day, a small gathering of workers from the textile industry staged a peaceful protest against poor pay and conditions, as compared with those of similar workers in neighbouring Vietnam. Several of the protesters were unceremoniously gunned down by the PM's personal guards. As far as I know, nobody was ever brought to justice for these summary executions. It will be interesting to see how the EFL reacts to the news that BCFC have (allegedly) failed to disclose that Wang is a significant shareholder with close association to the Cambodian regime. If past performance is anything to go by, they'll procrastinate in deafening silence for months on end and then do absolutely bugger all. I know nothing at all about Wang, other than what I've just read above, but judging from the company he keeps, having him on your register of shareholders is not a good look.

How often this happens, but a bit annoying that those who want to use these players leaving as a stick with which to beat the club or management, are so much slower to come on here and admit they got it wrong.

I had the same view of him, it's weird as I think it all came from his Newcastle days and their fans spreading rumours he was one of Mike Ashley's mates from the casinos. Random story - Euro 2016 I was flying back on an early morning Easyjet from Lyon after the Portugal/Hungary 3-3. Wales played in the city a few days earlier and loads of their fans were on the flight. The queue for the gate was full of noisy half cut Welsh fans and who pops up at the back of it but Alan Pardew - carrying nothing, so I guess on a rapid 24 hour round trip to scout a Hungarian signing. There were the usual French airport strikes which meant it took a chaotic, disorganised rabble of a queue of Wales fans over an hour to get through passport control to the gate, and the flight was full. Pardew was the opposite of what I expected - neither aloof or self-entitled, he waited patiently at the back, spoke quietly to people who acknowledged him, he didn't push past or use speedy boarding. On the plane he politely navigated through loud mouth groups of Welsh fans to get to a random seat assignment right at the back - his demeanour was anything but supposed billionaires playboy mate. Not sure why I'm sharing this, it means very little, but at the time and in the circumstances I suppose I was expecting a very different attitude based on everything that was said about him at Newcastle.

Eight years ago today i took this photo In the East End. Don't remember the game but it means a lot to me. Lots of faces here. I miss it a lot. COYR

I’ve always found thanking him for this stuff odd. I’m not doubting how much money he’s put in, and how lucky we are to not have an owner like Morris. But…. is him clearing his own mess, no? He owns the club, he signs everything off, so this is surely is that should be expected. No one forced him to buy the club, this is part of the gig. It’s like he’s doing us a favour or something

Ta, thought Greece is the word though ?

He does it every year. It's a conversion of debt into equity. He likely has always held that debt via a convertible loan note - ie it would be converted at the point he sold or earlier if he wants to, so it doesn't really matter when it is converted. Honestly, it's really nothing to see here imo. It's done for accounting purposes and nothing else.

I can add my 0.000000001% to your and @Red-Robbo ‘s and we’re on our way to a takeover bid…… ?

Not exactly our missing link for promotion then is he?

not necessarily, it might hopefully stop people making false claims. And also encourage men who have been abused to come forward. AH didn’t have medical evidence of any injuries at all. You only have to compare her alleged broken nose with Rhianna’s! no glass injuries at all when she allegedly had been walking across broken glass. No bruises or lacerations on her face from when he allegedly hit multiple times whilst wearing massive chunky rings. the whole case made me so angry. I really do hope some good comes out of it, not just for JD.

Klose is right footed, he might be decent with his left too, but that’s his stronger one. It is true to say Cundy’s time in the team was when we had some of our best form but it is too simplistic to say that it was because he was playing & Kalas wasn’t. Atkinson was back in good form by then, the whole team was far more settled than previously & the pressure was off as the bottom 3 were adrift.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOADcuJgOm0 Highlights of Semenyo v Madagascar.

Pretty typical Semenyo goal involvement, ball into him, roll off his marker, pass… https://twitter.com/fevsfootball/status/1532142790196568068?s=21&t=tNMTF_RJrWxBckn1bJsX0A Looks like twitter links playing up again

The good news keeps on a coming!

Their whole ownership has been a shit show for ages. The previous guy who got jailed in Hong Kong & never had the funds, followed by absentee Chinese (never a good idea) owners. When you add in the shambles over parts of the ground being closed all last season & not sorted now, plus this, they are a mess.

Wasn't it also the case they could only call Moss because Heard mentioned her by name, with some previous agreement ex's couldn't be talked about or something? So another f up by Heard.

Costs a fortune and we’ve been a better side defensively since he got injured. Been a different player since Webster left.

Moore, Charlton, Greaves and probably Adams, Gazza, Shearer

You mean roughly 0.8% of the cost of the new Crossrail Elizabeth Line in London? In those terms, it’s next to nothing! Perhaps we should rename the missing Portishead rail link as the “Right Old Charlies Line” because it’s what we have been taken for down here yet again. And much though I would like to blame Marvin on this one, the blame for the rising costs and lack of action sits with national institutions and politicians rather than local ones, and they get away with it once more because our locals are so docile. It doesn’t help that the mainstream local journalism in and around Bristol is so pathetic. That really is a scandal as no one is aware of what is or isn’t happening and who to hold responsible, and why local democracy and politics is so lacking. How can people care or form an opinion on a subject in their area if they know nothing about it in the first place?

Wales v Ukraine on Sunday then ….come on Ukraine….

Early on in the game Frankie Boyle tweeted that the Scottish players were struggling to adapt to the sunshine..

Alan Pardew has left CSKA Sofia with immediate effect because of racist behaviour from some of the club's fans. The English coach, 60, became the Bulgarian club's technical director in November 2020 before being appointed manager this April. But Pardew is leaving because of the actions of a "small group of organised racist fans" at CSKA's league game at home to Botev Plovdiv on 19 May. "Unfortunately, my time here is over," read a statement on the club website. "The events before and after the match with Botev were not acceptable for me, for my assistant Alex Dyer, or for our players." Pardew confirmed that former Kilmarnock manager Dyer, who is black, is also leaving CSKA. Pardew had agreed to take charge for the remainder of their current campaign, which ended on 22 May, and for the 2022-23 season. But the ex-Newcastle and West Ham boss, who has managed seven English teams, chose to leave after numerous conversations with club officials over the past 10 days. The Botev game came four days after CSKA lost 1-0 to Levski Sofia in the Bulgarian Cup final and, according to reports, four of CSKA's black players were subjected to racist abuse and had bananas thrown at them. "The reason no-one gave an interview after the match was that we were all very outraged by the situation that had escalated," the statement added. "Our players decided to play only out of loyalty and to protect the club. The small group of organised racist fans who tried to sabotage this match is not what I want to lead and represent the team. "This is not the right path for the benefit of CSKA, because such a club deserves much more." ——————————————- Quite right Mr Pardew

They are superbly supported, Bilbao. I used to live in Madrid and followed Rayo Vallecano. About 11 years ago, on the day they played each other at the Theresa Rivera in Vallecas, me and the lads were having a few beers when literally thousands of Bilbao supporters descended on the area. This is unheard of normally as away support isn’t usually small over there. We started to worry that things were going to get very tasy, but it was all apparently arranged. The Rayo boys and the Bilbao lads all proceeded to going on a beer, spliff and pyro march around the area in solidarity over their left wing views and their joint hatred of the fascists: Real Madrid. An unforgettable day of football, before and after.

The English Football League says that it will be making enquiries with Birmingham City Football Club following the revelation by RFA earlier this week that Cambodian diplomat Wang Yaohui secretly controls an eighth of the club’s shares. Under English Football League regulations, Birmingham City is obliged to disclose both to the league and publicly the identity of any person who directly or indirectly holds “any Significant Interest in the club.” Birmingham’s ownership disclosure does not name Wang, something that could cause problems for the club. Contacted on Tuesday, the English Football League’s communications manager Billy Nickson indicated in an email that the league was looking into the issues raised in RFA’s report. “All Clubs are aware of their obligations in respect of providing the appropriate and necessary disclosures in accordance with EFL Regulations,” Nickson wrote. “The EFL will take the matter up with the Club.” The EFL Championship is English soccer’s second highest division. Born in China in 1966, Wang Yaohui is a naturalized Cambodian citizen and minister counselor at Cambodia’s embassy in Singapore. He has extensive business ties to one of Cambodia’s most powerful families, headed by ruling party Sen. Lau Ming Kan and his wife Choeung Sopheap. The couple are allies of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Wang’s stake in the soccer club is held through a company listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange called Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited, which owns 75 percent of the club. In December 2017, Wang acquired 8.52 percent of Birmingham Sports Holdings through a British Virgin Islands company called Dragon Villa Ltd. In the years since, filings with the Hong Kong stock exchange show he increased his stake to 17.08 percent, giving him a 12.8 percent interest in the club itself. In its own disclosure statement, Birmingham City identifies Dragon Villa as being owned by a Chinese citizen named Lei Sutong. However, documents seen by RFA suggest that he is owner in name only. Corporate secrecy laws in the British Virgin Islands make it virtually impossible for members of the public to ascertain who the true owner of Dragon Villa is. However, filings lodged with the Singapore High Court reveal that it is in fact Wang. Gold Star Aviation Pte Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dragon Villa involved in the owning and operation of private jets. It is currently the defendant in a civil action in Singapore. Among its co-defendants is a Taiwanese-American named Jenny Shao, who Wang has granted power-of-attorney over his affairs since at least 2009. In a sworn affidavit submitted by Shao’s lawyers on her behalf and dated October 2020, she describes herself as Dragon Villa’s “authorized signatory.” She adds that Dragon Villa “is beneficially owned by Mr. Wang.” A beneficial owner is a person who enjoys the benefits of owning a company, even if it is held in someone else’s name. Former associates of Wang, who asked not to be identified citing security concerns, confirmed to RFA that Wang was Dragon Villa's beneficial owner. The statement is also echoed in other affidavits lodged as part of the Singapore court case. Records also show that Dragon Villa has been involved in the ownership networks of several other Wang-linked enterprises. Should the EFL find the club violated regulations by failing to disclose Wang’s control of Dragon Villa – and therefore 12.8 percent of the club – then Birmingham City could face sanctions from the league. TAKEN FROM : https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/wang-yaohui-stake-birmingham-city-soccer-club-06012022173022.html

SL has, yet again, put his hand in his pocket and purchased £15.3 m worth of shares…..https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-city-owner-steve-lansdown-7158256

Not a chance in hell that crosses anyone's mind I've seen lots of random things blamed on various political parties in the politics section of this forum but this is one of the best

Personally I think we can only judge his entire reign when he sells as it will depend how and when he sells.

Just saw this new Stoke away strip, a thing of beauty (to my jaded eyeballs at least....)

Celtic Manor would be the easiest "abroad" option.

Using his own money to pay off debts owed to himself. Fair play.

We should have relegated them when we had the chance. Can’t stand that club and city.

Helpfully had just moved to Bristol already for the FAW job too, I work with her girlfriend (at tje time) and managed to get a referral fee when she joined our agency. Everyone’s a winner

Yep, was at Watford wasn’t she? Think a recommendation to help support Lauren Smith. I really do like the “one club” feel. It’s probably not important to the men’s first team in reality, but it does no harm.

And yet some would say the coaching is terrible.

Watch most of this shit show, It boiled down to Johnny had proof amber didn't Imo she took advantage of the #metoo movement to destroy her ex husband, she's set real sufferers of DV back with her lies, That's what really made me mad about all this

That Jimmy is washed up isn't he...

I bet Charlotte Gay wishes she'd got some claim to her footage, she could have retired from local news by now

The boy is delighted we lost the toss as gets to see Jimmy bowl

Probably a case that most people in football are decent, but perceptions spoiled by the minority.

https://twitter.com/shanca01/status/1532113872290820097?s=21&t=Vbziu32l6cx_UwwEd1krlw

Put them in row z... more likely to get hit

Balance wise I don’t think we will play three left footed CBs. I also don’t think Kalas can play WB from an attacking perspective, NP will be looking for an actual WB if we play that formation, no more square pegs in round holes. I’d like us to keep TK but I won’t be too disappointed if he does leave and we get a few quid for him. He’s a good defender but not sure he makes enough difference compared to his wages. Cundy came in for him at the end of last season (on a mere fraction of what TK is on) and it coincided with possibly our best run of form

WE won. We being a side that isn't the best part of 50 miles away.

They don't make programmes like that anymore.

No surprise to those of us that understands the beautiful game. I’ve never rated Scottish football - they just don’t have enough quality players.

Yessssssss !! One bunch of tossers down; one more bunch of tossers to go !! (Sunday)

That's why I regard everything you post as unreliable. I've never seen any of your posts on the OS!!!

Still think it was Moore, Vyner, Palmer and Bakinson. Think those are the players with “no future, I’ll get rid of them” type comments. Kalas, I’m sure he’d like to stay, but agree that he’d want to bring his salary down too. If he doesn’t want to do that then he’ll try to move him on, but different category to the other four, imho.

I would like us to evolve into this in future, but would love to see Nige still involved. We needed Nige’s experience of building teams when Holden went, especially in this financial climate. Whether he would stay on as “Football Director” type role I doubt it, but I’d love it if he was around for a good while yet.