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๐‰๐จ๐ฌ๐ก ๐‰๐š๐œ๐ค ๐ƒ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‰๐จ๐ฌ๐ก ๐‰๐š๐œ๐ค ๐Ÿ’ฅ Just getting round posting Josh Jacks incredible striker against Hearts 'B' last Friday evening. An excellent hit. ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’™

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Cumbernauld Colts Community Football Club

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10,355 views โ€ข 1 year ago โ€ขvia X (Twitter)

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OF Nolan Schubart (OSU Cowboy Baseball) has some of the most impressive raw power of any college hitter in this year's Draft class. Burst onto the scene as a true Freshman and hit .338/.451/.667 with 20 2B, 17 HRs and 74 RBIs. Schubart followed with an excellent Sophomore campaign to the tune of a .370/.513/.838 slash line with 10 2B, 23 HRs and 68 RBIs. Both his 23 HRs and 68 RBIs led the Big 12. Schubart was a Second Team All-American and earned an invitation to Team USA. Prior to departing for Cary, Schubart had a productive 9-game stint on the Cape in which he hit .300/.476/.667 with 2 2B and 3 HRs. Also showed well for Team USA. Schubart has a pro body at 6'5" and 223-lbs with strength throughout. Particular length in his lower-half. Stands tall in the box with a medium-high handset and his hands in line with his back shoulder. Small stride, drops his hands and wraps his bat a bit in his load. Swing is tailored towards getting the ball up in the air and doing damage. No shortage of bat speed. Hips really fire. Key is keeping the operation direct and connected. Not to get too hyperbolic, but the biggest key to Schubart reaching his ceiling is how much he'll hit. More specifically, how much he'll make contact. Had an overall contact rate of just 63% and an overall IZ contact rate of 71%. Between the Cape and USA it was 68% and 78%, respectively. Particularly susceptible to spin in the bottom and outer-halves of the zone, and heaters in the top-1/2 of the zone. While there are swing-and-miss concerns, Schubart's swing decisions are pretty sound and he chased at an overall clip of 21% last spring. If he can do a better job of picking up spin out of the handโ€”which in turn would up his contact rateโ€”that will help him maximize his hit tool. Schubart's calling card is his thunderous raw power. His ability to cover the plate with authority is impressive, and he can hammer the baseball to all fields. It's legit HR power to all parts of the yard, the key is just making enough contact to tap into his immense power on a consistent basis in pro ball. Schubart's impact is real (to say the least) and last spring he posted a 90th-percentile EV of 111.6 and a Max EV of 115. Even in his brief stint on the Cape his Max EV was 105.6. It's 70 raw power. Defensively, Schubart has held down LF to this point but he seems destined for 1B/DH professionally. You're buying his power and hoping you can add a couple coats of polish to his hit tool. 2nd Round type for me this July. (๐Ÿ“ฝ๏ธ: OSU Cowboy Baseball)
0:24

OF Nolan Schubart (OSU Cowboy Baseball) has some of the most impressive raw power of any college hitter in this year's Draft class. Burst onto the scene as a true Freshman and hit .338/.451/.667 with 20 2B, 17 HRs and 74 RBIs. Schubart followed with an excellent Sophomore campaign to the tune of a .370/.513/.838 slash line with 10 2B, 23 HRs and 68 RBIs. Both his 23 HRs and 68 RBIs led the Big 12. Schubart was a Second Team All-American and earned an invitation to Team USA. Prior to departing for Cary, Schubart had a productive 9-game stint on the Cape in which he hit .300/.476/.667 with 2 2B and 3 HRs. Also showed well for Team USA. Schubart has a pro body at 6'5" and 223-lbs with strength throughout. Particular length in his lower-half. Stands tall in the box with a medium-high handset and his hands in line with his back shoulder. Small stride, drops his hands and wraps his bat a bit in his load. Swing is tailored towards getting the ball up in the air and doing damage. No shortage of bat speed. Hips really fire. Key is keeping the operation direct and connected. Not to get too hyperbolic, but the biggest key to Schubart reaching his ceiling is how much he'll hit. More specifically, how much he'll make contact. Had an overall contact rate of just 63% and an overall IZ contact rate of 71%. Between the Cape and USA it was 68% and 78%, respectively. Particularly susceptible to spin in the bottom and outer-halves of the zone, and heaters in the top-1/2 of the zone. While there are swing-and-miss concerns, Schubart's swing decisions are pretty sound and he chased at an overall clip of 21% last spring. If he can do a better job of picking up spin out of the handโ€”which in turn would up his contact rateโ€”that will help him maximize his hit tool. Schubart's calling card is his thunderous raw power. His ability to cover the plate with authority is impressive, and he can hammer the baseball to all fields. It's legit HR power to all parts of the yard, the key is just making enough contact to tap into his immense power on a consistent basis in pro ball. Schubart's impact is real (to say the least) and last spring he posted a 90th-percentile EV of 111.6 and a Max EV of 115. Even in his brief stint on the Cape his Max EV was 105.6. It's 70 raw power. Defensively, Schubart has held down LF to this point but he seems destined for 1B/DH professionally. You're buying his power and hoping you can add a couple coats of polish to his hit tool. 2nd Round type for me this July. (๐Ÿ“ฝ๏ธ: OSU Cowboy Baseball)

Peter Flaherty III

66,471 views โ€ข 1 year ago

The taxation regime of gas and oil exploration in this country is not understood which has led to an enormous amount of misinformation. Here are the facts: 1. Oil and gas companies pay 30 cents tax on their profits just like every other company in Australia. That means that Australians already have 30% ownership. 2. Oil and gas companies pay a super profit tax on their profits known as the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax. The PRRT has collected very little revenue to date for two reasons a) there has been an enormous amount of capital invested in getting these projects up resulting in large depreciation offsets and b) the gas was foolishly sold forward at very cheap prices when the projects were given the go ahead. A lot of these contracts will roll off over the next decade resulting in larger profits and a larger tax for taxpayers. 3. 70-80% of gas and oil exploration in Australia is unsuccessful. Offshore gas exploration is not a multi million dollar business- itโ€™s a multi billion dollar business. The idea that taxpayers should fund 30% of offshore oil and gas exploration is absurd. The last person to come up with that idea was Gough Whitlam. Needless to say no banks would lend against such a proposition. has always had a policy to abolish the PRRT and replace it with a 5-10% royalty on Sales. Combined with the 30% company tax that will guarantee that Australians share in over 40% of the profits of any offshore oil and gas project. Thatโ€™s an excellent return given taxpayers incur no risk. Iโ€™ve done up a table in comments showing the share Australians will receive based on operating profit margin before tax. David Pocock, the Greens and One Nation are all wrong on this. The formers 25% export tax will wipe out most of the profits made eliminating the incentive to further explore for gas. One Nation offering to fund 30% of exploration costs for mostly foreign owned companies will expose taxpayers to billions of dollars in subsidies with no guarantee of return. Australia desperately needs sensible economic reform. Unfortunately none of the parties in Canberra have a clue how to make this happen.
3:57

The taxation regime of gas and oil exploration in this country is not understood which has led to an enormous amount of misinformation. Here are the facts: 1. Oil and gas companies pay 30 cents tax on their profits just like every other company in Australia. That means that Australians already have 30% ownership. 2. Oil and gas companies pay a super profit tax on their profits known as the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax. The PRRT has collected very little revenue to date for two reasons a) there has been an enormous amount of capital invested in getting these projects up resulting in large depreciation offsets and b) the gas was foolishly sold forward at very cheap prices when the projects were given the go ahead. A lot of these contracts will roll off over the next decade resulting in larger profits and a larger tax for taxpayers. 3. 70-80% of gas and oil exploration in Australia is unsuccessful. Offshore gas exploration is not a multi million dollar business- itโ€™s a multi billion dollar business. The idea that taxpayers should fund 30% of offshore oil and gas exploration is absurd. The last person to come up with that idea was Gough Whitlam. Needless to say no banks would lend against such a proposition. has always had a policy to abolish the PRRT and replace it with a 5-10% royalty on Sales. Combined with the 30% company tax that will guarantee that Australians share in over 40% of the profits of any offshore oil and gas project. Thatโ€™s an excellent return given taxpayers incur no risk. Iโ€™ve done up a table in comments showing the share Australians will receive based on operating profit margin before tax. David Pocock, the Greens and One Nation are all wrong on this. The formers 25% export tax will wipe out most of the profits made eliminating the incentive to further explore for gas. One Nation offering to fund 30% of exploration costs for mostly foreign owned companies will expose taxpayers to billions of dollars in subsidies with no guarantee of return. Australia desperately needs sensible economic reform. Unfortunately none of the parties in Canberra have a clue how to make this happen.

Gerard Rennick

25,352 views โ€ข 4 months ago

What an evening. What an inaugural Enhanced Games event. Honestly, if I could have scripted it, I could not have imagined a more nail-biting storyline - tension building all night, and then that unbelievable release at the end. I have to admit: I was close to a heart attack. And then I cried tears of joy when Kristian Gkolomeev won the Menโ€™s 50m Freestyle in 20.81s, setting a new world record. He takes home a $1,000,000 bonus, a $250,000 first-place prize - and reclaims the 50m Freestyle world record. Think about what a world record actually means. It means you are better at something than roughly 8 billion other people on this planet. Let that sink in. I know some people expected us to break (many) more world records tonight. But as always in science: baseline matters. Enhancements bring out the best in you - but they are not a magic bullet. Kristian was already one of the best clean swimmers in the world - and then he added the icing on the cake to reach entirely new heights. And needless to say: the air gets thinner at the very top. Especially in the shortest events, breaking a world record has become harder and harder over the decades. And then there is the unquantifiable magic of live sport. It does not matter how good you looked in training camp. It all comes down to that one moment. A few athletes who were world-record contenders had injuries today. Others had stage fright. That is real sport. We have many more years ahead of us to break world records - one by one - and we will. We are just getting started. But world records are not even my favorite part. While breaking world records will always be one of the core themes of the Enhanced Games, what inspires me most is something else: the human drive to become the best version of ourselves. At every stage and time in life. Tonight, 22 personal bests were broken. And in many cases, these were not personal bests from last month or last year, but from many years ago. Again - let that sink in. Take Megan Romano: She set her previous personal best in the 50m freestyle (24.98) on July 16, 2013 - and tonight, nearly 13 years later, she broke it with a 24.55. She had not competed internationally in almost a decade, and at 35 years old she is now better than she was in her early twenties after only a few weeks of enhanced training. Megan defied aging in spectacular fashion and became a role model for all of us on how to age better - or maybe even how not to age at all โ€“ with the power and support of medical enhancements. Or take Emily Barclay - an athlete who had previously competed only at NCAA level. Her 50m freestyle time tonight would have been enough to win bronze in Paris. And it earned her $375,000. A true Cinderella story - made possible not by a fairy godmother, but by science. I could go on and on - and I will. Because we want to tell all of these incredible, deeply personal stories. World records are these almost mythical, elusive numbers. But winning the race against ourselves, against aging, against doubt, against the people who told us what is supposedly impossible - that is what truly inspires me. And I know it will inspire many of you too. Because Enhanced is not just a sporting event. It is a movement. A movement to help every human being become the best version of themselves. Letโ€™s go!!!
1:40

What an evening. What an inaugural Enhanced Games event. Honestly, if I could have scripted it, I could not have imagined a more nail-biting storyline - tension building all night, and then that unbelievable release at the end. I have to admit: I was close to a heart attack. And then I cried tears of joy when Kristian Gkolomeev won the Menโ€™s 50m Freestyle in 20.81s, setting a new world record. He takes home a $1,000,000 bonus, a $250,000 first-place prize - and reclaims the 50m Freestyle world record. Think about what a world record actually means. It means you are better at something than roughly 8 billion other people on this planet. Let that sink in. I know some people expected us to break (many) more world records tonight. But as always in science: baseline matters. Enhancements bring out the best in you - but they are not a magic bullet. Kristian was already one of the best clean swimmers in the world - and then he added the icing on the cake to reach entirely new heights. And needless to say: the air gets thinner at the very top. Especially in the shortest events, breaking a world record has become harder and harder over the decades. And then there is the unquantifiable magic of live sport. It does not matter how good you looked in training camp. It all comes down to that one moment. A few athletes who were world-record contenders had injuries today. Others had stage fright. That is real sport. We have many more years ahead of us to break world records - one by one - and we will. We are just getting started. But world records are not even my favorite part. While breaking world records will always be one of the core themes of the Enhanced Games, what inspires me most is something else: the human drive to become the best version of ourselves. At every stage and time in life. Tonight, 22 personal bests were broken. And in many cases, these were not personal bests from last month or last year, but from many years ago. Again - let that sink in. Take Megan Romano: She set her previous personal best in the 50m freestyle (24.98) on July 16, 2013 - and tonight, nearly 13 years later, she broke it with a 24.55. She had not competed internationally in almost a decade, and at 35 years old she is now better than she was in her early twenties after only a few weeks of enhanced training. Megan defied aging in spectacular fashion and became a role model for all of us on how to age better - or maybe even how not to age at all โ€“ with the power and support of medical enhancements. Or take Emily Barclay - an athlete who had previously competed only at NCAA level. Her 50m freestyle time tonight would have been enough to win bronze in Paris. And it earned her $375,000. A true Cinderella story - made possible not by a fairy godmother, but by science. I could go on and on - and I will. Because we want to tell all of these incredible, deeply personal stories. World records are these almost mythical, elusive numbers. But winning the race against ourselves, against aging, against doubt, against the people who told us what is supposedly impossible - that is what truly inspires me. And I know it will inspire many of you too. Because Enhanced is not just a sporting event. It is a movement. A movement to help every human being become the best version of themselves. Letโ€™s go!!!

Christian Angermayer

391,972 views โ€ข 4 months ago

1B Tanner Thach (UNCW Baseball) is another college bat to keep close tabs on this season. Thach was drafted by the Giants in the 18th round of the 2022 draft but decided to honor his commitment to the Seahawks. Thach made a significant impact in his first year on campus and posted a .290/.356/.544 slash line with 11 2B, 15 HRโ€”a UNCW single-season freshman recordโ€”and 68 RBIs. He outdid himself in 2024 and hit .324/.406/.700 with 11 2B, a UNCW single-season record 27 HR and 75 RBIs in 61 games. Thachโ€™s production didnโ€™t end there, though, as he was named a Cape League all-star, hitting .275/.367/.493 with 6 doubles, 8 HR and 25 RBIs. Thach has a strong, physical build at 6โ€™4โ€ and 220-lbs. He has a crouched stance in the box with an open front side and a medium-high handset. Itโ€™s a bit of a noisy load in which he drops and drifts his hands, but Thach does possess plenty of bat speed. He has a steep, uphill swing path, and itโ€™s a violent operation that is geared towards getting the ball up in the air and doing damage. However, it can get long at times. Thachโ€™s carrying tool is undoubtedly his immense power. He has established a now-lengthy track record of power production with both metal and wood, and he has zero issue tapping into it on a game-to-game basis. Thach has home run power to all fields, though his highest quality of contact comes to the pull side. He gets the ball up in the air on a consistent basis, and when he catches the baseball on the sweet spot, it flies. Thach posted maximum exit velocities during the spring and summer of 113.5 mph and 103.1 mph, respectively. At the start of the summer, he would sometimes unnecessarily sell out to get to his power which caused him to top-spin line drives to the pull side, but as the season progressed he was able to break that habit. Thach has plus in-game power to all fields. The biggest key going forward for Thach is for him to continue to make enough contact to get to his power on a regular basis. His bat-to-ball skills are fringy, though he did post a 90% in-zone contact rate against all fastballs. Like a lot of hitters, the root of Thachโ€™s contact struggles are secondary offerings. Heโ€™ll have difficulty at times picking up spin out of the hand which leads to both miss and chase. Thach will also tend to whiff and chase against heaters that are either elevated or on the outer-half of the plate. However, he does handle velocity well and last season he hit .533/.588/1.033 against all fastballs 92+. While Thach feasts on righthanded pitching, he hit just .246/.321/.551 last season against lefties. Thachโ€™s power is tremendous, but heโ€™ll need to add a coat or two of polish to his hit-ability as he transitions into professional baseball. First base isnโ€™t the flashiest defensive profile, but Thach moves well around the bag and is a strong athlete at the position. Heโ€™s not afraid to range into the four-hole and he is a reassuring anchor on the right side of the infield. Thach has an advanced baseball sense, a trait that shines on a game-to-game basis. While he wonโ€™t pitch professionally, expect Thach to log some innings this spring for UNCW. His fastball tops out in the low 90s and flashes some hop in the top of the zone, but heโ€™ll also mix in a mid-70s curveball and a low-80s changeup. The cherry on top with Thach is his makeup, both on and off the field. Itโ€™s impossible to stick a grade on it because itโ€™s a 90 on the 20-80 scale. Would have him as a 2nd-early 3rd round type this July. (๐ŸŽฅ: UNCW Baseball, Cotuit Kettleers)
0:36

1B Tanner Thach (UNCW Baseball) is another college bat to keep close tabs on this season. Thach was drafted by the Giants in the 18th round of the 2022 draft but decided to honor his commitment to the Seahawks. Thach made a significant impact in his first year on campus and posted a .290/.356/.544 slash line with 11 2B, 15 HRโ€”a UNCW single-season freshman recordโ€”and 68 RBIs. He outdid himself in 2024 and hit .324/.406/.700 with 11 2B, a UNCW single-season record 27 HR and 75 RBIs in 61 games. Thachโ€™s production didnโ€™t end there, though, as he was named a Cape League all-star, hitting .275/.367/.493 with 6 doubles, 8 HR and 25 RBIs. Thach has a strong, physical build at 6โ€™4โ€ and 220-lbs. He has a crouched stance in the box with an open front side and a medium-high handset. Itโ€™s a bit of a noisy load in which he drops and drifts his hands, but Thach does possess plenty of bat speed. He has a steep, uphill swing path, and itโ€™s a violent operation that is geared towards getting the ball up in the air and doing damage. However, it can get long at times. Thachโ€™s carrying tool is undoubtedly his immense power. He has established a now-lengthy track record of power production with both metal and wood, and he has zero issue tapping into it on a game-to-game basis. Thach has home run power to all fields, though his highest quality of contact comes to the pull side. He gets the ball up in the air on a consistent basis, and when he catches the baseball on the sweet spot, it flies. Thach posted maximum exit velocities during the spring and summer of 113.5 mph and 103.1 mph, respectively. At the start of the summer, he would sometimes unnecessarily sell out to get to his power which caused him to top-spin line drives to the pull side, but as the season progressed he was able to break that habit. Thach has plus in-game power to all fields. The biggest key going forward for Thach is for him to continue to make enough contact to get to his power on a regular basis. His bat-to-ball skills are fringy, though he did post a 90% in-zone contact rate against all fastballs. Like a lot of hitters, the root of Thachโ€™s contact struggles are secondary offerings. Heโ€™ll have difficulty at times picking up spin out of the hand which leads to both miss and chase. Thach will also tend to whiff and chase against heaters that are either elevated or on the outer-half of the plate. However, he does handle velocity well and last season he hit .533/.588/1.033 against all fastballs 92+. While Thach feasts on righthanded pitching, he hit just .246/.321/.551 last season against lefties. Thachโ€™s power is tremendous, but heโ€™ll need to add a coat or two of polish to his hit-ability as he transitions into professional baseball. First base isnโ€™t the flashiest defensive profile, but Thach moves well around the bag and is a strong athlete at the position. Heโ€™s not afraid to range into the four-hole and he is a reassuring anchor on the right side of the infield. Thach has an advanced baseball sense, a trait that shines on a game-to-game basis. While he wonโ€™t pitch professionally, expect Thach to log some innings this spring for UNCW. His fastball tops out in the low 90s and flashes some hop in the top of the zone, but heโ€™ll also mix in a mid-70s curveball and a low-80s changeup. The cherry on top with Thach is his makeup, both on and off the field. Itโ€™s impossible to stick a grade on it because itโ€™s a 90 on the 20-80 scale. Would have him as a 2nd-early 3rd round type this July. (๐ŸŽฅ: UNCW Baseball, Cotuit Kettleers)

Peter Flaherty III

42,659 views โ€ข 1 year ago

Every season, it seems like we have to say goodbye to a big name. This yearโ€ฆ well it looks to be at least 3 big losses - John Stones, Nathan Benjamin Akรฉ and Bernardo Mota Veiga de Carvalho e Silva. Wow, what an insane amount this trio has done for the club. All starters in the treble season and theyโ€™ve won the lot. Letโ€™s start with Nathan Ake, he came from Bournemouth in 2020 for a fee of ยฃ40.4m - I mean at the time that seemed a lot for a back up centre back. He was steady, he was comfortable with the ball, solid at the back, some top blocks and some great last ditch tackles. But in 22/23 he was played at left backโ€ฆ and what on earth did he become? An absolute monster. ELITE 1v1 against any right winger. Unbelievable positioning and reading of the game. Even at times, getting forwards and he chipped in with some important goals. The best left back in the league that season. Whenever called upon, between his injury-stricken City career, heโ€™s been fantastic. Most recently in the Cup final against Arsenal where many thought heโ€™d be a weak linkโ€ฆ he was absolutely absurd. Wherever he goesโ€ฆ we wish him the best of luck. John Stones, wellโ€ฆ if injury hadnโ€™t been the main factor in his career, heโ€™d not only have a statue alongside Vincent Kompany, heโ€™d have one outside Wembley. The general, the most tactical defender the game has ever seen. Whilst over his decade at City, heโ€™s grown as a player and ironed out mistakes and just become an absolute Rolls Royce of a footballer, we can only speak about the treble season. The ONE season Johnny Stones managed to stay fit we won it all. Moving into the midfield and just bossing the park in every metric. Same number of dribbles completed in a Champions League final as Lionel fricking Messi? Unreal. General John Stones, definitely a fan favourite and we will be GUTTED to see him go. Thanks for everything Johnny. Finally Bernardo, Pepโ€™s little favourite, the one everyone picks on, now finally the senior figure, the captain, the DREAM for a Pep teamโ€ฆ heโ€™s the epitome of a utility player being able to do absolutely everything on a pitch with endless running and an undeterred passion for the club. He is a true City legend. A decade at the Blues, also a decade of thinking heโ€™s leaving in the coming summer. Well this year itโ€™s finally confirmedโ€ฆ Bernie will leave the Blues being the face, alongside Kevin De Bruyne, of Manchester City under Pep Guardiola. The way his game has evolved is unbelievable. Once the tricky little attacker we signed from Monaco ten years ago, now dropping between the centre backs and a tenacious little midfielder tirelessly fighting for the team all over the pitch. His availability sees him become the only player in the modern era to be in Cityโ€™s top 10 for appearances made for the club. He had everything on the pitch, and for City he was a fantastic little shithouse. But off the pitch heโ€™s always had our hearts. Serious and passionate yet funny and joyfulโ€ฆ Bernardo, it hurts to see you go. Thank you for everything. Seeing all these players leave us will be a pain in the hearts of all Blues, three fantastic servants to the club. Always welcome back to the Etihad, back home, back to the club where they won it all, we will welcome them back with loving arms. Bernardo Silva Nathan Akรฉ Christine Murumba Once a Blue, always a Blue ๐Ÿ’™
0:29

Every season, it seems like we have to say goodbye to a big name. This yearโ€ฆ well it looks to be at least 3 big losses - John Stones, Nathan Benjamin Akรฉ and Bernardo Mota Veiga de Carvalho e Silva. Wow, what an insane amount this trio has done for the club. All starters in the treble season and theyโ€™ve won the lot. Letโ€™s start with Nathan Ake, he came from Bournemouth in 2020 for a fee of ยฃ40.4m - I mean at the time that seemed a lot for a back up centre back. He was steady, he was comfortable with the ball, solid at the back, some top blocks and some great last ditch tackles. But in 22/23 he was played at left backโ€ฆ and what on earth did he become? An absolute monster. ELITE 1v1 against any right winger. Unbelievable positioning and reading of the game. Even at times, getting forwards and he chipped in with some important goals. The best left back in the league that season. Whenever called upon, between his injury-stricken City career, heโ€™s been fantastic. Most recently in the Cup final against Arsenal where many thought heโ€™d be a weak linkโ€ฆ he was absolutely absurd. Wherever he goesโ€ฆ we wish him the best of luck. John Stones, wellโ€ฆ if injury hadnโ€™t been the main factor in his career, heโ€™d not only have a statue alongside Vincent Kompany, heโ€™d have one outside Wembley. The general, the most tactical defender the game has ever seen. Whilst over his decade at City, heโ€™s grown as a player and ironed out mistakes and just become an absolute Rolls Royce of a footballer, we can only speak about the treble season. The ONE season Johnny Stones managed to stay fit we won it all. Moving into the midfield and just bossing the park in every metric. Same number of dribbles completed in a Champions League final as Lionel fricking Messi? Unreal. General John Stones, definitely a fan favourite and we will be GUTTED to see him go. Thanks for everything Johnny. Finally Bernardo, Pepโ€™s little favourite, the one everyone picks on, now finally the senior figure, the captain, the DREAM for a Pep teamโ€ฆ heโ€™s the epitome of a utility player being able to do absolutely everything on a pitch with endless running and an undeterred passion for the club. He is a true City legend. A decade at the Blues, also a decade of thinking heโ€™s leaving in the coming summer. Well this year itโ€™s finally confirmedโ€ฆ Bernie will leave the Blues being the face, alongside Kevin De Bruyne, of Manchester City under Pep Guardiola. The way his game has evolved is unbelievable. Once the tricky little attacker we signed from Monaco ten years ago, now dropping between the centre backs and a tenacious little midfielder tirelessly fighting for the team all over the pitch. His availability sees him become the only player in the modern era to be in Cityโ€™s top 10 for appearances made for the club. He had everything on the pitch, and for City he was a fantastic little shithouse. But off the pitch heโ€™s always had our hearts. Serious and passionate yet funny and joyfulโ€ฆ Bernardo, it hurts to see you go. Thank you for everything. Seeing all these players leave us will be a pain in the hearts of all Blues, three fantastic servants to the club. Always welcome back to the Etihad, back home, back to the club where they won it all, we will welcome them back with loving arms. Bernardo Silva Nathan Akรฉ Christine Murumba Once a Blue, always a Blue ๐Ÿ’™

๐“๐ก๐ž ๐‚๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐‚๐ซ๐ž๐ฐ

25,718 views โ€ข 6 months ago

Review: Ace Combat 8 is a breathtaking, high action fighter pilot game with a surprisingly poignant story and the most complete package in the series. Piloting the jets feels incredible and the campaign delivers a thrilling 20+ hour story, visually stunning graphics, and gameplay that delivers on pure hype, bolstered by an excellent soundtrack. Visuals: Ace Combat 8 looks, feels, and sounds incredible. It has some of the most lifelike graphics I've ever seen. A massive amount of detail has gone into the jets of course, but the character models and realtime global illumination are equally impressive. The star of the show though is the new volumetric cloud system that makes flying through dynamic weather patterns more realistic than ever. The overall presentation is absolutely stunning from start to finish - I can't overstate this enough. I enjoyed watching Mission Replays just to appreciate the visuals and sound design with the cinematic camera angles. Gameplay: The core gameplay loop is extremely satisfying: complete missions, earn credits, and upgrade your aircraft. There's a new Skill Tree system for progression, allowing you to unlock new planes, special weapons, and upgrade parts. The final unlocks (the F-22 and F-35) are both absolute beasts that handle like a dream. Aircraft are split into different categories that require you to change and adapt your playstyle based on the mission. Fighters are the fastest and most nimble, best for pure dogfighting. Attack Jets are the heavy bombers, trading maneuverability for devastating ground target damage. Multi-Role jets are the balanced hybrid that still offer good handling. Finally, the new Electronic Warfare (EW) aircraft are a great support jet equipped with tools like EMPs and radar jammers. The game can be surprisingly challenging, particularly early on. Escort missions can be fairly punishing, with the mission failing if your allies take too much damage. I do think the campaign relies a bit too heavily on them in the opening hours. Once you start unlocking better aircraft and upgrade parts though, the difficulty curve starts to balance out. Customization: Equipping different upgrade parts also makes a HUGE difference in how your plane handles. Before each mission, you can fully customize your aircraft and weaponry, as well as those of your squadmates. Your plane can now be equipped with two special weapons in addition to standard missles (a first for the mainline games), in addition to Upgrade Parts that drastically ater alter your handling and capabilities. This allows for an incredible degree of customization based on the mission. Fighting a giant landship with tanks and naval vehicles? Throw on Air-to-Ground missiles and Unguided Bombs to take out massive groups in one go. Taking on an elite squad of enemy fighters? Hop into a nimble fighter jet with as much Anti-Air weaponry as possible. Joker Squad consists of four members, so bringing a balanced team is important. Alternatively, you can just hit Auto-Select to instantly set up your squadmates and jump straight into the mission. Story: The campaign spans 30 highly replayable missions with varied objectives across air, ground, and sea. It even features massive boss fights with some truly hype moments. The team put noticeably more effort into the campaign this time around. Set in 2030, the narrative drops you and Joker Squad into an escalating global conflict against the Republic of Sotoa. You play as a pilot that has been brought onboard the Endurance ship after your mentor Cope is killed in action. Cope was the legendary Ace Pilot known as "Wings." But the FCU decides to cover up his death in order to keep up morale, forcing you to take on his identity. Cope acts as a narrator for the rest of the game, as you try to keep his legend alive. The story has its ups and downs, but the near-future military drama is grounded by a strong cast of characters (led by your squad members) and an overarching narrative spanning multiple chapters and continents. Some of the best story moments were actually in between missions, where you get to interact with your squadmates and learn more about their backstory. Cinematics are also excellent and it's a very solid campaign overall! Summary: I genuinely enjoyed my time with Ace Combat 8 and was legitimately sad when it was over. Between the lengthy 20-25 hour campaign and Ace Combat Online, you're getting a ton of value with this game. Ace Combat Online is the series most extensive multiplayer offering yet, featuring PVP, PVE, and online co-op modes. And with the Aircraft Tree and cosmetics to unlock, there's plenty to grind for long after the credits roll. + Breathtaking, lifelike visuals with beautiful lighting and incredibly detailed aircraft and weather system + Deep customization with a rewarding progression tree + 20+ hour campaign featuring 30 missions and massive boss fights + Extensive multiplayer featuring PvP, PvE, and online co-op + Incredible soundtrack that elevates the high-action gameplay + Deeper storytelling with a strong cast of characters, cinematic cutscenes, and military/political drama - Narrative has some ups and downs, although it does come together in the end with some strong character moments - Heavy on performance at 4K - Early escort missions can be frustrating, but it makes the progression feel more rewarding in the end Final Score: 9/10 Playtime: 25 hours Platform: Steam Thanks to Bandai Namco for providing a review copy. Ace Combat #AceCombat8 #AceCombat
6:20

Review: Ace Combat 8 is a breathtaking, high action fighter pilot game with a surprisingly poignant story and the most complete package in the series. Piloting the jets feels incredible and the campaign delivers a thrilling 20+ hour story, visually stunning graphics, and gameplay that delivers on pure hype, bolstered by an excellent soundtrack. Visuals: Ace Combat 8 looks, feels, and sounds incredible. It has some of the most lifelike graphics I've ever seen. A massive amount of detail has gone into the jets of course, but the character models and realtime global illumination are equally impressive. The star of the show though is the new volumetric cloud system that makes flying through dynamic weather patterns more realistic than ever. The overall presentation is absolutely stunning from start to finish - I can't overstate this enough. I enjoyed watching Mission Replays just to appreciate the visuals and sound design with the cinematic camera angles. Gameplay: The core gameplay loop is extremely satisfying: complete missions, earn credits, and upgrade your aircraft. There's a new Skill Tree system for progression, allowing you to unlock new planes, special weapons, and upgrade parts. The final unlocks (the F-22 and F-35) are both absolute beasts that handle like a dream. Aircraft are split into different categories that require you to change and adapt your playstyle based on the mission. Fighters are the fastest and most nimble, best for pure dogfighting. Attack Jets are the heavy bombers, trading maneuverability for devastating ground target damage. Multi-Role jets are the balanced hybrid that still offer good handling. Finally, the new Electronic Warfare (EW) aircraft are a great support jet equipped with tools like EMPs and radar jammers. The game can be surprisingly challenging, particularly early on. Escort missions can be fairly punishing, with the mission failing if your allies take too much damage. I do think the campaign relies a bit too heavily on them in the opening hours. Once you start unlocking better aircraft and upgrade parts though, the difficulty curve starts to balance out. Customization: Equipping different upgrade parts also makes a HUGE difference in how your plane handles. Before each mission, you can fully customize your aircraft and weaponry, as well as those of your squadmates. Your plane can now be equipped with two special weapons in addition to standard missles (a first for the mainline games), in addition to Upgrade Parts that drastically ater alter your handling and capabilities. This allows for an incredible degree of customization based on the mission. Fighting a giant landship with tanks and naval vehicles? Throw on Air-to-Ground missiles and Unguided Bombs to take out massive groups in one go. Taking on an elite squad of enemy fighters? Hop into a nimble fighter jet with as much Anti-Air weaponry as possible. Joker Squad consists of four members, so bringing a balanced team is important. Alternatively, you can just hit Auto-Select to instantly set up your squadmates and jump straight into the mission. Story: The campaign spans 30 highly replayable missions with varied objectives across air, ground, and sea. It even features massive boss fights with some truly hype moments. The team put noticeably more effort into the campaign this time around. Set in 2030, the narrative drops you and Joker Squad into an escalating global conflict against the Republic of Sotoa. You play as a pilot that has been brought onboard the Endurance ship after your mentor Cope is killed in action. Cope was the legendary Ace Pilot known as "Wings." But the FCU decides to cover up his death in order to keep up morale, forcing you to take on his identity. Cope acts as a narrator for the rest of the game, as you try to keep his legend alive. The story has its ups and downs, but the near-future military drama is grounded by a strong cast of characters (led by your squad members) and an overarching narrative spanning multiple chapters and continents. Some of the best story moments were actually in between missions, where you get to interact with your squadmates and learn more about their backstory. Cinematics are also excellent and it's a very solid campaign overall! Summary: I genuinely enjoyed my time with Ace Combat 8 and was legitimately sad when it was over. Between the lengthy 20-25 hour campaign and Ace Combat Online, you're getting a ton of value with this game. Ace Combat Online is the series most extensive multiplayer offering yet, featuring PVP, PVE, and online co-op modes. And with the Aircraft Tree and cosmetics to unlock, there's plenty to grind for long after the credits roll. + Breathtaking, lifelike visuals with beautiful lighting and incredibly detailed aircraft and weather system + Deep customization with a rewarding progression tree + 20+ hour campaign featuring 30 missions and massive boss fights + Extensive multiplayer featuring PvP, PvE, and online co-op + Incredible soundtrack that elevates the high-action gameplay + Deeper storytelling with a strong cast of characters, cinematic cutscenes, and military/political drama - Narrative has some ups and downs, although it does come together in the end with some strong character moments - Heavy on performance at 4K - Early escort missions can be frustrating, but it makes the progression feel more rewarding in the end Final Score: 9/10 Playtime: 25 hours Platform: Steam Thanks to Bandai Namco for providing a review copy. Ace Combat #AceCombat8 #AceCombat

KAMI

44,591 views โ€ข 17 days ago

๐Ÿšจ๐ŸŽฅ Full post-match interview with Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire after the 5-2 victory over Ipswich Town! ๐Ÿ”ด๐Ÿ”ฅ โ€ข Reaction after the disappointing opening game! โ€ข Regaining control and showing courage in the second half! โ€ข Brunoโ€™s third hat-trick at Old Trafford! ๐ŸŽฉ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œCongratulations on the win. It looks like a very big victory and your first of the season. How are you feeling?โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Bruno Fernandes: โ€œIt was definitely a very important and big win for us. We knew we had dropped three points last week, so the aim was to get the three points and put in a great performance for our fans at home in our first game here for a long time. We canโ€™t make up for last week because you canโ€™t get six points from one game, but we wanted to start the game on the front foot and with intensity. We controlled the game even when we conceded, and in the second half we were really excellent.โ€ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œThe game felt like a real statement of the teamโ€™s strength. Harry, what did the team do particularly well?โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Harry Maguire: โ€œI think we started the game really well, but their goal unsettled us a lot. Last weekโ€™s defeat was difficult, and when you lose at this club, thereโ€™s a lot of noise and it feels like youโ€™re in a crisis again after just one game! After conceding, we lost control for five to ten minutes, but we spoke at half-time, came out and took control again. We know weโ€™re capable of scoring at any moment, and we showed that today. We could have scored even more goals.โ€ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œBruno, how important was your equaliser right before half-time in maintaining that belief?โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Bruno Fernandes: โ€œScoring before half-time is always important, whether itโ€™s to take the lead or to equalise, because it gives you the belief that what you were doing wasnโ€™t completely wrong. As Harry said, we were controlling the game and lost control for five to ten minutes after the goal, but we got back on track. In the second half, after making a few adjustments, we were really excellent.โ€ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œHarry, you were involved in the second goal, and there was some debate over whether it was your goal or a handball. What do you think happened?โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Harry Maguire: โ€œTo be honest, I havenโ€™t watched the replay, so I canโ€™t comment accurately. I know it was a close call, and it certainly wasnโ€™t an intentional handball. I donโ€™t know if the ball actually hit my fingers. My shot was slightly off target, so I think it will unfortunately be given as an own goal! Maybe thatโ€™s why it was awarded, because if it had been my goal, they would have ruled it out under the current rules. Luckily, luck was on our side today, and we deserved the win and deserved that bit of fortune.โ€ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œBruno, this is your third hat-trick in a Manchester United shirt. How amazing does it feel?โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Bruno Fernandes: โ€œScoring goals is definitely the best feeling in football, and scoring a hat-trick at Old Trafford in front of our fans is incredible. Iโ€™m very proud of it. But the most important thing is always to score to help the team win. I did that today, and hopefully I can score more and help my teammates score as well.โ€ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œHow important is a result like this as a response to what happened on the opening day?โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Harry Maguire: โ€œItโ€™s a very important win. Last week was frustrating; we had prepared throughout pre-season to win against Hull City, but unfortunately we conceded two goals from set pieces and lost. We knew how important todayโ€™s game was in front of our fans after being away from Old Trafford for such a long time, and luckily we got the three points. In the end, itโ€™s three points and we move forward. The season is long, and weโ€™ll focus on the next game.โ€ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œHarry, would you like to present the award? Bruno is the Player of the Match.โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Harry Maguire (jokingly handing over the award): โ€œAnother award!โ€ ๐Ÿ†๐Ÿ˜… ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Bruno Fernandes: โ€œThank you very much, mate.โ€ ๐Ÿคโค๏ธ
3:09

๐Ÿšจ๐ŸŽฅ Full post-match interview with Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire after the 5-2 victory over Ipswich Town! ๐Ÿ”ด๐Ÿ”ฅ โ€ข Reaction after the disappointing opening game! โ€ข Regaining control and showing courage in the second half! โ€ข Brunoโ€™s third hat-trick at Old Trafford! ๐ŸŽฉ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œCongratulations on the win. It looks like a very big victory and your first of the season. How are you feeling?โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Bruno Fernandes: โ€œIt was definitely a very important and big win for us. We knew we had dropped three points last week, so the aim was to get the three points and put in a great performance for our fans at home in our first game here for a long time. We canโ€™t make up for last week because you canโ€™t get six points from one game, but we wanted to start the game on the front foot and with intensity. We controlled the game even when we conceded, and in the second half we were really excellent.โ€ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œThe game felt like a real statement of the teamโ€™s strength. Harry, what did the team do particularly well?โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Harry Maguire: โ€œI think we started the game really well, but their goal unsettled us a lot. Last weekโ€™s defeat was difficult, and when you lose at this club, thereโ€™s a lot of noise and it feels like youโ€™re in a crisis again after just one game! After conceding, we lost control for five to ten minutes, but we spoke at half-time, came out and took control again. We know weโ€™re capable of scoring at any moment, and we showed that today. We could have scored even more goals.โ€ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œBruno, how important was your equaliser right before half-time in maintaining that belief?โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Bruno Fernandes: โ€œScoring before half-time is always important, whether itโ€™s to take the lead or to equalise, because it gives you the belief that what you were doing wasnโ€™t completely wrong. As Harry said, we were controlling the game and lost control for five to ten minutes after the goal, but we got back on track. In the second half, after making a few adjustments, we were really excellent.โ€ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œHarry, you were involved in the second goal, and there was some debate over whether it was your goal or a handball. What do you think happened?โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Harry Maguire: โ€œTo be honest, I havenโ€™t watched the replay, so I canโ€™t comment accurately. I know it was a close call, and it certainly wasnโ€™t an intentional handball. I donโ€™t know if the ball actually hit my fingers. My shot was slightly off target, so I think it will unfortunately be given as an own goal! Maybe thatโ€™s why it was awarded, because if it had been my goal, they would have ruled it out under the current rules. Luckily, luck was on our side today, and we deserved the win and deserved that bit of fortune.โ€ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œBruno, this is your third hat-trick in a Manchester United shirt. How amazing does it feel?โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Bruno Fernandes: โ€œScoring goals is definitely the best feeling in football, and scoring a hat-trick at Old Trafford in front of our fans is incredible. Iโ€™m very proud of it. But the most important thing is always to score to help the team win. I did that today, and hopefully I can score more and help my teammates score as well.โ€ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œHow important is a result like this as a response to what happened on the opening day?โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Harry Maguire: โ€œItโ€™s a very important win. Last week was frustrating; we had prepared throughout pre-season to win against Hull City, but unfortunately we conceded two goals from set pieces and lost. We knew how important todayโ€™s game was in front of our fans after being away from Old Trafford for such a long time, and luckily we got the three points. In the end, itโ€™s three points and we move forward. The season is long, and weโ€™ll focus on the next game.โ€ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Interviewer: โ€œHarry, would you like to present the award? Bruno is the Player of the Match.โ€ ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Harry Maguire (jokingly handing over the award): โ€œAnother award!โ€ ๐Ÿ†๐Ÿ˜… ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Bruno Fernandes: โ€œThank you very much, mate.โ€ ๐Ÿคโค๏ธ

The Final Whistle

17,559 views โ€ข 1 month ago

Bill Ackman just told Tony Robbins the advice that will save (or sink) most investors and referenced the memory-chip mania in doing so: โ€œDonโ€™t get attracted to where thereโ€™s always a super exciting place in the market where someone seems to be making a lot of moneyโ€ฆ this FOMO thing about โ€˜I want to be in memory chips because thatโ€™s where all the moneyโ€™s being made.โ€™ Instead, think about a business that you can envision being bigger and more profitable 10, 20, 30 years from now. Buy that company and own it.โ€ ___ 1๏ธโƒฃ There will always be something hotter. ALWAYS. Memory chips today. Crypto last cycle. SPACs before that. The next thing after that. Someone will always be posting a screenshot that makes your portfolio look slow. Thatโ€™s a cost you pay for being human in a highly connected world. As Naval Ravikant once said: โ€œComparison is the thief of joy.โ€ In investing, comparison is the thief of self-control. We are trainedโ€”by feeds, by group chats, by โ€œYTDโ€ graphics, by lifestyle posts, travel reels, house tours, and โ€œjust bought the dipโ€ flexesโ€”to measure our own compounding against someone elseโ€™s highlight reel. The moment you start doing that, you stop thinking like an owner and start thinking like a spectator who needs the next hit. Navalโ€™s definition of happiness is useful here: a state of peace and contentment that nothing is missing. The portfolio that actually gets you there is the one you can sit with for a decade-plus because you understand the business, you believe in the businesses and destination, and the expected return meets your required rate. Not because it is the thing making the most money this quarter. Stick to a philosophy you actually believe in and ENJOY the ride as an owner. 2๏ธโƒฃ The second half of Ackmanโ€™s answer is the positive version of the same idea. Find a business you can see being larger and more profitable in 10, 20, or 30 years. Buy it. Own it. His father-in-law was not a professional investor. He bought Boeing, Philip Morris, and a handful of other iconic, dominant companies decades ago and simply never sold. When he departed he had an extraordinary collection of businesses, the benefit of decades of tax deferral, and a remarkable long-term record. He took the long view and let time do the work. This is the same insight Nick Sleep and Chris Hohn arrived at from different directions. Sleep hunted โ€œcompounding machinesโ€โ€”businesses that can reinvest at high incremental returns for a very long time and that get better as they get bigger (scale economics shared). He said the edge is not intelligence; it is patience. The crowd is not patient. Most people trade at the short end of the equity yield curve. The real money is made at the long end, where almost no one else is competing. Once you find the business, the hardest part is leaving it alone. Hohn is even more explicit: โ€œLong-termism in a great company is a free lunch.โ€ Sell-side models stop at two or three years because that is the horizon of most professional money. If a business can still be excellent in 20 or 30 years, the market systematically undervalues it. Good companies tend to stay good. His average holding period is eight years and some names have been there more than a decade. He estimates only about 200 companies in the world meet the quality bar. Time-horizon arbitrage only works if you were right on quality and barriers to entry in the first place. FOMO will never go away. The feed will always show you someone making more, faster, in the thing that is currently on fire. But that is not a signal. It is a test of whether you actually have a process or just a mood. Stop comparing. Stop treating other peopleโ€™s returns as a referendum on your own. Focus on the businesses you can own for a decade-plus. Enjoy the ride as an owner. That is how ordinary people quietly build extraordinary wealth and an extraordinary collection of companies.โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹ ___ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ YouTube CAZ & Tony Robbins
1:33

Bill Ackman just told Tony Robbins the advice that will save (or sink) most investors and referenced the memory-chip mania in doing so: โ€œDonโ€™t get attracted to where thereโ€™s always a super exciting place in the market where someone seems to be making a lot of moneyโ€ฆ this FOMO thing about โ€˜I want to be in memory chips because thatโ€™s where all the moneyโ€™s being made.โ€™ Instead, think about a business that you can envision being bigger and more profitable 10, 20, 30 years from now. Buy that company and own it.โ€ ___ 1๏ธโƒฃ There will always be something hotter. ALWAYS. Memory chips today. Crypto last cycle. SPACs before that. The next thing after that. Someone will always be posting a screenshot that makes your portfolio look slow. Thatโ€™s a cost you pay for being human in a highly connected world. As Naval Ravikant once said: โ€œComparison is the thief of joy.โ€ In investing, comparison is the thief of self-control. We are trainedโ€”by feeds, by group chats, by โ€œYTDโ€ graphics, by lifestyle posts, travel reels, house tours, and โ€œjust bought the dipโ€ flexesโ€”to measure our own compounding against someone elseโ€™s highlight reel. The moment you start doing that, you stop thinking like an owner and start thinking like a spectator who needs the next hit. Navalโ€™s definition of happiness is useful here: a state of peace and contentment that nothing is missing. The portfolio that actually gets you there is the one you can sit with for a decade-plus because you understand the business, you believe in the businesses and destination, and the expected return meets your required rate. Not because it is the thing making the most money this quarter. Stick to a philosophy you actually believe in and ENJOY the ride as an owner. 2๏ธโƒฃ The second half of Ackmanโ€™s answer is the positive version of the same idea. Find a business you can see being larger and more profitable in 10, 20, or 30 years. Buy it. Own it. His father-in-law was not a professional investor. He bought Boeing, Philip Morris, and a handful of other iconic, dominant companies decades ago and simply never sold. When he departed he had an extraordinary collection of businesses, the benefit of decades of tax deferral, and a remarkable long-term record. He took the long view and let time do the work. This is the same insight Nick Sleep and Chris Hohn arrived at from different directions. Sleep hunted โ€œcompounding machinesโ€โ€”businesses that can reinvest at high incremental returns for a very long time and that get better as they get bigger (scale economics shared). He said the edge is not intelligence; it is patience. The crowd is not patient. Most people trade at the short end of the equity yield curve. The real money is made at the long end, where almost no one else is competing. Once you find the business, the hardest part is leaving it alone. Hohn is even more explicit: โ€œLong-termism in a great company is a free lunch.โ€ Sell-side models stop at two or three years because that is the horizon of most professional money. If a business can still be excellent in 20 or 30 years, the market systematically undervalues it. Good companies tend to stay good. His average holding period is eight years and some names have been there more than a decade. He estimates only about 200 companies in the world meet the quality bar. Time-horizon arbitrage only works if you were right on quality and barriers to entry in the first place. FOMO will never go away. The feed will always show you someone making more, faster, in the thing that is currently on fire. But that is not a signal. It is a test of whether you actually have a process or just a mood. Stop comparing. Stop treating other peopleโ€™s returns as a referendum on your own. Focus on the businesses you can own for a decade-plus. Enjoy the ride as an owner. That is how ordinary people quietly build extraordinary wealth and an extraordinary collection of companies.โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹ ___ ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ YouTube CAZ & Tony Robbins

Dimitry Nakhla | Babylon Capitalยฎ

46,926 views โ€ข 29 days ago

This wallet turned $5 into $3.7M by betting on things that will never happen. No algorithms. No insider info. Just garbage collection. Last week I gave Claude Code a simple task: find me a wallet whose profit is mathematically impossible for a human. The script ran for 12 minutes. Returned one address. I opened the profile expecting an HFT monster. Direct API to Binance. Microsecond execution. The kind of bot you cannot compete with. Instead I found a janitor sweeping up coins everyone else ignores. His profile: I spent the night scrolling through his trade history. First ten trades I checked: Will aliens land on Earth by 2025? > NO at $0.97 Will the Pope resign this month? > NO at $0.94 Will Bitcoin hit $500K this week? > NO at $0.99 Will WW3 start before Friday? > NO at $0.98 All NO. All boring. All profitable. And then it hit me. He does not predict the future. He bets against miracles. You know that feeling when you realize you have been playing the wrong game entirely? I have spent two years looking for the perfect trade. This guy made $3.7M betting that crazy things will not happen. I felt like an idiot. But at least now I see the game. Here is his actual strategy broken down: A market opens: Will a UFO land on Times Square tomorrow? A crowd of gamblers buys YES for 2 cents. Just for fun. What if, right? Swisstony walks in. Buys NO for 98 cents. Tomorrow comes. No UFO. He takes his dollar. Profit: 2 cents per dollar. Risk: almost zero. Almost. There is always a black swan. But in 15,000 trades, he has not met one yet. Sounds boring? 2% profit? Now multiply that by 15,000 trades per month. January alone: - 47 impossible event markets: +$8,400 - 23 celebrity death hoax markets: +$3,100 - 31 apocalypse prediction markets: +$4,700 While you and I are spinning the roulette wheel looking for x10, he IS the casino. The house always wins. Not because it is smarter. Because it bets on the boring. Instead of hunting for a gold bar, he collects bottle caps. Millions of them. And it turns out bottle caps are worth more than gold. The second part of his strategy is even simpler. Logical holes. If event A already happened, then event B is now impossible. The news is out. But the market is still digesting. The crowd reads slowly. He does not wait. He enters and takes money from people who have not refreshed their feed yet. I checked his stats this morning. 23,000 people now watch this wallet. But here is the irony. Most of them try to copy his entries. They miss the point entirely. You cannot copy a trade that closes in 6 hours at 99 cents. By the time you see it, it is done. What you CAN copy is his logic: find markets where the boring outcome pays. Right now there are 47 open markets about things that will never happen. Celebrity pregnancies. Alien invasions. Political impossibilities. By tomorrow, half of them will close. Swisstony is probably already inside. Two years I have been looking for edge. Reading analysis. Building models. Trying to be smarter than the market. This guy made $3.7M betting that the world will stay boring. Right now somewhere someone is betting $50 that aliens will land tomorrow. Swisstony is about to take that $50. Will you keep betting on miracles? Or start collecting from believers?
0:31

Sensitive content

This wallet turned $5 into $3.7M by betting on things that will never happen. No algorithms. No insider info. Just garbage collection. Last week I gave Claude Code a simple task: find me a wallet whose profit is mathematically impossible for a human. The script ran for 12 minutes. Returned one address. I opened the profile expecting an HFT monster. Direct API to Binance. Microsecond execution. The kind of bot you cannot compete with. Instead I found a janitor sweeping up coins everyone else ignores. His profile: I spent the night scrolling through his trade history. First ten trades I checked: Will aliens land on Earth by 2025? > NO at $0.97 Will the Pope resign this month? > NO at $0.94 Will Bitcoin hit $500K this week? > NO at $0.99 Will WW3 start before Friday? > NO at $0.98 All NO. All boring. All profitable. And then it hit me. He does not predict the future. He bets against miracles. You know that feeling when you realize you have been playing the wrong game entirely? I have spent two years looking for the perfect trade. This guy made $3.7M betting that crazy things will not happen. I felt like an idiot. But at least now I see the game. Here is his actual strategy broken down: A market opens: Will a UFO land on Times Square tomorrow? A crowd of gamblers buys YES for 2 cents. Just for fun. What if, right? Swisstony walks in. Buys NO for 98 cents. Tomorrow comes. No UFO. He takes his dollar. Profit: 2 cents per dollar. Risk: almost zero. Almost. There is always a black swan. But in 15,000 trades, he has not met one yet. Sounds boring? 2% profit? Now multiply that by 15,000 trades per month. January alone: - 47 impossible event markets: +$8,400 - 23 celebrity death hoax markets: +$3,100 - 31 apocalypse prediction markets: +$4,700 While you and I are spinning the roulette wheel looking for x10, he IS the casino. The house always wins. Not because it is smarter. Because it bets on the boring. Instead of hunting for a gold bar, he collects bottle caps. Millions of them. And it turns out bottle caps are worth more than gold. The second part of his strategy is even simpler. Logical holes. If event A already happened, then event B is now impossible. The news is out. But the market is still digesting. The crowd reads slowly. He does not wait. He enters and takes money from people who have not refreshed their feed yet. I checked his stats this morning. 23,000 people now watch this wallet. But here is the irony. Most of them try to copy his entries. They miss the point entirely. You cannot copy a trade that closes in 6 hours at 99 cents. By the time you see it, it is done. What you CAN copy is his logic: find markets where the boring outcome pays. Right now there are 47 open markets about things that will never happen. Celebrity pregnancies. Alien invasions. Political impossibilities. By tomorrow, half of them will close. Swisstony is probably already inside. Two years I have been looking for edge. Reading analysis. Building models. Trying to be smarter than the market. This guy made $3.7M betting that the world will stay boring. Right now somewhere someone is betting $50 that aliens will land tomorrow. Swisstony is about to take that $50. Will you keep betting on miracles? Or start collecting from believers?

Blaze

95,048 views โ€ข 8 months ago

Iโ€™m feeling blessed to share: Owner raised $120M Series C and is now at a $1B valuation ๐Ÿฆ„ Mom-and-pop restaurant owners are being crushed by huge corporations. Weโ€™re using this cash to arm them to fight back. โ€ข This round was co-led by 2 perfect partners for us: Alex Kurland from Meritech, who led DoorDashโ€™s Series B, and Shalini Rao from Headline, who led Toastโ€™s Series C. They were also joined by an inspiring group of new investors: Fidji Simo (CEO Instacart), Jonathan Neman (CEO Sweetgreen), Garrett Langley (CEO Flock Safety). & still more inspiring new investors... Dharmesh Shah (CTO HubSpot), Josh Reeves (CEO Gusto), Shaan Puri (MFM), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO Eight Sleep), Anthony Pompliano, Sahil Bloom, Christina Cacioppo (CEO Vanta), Brett Schulman (CEO Cava), Matt Maloney (Founder & CEO GrubHub). โ€ฆ just to name a few. :) โ€ข Today, technology is being weaponized against small business owners. Corporations like Dominoโ€™s dominate. Why? Because they spend billions on tech, engineers, and marketers. โ€ข Small business owners are forced to compete with corporations that have massive war chests. But with Owner, they can do more than compete. They can win. Weโ€™re building the platform that gives them the power. We serve the people who serve our communities. โ€ข I started Owner 7 years ago, after dropping out of high school halfway through 10th grade. The first version of Owner wasnโ€™t built for venture capital. It was built for my mom. Sheโ€™s a small business owner who just needed a shot at success in the digital world. โ€ข I remember watching her worry that weโ€™d lose her business and our house. In a moment of desperation, she asked her weird :) nerdy 17-year-old son to help her. I built a solution for her. That was Owner V1. When it started to work, I saw my mom transform. She went from being constantly stressed about money to feeling hopeful and excited about her future. The Owner team has now seen that same transformation happen for thousands of small business owners like her. Thatโ€™s what drives us. โ€ข You can think of Owner as Shopify for restaurantsโ€”and, eventually, all local business owners. It gives them everything they need to succeed in the online future, in one place. Owner is their website, online ordering, mobile app, CRM. It all works together as one system. โ€ข Owner is also continuously optimized with what we learn from the thousands of restaurants and the more than 57 million consumers who have used our platform. Itโ€™s the only system designed for one outcome: growing sales profitably. It gives independent owners enough firepower to take on the big corporations, and win. โ€ข Shoutout to the great team at Owner โ€” You deserve the credit for getting us here. I thank God every morning that I get to build Owner with each of you. We wouldnโ€™t be here without you. We have a special team. Each of you represents greatness. โ€ข And shoutout to the best cofounder and CTO I could ever ask for, Deano๐Ÿง™โ€โ™‚๏ธ. His work ethic and genius are as impressive as his character. I view partnering with Dean as one of the best decisions Iโ€™ve ever made. โ€ข Iโ€™m proud of Owner today. But I also feel scared that people will see our unicorn valuation and think โ€œweโ€™ve made it.โ€ So let me be brutally clear. We HAVE NOT made it. And if we start to believe we have, we never will. When investors value us at $1B, itโ€™s because they see potential. Our investors see the POTENTIAL for us to build a company worth tens of billions. We have to prove them right. And we must also prove right the thousands of restaurant owners whoโ€™ve bet their futures on us. โ€ข Weโ€™re still underdogs. We still have a long way to go. We didnโ€™t come this far just to come this far. Itโ€™s time to move faster, build better, and fight harder! We have millions of small business owners counting on us.
8:43

Iโ€™m feeling blessed to share: Owner raised $120M Series C and is now at a $1B valuation ๐Ÿฆ„ Mom-and-pop restaurant owners are being crushed by huge corporations. Weโ€™re using this cash to arm them to fight back. โ€ข This round was co-led by 2 perfect partners for us: Alex Kurland from Meritech, who led DoorDashโ€™s Series B, and Shalini Rao from Headline, who led Toastโ€™s Series C. They were also joined by an inspiring group of new investors: Fidji Simo (CEO Instacart), Jonathan Neman (CEO Sweetgreen), Garrett Langley (CEO Flock Safety). & still more inspiring new investors... Dharmesh Shah (CTO HubSpot), Josh Reeves (CEO Gusto), Shaan Puri (MFM), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO Eight Sleep), Anthony Pompliano, Sahil Bloom, Christina Cacioppo (CEO Vanta), Brett Schulman (CEO Cava), Matt Maloney (Founder & CEO GrubHub). โ€ฆ just to name a few. :) โ€ข Today, technology is being weaponized against small business owners. Corporations like Dominoโ€™s dominate. Why? Because they spend billions on tech, engineers, and marketers. โ€ข Small business owners are forced to compete with corporations that have massive war chests. But with Owner, they can do more than compete. They can win. Weโ€™re building the platform that gives them the power. We serve the people who serve our communities. โ€ข I started Owner 7 years ago, after dropping out of high school halfway through 10th grade. The first version of Owner wasnโ€™t built for venture capital. It was built for my mom. Sheโ€™s a small business owner who just needed a shot at success in the digital world. โ€ข I remember watching her worry that weโ€™d lose her business and our house. In a moment of desperation, she asked her weird :) nerdy 17-year-old son to help her. I built a solution for her. That was Owner V1. When it started to work, I saw my mom transform. She went from being constantly stressed about money to feeling hopeful and excited about her future. The Owner team has now seen that same transformation happen for thousands of small business owners like her. Thatโ€™s what drives us. โ€ข You can think of Owner as Shopify for restaurantsโ€”and, eventually, all local business owners. It gives them everything they need to succeed in the online future, in one place. Owner is their website, online ordering, mobile app, CRM. It all works together as one system. โ€ข Owner is also continuously optimized with what we learn from the thousands of restaurants and the more than 57 million consumers who have used our platform. Itโ€™s the only system designed for one outcome: growing sales profitably. It gives independent owners enough firepower to take on the big corporations, and win. โ€ข Shoutout to the great team at Owner โ€” You deserve the credit for getting us here. I thank God every morning that I get to build Owner with each of you. We wouldnโ€™t be here without you. We have a special team. Each of you represents greatness. โ€ข And shoutout to the best cofounder and CTO I could ever ask for, Deano๐Ÿง™โ€โ™‚๏ธ. His work ethic and genius are as impressive as his character. I view partnering with Dean as one of the best decisions Iโ€™ve ever made. โ€ข Iโ€™m proud of Owner today. But I also feel scared that people will see our unicorn valuation and think โ€œweโ€™ve made it.โ€ So let me be brutally clear. We HAVE NOT made it. And if we start to believe we have, we never will. When investors value us at $1B, itโ€™s because they see potential. Our investors see the POTENTIAL for us to build a company worth tens of billions. We have to prove them right. And we must also prove right the thousands of restaurant owners whoโ€™ve bet their futures on us. โ€ข Weโ€™re still underdogs. We still have a long way to go. We didnโ€™t come this far just to come this far. Itโ€™s time to move faster, build better, and fight harder! We have millions of small business owners counting on us.

Adam Guild

681,416 views โ€ข 1 year ago

The false prophets of the "New Media" Dear international friends and users of X, We are witnessing a dangerous situation unfold where Romania is being used by popular accounts on the platform to create panic and a false image of what is actually happening in the world. One of those accounts is Mario Nawfal, whom I choose to reference because I met him a few months ago and helped my partner film an interview which now seems incredible to listen to. Everyone in the crypto industry had an image of Mario from the last cycle, and it was interesting to see him pivot to what is now called "New Media" and the success he was able to achieve mainly because of retweets from Elon Musk. During the interview you can watch below, he talks about the high level of attention he receives and the responsibility that comes with it. He admits to taking a side in US politics by supporting Donald Trump because he is a "free speech" advocate, but other than that, he says that his journalism is objective regarding Ukraine/Gaza or any other hot topic around the world. He also speaks highly about posting factual information and not misinformation. Now on the current subject, I feel he is not only taking a side but also spreading significant misinformation about the situation in Romania, and I want to help you understand by clarifying some of these "facts." He refers to Calin Georgescu as "the rightful president of Romania." Let me explain what happened here. Romania had a presidential election at the end of 2024. This type of election in Romania is split into two rounds unless one of the candidates gets more than 50% of the votes. In that case, the candidate wins from the first round and gets to be installed as president. Calin Georgescu won the first round with 22.94% of the votes, which equals 2,120,401 votes out of 9,242,186. The total number of eligible voters on the lists was 18,021,800. By simple math, he obtained the vote of 11.77% of Romanians allowed to vote. Although we can objectively admit he was a favorite for the second round based on these numbers, the election was annulled. The Constitutional Court of Romania first validated the first round and then two days later decided to cancel the election after voting had already started in some areas outside the country where voting takes three days to help Romanian citizens living abroad cast their votes. Romania's president at that time declassified the documents based on which the CCR canceled the elections, and most of the data given to the public was vague. It mentioned interference from another state, social media manipulation, or the cost of the campaign being different than previously declared. Georgescu declared 0$ (ZERO) campaign budget. Now again, even if that would be enough to cancel the election, we all agree that the way the situation unfolded is terrible. It showed the lack of interest from Romanian authorities regarding the elections or, worse, parts of the system that accepted all of this before and during the vote. The root of all problems Much like all over the world, Romania is a country with corrupt politicians. Most of the time in the 35 years of democracy, the same parties ruled the country with one main goal: FILL THE POCKETS WHILE YOU CAN. I'm pretty sure you know what that feels like and thus understand that most of the population is fed up and really wants change. It all erupted in the past 2-3 years with inflation skyrocketing after the pandemic and the cost of living becoming unbearable for some parts of the population. Now here comes Calin Georgescu. A self-portrayed savior of the people and a fighter against the current establishment, he campaigned mainly on social media. Most of his ideology is nationalist, populist, and Christian Orthodox. Most of us had no idea who he was until the very last day before the first round, especially in big cities, and the fact that he won struck the country like a truck. In fact, some of his voters declared that they had no idea who he was, but social media, especially TikTok, portrayed him as the savior, and the other options were people they couldn't vote for anymore. One week before the election, most polls gave Georgescu less than 5% and, in the best cases, 8% of the votes. So you can now understand the surprise we had after the counting was done. After that night, Romanians started to analyze the winner of the first round, and what they found was sometimes scary and other times funnyโ€”ranging from "There are microchips in Pepsi that enter your body like a laptop" to "The moon landing was fake", "5G technology is extremely dangerous" or "Covid is not real, you can't see it." You can find most of his statements on this website with sources: Setting aside some of these statements, which are mostly harmless, he said things like "Romania should look towards Russian wisdom." He even said he would be ready to leave NATO if it felt necessary and criticized the EU and the way it treats Romania. While we can agree on some small details in these claims, you have to understand the raw feeling of Romanians when it comes to Russia after more than 40 years of communism. It's the same in most of the Eastern Bloc, and it is being passed from one generation to another. And it is mostly hate. Romania is not the most developed country in Europe, but it grew a lot after being accepted into NATO and the EU, and you can check the economic data that sustains this. That being said, you can probably understand why some of those statements were labeled as dangerous by parts of the population that doesn't want to accept even a small chance of leaving the EU/NATO and turning toward "Russian wisdom." Back to our current government One thing that actually unites most Romanians these days is their lack of trust in the current political scene. There is a feeling of exhaustion among us, and we just want honest people ruling the country. Probably just a dream, as my personal take is it will never happen and most of this drama is just "circus". It's always the same situation, just different pockets. Our current prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu , was recently investigated by journalists for different private flights paid for by a company that scammed many Romanians in the real estate industry. Of course, some of those involved in the scam are also politicians. So you probably now understand why we also want change. The situation in Romania is wild these days. We do want change; some think Georgescu is that change, some think he is exactly what we don't need. I don't want to make any judgments in this article. I'm trying to show you what I think "New Media" and "Citizen journalism" should be, at least in my view. What I thought Mario also stands for after that interview. In the course of the last few weeks, Mario has posted every step of Georgescu alongside a network of other popular accounts, some of them known for edgy takes or straightforward propaganda, like Jackson Hinkle or Alex Jones. He even came to Romania to interview Calin and George Simion and said he was afraid. Afraid of what? What did he think he did wrong to be afraid of? Nothing. Just the usual recipe of fear to create drama for views. Many Romanians are asking him in replies to actually dig deeper into the matter and to listen to everyone, but he clearly took a side and goes forward. Why? We don't know for sure; there are some people claiming he was paid to campaign for Georgescu, but there is no actual proof of that being the case. Maybe it's because he wants to continue with the whole "Anti-Soros" agenda widely spread even by Elon Musk these days. We don't know, and I don't want to point out a reason without proof or facts. In fact, that's exactly why I wrote this piece. I'm tired of Old Media, and now the concept of "New Media" is failing harder than I would've ever imagined. Misinformation spreads the fastest on the internet, and most people don't take the time to double or triple check. It is exactly the same practice of biased mainstream media, but for the other side. It's no longer "it must be true, I saw it on CNN" but "it must be true, I saw *insert popular account* posted it." We are witnessing a difficult situation, not only in Romania, and I think journalism should evolve into what it should've always been. But this is not the way. We need to present facts and acknowledge the responsibility, especially as our accounts grow bigger. I encourage every one of you to join the conversation and fill the gaps that I might've missed. Bring facts, bring arguments, do not bring insults. I hope I was clear enough and that this helps some of you understand the situation better. I would love to see you help this post get the attention it needs. Thank you, andreibratucu
9:33

The false prophets of the "New Media" Dear international friends and users of X, We are witnessing a dangerous situation unfold where Romania is being used by popular accounts on the platform to create panic and a false image of what is actually happening in the world. One of those accounts is Mario Nawfal, whom I choose to reference because I met him a few months ago and helped my partner film an interview which now seems incredible to listen to. Everyone in the crypto industry had an image of Mario from the last cycle, and it was interesting to see him pivot to what is now called "New Media" and the success he was able to achieve mainly because of retweets from Elon Musk. During the interview you can watch below, he talks about the high level of attention he receives and the responsibility that comes with it. He admits to taking a side in US politics by supporting Donald Trump because he is a "free speech" advocate, but other than that, he says that his journalism is objective regarding Ukraine/Gaza or any other hot topic around the world. He also speaks highly about posting factual information and not misinformation. Now on the current subject, I feel he is not only taking a side but also spreading significant misinformation about the situation in Romania, and I want to help you understand by clarifying some of these "facts." He refers to Calin Georgescu as "the rightful president of Romania." Let me explain what happened here. Romania had a presidential election at the end of 2024. This type of election in Romania is split into two rounds unless one of the candidates gets more than 50% of the votes. In that case, the candidate wins from the first round and gets to be installed as president. Calin Georgescu won the first round with 22.94% of the votes, which equals 2,120,401 votes out of 9,242,186. The total number of eligible voters on the lists was 18,021,800. By simple math, he obtained the vote of 11.77% of Romanians allowed to vote. Although we can objectively admit he was a favorite for the second round based on these numbers, the election was annulled. The Constitutional Court of Romania first validated the first round and then two days later decided to cancel the election after voting had already started in some areas outside the country where voting takes three days to help Romanian citizens living abroad cast their votes. Romania's president at that time declassified the documents based on which the CCR canceled the elections, and most of the data given to the public was vague. It mentioned interference from another state, social media manipulation, or the cost of the campaign being different than previously declared. Georgescu declared 0$ (ZERO) campaign budget. Now again, even if that would be enough to cancel the election, we all agree that the way the situation unfolded is terrible. It showed the lack of interest from Romanian authorities regarding the elections or, worse, parts of the system that accepted all of this before and during the vote. The root of all problems Much like all over the world, Romania is a country with corrupt politicians. Most of the time in the 35 years of democracy, the same parties ruled the country with one main goal: FILL THE POCKETS WHILE YOU CAN. I'm pretty sure you know what that feels like and thus understand that most of the population is fed up and really wants change. It all erupted in the past 2-3 years with inflation skyrocketing after the pandemic and the cost of living becoming unbearable for some parts of the population. Now here comes Calin Georgescu. A self-portrayed savior of the people and a fighter against the current establishment, he campaigned mainly on social media. Most of his ideology is nationalist, populist, and Christian Orthodox. Most of us had no idea who he was until the very last day before the first round, especially in big cities, and the fact that he won struck the country like a truck. In fact, some of his voters declared that they had no idea who he was, but social media, especially TikTok, portrayed him as the savior, and the other options were people they couldn't vote for anymore. One week before the election, most polls gave Georgescu less than 5% and, in the best cases, 8% of the votes. So you can now understand the surprise we had after the counting was done. After that night, Romanians started to analyze the winner of the first round, and what they found was sometimes scary and other times funnyโ€”ranging from "There are microchips in Pepsi that enter your body like a laptop" to "The moon landing was fake", "5G technology is extremely dangerous" or "Covid is not real, you can't see it." You can find most of his statements on this website with sources: Setting aside some of these statements, which are mostly harmless, he said things like "Romania should look towards Russian wisdom." He even said he would be ready to leave NATO if it felt necessary and criticized the EU and the way it treats Romania. While we can agree on some small details in these claims, you have to understand the raw feeling of Romanians when it comes to Russia after more than 40 years of communism. It's the same in most of the Eastern Bloc, and it is being passed from one generation to another. And it is mostly hate. Romania is not the most developed country in Europe, but it grew a lot after being accepted into NATO and the EU, and you can check the economic data that sustains this. That being said, you can probably understand why some of those statements were labeled as dangerous by parts of the population that doesn't want to accept even a small chance of leaving the EU/NATO and turning toward "Russian wisdom." Back to our current government One thing that actually unites most Romanians these days is their lack of trust in the current political scene. There is a feeling of exhaustion among us, and we just want honest people ruling the country. Probably just a dream, as my personal take is it will never happen and most of this drama is just "circus". It's always the same situation, just different pockets. Our current prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu , was recently investigated by journalists for different private flights paid for by a company that scammed many Romanians in the real estate industry. Of course, some of those involved in the scam are also politicians. So you probably now understand why we also want change. The situation in Romania is wild these days. We do want change; some think Georgescu is that change, some think he is exactly what we don't need. I don't want to make any judgments in this article. I'm trying to show you what I think "New Media" and "Citizen journalism" should be, at least in my view. What I thought Mario also stands for after that interview. In the course of the last few weeks, Mario has posted every step of Georgescu alongside a network of other popular accounts, some of them known for edgy takes or straightforward propaganda, like Jackson Hinkle or Alex Jones. He even came to Romania to interview Calin and George Simion and said he was afraid. Afraid of what? What did he think he did wrong to be afraid of? Nothing. Just the usual recipe of fear to create drama for views. Many Romanians are asking him in replies to actually dig deeper into the matter and to listen to everyone, but he clearly took a side and goes forward. Why? We don't know for sure; there are some people claiming he was paid to campaign for Georgescu, but there is no actual proof of that being the case. Maybe it's because he wants to continue with the whole "Anti-Soros" agenda widely spread even by Elon Musk these days. We don't know, and I don't want to point out a reason without proof or facts. In fact, that's exactly why I wrote this piece. I'm tired of Old Media, and now the concept of "New Media" is failing harder than I would've ever imagined. Misinformation spreads the fastest on the internet, and most people don't take the time to double or triple check. It is exactly the same practice of biased mainstream media, but for the other side. It's no longer "it must be true, I saw it on CNN" but "it must be true, I saw *insert popular account* posted it." We are witnessing a difficult situation, not only in Romania, and I think journalism should evolve into what it should've always been. But this is not the way. We need to present facts and acknowledge the responsibility, especially as our accounts grow bigger. I encourage every one of you to join the conversation and fill the gaps that I might've missed. Bring facts, bring arguments, do not bring insults. I hope I was clear enough and that this helps some of you understand the situation better. I would love to see you help this post get the attention it needs. Thank you, andreibratucu

andreibratucu๐Ÿฆ‡๐Ÿ”Š

67,819 views โ€ข 1 year ago

Three days ago I asked myself a dumb question. It was so stupid I was actually ashamed to Google it. Can AI earn money while I sleep? Not saving time. Not automating routine. I mean putting real money into my account while I am not looking at the screen. Everyone says ClawdBot will change how we work. Automation. Task management. Smart replies. But I was sitting in my kitchen thinking about something else entirely. You know that feeling when you look at a tool and realize everyone is using only 1% of its potential? It is like being given a race car and only using it to drive to the store for bread. I decided to test it. I started a notebook. I record everything. > Day One I started with something simple. I gave Clawdbot a task. Find wallets on Polymarket where the numbers do not add up. Where the profit is too high for the win rate. Where the result smells like a system rather than luck. It thought for 14 minutes. I had time to pour a coffee and forget about it. Then the screen flashed. 4 addresses. I scrolled through the first three in a minute. Big bets on politics. They guessed the election. Classic. On the fourth one I stopped. Not because it was the most profitable but because I did not understand what I was looking at. The wallet was not trading politics or sports or anything people write reviews about. It was trading the weather. I read it three times. Weather. Will it be 9 degrees in London tomorrow? Will it rain in Tokyo? These are markets I would not even click on by accident. Then I looked at the numbers. > It started with $27. It is now at $63,853. $27 is two trips to McDonald's. It is nothing. $63,853 is a new car or a down payment on an apartment. It is two years of someone's salary. Between those two numbers was only one thing. Thousands of bets on rain. I closed the tab. Opened it again. Checked if it was a glitch. Real dollars. On markets that look like a bad joke. > Day Two I could not get that wallet out of my head. I went to look at its transaction history. I expected to find one big win that explained everything. A lucky hurricane forecast. Instead I saw thousands of small bets. Boring. "Will the temperature in New York be above 15 degrees?" Then I noticed the detail that finally broke my brain. Its win rate: 33%. It loses more often than it wins. 2 out of 3 bets go to zero. Any normal person with that result would be posting about how the market is unfair. Yet this wallet is sitting on $63,000 in profit. How? I started deconstructing the trades. After an hour I got it. When it loses, it loses 10 or 20 cents. When it wins, it takes $1.00. Loses 9 times in a row? Lost $1.80. Wins 1 time? Got $10.00. > This is not trading. It is math that works as long as you do not interfere with your emotions. Here is how it works. Weather is one of the most predictable things on the planet. Governments invest billions in satellites. Data is updated every 2 or 3 hours. Precision to a tenth of a degree. This data is public. But Polymarket is not a weather station. It updates its markets with a delay of 6 or 8 hours. Imagine the situation. 6 AM. The weather service updated the forecast. The probability that London reaches 9 degrees tomorrow rose to 80%. Algorithms everywhere already recalculated the data. But on Polymarket the YES button is still sitting there for 10 cents. Because the market has not woken up yet. This bot sees the difference. It buys YES for 10 cents when the real probability is already 80%. It is not guessing. It is buying what is essentially already known. It just waits a day and collects the dollar. 10 cents turn into a dollar. On information available to anyone who can read weather APIs. That evening I called a friend. He has been trading for 3 years. He sits in analytical chats. Draws support levels. I asked him: "How was the last month?" "I broke even. The market is tough right now. Too much noise." I looked at the screen. A bot betting on rain with a 33% win rate. Profit: $63,853. My friend with 3 years of experience and hundreds of hours of analysis. Profit: $0. Who is doing it wrong? I am not asking you to take my word for it. The blockchain does not lie: > Day Three I decided to dig deeper. I looked at the wallet description. I expected something complex. A hedge fund. A team of developers. Secret data sources. I found one line: Claude plus public weather APIs. Ordinary Claude. The one on your phone. Connected to free weather services. No secret stations. No insiders. No millions for infrastructure. Just an AI doing what any of us could do. But we are too lazy. Or bored. Or we think it is too simple to work. If someone already built this with basic Claude and free APIs... What happens when Clawdbot gets direct access to trading? > Day Four I watched the wallet in real time. First bet: loss. Second bet: loss. Third bet: loss. I thought: this is it. The statistics are collapsing. Fourth bet: loss. Fifth bet: loss. Down $12 in an hour. I was ready to write a post about how I overestimated this. Sixth bet: Temperature in Chicago. Win. +$87. Seventh bet: Win. +$94. By evening: 9 losses. 5 wins. Daily total: +$385. No emotions. No posts about injustice. No strategy changes after a loss. Just the next bet. I wrote to my friend. The one who has been trading for 3 years. "How was your day?" "Down $200. Market makers caught my stop loss again." I looked at the screen. A bot with no posts and no loud claims. +$385 for the day on rain bets. My friend with 3 years of experience and dozens of books. Minus $200 and a post about how the system is against him. > Day Five I woke up with a thought that kept me up all night. It finally hit me. It is not about the weather. It is not about APIs. It is not that the bot is "smarter". > It is about what the bot does NOT have: an ego that hates being wrong. No urge to revenge-trade. No boredom from repetition. My friend trades against the market. He tries to be smarter than the crowd. This bot trades against human nature. And nature loses every day. Clawdbot found me this wallet in 14 minutes. The weather bot turned $27 into $63,000 on markets everyone else thinks are trash. Both use the same principle. Do something simple. Remove emotions. Repeat. I do not know when Clawdbot will start trading on its own. Maybe in a month. Maybe in a year. But I know one thing. While we discuss if it is possible... Someone already set up their bot and went to live their life. Right now as you read this. Somewhere a weather service updated a forecast. Polymarket is sleeping. The bot is already entering a position. And my friend is writing a post about how market makers do not let honest people earn. Guess who wakes up tomorrow with money in their account?
0:25

Three days ago I asked myself a dumb question. It was so stupid I was actually ashamed to Google it. Can AI earn money while I sleep? Not saving time. Not automating routine. I mean putting real money into my account while I am not looking at the screen. Everyone says ClawdBot will change how we work. Automation. Task management. Smart replies. But I was sitting in my kitchen thinking about something else entirely. You know that feeling when you look at a tool and realize everyone is using only 1% of its potential? It is like being given a race car and only using it to drive to the store for bread. I decided to test it. I started a notebook. I record everything. > Day One I started with something simple. I gave Clawdbot a task. Find wallets on Polymarket where the numbers do not add up. Where the profit is too high for the win rate. Where the result smells like a system rather than luck. It thought for 14 minutes. I had time to pour a coffee and forget about it. Then the screen flashed. 4 addresses. I scrolled through the first three in a minute. Big bets on politics. They guessed the election. Classic. On the fourth one I stopped. Not because it was the most profitable but because I did not understand what I was looking at. The wallet was not trading politics or sports or anything people write reviews about. It was trading the weather. I read it three times. Weather. Will it be 9 degrees in London tomorrow? Will it rain in Tokyo? These are markets I would not even click on by accident. Then I looked at the numbers. > It started with $27. It is now at $63,853. $27 is two trips to McDonald's. It is nothing. $63,853 is a new car or a down payment on an apartment. It is two years of someone's salary. Between those two numbers was only one thing. Thousands of bets on rain. I closed the tab. Opened it again. Checked if it was a glitch. Real dollars. On markets that look like a bad joke. > Day Two I could not get that wallet out of my head. I went to look at its transaction history. I expected to find one big win that explained everything. A lucky hurricane forecast. Instead I saw thousands of small bets. Boring. "Will the temperature in New York be above 15 degrees?" Then I noticed the detail that finally broke my brain. Its win rate: 33%. It loses more often than it wins. 2 out of 3 bets go to zero. Any normal person with that result would be posting about how the market is unfair. Yet this wallet is sitting on $63,000 in profit. How? I started deconstructing the trades. After an hour I got it. When it loses, it loses 10 or 20 cents. When it wins, it takes $1.00. Loses 9 times in a row? Lost $1.80. Wins 1 time? Got $10.00. > This is not trading. It is math that works as long as you do not interfere with your emotions. Here is how it works. Weather is one of the most predictable things on the planet. Governments invest billions in satellites. Data is updated every 2 or 3 hours. Precision to a tenth of a degree. This data is public. But Polymarket is not a weather station. It updates its markets with a delay of 6 or 8 hours. Imagine the situation. 6 AM. The weather service updated the forecast. The probability that London reaches 9 degrees tomorrow rose to 80%. Algorithms everywhere already recalculated the data. But on Polymarket the YES button is still sitting there for 10 cents. Because the market has not woken up yet. This bot sees the difference. It buys YES for 10 cents when the real probability is already 80%. It is not guessing. It is buying what is essentially already known. It just waits a day and collects the dollar. 10 cents turn into a dollar. On information available to anyone who can read weather APIs. That evening I called a friend. He has been trading for 3 years. He sits in analytical chats. Draws support levels. I asked him: "How was the last month?" "I broke even. The market is tough right now. Too much noise." I looked at the screen. A bot betting on rain with a 33% win rate. Profit: $63,853. My friend with 3 years of experience and hundreds of hours of analysis. Profit: $0. Who is doing it wrong? I am not asking you to take my word for it. The blockchain does not lie: > Day Three I decided to dig deeper. I looked at the wallet description. I expected something complex. A hedge fund. A team of developers. Secret data sources. I found one line: Claude plus public weather APIs. Ordinary Claude. The one on your phone. Connected to free weather services. No secret stations. No insiders. No millions for infrastructure. Just an AI doing what any of us could do. But we are too lazy. Or bored. Or we think it is too simple to work. If someone already built this with basic Claude and free APIs... What happens when Clawdbot gets direct access to trading? > Day Four I watched the wallet in real time. First bet: loss. Second bet: loss. Third bet: loss. I thought: this is it. The statistics are collapsing. Fourth bet: loss. Fifth bet: loss. Down $12 in an hour. I was ready to write a post about how I overestimated this. Sixth bet: Temperature in Chicago. Win. +$87. Seventh bet: Win. +$94. By evening: 9 losses. 5 wins. Daily total: +$385. No emotions. No posts about injustice. No strategy changes after a loss. Just the next bet. I wrote to my friend. The one who has been trading for 3 years. "How was your day?" "Down $200. Market makers caught my stop loss again." I looked at the screen. A bot with no posts and no loud claims. +$385 for the day on rain bets. My friend with 3 years of experience and dozens of books. Minus $200 and a post about how the system is against him. > Day Five I woke up with a thought that kept me up all night. It finally hit me. It is not about the weather. It is not about APIs. It is not that the bot is "smarter". > It is about what the bot does NOT have: an ego that hates being wrong. No urge to revenge-trade. No boredom from repetition. My friend trades against the market. He tries to be smarter than the crowd. This bot trades against human nature. And nature loses every day. Clawdbot found me this wallet in 14 minutes. The weather bot turned $27 into $63,000 on markets everyone else thinks are trash. Both use the same principle. Do something simple. Remove emotions. Repeat. I do not know when Clawdbot will start trading on its own. Maybe in a month. Maybe in a year. But I know one thing. While we discuss if it is possible... Someone already set up their bot and went to live their life. Right now as you read this. Somewhere a weather service updated a forecast. Polymarket is sleeping. The bot is already entering a position. And my friend is writing a post about how market makers do not let honest people earn. Guess who wakes up tomorrow with money in their account?

Blaze

29,808 views โ€ข 8 months ago

Eli Junior Kroupi: The Arsenal Fit #AFC Could Kroupi be the next major signing to bolster Arsenal's somewhat thin attacking depth? At just 20, the Frenchman already possesses one of the most unique attacking profiles in the Premier League With Arsenal lacking a reliable and consistent goal threat at the moment, Kroupi feels like the type of high ceiling profile worth exploring in serious detail. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this article and I would appreciate any tactical nuances and feedback on my analysis. I have also attached a compilation of some of his shooting actions, chance creation actions and all his goals from last season for a simpler visual understanding. I have also attached a player scout report in A4 format and two very basic tactical image for those who prefer a shorter analysis structure. Kroupi Summarised: Kroupiโ€™s fit at Arsenal is interesting because his "9.5" profile gives Arteta several different ways of using him. He can operate as a lone #9, drop underneath a focal point, start slightly deeper before attacking the box as a second striker, or play from the left of the front three as an inside forward. I would not view him as somebody who requires one specific role to function. The main attraction is the flexibility of his movement and the fact that his strongest quality (snapshot finishing and spatial awareness) can translate across several attacking structures and sequences, including the left side where Arsenal have lacked a consistent goal threat in recent years. The most obvious starting point is Kroupi as the lone #9. Arsenal's current options already offer two very different interpretations of the role. Most common actions: - Havertz regularly drifts away from the defensive line, often towards the RHS, where he can receive underneath, combine with Saka and Odegaard, create overloads and vacate central space for runners such as Calafiori before attacking the box again. - Gyokeres is much more of an aggressive focal point against settled blocks, pinning and occupying the CBs close to goal. By keeping the defensive line deep and central, he naturally creates more space for Arsenal's creative players in the half spaces and around the edge of the box. Kroupi would offer something different again. He is smaller and considerably weaker physically than both Havertz and Gyokeres, so his role would rely far less on direct occupation of the CBs. Instead, he can operate a few yards below the CBs, drop into zone 14, avoid physical battles, receive on the half-turn and immediately attack the defence facing forward. His ability to play quick bounce passes, recognise one twos and understand third man combinations also makes the idea particularly interesting. Rather than consistently pinning the defensive line, Kroupi could manipulate it through his movement, dragging defenders away from their positions before combining and immediately attacking the space created. Key USPs Shooting Kroupiโ€™s standout trait is obviously his shooting and according to Gradient Sports he had the highest shooting grade in the entire Premier League last season despite being just 19. He scored 13 Premier League goals from 8.35xG last season, overperforming by +4.65 while boasting an incredible 25% goal conversion rate from 52 shots. His 0.70 goals per 90 ranked in the 99th percentile against other Premier League forwards, alongside 2.78 shots per 90 (89th percentile) and 1.18 SOT per 90 (94th percentile). The numbers clearly illustrate a forward who doesnโ€™t only score at an exceptional rate but someone who is consistently able to get dangerous attempts away. He also scored 2/2 penalties which suggests he scored 11 non-pen goals from just 6.77 non-pen xG. +4.23xG overperformance. His 9.79xGOT suggests his shot placement adds value beyond xG, but 13 goals is still well above that, so some regression is likely even if the underlying skill is real. Snapshot Finishing The speed of his execution is one of the most impressive parts for me. 10/11 of his non-pen goals were finished in 2 touches or less, including 5 first time goals. He rarely needs several touches to set himself. His short backlift, rapid balance adjustment and ability to strike from awkward body positions allow him to shoot before the defender has completely set himself. 6/11 non penalty goals were also volleys, half-volleys or headers, which demonstrates how quickly he can adapt his body to bouncing, dropping and aerial deliveries even with limited space. Body Manipulation and Balance IMO his body manipulation and separation abilities are equally quintessential as he ranked in the 88th percentile for creating his own shots, but the data and eye test suggests he is not a strong isolation/1v1 dribbler. He completed only 0.80/2.00 dribbles per 90 (41% success) and averaged just 0.95 progressive carries per 90. His dribbling/carrying is far more purposeful and direct. He aims to use his first touch, a shoulder movement or a small body feint to shift the defender before immediately attacking the defender's wrong side. I saw this clearly in his goal against Forest, where he manipulated Milenkovic's body position, carried into the vacated space and finished brilliantly from distance. To put it simply, Kroupiโ€™s primary objective is normally to create enough separation to shoot. That is why the combination of his body manipulation and rapid shooting style is so difficult to defend, especially when facing recovering defenses. Running In Behind While he thrives dropping deep, data tracking highlights Kroupi as a standout threat as a runner. According to SkillCorner, he ranks exceptionally high for making diagonal, high speed channel runs that split CBs and FBs. His explosiveness over short distances allows him to get off the mark quickly, using transition phases (in particular) to sprint into central lanes or half spaces in behind. This verticality usually leads to a retreating backline, creating the exact space in zone 14 he operates so lethally in. He averaged 5 channel runs per 30 minutes, which is extremely efficient. The timing can still improve, as 2 further goals were ruled out for offside. Low Touch Efficiency The final USP is his low-touch efficiency as he averaged only 39.68 touches per 90 (8th percentile), but still produced 4.49 touches in the opposition box (11%), 2.78 shots, 1.18 SOT and 0.70 goals per 90. He clearly does not need to constantly be involved in play to remain dangerous. The key thing is his movement as he combines well with one twos and third man combinations by moving into dangerous open spaces like a โ€œ9.5โ€ does. Kroupi as the lone #9: Basic Demands - Refer to Image 1 Kroupiโ€™s basic role as Arsenalโ€™s #9 would be relatively simple to explain: - Occupy the CBs without constantly engaging them physically - Move between the lines when the shooting opportunity appears - Continuously work towards receiving in pockets where he can face the target and shoot quickly - Shown in his goals vs Wolves, Arsenal and Forest He will obviously not be asked to become a traditional target man because physically he does not meet the standards. The data supports this as he had a low 32% ground duel success rate (3rd percentile) and 26.7% aerial duel win rate (27th percentile). The simple tactical objective is to keep him close enough to the CBs that they remain pinned to him whilst using micro movements to avoid the actual contact. I believe his movements need to work in cycles. Start high enough to occupy the CBs, drop into the pocket to open a passing lane, combine or turn and then immediately attack the open space whilst facing the target. I think that Kroupi should not drop into the midfield and remain there as we would then lose that central occupation. The movement away from goal needs to eventually coincide with a movement back towards it after a quick combination. Note: With him replacing Havertz or Gyokeres up front we do lose that aerial support during defensive set-pieces. A small trade-off but not one I could ignore. Explained Through The Phases In Build-Up During the first phase of possession Kroupi can peel away from the CBs into either half-space (depending on the overload priority) and offer himself as a vertical option. His first touch and awareness will allow him to receive, play a quick bounce pass and immediately continue his movement forward rather than taking multiple touches or attempting to dictate. This is where Iโ€™d suggest his โ€œ9.5โ€ profile becomes useful: - If a CB follows him when he drops, we could attack the space created behind - If the CB stays attached to the defensive line, Kroupi can receive in between the lines and turn - I particularly enjoy watching him as the second or third in third man combinations which allows the team to beat the first lines of press and progress forward quickly. Progression Once we settle into our 3-2-5/3-1-6, Kroupi can alternate between occupying the defensive line and dropping into zone 11. He tends to remain central but naturally gravitates towards the left channel (See Left Inside Forward Section) which could lead to a strong relationship with Calafiori and Tzolis. It could also lead to one of the two having to remain wider to avoid an unnecessary channel overload. This could create some interesting rotations. If Kroupi moves between the opposition RB and RCB, the RCB has to decide whether to follow or stay. - If the CB follows a late/box crashing runner like Calafiori, Rice or Bruno G can attack the central space (during transitions or high tempo moments). - If the CB holds position Kroupi can receive freely in space between the lines before turning and carrying/combining in zone 11/14 areas (most likely scenario). His passing numbers also provide useful context as despite only completing 19 passes per 90 (76% acc.), he ranked in the 73rd percentile for both progressive passes and passes into the final third, along with ranking in the 68th percentile for forward passes. He is a low volume player but naturally vertical. Note: Despite his left channel preference, he is also extremely capable at combining on the right and using movement to drag a play before manipulating a defender and attacking the space in a third man combination (Goal vs Arsenal at the Vitality). Connections with Saka and Odegaard could be interesting with all of them being able to play strong bounce passes. An upgrade in tempo perhaps? To counter the strengths, there is also an important factor of adaptation that has to be analysed. Bournemouth operate at a much higher attacking tempo and regularly attack extremely vertically, whereas Arsenal spend far more time circulating patiently around settled blocks. Kroupi will therefore have fewer chaotic spaces to immediately exploit and will need greater patience when Arsenal circulate. There is a chance that he may become impatient and drift to get on the ball and speed up tempo. It is something that canโ€™t be ignored with his age profile too. At Arsenal, his off the ball concentration will be extremely important: - Remain relatively uninvolved between the lines - Constantly adjust between CBs - Explode once the passing lane appears Final Third Kroupiโ€™s first thought when receiving in the final third is usually to create a shooting angle immediately. As I mentioned earlier his 88th percentile ranking for creating his own shots is very useful against low blocks because defenders often allow attackers only fractions of a second before closing them down. Arsenal also create cutback situations from both sides and Kroupiโ€™s box movement fits these sequences well because he does not exclusively attack one zone: - He can run across the CB towards the front post (He particularly repeats these diagonal movements) - Arrive centrally - Ghost to the back post - Delay his arrival around the pen spot - All movements were shown last season. His finishing technique will translate very well to these types of low and fast deliveries as he is a very confident one touch finisher. A first time cutback or loose second ball around the box is exactly the type of situation where his rapid release becomes valuable. He can also combine well when runners move into the channels beyond him and he is also very capable at using quick bounce passes before moving from deeper positions to receive the return as the third man. Note: His goals also came across a useful variety of attacking situations: - 5 from controlled possession - 3 in transition - 3 from set-piece situations - 2 penalties. That variety matters because it shows his scoring threat is not exclusively dependent on open-field or transition moments. The obvious weakness in Kroupiโ€™s final third profile is his aerial ability. We would lose the ability to consistently target the striker with high crosses or long balls, specifically when compared to Havertz. Arsenal would have to emphasise low deliveries, combinations and cutbacks a lot more if Kroupi led the line Attacking Transitions Kroupi is extremely dangerous when the game becomes more transitional. He recorded one of Bournemouthโ€™s highest sprint speeds (34.6 kmph) and understands exactly how and when to occupy the free space created when defenders retreat. His off the ball verticality is crucial here, as he is incredibly sharp at making diagonal channel runs to stretch recovering defences. He aggressively exploits gaps between CBs and FBs the moment high regains occur, forcing the defence to drop deeper and open up his favoured central zones. However, he does not always need to lead the transitions himself. That's what makes this profile so interesting. I like him as the second attacker. If the winger or midfielder carries/makes a run ahead of him and attracts a defender, Kroupi can arrive underneath the backline in a dangerous area and receive. His ability to rapidly adjust his feet and shoot suits these sometimes awkward or wayward transition deliveries. His carrying is also a very dangerous tool as he is strong at receiving whilst moving or pushing off from a standstill. He uses body feints and his balance to attack whichever side the defender has exposed rather than repeatedly attempting 1v1s. To repeat, Arsenal will naturally provide fewer of these sequences than Bournemouth because opponents simply defend deeper against us. The question that can only be answered if he joins is whether he can transfer the same decisiveness into a slower tempo environment and be ruthless when "rare" transition opportunities do arrive. Kroupi as a Left Inside Forward Given his natural pull towards the left channel, a simpler option than the shadow striker idea is to start him on the left of a front 3. From there he can cut inside onto his stronger right foot, attack the half space and shoot. It keeps Gyokeres or Havertz central as the focal point, protects the midfield structure, and puts him in a role where his weaker aerial and physical profile matters less. The trade-off is that he'd likely see less of zone 14 and would need to be coached to hold width when Calafiori overlaps or underlaps. The left wing is where Arsenal's attack has lacked a consistent goal threat. Used as a left inside forward, Kroupi could change that. His ability to cut inside and shoot gives them a goalscorer in a zone that has produced too little. Risk and Solution The main risk in this role is his 41% dribble success, as he is not an isolation winger and shouldn't be asked to beat a FB in wide areas 1v1. Arsenal can reduce those situations through structure. Calafiori underlapping from LB would pull the FB inside and open the touchline, while Odegaard or Bruno could rotate into the LHS to give Kroupi a quick bounce pass option. That lets him receive on the move, pass or combine, and attack the inside channel rather than isolating the FB. His 1v1 dribbling still needs to improve, but the role can be built to limit how often he has to beat a man - similar to what we're seeing with Tzolis now. Kroupi as a Shadow Striker: The Theory - Refer to Image 2 Another potential, (although unlikely) spot we could see if he joins is Kroupi starting from the LCM base but effectively operating as a shadow striker. Kroupi x Gyokeres (Similar to Kroupi x Evanilson but less technical) The logic is very clear. Like what Evanilson does at Bournemouth, Gyokeres can occupy both CBs and force the defensive line deeper, creating space in zone 14. Kroupi can then operate dangerously in that zone without constantly dealing with the physical contact he may otherwise struggle with when playing as a lone #9. Theoretically: - If Gyokeres remains centrally, Kroupi can receive underneath - If Gyokeres runs into a channel, Kroupi can fill the vacated central space. - If Gyokeres receives to feet he can combine with Kroupi through a bounce pass before attacking the defender's blindside with vertical or diagonal movements. This could be useful against low blocks as Gyokeres provides that fixed box occupation while Kroupi becomes another genuine scoring threat operating off his back. It is important to note that I would not expect Kroupi to operate as a creator as his 0 assists from 1.53xA and 1.18 chances created per 90 suggest he is primarily a shooting threat. Kroupi x Havertz By contrast, the partnership with Havertz would be a lot more fluid. Kai naturally drops away from the defensive line to take part in right sided overloads and combine. The key would be to stagger their movements and provide a clear fluid central partnership. Theoretically: - If Havertz drifts and drags, Kroupi should take up the vacated space. - If Kroupi drifts to the right/left, Havertz needs to remain central and occupy the CBs - Having both players in wide or deeper central areas would allow the opposition defensive line to step forward and close down the space between lines. - Note: His channel/half space running could be ruthless with the technicality of Havertz (only really works if both remain close in proximity which is unlikely due to Havertz's drifting tendencies) The technical relationship could be excellent. Havertz operates at an extremely high technical level compared to the average CF and is comfortable playing quick one touch bounce passes before immediately moving into space (Raumdeuter). Kai also retains the aerial threat and physical security that Kroupi lacks, which also somewhat fits the Evanilson comparison I mentioned earlier. I think their different instincts could naturally balance the partnership as Havertz is more likely to connect possession and operate as a clear and safe progression outlet, whilst Kroupi is generally more shot focused. If (unlikely) Arteta adapts the system to suit this Kai could become the forward operating as ball to feet whilst Kroupi operates more so as a runner. We saw this on occasion last season with Trossard as a LCM. Key Weakness with Kroupi as a Shadow Striker The key and obvious trade-off is defensively. Starting another forward from LCM reduces our midfield security and would likely require a stricter rest defence behind him. Players like Timber would likely have to remain slightly more conservative alongside Rice, whilst Kroupi could move next to Gyokeres/Havertz in a 4-4-2 OOP shape meaning a less physically capable Odegaard drops into the midfield line and we lose his press leading qualities. If Bruno G starts instead it could work much better in settled defensive phases. Out of Possession In his first season at Bournemouth Kroupi averaged only 0.48 tackles per 90 (2nd percentile) and won just 32% of his ground duels, yet recorded 0.48 interceptions per 90 (49th percentile) and 1.07 final third possessions won per 90 (95th percentile). That fits the eye test. He appears much stronger anticipating passes and loose touches than directly tackling opponents. His high intensity pressing can therefore be built around curved runs, screening the opposition #6 and cutting passing lanes to force the opposition to go long or reset. As the lone #9, he could lead the first line alongside pressing leader Odegaard in the 4-4-2 shape. Alternatively, if he plays underneath a Gyokeres or Havertz he is likely to again be the leader or work in an interdependent relationship as he has done for majority of his career. - Pressing followers: Mohamed Bamba/Aiyegun Tosin at Lorient - Work alongside another capable pressing leader (Evanilson). As mentioned earlier, Odegaard/Bruno would then likely drop to #8 and allow Kroupi to defend in the first line. Main Concerns The most obvious weakness is physicality. Standing at 5โ€10 and 70kg he cannot physically impose himself on Premier League CBs or provide the same direct outlet we see with Gyokeres or Havertz. There is also a translation risk. Kroupi, if he joins, will move from a high tempo Bournemouth side to a low tempo Arsenal side. He will have to adapt and become more patient as his touches will likely decrease unless he performs a similar combination role to Havertz (Gyokeres - 26 touches per 90, Havertz - 44 touches per 90 last season). Finishing regression is also something to watch out for as scoring 13 goals from just 8.35xG and boasting an incredible 25% conversion rate is exceptional but unlikely to remain at that level forever. However, I do think his snapshot shooting ability, balance and body manipulation to create separation provide legitimate technical reasons that would allow him to sustain the ridiculous numbers he achieved last year. Finally, his decision-making can at times resemble โ€œselfishnessโ€. He recorded 0 assists from 1.53xA and there are moments where he could have easily released a better positioned teammate. I personally wouldnโ€™t want to completely coach that โ€œselfishnessโ€ out of him because his shooting mentality is arguably his biggest strength, but adding that layer of creation would make him very complete. We must remember he is only 20. Final Thoughts Kroupi is my personal favourite out of the names currently being thrown out for attacking alternatives because I feel he provides something genuinely different to our existing striker options: - Havertz offers fluidity, technical security and aerial ability - Gyokeres gives us direct channel running and physical occupation of CBs - Kroupi would offer spatial and body manipulation, elite in behind movement and efficient quick finishing As a lone #9 there is a clear benefit of embedding his โ€œ9.5โ€ profile directly into the system and allowing him to alternate between occupying the CBs and dropping into zone 11/14 before attacking the space again. Against mid blocks in particular, his ability to receive comfortably on the half turn could be crucial. Against low blocks, the physical limitations become more relevant. That is where using him with a focal point becomes interesting. Gyokeres would give him that fixed player to play around (similar to Evanilson) and Havertz would provide a more fluid relationship based on interdependent movement. The left inside forward role is the most realistic alternative. It keeps Gyokeres or Havertz as the central focal point, places Kroupi in the area where his shooting and cut inside tendency fit best, and addresses the left side's lack of goals. It does depend on how well Arsenal can protect him in 1v1s, but with Calafiori's underlap and a rotation with Odegaard or Bruno, that is a structural problem Arteta can solve. The biggest unknown for me is if he can adapt from Bournemouthโ€™s high tempo environment to the slow and more controlled tempo under Arteta. He will definitely have less space to operate in and far more situations where he has to remain patient against stubborn defensive units. That's where his most transferable skill of snapshot shooting comes into play. To summarise, at only 20 years old, Kroupiโ€™s profile is understandably still open to significant development. His physicality, creation and decision-making can improve, however, elite finishing is one of the hardest qualities to find and Kroupi already combines it with incredible spatial awareness, movement and excellent abilities to create space for his own shots. Personally it is a no brainer. Pay the money before a young player of immense quality joins a different elite club in Europe. ยฃ100m player in my humble opinion. Thank you for reading my article on how Eli Junior Kroupi can fit into Arsenal. What are your thoughts? Since the market is depleted of available elite talent, why not develop a player with a clearly unbelievable skill set? A retweet would be appreciated. #Kroupi #Arsenal
3:12

Eli Junior Kroupi: The Arsenal Fit #AFC Could Kroupi be the next major signing to bolster Arsenal's somewhat thin attacking depth? At just 20, the Frenchman already possesses one of the most unique attacking profiles in the Premier League With Arsenal lacking a reliable and consistent goal threat at the moment, Kroupi feels like the type of high ceiling profile worth exploring in serious detail. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this article and I would appreciate any tactical nuances and feedback on my analysis. I have also attached a compilation of some of his shooting actions, chance creation actions and all his goals from last season for a simpler visual understanding. I have also attached a player scout report in A4 format and two very basic tactical image for those who prefer a shorter analysis structure. Kroupi Summarised: Kroupiโ€™s fit at Arsenal is interesting because his "9.5" profile gives Arteta several different ways of using him. He can operate as a lone #9, drop underneath a focal point, start slightly deeper before attacking the box as a second striker, or play from the left of the front three as an inside forward. I would not view him as somebody who requires one specific role to function. The main attraction is the flexibility of his movement and the fact that his strongest quality (snapshot finishing and spatial awareness) can translate across several attacking structures and sequences, including the left side where Arsenal have lacked a consistent goal threat in recent years. The most obvious starting point is Kroupi as the lone #9. Arsenal's current options already offer two very different interpretations of the role. Most common actions: - Havertz regularly drifts away from the defensive line, often towards the RHS, where he can receive underneath, combine with Saka and Odegaard, create overloads and vacate central space for runners such as Calafiori before attacking the box again. - Gyokeres is much more of an aggressive focal point against settled blocks, pinning and occupying the CBs close to goal. By keeping the defensive line deep and central, he naturally creates more space for Arsenal's creative players in the half spaces and around the edge of the box. Kroupi would offer something different again. He is smaller and considerably weaker physically than both Havertz and Gyokeres, so his role would rely far less on direct occupation of the CBs. Instead, he can operate a few yards below the CBs, drop into zone 14, avoid physical battles, receive on the half-turn and immediately attack the defence facing forward. His ability to play quick bounce passes, recognise one twos and understand third man combinations also makes the idea particularly interesting. Rather than consistently pinning the defensive line, Kroupi could manipulate it through his movement, dragging defenders away from their positions before combining and immediately attacking the space created. Key USPs Shooting Kroupiโ€™s standout trait is obviously his shooting and according to Gradient Sports he had the highest shooting grade in the entire Premier League last season despite being just 19. He scored 13 Premier League goals from 8.35xG last season, overperforming by +4.65 while boasting an incredible 25% goal conversion rate from 52 shots. His 0.70 goals per 90 ranked in the 99th percentile against other Premier League forwards, alongside 2.78 shots per 90 (89th percentile) and 1.18 SOT per 90 (94th percentile). The numbers clearly illustrate a forward who doesnโ€™t only score at an exceptional rate but someone who is consistently able to get dangerous attempts away. He also scored 2/2 penalties which suggests he scored 11 non-pen goals from just 6.77 non-pen xG. +4.23xG overperformance. His 9.79xGOT suggests his shot placement adds value beyond xG, but 13 goals is still well above that, so some regression is likely even if the underlying skill is real. Snapshot Finishing The speed of his execution is one of the most impressive parts for me. 10/11 of his non-pen goals were finished in 2 touches or less, including 5 first time goals. He rarely needs several touches to set himself. His short backlift, rapid balance adjustment and ability to strike from awkward body positions allow him to shoot before the defender has completely set himself. 6/11 non penalty goals were also volleys, half-volleys or headers, which demonstrates how quickly he can adapt his body to bouncing, dropping and aerial deliveries even with limited space. Body Manipulation and Balance IMO his body manipulation and separation abilities are equally quintessential as he ranked in the 88th percentile for creating his own shots, but the data and eye test suggests he is not a strong isolation/1v1 dribbler. He completed only 0.80/2.00 dribbles per 90 (41% success) and averaged just 0.95 progressive carries per 90. His dribbling/carrying is far more purposeful and direct. He aims to use his first touch, a shoulder movement or a small body feint to shift the defender before immediately attacking the defender's wrong side. I saw this clearly in his goal against Forest, where he manipulated Milenkovic's body position, carried into the vacated space and finished brilliantly from distance. To put it simply, Kroupiโ€™s primary objective is normally to create enough separation to shoot. That is why the combination of his body manipulation and rapid shooting style is so difficult to defend, especially when facing recovering defenses. Running In Behind While he thrives dropping deep, data tracking highlights Kroupi as a standout threat as a runner. According to SkillCorner, he ranks exceptionally high for making diagonal, high speed channel runs that split CBs and FBs. His explosiveness over short distances allows him to get off the mark quickly, using transition phases (in particular) to sprint into central lanes or half spaces in behind. This verticality usually leads to a retreating backline, creating the exact space in zone 14 he operates so lethally in. He averaged 5 channel runs per 30 minutes, which is extremely efficient. The timing can still improve, as 2 further goals were ruled out for offside. Low Touch Efficiency The final USP is his low-touch efficiency as he averaged only 39.68 touches per 90 (8th percentile), but still produced 4.49 touches in the opposition box (11%), 2.78 shots, 1.18 SOT and 0.70 goals per 90. He clearly does not need to constantly be involved in play to remain dangerous. The key thing is his movement as he combines well with one twos and third man combinations by moving into dangerous open spaces like a โ€œ9.5โ€ does. Kroupi as the lone #9: Basic Demands - Refer to Image 1 Kroupiโ€™s basic role as Arsenalโ€™s #9 would be relatively simple to explain: - Occupy the CBs without constantly engaging them physically - Move between the lines when the shooting opportunity appears - Continuously work towards receiving in pockets where he can face the target and shoot quickly - Shown in his goals vs Wolves, Arsenal and Forest He will obviously not be asked to become a traditional target man because physically he does not meet the standards. The data supports this as he had a low 32% ground duel success rate (3rd percentile) and 26.7% aerial duel win rate (27th percentile). The simple tactical objective is to keep him close enough to the CBs that they remain pinned to him whilst using micro movements to avoid the actual contact. I believe his movements need to work in cycles. Start high enough to occupy the CBs, drop into the pocket to open a passing lane, combine or turn and then immediately attack the open space whilst facing the target. I think that Kroupi should not drop into the midfield and remain there as we would then lose that central occupation. The movement away from goal needs to eventually coincide with a movement back towards it after a quick combination. Note: With him replacing Havertz or Gyokeres up front we do lose that aerial support during defensive set-pieces. A small trade-off but not one I could ignore. Explained Through The Phases In Build-Up During the first phase of possession Kroupi can peel away from the CBs into either half-space (depending on the overload priority) and offer himself as a vertical option. His first touch and awareness will allow him to receive, play a quick bounce pass and immediately continue his movement forward rather than taking multiple touches or attempting to dictate. This is where Iโ€™d suggest his โ€œ9.5โ€ profile becomes useful: - If a CB follows him when he drops, we could attack the space created behind - If the CB stays attached to the defensive line, Kroupi can receive in between the lines and turn - I particularly enjoy watching him as the second or third in third man combinations which allows the team to beat the first lines of press and progress forward quickly. Progression Once we settle into our 3-2-5/3-1-6, Kroupi can alternate between occupying the defensive line and dropping into zone 11. He tends to remain central but naturally gravitates towards the left channel (See Left Inside Forward Section) which could lead to a strong relationship with Calafiori and Tzolis. It could also lead to one of the two having to remain wider to avoid an unnecessary channel overload. This could create some interesting rotations. If Kroupi moves between the opposition RB and RCB, the RCB has to decide whether to follow or stay. - If the CB follows a late/box crashing runner like Calafiori, Rice or Bruno G can attack the central space (during transitions or high tempo moments). - If the CB holds position Kroupi can receive freely in space between the lines before turning and carrying/combining in zone 11/14 areas (most likely scenario). His passing numbers also provide useful context as despite only completing 19 passes per 90 (76% acc.), he ranked in the 73rd percentile for both progressive passes and passes into the final third, along with ranking in the 68th percentile for forward passes. He is a low volume player but naturally vertical. Note: Despite his left channel preference, he is also extremely capable at combining on the right and using movement to drag a play before manipulating a defender and attacking the space in a third man combination (Goal vs Arsenal at the Vitality). Connections with Saka and Odegaard could be interesting with all of them being able to play strong bounce passes. An upgrade in tempo perhaps? To counter the strengths, there is also an important factor of adaptation that has to be analysed. Bournemouth operate at a much higher attacking tempo and regularly attack extremely vertically, whereas Arsenal spend far more time circulating patiently around settled blocks. Kroupi will therefore have fewer chaotic spaces to immediately exploit and will need greater patience when Arsenal circulate. There is a chance that he may become impatient and drift to get on the ball and speed up tempo. It is something that canโ€™t be ignored with his age profile too. At Arsenal, his off the ball concentration will be extremely important: - Remain relatively uninvolved between the lines - Constantly adjust between CBs - Explode once the passing lane appears Final Third Kroupiโ€™s first thought when receiving in the final third is usually to create a shooting angle immediately. As I mentioned earlier his 88th percentile ranking for creating his own shots is very useful against low blocks because defenders often allow attackers only fractions of a second before closing them down. Arsenal also create cutback situations from both sides and Kroupiโ€™s box movement fits these sequences well because he does not exclusively attack one zone: - He can run across the CB towards the front post (He particularly repeats these diagonal movements) - Arrive centrally - Ghost to the back post - Delay his arrival around the pen spot - All movements were shown last season. His finishing technique will translate very well to these types of low and fast deliveries as he is a very confident one touch finisher. A first time cutback or loose second ball around the box is exactly the type of situation where his rapid release becomes valuable. He can also combine well when runners move into the channels beyond him and he is also very capable at using quick bounce passes before moving from deeper positions to receive the return as the third man. Note: His goals also came across a useful variety of attacking situations: - 5 from controlled possession - 3 in transition - 3 from set-piece situations - 2 penalties. That variety matters because it shows his scoring threat is not exclusively dependent on open-field or transition moments. The obvious weakness in Kroupiโ€™s final third profile is his aerial ability. We would lose the ability to consistently target the striker with high crosses or long balls, specifically when compared to Havertz. Arsenal would have to emphasise low deliveries, combinations and cutbacks a lot more if Kroupi led the line Attacking Transitions Kroupi is extremely dangerous when the game becomes more transitional. He recorded one of Bournemouthโ€™s highest sprint speeds (34.6 kmph) and understands exactly how and when to occupy the free space created when defenders retreat. His off the ball verticality is crucial here, as he is incredibly sharp at making diagonal channel runs to stretch recovering defences. He aggressively exploits gaps between CBs and FBs the moment high regains occur, forcing the defence to drop deeper and open up his favoured central zones. However, he does not always need to lead the transitions himself. That's what makes this profile so interesting. I like him as the second attacker. If the winger or midfielder carries/makes a run ahead of him and attracts a defender, Kroupi can arrive underneath the backline in a dangerous area and receive. His ability to rapidly adjust his feet and shoot suits these sometimes awkward or wayward transition deliveries. His carrying is also a very dangerous tool as he is strong at receiving whilst moving or pushing off from a standstill. He uses body feints and his balance to attack whichever side the defender has exposed rather than repeatedly attempting 1v1s. To repeat, Arsenal will naturally provide fewer of these sequences than Bournemouth because opponents simply defend deeper against us. The question that can only be answered if he joins is whether he can transfer the same decisiveness into a slower tempo environment and be ruthless when "rare" transition opportunities do arrive. Kroupi as a Left Inside Forward Given his natural pull towards the left channel, a simpler option than the shadow striker idea is to start him on the left of a front 3. From there he can cut inside onto his stronger right foot, attack the half space and shoot. It keeps Gyokeres or Havertz central as the focal point, protects the midfield structure, and puts him in a role where his weaker aerial and physical profile matters less. The trade-off is that he'd likely see less of zone 14 and would need to be coached to hold width when Calafiori overlaps or underlaps. The left wing is where Arsenal's attack has lacked a consistent goal threat. Used as a left inside forward, Kroupi could change that. His ability to cut inside and shoot gives them a goalscorer in a zone that has produced too little. Risk and Solution The main risk in this role is his 41% dribble success, as he is not an isolation winger and shouldn't be asked to beat a FB in wide areas 1v1. Arsenal can reduce those situations through structure. Calafiori underlapping from LB would pull the FB inside and open the touchline, while Odegaard or Bruno could rotate into the LHS to give Kroupi a quick bounce pass option. That lets him receive on the move, pass or combine, and attack the inside channel rather than isolating the FB. His 1v1 dribbling still needs to improve, but the role can be built to limit how often he has to beat a man - similar to what we're seeing with Tzolis now. Kroupi as a Shadow Striker: The Theory - Refer to Image 2 Another potential, (although unlikely) spot we could see if he joins is Kroupi starting from the LCM base but effectively operating as a shadow striker. Kroupi x Gyokeres (Similar to Kroupi x Evanilson but less technical) The logic is very clear. Like what Evanilson does at Bournemouth, Gyokeres can occupy both CBs and force the defensive line deeper, creating space in zone 14. Kroupi can then operate dangerously in that zone without constantly dealing with the physical contact he may otherwise struggle with when playing as a lone #9. Theoretically: - If Gyokeres remains centrally, Kroupi can receive underneath - If Gyokeres runs into a channel, Kroupi can fill the vacated central space. - If Gyokeres receives to feet he can combine with Kroupi through a bounce pass before attacking the defender's blindside with vertical or diagonal movements. This could be useful against low blocks as Gyokeres provides that fixed box occupation while Kroupi becomes another genuine scoring threat operating off his back. It is important to note that I would not expect Kroupi to operate as a creator as his 0 assists from 1.53xA and 1.18 chances created per 90 suggest he is primarily a shooting threat. Kroupi x Havertz By contrast, the partnership with Havertz would be a lot more fluid. Kai naturally drops away from the defensive line to take part in right sided overloads and combine. The key would be to stagger their movements and provide a clear fluid central partnership. Theoretically: - If Havertz drifts and drags, Kroupi should take up the vacated space. - If Kroupi drifts to the right/left, Havertz needs to remain central and occupy the CBs - Having both players in wide or deeper central areas would allow the opposition defensive line to step forward and close down the space between lines. - Note: His channel/half space running could be ruthless with the technicality of Havertz (only really works if both remain close in proximity which is unlikely due to Havertz's drifting tendencies) The technical relationship could be excellent. Havertz operates at an extremely high technical level compared to the average CF and is comfortable playing quick one touch bounce passes before immediately moving into space (Raumdeuter). Kai also retains the aerial threat and physical security that Kroupi lacks, which also somewhat fits the Evanilson comparison I mentioned earlier. I think their different instincts could naturally balance the partnership as Havertz is more likely to connect possession and operate as a clear and safe progression outlet, whilst Kroupi is generally more shot focused. If (unlikely) Arteta adapts the system to suit this Kai could become the forward operating as ball to feet whilst Kroupi operates more so as a runner. We saw this on occasion last season with Trossard as a LCM. Key Weakness with Kroupi as a Shadow Striker The key and obvious trade-off is defensively. Starting another forward from LCM reduces our midfield security and would likely require a stricter rest defence behind him. Players like Timber would likely have to remain slightly more conservative alongside Rice, whilst Kroupi could move next to Gyokeres/Havertz in a 4-4-2 OOP shape meaning a less physically capable Odegaard drops into the midfield line and we lose his press leading qualities. If Bruno G starts instead it could work much better in settled defensive phases. Out of Possession In his first season at Bournemouth Kroupi averaged only 0.48 tackles per 90 (2nd percentile) and won just 32% of his ground duels, yet recorded 0.48 interceptions per 90 (49th percentile) and 1.07 final third possessions won per 90 (95th percentile). That fits the eye test. He appears much stronger anticipating passes and loose touches than directly tackling opponents. His high intensity pressing can therefore be built around curved runs, screening the opposition #6 and cutting passing lanes to force the opposition to go long or reset. As the lone #9, he could lead the first line alongside pressing leader Odegaard in the 4-4-2 shape. Alternatively, if he plays underneath a Gyokeres or Havertz he is likely to again be the leader or work in an interdependent relationship as he has done for majority of his career. - Pressing followers: Mohamed Bamba/Aiyegun Tosin at Lorient - Work alongside another capable pressing leader (Evanilson). As mentioned earlier, Odegaard/Bruno would then likely drop to #8 and allow Kroupi to defend in the first line. Main Concerns The most obvious weakness is physicality. Standing at 5โ€10 and 70kg he cannot physically impose himself on Premier League CBs or provide the same direct outlet we see with Gyokeres or Havertz. There is also a translation risk. Kroupi, if he joins, will move from a high tempo Bournemouth side to a low tempo Arsenal side. He will have to adapt and become more patient as his touches will likely decrease unless he performs a similar combination role to Havertz (Gyokeres - 26 touches per 90, Havertz - 44 touches per 90 last season). Finishing regression is also something to watch out for as scoring 13 goals from just 8.35xG and boasting an incredible 25% conversion rate is exceptional but unlikely to remain at that level forever. However, I do think his snapshot shooting ability, balance and body manipulation to create separation provide legitimate technical reasons that would allow him to sustain the ridiculous numbers he achieved last year. Finally, his decision-making can at times resemble โ€œselfishnessโ€. He recorded 0 assists from 1.53xA and there are moments where he could have easily released a better positioned teammate. I personally wouldnโ€™t want to completely coach that โ€œselfishnessโ€ out of him because his shooting mentality is arguably his biggest strength, but adding that layer of creation would make him very complete. We must remember he is only 20. Final Thoughts Kroupi is my personal favourite out of the names currently being thrown out for attacking alternatives because I feel he provides something genuinely different to our existing striker options: - Havertz offers fluidity, technical security and aerial ability - Gyokeres gives us direct channel running and physical occupation of CBs - Kroupi would offer spatial and body manipulation, elite in behind movement and efficient quick finishing As a lone #9 there is a clear benefit of embedding his โ€œ9.5โ€ profile directly into the system and allowing him to alternate between occupying the CBs and dropping into zone 11/14 before attacking the space again. Against mid blocks in particular, his ability to receive comfortably on the half turn could be crucial. Against low blocks, the physical limitations become more relevant. That is where using him with a focal point becomes interesting. Gyokeres would give him that fixed player to play around (similar to Evanilson) and Havertz would provide a more fluid relationship based on interdependent movement. The left inside forward role is the most realistic alternative. It keeps Gyokeres or Havertz as the central focal point, places Kroupi in the area where his shooting and cut inside tendency fit best, and addresses the left side's lack of goals. It does depend on how well Arsenal can protect him in 1v1s, but with Calafiori's underlap and a rotation with Odegaard or Bruno, that is a structural problem Arteta can solve. The biggest unknown for me is if he can adapt from Bournemouthโ€™s high tempo environment to the slow and more controlled tempo under Arteta. He will definitely have less space to operate in and far more situations where he has to remain patient against stubborn defensive units. That's where his most transferable skill of snapshot shooting comes into play. To summarise, at only 20 years old, Kroupiโ€™s profile is understandably still open to significant development. His physicality, creation and decision-making can improve, however, elite finishing is one of the hardest qualities to find and Kroupi already combines it with incredible spatial awareness, movement and excellent abilities to create space for his own shots. Personally it is a no brainer. Pay the money before a young player of immense quality joins a different elite club in Europe. ยฃ100m player in my humble opinion. Thank you for reading my article on how Eli Junior Kroupi can fit into Arsenal. What are your thoughts? Since the market is depleted of available elite talent, why not develop a player with a clearly unbelievable skill set? A retweet would be appreciated. #Kroupi #Arsenal

Nino Scouting

16,156 views โ€ข 4 days ago

//The Wire//2300Z September 7, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: UNITED STATES ANNOUNCES EYE-FOR-AN-EYE TARGETING STRATEGY OF MERCHANT SHIPPING IN THE MIDDLE EAST. UKRAINE CONTINUES TARGETING OF MERCHANT SHIPPING IN MEDITERRANEAN SEA. PLANE CRASH OBSERVED AT MIAMI AIRPORT, MULTIPLE FATALITIES REPORTED.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events- Middle East: Over the weekend, the general situation remained as before. This morning, Iranian forces reportedly launched two cruise missiles toward a merchant vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, with unknown success. Otherwise, CENTCOM announced that the M/T KYLO has sunk at undisclosed coordinates in the Gulf of Oman. In Saudi Arabia, Houthi attacks from this morning targeted the Jazan Refinery once again, with locals observing large smoke plumes in the vicinity of the facility. Analyst Comment: Jazan had just come back online after making repairs due to the latest round of Houthi strikes. Less than a week after the refinery was due to come back online, the Houthis hit it again. Lebanon: Israeli attacks have intensified with a new series of attacks being reported over the weekend. Significant bombing runs were reported throughout Nabatiyeh, mostly focusing on striking residential structures in the town of Kfar Rumman. Mediterranean: Overnight Ukrainian forces targeted a Russian cargo ship off the coast of Crete. The M/V LADY MARIIA was struck by Ukrainian drones while reportedly carrying a cargo of Iranian weapons, which Iran was allegedly attempting to export to Russia. -HomeFront- Florida: Yesterday evening a plane crash was reported at Miami International Airport, after a cargo aircraft overran the runway. Prime Air Flight 7598 (an Amazon cargo plane) made a rough landing on Runway 30, touching down farther down the runway than usual. The aircraft also possibly had issues with their left landing gear, as indicated by video evidence of the landing. The aircraft failed to stop in the allotted distance, and either overran or missed the Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS). Once off the runway, the aircraft skidded across NW 67th Avenue, striking multiple vehicles that were on the road. A total of 5x fatalities were reported, and several others wounded. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: Following the intensification of airstrikes on commercial shipping over the weekend, the United States has altered the Commander's Intent with regards to the American targeting of commercial shipping. Per Secretary of War Hegseth, the United States will target Iranian noncombatant civilian ships for every attempt by Iran to strike an American warship. In terms of targeting doctrine, conducting kinetic strikes on civilian ships can be interpreted in several ways. Kinetically targeting a ship so as to disable it's movement due to noncompliance with boarding procedures in one's own territorial waters is normally considered acceptable under current international maritime norms. However, verbally stating that random noncombatants will be sunk for no other purpose than for revenge, is generally not in keeping with the Department of Defense Law of War Manual, which states on page 200 that "Combatants may make military objectives the object of attack, but may not direct attacks against civilians, civilian objects, or other protected persons and objects." The deliberate targeting of random civilian ships purely for reasons of revenge/reprisal and NOT for reasons of self-defense or due to Hostile Intent or Hostile Action, is a new milestone, and the public statements by Admiral Brad Cooper and SECWAR Hegseth don't leave much room for interpretation. Regardless of how anyone spins it, in every wartime publication that has been written thus far, this conflict has now transitioned into a state of Unrestricted Warfare, and the follow-on effects of this will probably result in very bad things happening in the very near future, as it becomes common to blur the lines between civilians and military targets. From Ukraine and Russia striking civilian ships in the Black Sea, to Iran and the United States striking civilian ships in the Middle East...in many cases civilians are no longer protected by the general norms of what it means to be a noncombatant. Of course, Iran has been striking civilian merchants this entire war, so this new policy from the Pentagon does not excuse their behavior. But, the overall impact of the United States engaging in an eye-for-an-eye targeting doctrine is going to be made worse, because Iran has already stated that they will be retaliating in kind. Reflecting back on what prompted this new targeting milestone, the theories have been circulating for a few days. Over the weekend however, both the Iranian government and CENTCOM have added some context for why the United States struck the three tankers on Friday. Cutting through the narratives on both sides, the most likely explanation is that the Iranians conducted a live-fire operational test of a new missile...and it got way too close for comfort for the U.S. Navy. CENTCOM confirmed that the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) had to take evasive action to avoid the missile, which is a startling admission that is not normally disclosed publicly, as it is a major indicator that the missile penetrated the Aegis missile defense screen, and possibly entered the aircraft carrier's Terminal Defense Zone...which means it got really close. The missile that was tested has not been named by official sources, but the most likely candidate is the Qasem Basir Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM), which was unveiled in March of last year. As to whether or not the Iranians were engaging in "testing" as they claim, or if that "test" was also intended to actually target the Washington, that would be something only confirmable with the radar track of the projectile itself. Regardless of what the intent was, this effort (and the American retaliation) will keep escalating the war at a time when the energy crisis is reaching new heights. Analyst: S2A1 Research: NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//
5:06

//The Wire//2300Z September 7, 2026// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: UNITED STATES ANNOUNCES EYE-FOR-AN-EYE TARGETING STRATEGY OF MERCHANT SHIPPING IN THE MIDDLE EAST. UKRAINE CONTINUES TARGETING OF MERCHANT SHIPPING IN MEDITERRANEAN SEA. PLANE CRASH OBSERVED AT MIAMI AIRPORT, MULTIPLE FATALITIES REPORTED.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events- Middle East: Over the weekend, the general situation remained as before. This morning, Iranian forces reportedly launched two cruise missiles toward a merchant vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, with unknown success. Otherwise, CENTCOM announced that the M/T KYLO has sunk at undisclosed coordinates in the Gulf of Oman. In Saudi Arabia, Houthi attacks from this morning targeted the Jazan Refinery once again, with locals observing large smoke plumes in the vicinity of the facility. Analyst Comment: Jazan had just come back online after making repairs due to the latest round of Houthi strikes. Less than a week after the refinery was due to come back online, the Houthis hit it again. Lebanon: Israeli attacks have intensified with a new series of attacks being reported over the weekend. Significant bombing runs were reported throughout Nabatiyeh, mostly focusing on striking residential structures in the town of Kfar Rumman. Mediterranean: Overnight Ukrainian forces targeted a Russian cargo ship off the coast of Crete. The M/V LADY MARIIA was struck by Ukrainian drones while reportedly carrying a cargo of Iranian weapons, which Iran was allegedly attempting to export to Russia. -HomeFront- Florida: Yesterday evening a plane crash was reported at Miami International Airport, after a cargo aircraft overran the runway. Prime Air Flight 7598 (an Amazon cargo plane) made a rough landing on Runway 30, touching down farther down the runway than usual. The aircraft also possibly had issues with their left landing gear, as indicated by video evidence of the landing. The aircraft failed to stop in the allotted distance, and either overran or missed the Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS). Once off the runway, the aircraft skidded across NW 67th Avenue, striking multiple vehicles that were on the road. A total of 5x fatalities were reported, and several others wounded. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: Following the intensification of airstrikes on commercial shipping over the weekend, the United States has altered the Commander's Intent with regards to the American targeting of commercial shipping. Per Secretary of War Hegseth, the United States will target Iranian noncombatant civilian ships for every attempt by Iran to strike an American warship. In terms of targeting doctrine, conducting kinetic strikes on civilian ships can be interpreted in several ways. Kinetically targeting a ship so as to disable it's movement due to noncompliance with boarding procedures in one's own territorial waters is normally considered acceptable under current international maritime norms. However, verbally stating that random noncombatants will be sunk for no other purpose than for revenge, is generally not in keeping with the Department of Defense Law of War Manual, which states on page 200 that "Combatants may make military objectives the object of attack, but may not direct attacks against civilians, civilian objects, or other protected persons and objects." The deliberate targeting of random civilian ships purely for reasons of revenge/reprisal and NOT for reasons of self-defense or due to Hostile Intent or Hostile Action, is a new milestone, and the public statements by Admiral Brad Cooper and SECWAR Hegseth don't leave much room for interpretation. Regardless of how anyone spins it, in every wartime publication that has been written thus far, this conflict has now transitioned into a state of Unrestricted Warfare, and the follow-on effects of this will probably result in very bad things happening in the very near future, as it becomes common to blur the lines between civilians and military targets. From Ukraine and Russia striking civilian ships in the Black Sea, to Iran and the United States striking civilian ships in the Middle East...in many cases civilians are no longer protected by the general norms of what it means to be a noncombatant. Of course, Iran has been striking civilian merchants this entire war, so this new policy from the Pentagon does not excuse their behavior. But, the overall impact of the United States engaging in an eye-for-an-eye targeting doctrine is going to be made worse, because Iran has already stated that they will be retaliating in kind. Reflecting back on what prompted this new targeting milestone, the theories have been circulating for a few days. Over the weekend however, both the Iranian government and CENTCOM have added some context for why the United States struck the three tankers on Friday. Cutting through the narratives on both sides, the most likely explanation is that the Iranians conducted a live-fire operational test of a new missile...and it got way too close for comfort for the U.S. Navy. CENTCOM confirmed that the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) had to take evasive action to avoid the missile, which is a startling admission that is not normally disclosed publicly, as it is a major indicator that the missile penetrated the Aegis missile defense screen, and possibly entered the aircraft carrier's Terminal Defense Zone...which means it got really close. The missile that was tested has not been named by official sources, but the most likely candidate is the Qasem Basir Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM), which was unveiled in March of last year. As to whether or not the Iranians were engaging in "testing" as they claim, or if that "test" was also intended to actually target the Washington, that would be something only confirmable with the radar track of the projectile itself. Regardless of what the intent was, this effort (and the American retaliation) will keep escalating the war at a time when the energy crisis is reaching new heights. Analyst: S2A1 Research: NomadNet: 5fa68c88be727a0e1a250a75e5e79269 Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report. //END REPORT//

S2 Underground

14,590 views โ€ข 1 month ago

Last night, before I slept, I told my Grok Bot to go through the raw footage of every Starship launch, from Flight 1 all the way to Flight 14, using only official SpaceX footage bc I wanted it to put together the best moments from each flight, in order, so I could actually see how far this rocket has come. I woke up to an 11-minute video. I pressed play and watched the entire thing. And I have to say, watching all 14 flights back to back gave me an even greater appreciation for Elon and the SpaceX team. You can see the progress with your own eyes on both the things that went right and also went wrong. Every explosion, every failed landing, every lost ship taught them something. And instead of backing down, they kept building, fixing, testing, and flying. I remember A LOT of people wrote Starship off after Flight 1. Then they did it again after Flights 7 and 8, when two ships blew up on back-to-back missions. SpaceX never quit. I really believe Starship is one of the most incredible engineering stories of our lifetime. 1/ April 20, 2023 โ€” Flight 1 The first time the fully stacked Starship ever left the ground. Engines were failing, the booster never separated from the ship, and the launch destroyed much of the pad. The rocket made it roughly 24 miles into the sky before breaking apart. I still remember people acting like the entire Starship program was finished that day. SpaceX went back, rebuilt the launch pad, fixed what went wrong, and prepared to fly again. 2/ November 18, 2023 โ€” Flight 2 Just seven months later, all 33 booster engines fired successfully. SpaceX pulled off hot staging for the first time, separating the two stages while engines were firing and Starship reached space. They still lost both stages, but compare this to Flight 1. It was already a completely different outcome. 3/ March 14, 2024 โ€” Flight 3 For the first time, Starship made it far enough to attempt reentry from space. SpaceX also opened the payload door in space, an important step toward deploying satellites. The booster broke apart during its landing attempt in the Gulf, and the ship was lost during reentry. But they were now testing things they couldn't even reach on the first two flights. 4/ June 6, 2024 โ€” Flight 4 The booster made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, Starship came screaming back through the atmosphere with one of its flaps badly damaged and burning. I remember watching that flap practically fall apart on the livestream. Somehow, the ship kept flying, maintained control, and made it all the way to the ocean. That was unbelievable to watch. 5/ October 13, 2024 โ€” Flight 5 The first ever Super Heavy booster catch. I don't think people fully appreciate what happened here. SpaceX launched a massive rocket, brought the booster back to the launch site, and caught it in midair using two giant mechanical arms attached to the launch tower. Nobody had EVER done anything like that with a rocket booster before... something that sounded impossible had just become real. 6/ November 19, 2024 โ€” Flight 6 SpaceX called off the planned booster catch bc of a problem at the tower, so the booster made a controlled splashdown instead. But the ship achieved another huge milestone. It restarted a Raptor engine in space for the first time. That's an important capability for controlled orbital operations and eventually returning from orbit. The ship also survived reentry and splashed down in daylight. And they even had a banana inside the ship to show when it reached zero gravity. 7/ January 16, 2025 โ€” Flight 7 A new generation of Starship made its debut. SpaceX successfully caught the booster for the second time. Then things went wrong... the ship lost engines and broke apart over the Caribbean. It was a major setback, especially after the progress made on earlier flights, but the team didn't hide from what happened. They showed it, studied it, and went back to work. 8/ March 6, 2025 โ€” Flight 8 Another successful booster catch, the third one. Then the ship suffered engine failures and was lost over the Caribbean again. Two Starships destroyed on consecutive flights. The criticism was everywhere, and plenty of people were convinced the program was going backward. This is where I think the SpaceX team deserves enormous respect. They had already proven the booster could be caught. Now they had to figure out what was happening to the ship. They didn't give up. 9/ May 27, 2025 โ€” Flight 9 For the first time, SpaceX launched a Super Heavy booster that had already flown. This was the same booster caught during Flight 7, and 29 of its 33 engines had previously flown. Pretty cool to know that an enormous rocket booster was being reused. The booster broke apart during its landing attempt though. The ship reached engine cutoff, but a leak caused it to lose control, preventing the planned satellite deployment. Another difficult flight with another set of lessons. But on the positive side, reusable Starship hardware had officially flown again. 10/ August 26, 2025 โ€” Flight 10 After losing three ships in a row, SpaceX finally completed another Starship flight. And this one was a big deal. For the first time, Starship deployed a payload... eight Starlink satellite simulators, released one after another. The ship also restarted an engine in space, survived reentry, and reached its planned splashdown area. It eventually tipped over and caught fire after reaching the water. The booster also made it to the Gulf, although it was destroyed on impact. No catch was planned. Still, after everything that had happened on Flights 7, 8, and 9, seeing that ship make it through the mission was awesome. 11/ October 13, 2025 โ€” Flight 11 Exactly one year after the first booster catch. This was the final flight of that Starship version. SpaceX deployed more satellite simulators and brought both stages back to controlled ocean splashdowns. What stood out to me was how much more complete these flights were becoming... the team was finally putting together the things it had spent the previous two years learning. 12/ May 22, 2026 โ€” Flight 12 The first flight of Starship V3, launching from the new pad. A new version of the rocket meant another round of testing, with new hardware and new challenges. The booster didn't survive its landing attempt, but the ship successfully deployed its test satellites and made it through to splashdown. That's the thing about developing something this complicated. Even when you solve one problem, the next version can introduce brand new ones. The SpaceX team kept learning. 13/ July 24, 2026 โ€” Flight 13 Starship deployed 20 real next-generation Starlink V3 satellites for the first time, on a trajectory designed to bring them back down. And the splashdown was incredible. The ship descended so gently that it stayed in one piece, floated on the water, and continued communicating with SpaceX. The booster didn't make it through its landing burn, but the ship showed just how far its reentry and landing control had come. 14/ September 28, 2026 โ€” Flight 14 And then came orbit. After 13 test flights, Starship finally achieved orbital insertion. SpaceX deployed 26 REAL Starlink V3 satellites, and this time they stayed in orbit. Elon later confirmed that all 26 were working. The ship experienced an early engine shutdown, so SpaceX adjusted the mission. Instead of flying the planned roughly 10 hours and six orbits, they brought it down after a little over three hours, splashing down north of Hawaii. The booster made its planned splashdown in the Gulf. There was no catch attempt on this mission. What mattered most here was that SpaceX put real next-generation Starlink satellites into orbit, satellites that are too large for Falcon 9 to launch in their current form. This was a MASSIVE step toward what Starship was built to do. But really... think about the difference. On April 20, 2023, Starship makes it 24 miles high, fails to separate, breaks apart, and leaves the launch pad badly damaged. And then, three and a half years later, going through 13 flights, countless hours of engineering, rebuilding, testing, fixing things that failed, and trying again... On September 28, 2026, the 14th flight, Starship reaches orbit and deploys 26 next-generation operating Starlink satellites. These were all successful flights followed by failures. There were historic booster catches followed by ships exploding. There were moments when it looked like SpaceX had solved something, only for an entirely new problem to show up on the next flight. But every time... Elon and the team came back. That's what makes this video so powerful to me. We're watching what happens when thousands of incredibly talented people refuse to quit on something they believe is possible. Then on Friday, Elon said he now believes SpaceX becoming worth more than $1,000 trillion is a possible outcome. FYI, he didn't believe that before. For perspective, $SPCX is worth roughly $2.2 trillion today... to even have a chance of getting anywhere near that level, Starship needs to become far more than a rocket that occasionally reaches orbit. It needs to launch massive payloads reliably, become rapidly reusable, dramatically lower the cost of reaching space, and open up opportunities that simply aren't possible with today's rockets. That includes deploying much larger Starlink satellites, building infrastructure in orbit, and eventually making human missions to the Moon and Mars possible on an entirely different scale. And that's why the progress across these 14 flights matters so much. I don't think most people appreciate how difficult it is to build something like Starship. Or how many things have to go right, one after another, to turn a rocket this ambitious into something that flies routinely. We're still very early... there's a lot left to prove. But look at what this team has already accomplished. I've followed SpaceX for years, and watching these 11 minutes made me appreciate the people behind these launches even more. The engineers, technicians, launch crews, and everyone working behind the scenes to make the next flight better than the last. They deserve an enormous amount of credit. If you only watch Flight 14, you'll see an incredible rocket... but if you start with Flight 1 and watch everything that happened along the way, you'll understand why I have so much faith in this team. A lot of people have doubted them over the years. Every time something explodes, those people came back. And every time, SpaceX got back to work to prove them wrong. Never bet against Elon and the SpaceX team... I believe they are going to make the vehicle that this entire company's future depends on - Starship - successful.
11:02

Last night, before I slept, I told my Grok Bot to go through the raw footage of every Starship launch, from Flight 1 all the way to Flight 14, using only official SpaceX footage bc I wanted it to put together the best moments from each flight, in order, so I could actually see how far this rocket has come. I woke up to an 11-minute video. I pressed play and watched the entire thing. And I have to say, watching all 14 flights back to back gave me an even greater appreciation for Elon and the SpaceX team. You can see the progress with your own eyes on both the things that went right and also went wrong. Every explosion, every failed landing, every lost ship taught them something. And instead of backing down, they kept building, fixing, testing, and flying. I remember A LOT of people wrote Starship off after Flight 1. Then they did it again after Flights 7 and 8, when two ships blew up on back-to-back missions. SpaceX never quit. I really believe Starship is one of the most incredible engineering stories of our lifetime. 1/ April 20, 2023 โ€” Flight 1 The first time the fully stacked Starship ever left the ground. Engines were failing, the booster never separated from the ship, and the launch destroyed much of the pad. The rocket made it roughly 24 miles into the sky before breaking apart. I still remember people acting like the entire Starship program was finished that day. SpaceX went back, rebuilt the launch pad, fixed what went wrong, and prepared to fly again. 2/ November 18, 2023 โ€” Flight 2 Just seven months later, all 33 booster engines fired successfully. SpaceX pulled off hot staging for the first time, separating the two stages while engines were firing and Starship reached space. They still lost both stages, but compare this to Flight 1. It was already a completely different outcome. 3/ March 14, 2024 โ€” Flight 3 For the first time, Starship made it far enough to attempt reentry from space. SpaceX also opened the payload door in space, an important step toward deploying satellites. The booster broke apart during its landing attempt in the Gulf, and the ship was lost during reentry. But they were now testing things they couldn't even reach on the first two flights. 4/ June 6, 2024 โ€” Flight 4 The booster made a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, Starship came screaming back through the atmosphere with one of its flaps badly damaged and burning. I remember watching that flap practically fall apart on the livestream. Somehow, the ship kept flying, maintained control, and made it all the way to the ocean. That was unbelievable to watch. 5/ October 13, 2024 โ€” Flight 5 The first ever Super Heavy booster catch. I don't think people fully appreciate what happened here. SpaceX launched a massive rocket, brought the booster back to the launch site, and caught it in midair using two giant mechanical arms attached to the launch tower. Nobody had EVER done anything like that with a rocket booster before... something that sounded impossible had just become real. 6/ November 19, 2024 โ€” Flight 6 SpaceX called off the planned booster catch bc of a problem at the tower, so the booster made a controlled splashdown instead. But the ship achieved another huge milestone. It restarted a Raptor engine in space for the first time. That's an important capability for controlled orbital operations and eventually returning from orbit. The ship also survived reentry and splashed down in daylight. And they even had a banana inside the ship to show when it reached zero gravity. 7/ January 16, 2025 โ€” Flight 7 A new generation of Starship made its debut. SpaceX successfully caught the booster for the second time. Then things went wrong... the ship lost engines and broke apart over the Caribbean. It was a major setback, especially after the progress made on earlier flights, but the team didn't hide from what happened. They showed it, studied it, and went back to work. 8/ March 6, 2025 โ€” Flight 8 Another successful booster catch, the third one. Then the ship suffered engine failures and was lost over the Caribbean again. Two Starships destroyed on consecutive flights. The criticism was everywhere, and plenty of people were convinced the program was going backward. This is where I think the SpaceX team deserves enormous respect. They had already proven the booster could be caught. Now they had to figure out what was happening to the ship. They didn't give up. 9/ May 27, 2025 โ€” Flight 9 For the first time, SpaceX launched a Super Heavy booster that had already flown. This was the same booster caught during Flight 7, and 29 of its 33 engines had previously flown. Pretty cool to know that an enormous rocket booster was being reused. The booster broke apart during its landing attempt though. The ship reached engine cutoff, but a leak caused it to lose control, preventing the planned satellite deployment. Another difficult flight with another set of lessons. But on the positive side, reusable Starship hardware had officially flown again. 10/ August 26, 2025 โ€” Flight 10 After losing three ships in a row, SpaceX finally completed another Starship flight. And this one was a big deal. For the first time, Starship deployed a payload... eight Starlink satellite simulators, released one after another. The ship also restarted an engine in space, survived reentry, and reached its planned splashdown area. It eventually tipped over and caught fire after reaching the water. The booster also made it to the Gulf, although it was destroyed on impact. No catch was planned. Still, after everything that had happened on Flights 7, 8, and 9, seeing that ship make it through the mission was awesome. 11/ October 13, 2025 โ€” Flight 11 Exactly one year after the first booster catch. This was the final flight of that Starship version. SpaceX deployed more satellite simulators and brought both stages back to controlled ocean splashdowns. What stood out to me was how much more complete these flights were becoming... the team was finally putting together the things it had spent the previous two years learning. 12/ May 22, 2026 โ€” Flight 12 The first flight of Starship V3, launching from the new pad. A new version of the rocket meant another round of testing, with new hardware and new challenges. The booster didn't survive its landing attempt, but the ship successfully deployed its test satellites and made it through to splashdown. That's the thing about developing something this complicated. Even when you solve one problem, the next version can introduce brand new ones. The SpaceX team kept learning. 13/ July 24, 2026 โ€” Flight 13 Starship deployed 20 real next-generation Starlink V3 satellites for the first time, on a trajectory designed to bring them back down. And the splashdown was incredible. The ship descended so gently that it stayed in one piece, floated on the water, and continued communicating with SpaceX. The booster didn't make it through its landing burn, but the ship showed just how far its reentry and landing control had come. 14/ September 28, 2026 โ€” Flight 14 And then came orbit. After 13 test flights, Starship finally achieved orbital insertion. SpaceX deployed 26 REAL Starlink V3 satellites, and this time they stayed in orbit. Elon later confirmed that all 26 were working. The ship experienced an early engine shutdown, so SpaceX adjusted the mission. Instead of flying the planned roughly 10 hours and six orbits, they brought it down after a little over three hours, splashing down north of Hawaii. The booster made its planned splashdown in the Gulf. There was no catch attempt on this mission. What mattered most here was that SpaceX put real next-generation Starlink satellites into orbit, satellites that are too large for Falcon 9 to launch in their current form. This was a MASSIVE step toward what Starship was built to do. But really... think about the difference. On April 20, 2023, Starship makes it 24 miles high, fails to separate, breaks apart, and leaves the launch pad badly damaged. And then, three and a half years later, going through 13 flights, countless hours of engineering, rebuilding, testing, fixing things that failed, and trying again... On September 28, 2026, the 14th flight, Starship reaches orbit and deploys 26 next-generation operating Starlink satellites. These were all successful flights followed by failures. There were historic booster catches followed by ships exploding. There were moments when it looked like SpaceX had solved something, only for an entirely new problem to show up on the next flight. But every time... Elon and the team came back. That's what makes this video so powerful to me. We're watching what happens when thousands of incredibly talented people refuse to quit on something they believe is possible. Then on Friday, Elon said he now believes SpaceX becoming worth more than $1,000 trillion is a possible outcome. FYI, he didn't believe that before. For perspective, $SPCX is worth roughly $2.2 trillion today... to even have a chance of getting anywhere near that level, Starship needs to become far more than a rocket that occasionally reaches orbit. It needs to launch massive payloads reliably, become rapidly reusable, dramatically lower the cost of reaching space, and open up opportunities that simply aren't possible with today's rockets. That includes deploying much larger Starlink satellites, building infrastructure in orbit, and eventually making human missions to the Moon and Mars possible on an entirely different scale. And that's why the progress across these 14 flights matters so much. I don't think most people appreciate how difficult it is to build something like Starship. Or how many things have to go right, one after another, to turn a rocket this ambitious into something that flies routinely. We're still very early... there's a lot left to prove. But look at what this team has already accomplished. I've followed SpaceX for years, and watching these 11 minutes made me appreciate the people behind these launches even more. The engineers, technicians, launch crews, and everyone working behind the scenes to make the next flight better than the last. They deserve an enormous amount of credit. If you only watch Flight 14, you'll see an incredible rocket... but if you start with Flight 1 and watch everything that happened along the way, you'll understand why I have so much faith in this team. A lot of people have doubted them over the years. Every time something explodes, those people came back. And every time, SpaceX got back to work to prove them wrong. Never bet against Elon and the SpaceX team... I believe they are going to make the vehicle that this entire company's future depends on - Starship - successful.

Teslaconomics

350,919 views โ€ข 17 hours ago