g3.7

Not sure if it has been pointed out, but neither fullback in his system is free to go forwards down the flank: one goes into midfield and the other becomes a third central defender. I reckon James can do both, and both better than cucurella. I dint put much stall behind Marc's form moving into midfield at the end of the season - to me pochettino did that primarily to add ballast to the midfield, maresca will be looking for that player to do a lot with the ball in potentially tight spaces. I'm not worried by the performances or results in pre season so far as I think they are fairly easily and obviously explained, but i do wonder if maresca will consider other ways to play deploy his preferred 3-2 with the ball.

In fairness, almost by definition it isn't easy to open up teams that sit deep.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/enzo-fernandez-racism-france-chelsea-33293194?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target Maybe we can do something similar for Enzo's return to the bridge?

You just can't say anything anymore.

No, it's a different thing. You and I are disagreeing on a couple of things in my above post. There isn't denialism from either of us there. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denialism

Yes. "'person of colour'. Not 'coloured person'. There's an important difference. It's an evidence-based contention, not an assumption. And his family being of colour is irrelevant. It's like the old "my best friend is black so I can't be racist" line of logic.

Yikes.

Just not the ones in the song fernandez sung?

This is exactly what you have been doing.

There's a difference between disagreement and outright and repeated denialism (cf. It can't be racist cos there are white angolans etc), and I would argue the threshold for the latter has been met by at least a couple of posters.

Sorry the format (and content) of your post is a mess, but you have said there are plenty of fans of colour who don't think it is racist, yet you have only been able to provide a single example to back this up. So I'll repeat - this is an outlier (or minority) view, and it is on you to prove it is not.

They are majority black countries and it is a majority black continent. You're excusing the inexcusable. The song chooses those countries precisely for this reason. Blackness and Africa are inrxtricably linked when discussing ideas of race. It is interesting that people are more upset about others being correctly described as apologists for racism than they see about the racism itself. Very telling. So let me state this: repeated denial that this is racism is tantamount to racist gaslighting.

Is it more of a secret vice? Do you reckon they can see it in your eyes?

Are they aware you go on the Internet to act as an apologist for racism?

Simply to describe something the way it is. I know that is controversial in this thread, but that isn't something in my control.

Yes, it is their job, as anti racist organisations. They wouldn't be weighing in to say it is racist if it didn't fall within their remit and that definition. Who? Give us names. I'm not clear on the point you're making. But I'll repeat that it is saying that black French people are not authentically French, and that is a racist sentiment. So when the media's consensus view is that something is racist it can simply be dismissed on this basis? https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism Why have you ommitted large parts of their definition? This is very suspect behaviour. I'll direct you to this part of their definition: " also : behavior or attitudes that reflect and foster this belief : racial discrimination or prejudice" In this case, the song is racist because it says that black French people are not really French, or in other words they and their national identities are less than those of white French people. This is the very heart of why it is racist. I'll repeat, you and notnowjim are building strong cases for yourselves as apologists for racism.

Every anti racist organisation that has weighed in has called it racist. The overwhelming majority of media is calling it racist. Players and former players have called it out as racist. Fans of colour are calling it out as racist. The onus is on you to prove that he is not an outlier. The fact is that he is massively outnumbered and if you are going to deny this obvious reality then the burden of proof is on you. This has been explained numerous times, but again, the lyrics are explicit in denying that those players are genuinely French. What is your source for this? It is a single line of text. It isn't untrue, but it is by no means a comprehensive definition. So even by your logic, it is racist.

I responded precisely to the part you put in bold. Have a look back. I'm not disregarding his view, I'm saying it's an outlier. Have polls "been done"? Do you realise your denialism is making you look like an apologist for racism?

Firstly, is that person not tired of racism? Not sure that putting those words into their mouth is fair or accurate. Secondly, and more importantly, familiarise yourself with the concept of 'outliers'.

Nibs, this isn't being 'offended' by just 'anything'. Black players in our squad have been racially abused by another one of our players. By extension all black French people have been abused in the song when you consider it's implications. At the heights of the liberal consensus, the white commentariat, policy makers, and general educated groups in sections of the global north started to talk about racism like it was a thing of the past because (for example) paki bashing doesn't happen anymore, people don't put up signs saying no blacks, no dogs, no irish, and so on. This was never something accepted by the majority of non white people in countries like ours, who still continue to be discriminated against in the present (see the racial disparity in pay for one example), and who still suffer to this day as a consequence of historic racist wrongs (see Windrush related injustices, poorer health outcomes, absence of reparations etc). We have watched with horror the inevitable rise of the far right in France as the Liberal consensus shattered and successive governments failed to respond to economic pressures and conservative anxieties. We're now at the point where Le pen is favourite to be the next president of France in 2027. One of Le pens policies is to bar dual nationals who the describe as merely "French on paper" from certain jobs. In other words, there is a potential far right government waiting to enshrine in the French constitution the racist sentiment expressed in the song fernandez was singing. Meanwhile the far right government in Argentina has sacked it's sports minister for asking for the leaders of the Argentina football team to apologise, doubling down on the language by declaring it 'true'. This is the context. There are real world consequences for this stuff. As we speak, Wesley Fofana, our player, is being called a monkey and being told to go back to Africa in response to his public opposition to the song. A number of posters have patiently (i no longer qualify for patient) explained to those who do not understand why the song is racist. This is not a point for debate. I can accept that people are educated to different levels about this matter, and that is partly down to when they were educated about it, but those people cannot pretend to still be confused. The time for saying it isn't racist because there isn't a specific racist term in the song is over. We have explained it contains racist sentiment. The time for saying well it's about mbappe and is factual is over. It isn't. They are talking about all French people, the song used the word 'they'. The time for saying 'people' get easily offended these days is over. These 'people' are people of colour and we are beyond tired with being gaslit when we say we won't tolerate racism. The logical and rhetorical acrobatics people are making to deny racism speaks volumes. I am not asking anyone to be offended, I am saying plainly that the song was racist and no effort to minimise, deflect, distort, or deny is going to stop that. I am actually shocked by the response to this- I would have hoped we could have quickly moved on from the obvious (the racism) to how to support our black players and considerations of what can be done to sanction and) if possible) rehabilitate fernandez. Instead, so furious has been the pushback and denial to this, I have to conclude that certain members of this forum hold racist ideas.

Ladies and gentlemen: a collection of racists.

Nearly there now - who specifically is the "they", and what do they have in common? Edit - and not to go off topic, but why is talking about sexual preference /orientation offensive?

It's instructive that your instinct is to invent odd caveats to avoid describing something obviously racist as racist.

Fofana posted about it on Instagram. He made clear to the public that he does not accept racism. You should be applauding him.

Why is it offensive and ignorant?