Offside (General Discussion)

boldbadger1 said:Good Lord, I honestly thought "anger" was the actual name being used here... 😬

My bad, 🙂

No worries...
But clearly, you get exactly what I mean.

Matthew Young35 said:No worries...
But clearly, you get exactly what I mean.

Yeah, true enough.

Mostly it’s just pure anger—you aren't nearly as confrontational as he is, otherwise people would be calling you out just like they do him.🙂

boldbadger1 said:Yeah, true enough.

Mostly it’s just pure anger—you aren't nearly as confrontational as he is, otherwise people would be calling you out just like they do him.🙂

Believe me, I am. I've just been a bit quiet over the last year or two.

No worries...

But honestly, sometimes I genuinely can't tell if certain posts are aimed at me or him.
Not directed at you—just speaking generally.

Matthew Young35 said:Believe me, I am. I've just been a bit quiet over the last year or two.

No worries...

But honestly, sometimes I genuinely can't tell if certain posts are aimed at me or him.
Not directed at you—just speaking generally.

I know, you paragoljuban ustasofob 😬

I am by no means a confrontational individual. It is quite rare to witness me engaging in disputes with my fellow forum members. If it weren't for this whole situation regarding Ukraine, you wouldn't even know I existed.

Justin James10 said:We claim to be the best, yet a crew of incompetent bureaucrats and party loyalists works tirelessly to ensure we stay that way. We are stumbling, Vekjo, losing ground while critics from across the oceans laugh at us! 🕺 Karlo Ressler and Dubravka Šuica are the perfect embodiment of where we are headed. 🤦

And you really think there isn't someone like "Dubravka Šuica" tucked away in the Chinese or American establishment? Like everyone over there is just a bunch of Einsteins?

By the way, if you’ve finished all the Vikings episodes and are craving something similar, season five of The Last Kingdom just dropped.
To be honest, I actually think it’s better than Vikings. I ended up dropping Vikings after the second season because the characters were just getting on my nerves.

wiredfalcon2 said:And you really think there isn't someone like "Dubravka Šuica" tucked away in the Chinese or American establishment? Like everyone over there is just a bunch of Einsteins?

Do you really think that’s what I’m claiming? 🙂

The world is watching us... and let's face it, even if people don't like it, we are all in this together. It's practically common sense—or as our neighbors to the East might put it, "two eyes in one head." 🤣 But China is moving forward aggressively, and I won't pretend I'm happy about it; they are ruthless and they don't play fair.

You’re right; if I’m feeling on edge lately, there is a very specific reason for it. After my mother passed away, I made a solemn promise to her that I would strive to live by the values she instilled in me—specifically, to avoid unnecessary conflict and constant bickering, which was something she always corrected me on. I am currently facing a massive test of character: will I emerge as a better man, or will I succumb to that old, primal rage that just wants to burn everything down in retaliation? Here is the situation: I was working for a lifelong friend. He suffered a severe nervous breakdown, and while he was recovering, his colleagues—consultants I wasn't even aware were part of the firm—stepped in and seized control of all his projects. It is absolutely infuriating how some people operate. They terminated my employment simply because I wasn't "one of them," using my friend's illness as an excuse to hijack his workload. To make matters worse, they didn't even have the decency to notify me that I was being let go. There was zero communication. I only found out three days ago by sheer coincidence when I went in to check on things. Because a full month has already slipped by, I've lost my health insurance coverage. Frankly, I couldn't care less about the paycheck or the insurance at this stage. This is strictly a matter of principle and how people conduct themselves. Right now, I am locked in an internal struggle. One side of me wants to move on, put this behind me, and find a new job where I can get back on my feet—that would be the "upgrade" to my anger, honoring the promise I made to my mother to be a better person. The other side wants to unleash the demons and dismantle them so thoroughly that they’ll be paying out of their own pockets to settle the legal mess. I am miserable because I am torn between these two versions of myself. But God, I would love to ruin them, because they have acted like absolute cowards.

Jonathan Barnes5 said:I’m pulling this from another thread because things tend to make a bit more sense over there once the emotions settle down.

I have to say, there is a fascinating paradox in how certain "historical facts" are selectively used—essentially twisting reality to fit a specific, delusional narrative. People from the South often fall into this trap, applying the same selective filters to recent history regarding officiating and sports organizations.

Specifically, they always trace the root of all corruption and nepotism back to the 90s and Tuđman, acting as if he personally dragged a whole group of people out of a parallel universe in the 90s and teleported them straight into the USA. It’s incredible how few people—and specifically those pushing this narrative—want to point out that back in 1945, Tuđman was watching the exact same looting and restructuring of society, where apartments, villas, summer homes, positions on boards, bonuses for foreign work, and business permits were being handed out left and right.

Even more striking is how they never mention the contrast between how Civic and Hajduk fared during that era. They never ask who the regime’s darling actually was, or why one team could secure better transfers than Dinamo. In the context of the big four, Dinamo has arguably the fewest titles and finishes in second place far too often, and their goal difference in derbies is telling.

So, when our friend from the South accuses Tuđman of favoring one club over another, I’m fairly certain he’s actually celebrating his own club's successes from the Yugoslavia era—successes driven by Hajduk administrations that operated with a logic identical to the USA in the 90s. But hey, they don't let that stop them.
They conveniently forget that the political elite at Dinamo were essentially just doing the heavy lifting, which was usually the job of mid-level bureaucrats, whereas at Hajduk, it was a deliberate strategy. Personally, I don't mind that they were successful, especially during the 70s, but we achieved our milestones despite the administration, while they achieved theirs because of it.

Building on those points, we eventually hit the 90s. Alongside the crooked first president of the country, a whole horde of old-guard party officials arrived, triggering a massive redistribution of wealth similar to what happened when the previous regime collapsed. It’s also quite telling to look at the role the second president played in that division; his involvement was far more direct than anything you could ever link back to Tuđman, though I suppose that doesn't matter much to our friends down in Miami.

Regarding this frantic era of people fleeing the country and the post-game violence... well, you all have a point. Back during the old unified era, nobody was migrating away from rural areas like this 🤣🤣. Instead of being honest about the reality—which is a continuous exodus from these regions dating back to the late 19th century—people try to pin the entire blame on Tuđman. Honestly, because of various shenanigans by holdovers from the old system, we never actually experienced a true transition to liberal capitalism, so many people simply went looking for luck in places where capitalism isn't viewed as an enemy.

And frankly, this overreach of calling Tuđman a dictator is peak left-wing rhetoric you'd see on a radical blog, but fine. I won't dwell on impressions, but it is interesting how we all swallowed the reports during the second president's term and accepted the new coalitions, all while "freedom of speech" was being preached 😁. Meanwhile, the primary opposition weekly newspapers ended up under government control with enough assets to establish their own private foundations.

To wrap things up, besides the vision he seemingly picked up from certain Hajduk supporters from the islands and local craftsmen, I’d point out that Franjo supposedly hated Hajduk more than anything. Actually, no—he hated the name Dinamo, and that's a nuance you can't quite grasp. Not to mention that
his main opposition consisted of the very people you'll be watching across the aisle this Saturday.

I understand it hurts when you're pushing a specific narrative, especially when the people you've cast as villains were actually a much bigger thorn in his side and faced ten times the repression compared to the characters you're trying to sell us on.

Well, that's what happens when you interpret things entirely at random.

Depending on whether you support Dinamo or Hajduk, your identity changes. 👍

We kind of missed this during the debate because everyone was focused on other stuff, but it’s honestly a disaster how people here think politics is responsible for everything, including every single sports result.
Just wipe away the Johnson era—what successes are we even talking about? In America, for example, people actually respect those eras. You have legends like Vince Lombardi or Bill Belichick whose names are baked into the culture of winning, and people actually study their methods and apply them everywhere because they truly understand how to win.

But here? It’s all just noise on the sidelines because it’s always about Sill, Kirigan, Tito, or the FBI... It's just awful.

As for centralization, it hasn't been much of an issue lately—hardly anyone mentions it anymore, at least down south where I am. Things were actually looking up until the whole rebranding thing got hit by a wave of colds, flu, and pneumonia, and now the Russians are gonna screw everything up completely.

Kyle Campbell4 said:You’re right; if I’m feeling on edge lately, there is a very specific reason for it. After my mother passed away, I made a solemn promise to her that I would strive to live by the values she instilled in me—specifically, to avoid unnecessary conflict and constant bickering, which was something she always corrected me on. I am currently facing a massive test of character: will I emerge as a better man, or will I succumb to that old, primal rage that just wants to burn everything down in retaliation? Here is the situation: I was working for a lifelong friend. He suffered a severe nervous breakdown, and while he was recovering, his colleagues—consultants I wasn't even aware were part of the firm—stepped in and seized control of all his projects. It is absolutely infuriating how some people operate. They terminated my employment simply because I wasn't "one of them," using my friend's illness as an excuse to hijack his workload. To make matters worse, they didn't even have the decency to notify me that I was being let go. There was zero communication. I only found out three days ago by sheer coincidence when I went in to check on things. Because a full month has already slipped by, I've lost my health insurance coverage. Frankly, I couldn't care less about the paycheck or the insurance at this stage. This is strictly a matter of principle and how people conduct themselves. Right now, I am locked in an internal struggle. One side of me wants to move on, put this behind me, and find a new job where I can get back on my feet—that would be the "upgrade" to my anger, honoring the promise I made to my mother to be a better person. The other side wants to unleash the demons and dismantle them so thoroughly that they’ll be paying out of their own pockets to settle the legal mess. I am miserable because I am torn between these two versions of myself. But God, I would love to ruin them, because they have acted like absolute cowards.

I'm not working with the CIA anymore since I don't have an American firm on my payroll, but I am pretty damn sure this whole thing is illegal.

I'm curious, which specific industry are these consultants operating in?

Justin James10 said:Do you really think that’s what I’m claiming? 🙂

The world is watching us... and let's face it, even if people don't like it, we are all in this together. It's practically common sense—or as our neighbors to the East might put it, "two eyes in one head." 🤣 But China is moving forward aggressively, and I won't pretend I'm happy about it; they are ruthless and they don't play fair.

Look, I don't actually have an issue with the Chinese being successful. It doesn't bother me, really, as long as they aren't dropping bombs on us. I think we need to chill out a bit. Having the highest GDP per capita isn't everything if the average person already has everything they need to live a good life. Honestly, the average person in the US can lead a pretty high-quality life—everything from food choices and healthcare to having a roof over your head, plus all the travel, partying, drugs, or skiing you want. At the end of the day, you can only eat one lunch, not ten of them.

Back when the US was hitting its stride, a ton of companies rushed over to China because of capitalism, which basically made us dependent on their manufacturing. We've known for a while now that we need to fix that, obviously. Of course, you can't undo fifty years of neglect overnight, but again, as long as nobody is bombing us and we still have the quality of life we currently enjoy (ignoring the recent war stuff, obviously), what do you actually need? Do you really need to be able to send some Pyong Yang Lin a link to TradingEconomics just to brag about who has a higher GDP per capita? Most of that money just goes toward junk funds, Netflix subscriptions, and piles of clothes they don't even need anyway.

I'm telling you, as long as nobody starts dropping bombs, there’s nothing to worry about in America. Everything will be fine.

wiredfalcon2 said:Look, I don't actually have an issue with the Chinese being successful. It doesn't bother me, really, as long as they aren't dropping bombs on us. I think we need to chill out a bit. Having the highest GDP per capita isn't everything if the average person already has everything they need to live a good life. Honestly, the average person in the US can lead a pretty high-quality life—everything from food choices and healthcare to having a roof over your head, plus all the travel, partying, drugs, or skiing you want. At the end of the day, you can only eat one lunch, not ten of them.

Back when the US was hitting its stride, a ton of companies rushed over to China because of capitalism, which basically made us dependent on their manufacturing. We've known for a while now that we need to fix that, obviously. Of course, you can't undo fifty years of neglect overnight, but again, as long as nobody is bombing us and we still have the quality of life we currently enjoy (ignoring the recent war stuff, obviously), what do you actually need? Do you really need to be able to send some Pyong Yang Lin a link to TradingEconomics just to brag about who has a higher GDP per capita? Most of that money just goes toward junk funds, Netflix subscriptions, and piles of clothes they don't even need anyway.

I'm telling you, as long as nobody starts dropping bombs, there’s nothing to worry about in America. Everything will be fine.

The devil is in the details, 🕺 and if we lose our footing tomorrow, the bombs start falling.

wiredfalcon2 said:Look, I don't actually have an issue with the Chinese being successful. It doesn't bother me, really, as long as they aren't dropping bombs on us. I think we need to chill out a bit. Having the highest GDP per capita isn't everything if the average person already has everything they need to live a good life. Honestly, the average person in the US can lead a pretty high-quality life—everything from food choices and healthcare to having a roof over your head, plus all the travel, partying, drugs, or skiing you want. At the end of the day, you can only eat one lunch, not ten of them.

Back when the US was hitting its stride, a ton of companies rushed over to China because of capitalism, which basically made us dependent on their manufacturing. We've known for a while now that we need to fix that, obviously. Of course, you can't undo fifty years of neglect overnight, but again, as long as nobody is bombing us and we still have the quality of life we currently enjoy (ignoring the recent war stuff, obviously), what do you actually need? Do you really need to be able to send some Pyong Yang Lin a link to TradingEconomics just to brag about who has a higher GDP per capita? Most of that money just goes toward junk funds, Netflix subscriptions, and piles of clothes they don't even need anyway.

I'm telling you, as long as nobody starts dropping bombs, there’s nothing to worry about in America. Everything will be fine.

🕺😢

Jonathan Barnes5 said:🕺😢

We never actually settled on how big the handle should be.☕

Just finished watching the Admiral's guest appearance on that podcast, and man, what absolute dominance 😂 🙏

I know he can be a bit much—I catch his clips whenever I'm in the mood for some chaos—but this one totally eclipsed all his previous appearances 🙏

The host, who usually spends the whole time sucking up to him, was left completely speechless by what he was hearing, especially since the Admiral wouldn't even let him get a question out. Honestly, if it lasted 12 hours, I wouldn't have blinked; I could have watched the whole thing in one sitting. It’s a shame they probably won't invite him back 🤣

Justin James10 said:The devil is in the details, 🕺 and if we lose our footing tomorrow, the bombs start falling.

What makes you say that?

wiredfalcon2 said:What makes you say that?

Because let's be honest, the world isn't some idyllic meadow where happy little children skip hand-in-hand through the grass, right? 🙂

There are plenty of bad actors out there who would love nothing more than to see Europe reduced to ashes.

boldbadger1 said:I'm not working with the CIA anymore since I don't have an American firm on my payroll, but I am pretty damn sure this whole thing is illegal.

There are far too many suspicious activities happening under the radar with what they’re doing. That is exactly why I maintain that you could actually recoup your money if you simply filed a formal report with the authorities. I still need to determine whether this will result in a productive outcome or just an outburst of pure, unadulterated rage.

Jonathan Barnes5 said:I'm curious, which specific industry are these consultants operating in?

The allocation of EU funds remains a critical pillar of our economic infrastructure.