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Reply | Who are you voting for?
at 11:49 19 Jun 2024
I'm not really close tot he arguments on immigration but a quick internet search seems to indicate that in the year to June 2023 (or perhaps December 2023, a bit unclear), legal immigrants t the UK were around 685,000. What are called "irregular" immigrants perhaps around 58,000. So say 8% of total immigration is "irregular".
There are around 68m people in the UK. If the irregular immigrants continue at the above number, in ten years time they will be 0.008% of the population.
So we have another example of what is at the end of the day a very small minority making huge political headlines.
I'm going to suggest that there are more important things to concern us.
The NHS. The sorry state of policing in the UK. The lack of investment in UK businesses. Potholes in our roads. The bankruptcy of local councils. The wasted billions on high speed rail.
However the red tops love to keep picking away at immigration because they know that it excites passions and allows them to alternately praise or condemn politicians, especially those who put what is a small problem front and centre of their political agenda.
The immigration system is broken and sending people to the middle of Africa is not the answer. The answer is also not a system that cherry picks the best and brightest of other countries and allows them entry.
Part of the answer may be a requirement to show that if you wish to be in the UK you need to be financially self supporting (i.e. have a job) or be here for education you are paying for (and are required to leave at the end of the study unless you have a job) and are limited on how many "family" you can bring here.
As I said however, politics seems to be about which minorities can shout the loudest, preferably with a red top stirring up trouble for the sake of sales. That's quite sad.
Thankfully I am about to go overseas on business for a few weeks and will miss the rest of the increasingly rabid discussions (having voted by post). |
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Reply | Entitled idiot (with a broken nose)
at 10:36 19 Jun 2024
I've seen the incident and disagree that the coach pushed him back on to the pitch.
If the coach did do that, then he should also be yellow carded.
It is also Mbappe's responsibility to not get a yellow card, so why did he do it? |
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Reply | Portugal Win
at 10:06 19 Jun 2024
I can't say I was impressed by Portugal. They were playing the youngest team in the tournament, all big lads with a defensive mindset and failed to make more than perhaps two good chances.
Of the better teams who have played so far, only Germany (who played against 10 men for half a game) had a convincing start. Perhaps Spain would be next best but again their second half was very pedestrian.
I would say at this stage, England are no worse than any of the seeded teams. |
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Reply | The 2024/25 Fixtures Are Out For Saints
at 10:03 19 Jun 2024
Have to say I'm disappointed.
Would have bene better to have Bournemouth on Boxing Day and Easter.
The last few games look to be tough as well and I hope that we are not in need of 7 point from the last three games, because that would be difficult. |
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Reply | Entitled idiot (with a broken nose)
at 10:01 19 Jun 2024
So if he picks up another yellow for some petty foul does that mean he misses a game?
Personally I detest the attitude of players who think they are bigger than the game and can dictate their terms upon it. |
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Reply | Who are you voting for?
at 09:46 19 Jun 2024
An article has popped up on Linkedin this morning which says (I'm paraphrasing) that the strongest argument against democracy is to be found in speaking with individual voters.
The implication is that most voters will:
Vote as their parents did and they have all their lives, regardless of policies/plans/etc
Focus on one or two issues rather than looking for a balance across many
Be more concerned with personality than policy
Is that fair? |
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Thread | Entitled idiot (with a broken nose)
at 14:24 18 Jun 2024
What on earth was Mbappe trying to do yesterday?
He gets injured in a genuine accident, claret aplenty, goes off with the trainers and then walks back on to the pitch and sits down.
His clear intention was to cause the game to be stopped and disrupt the opposition.
Personally I would have yellow carded him for coming back on and again for ungentlemanly conduct = red card and your own fault.
He might be a good player and on the magazine front pages by what an entitled k**b. |
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Reply | Some Tragic News About SFC_Referee
at 13:58 17 Jun 2024
Truly devastated to hear of this young man's passing.
I did not know him personally only through his posts here.
He always came across as a thoughtful and sensible person who had knowledge way beyond mine on the LOTG and showed true character by standing up when when he knew he was right.
I will very much miss his contributions.
My condolences to his family and friends. |
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Reply | England V Serbia
at 12:38 17 Jun 2024
Played the role he was told - didn't drop deep - tried (esp 2nd half) to hold the ball up - pulled a defender out of position to Bellingham to score - hit the bar after a fantastic save from their keeper - ran the channels.
Aside from that I agree, ineffective. |
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Reply | General Election
at 12:36 17 Jun 2024
Being in the EU was akin to the conditions that caused the USA to declare independence, i.e. no taxation without representation.
Partly due to the way the EU was set up and partly because the Tory PM was always trying to follow a fine line between the good of the UK and the wishes of the right wing of the party, we could never make it work "for" us. Cameron said he could fix it, tried, failed, called a referendum, lost it, had a hissy fit and left, Boris made an agreement that a five year old would not have signed.
Regardless, we're out - both parties have said we're not going back - and have to make it work. |
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Reply | Initial Transfer Action Doesn't Augur Well
at 11:48 17 Jun 2024
I'm going to suggest that Saints (and other teams looking for quality players) might do well top see who performs well in the Euros and if a player looks to be capable of improving our team then we may approach them after they are eliminated from the contest?
I know a lot of the players are signed with European clubs but some will be unhappy or nearing the end of their contract and a season the PL might appeal?
We need a few players like that to keep us in the PL for a couple of seasons until we can build a better pipeline of our own.
As for the spelling, you and responder are both right - and wrong. Poor spelling and grammar can always be improved and pointing out mis-spelling on forums like this is a gentle way of doing that. Comparing spelling errors with anything other than poor spelling an insinuating that lack of prowess in one areas leads to similar lack in others is a nonsense. Equally so is a hostile response. |
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Reply | England V Serbia
at 10:22 17 Jun 2024
I think Serbia highlighted an issue which we saw Iceland exploit.
We have a defensive midfield pair (yesterday Rice and TAA) and then an offensive midfield trio (yesterday Bellingham, Foden and Saka).
If the opposition get in the front foot and play from the half way line, the offensive three are nullified and the defensive two overwhelmed. That presses us back into our own box.
Yesterday was also not helped by TAA going missing from the defensive job. I get that he's there because he can pass the ball a long way but if that is the case, than I would have played Mainoo as well from the start and put Foden on the bench.
That then becomes a straight choice for Southgate - Foden or TAA. For me I think it's one or the other.
Foden is a good player but has struggled to find a place he is comfortable in this team. I can see him as a replacement for Saka (who faded badly) perhaps?
TAA lacks discipline and can't tackle. Two traits that make him an unsuitable defensive mid in my view. If he is there for the long diagonal pass or the penetrating forward pass, then he needs vision and better judgement.
I know the pundits wax lyrical about TAA but personally I just don't see it.
So may team for the next match.
Pickford
Walker, Stones Guehi, Trippier
Rice, Mainoo
TAA
Bellingham, Saka
Kane
Subs at 55/60 mins - Foden for Saka, Gallagher for TAA, Eze for Bellingham
If fit, I'd bring on Shaw for Trippier because the left side is unbalanced. |
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Reply | Who are you voting for?
at 10:58 14 Jun 2024
Is a protest vote a wasted vote?
Like many here, I'm disappointed in the Tories on a number of levels and as such have no particular desire to see their candidate in my constituency continue in post.
In an ideal world I might wish that the parties were polling more closely together and that some form of cooperation in Parliament was necessary. unfortunately we are all being told that the likely result is Labour in power with a big majority.
It seems very unlikely that Labour will triumph in Southampton North and therefore we have the prospect of an MP who is not in a position of power or influence with the prevailing Gov't.
Arguably therefore a Labour vote here is a protest vote?
I cannot bring myself to vote Reform because I see them as the not so thin end of a far right wing wedge run by a moron who neither knows nor cares about the views and opinions of his candidates. They do however seem to represent every form of intolerance and discrimination that I find unacceptable and I will not vote for them.
Lib Dem? It would take a huge swing to get them in and then what? LD might have 40 MPs on July 5th. Hardly enough to influence.
Perhaps the ballot paper needs a "none of the above" box. |
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Reply | Eddie Howe
at 10:20 14 Jun 2024
I have had some personal and familial contact with Mr Howe - albeit not much.
He is a person who carries grudges and is reported to have not picked players because they upset him in six a side training games which he likes to join in on.
An England manager needs to put aside personal grievances or preferences and pick people based on the best available for the plan he wants to play.
Not convinced that Mr Howe would do that. |
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Reply | General Election
at 10:18 14 Jun 2024
We now have the manifesto of Labour and they are making a virtue of the fact that it's frankly quite boring.
We also have the manifestos of most of the other parties.
In my opinion, none of them are being honest with us about the state of the finances.
In short the country is broke. We have borrowed billions to provide support during Covid and the "energy crisis" and it will require a generation of strong growth to pay that back, even if the politicians wanted to. And growth has been slow or at NIL.
The Tories - whilst crowing about tax cuts - have actually increased taxes by freezing personal allowances and rate band limits. More people now pay tax and tax at the higher rate, than ever before. Despite reductions in NIC, the present effective tax rate is the highest it's been in the UK since the end of the Second War.
And it's going higher if the terms of the Tory and Labour and all other parties manifestos' are to be believed.
The national debt (£2.6 trillion - £2,600,000,000,000) and the already high tax burden mean that there is very little (arguably no) room to give away tax breaks.
For me therefore, promises on tax and spending from all the parties are meaningless as none of them have any realistic plans given the lack of money.
The attention therefore shifts to other policies and whether any of them can stimulate some economic growth.
The Tories seem bereft of ideas. Labour promise a magic growth engine but can't say how it works. Reform says that immigration (a key driver of economic growth in the UK) is too high and needs to be cut, indicating that any plans to grow the economy are likely to be pie in the sky.
(It seems to be a sad fact of British life that many people would prefer to sit at home on benefits (with or without Sky) than go and do some of the jobs done by seasonal or more permanent "foreign" workers. Reform thinks that if there are fewer foreign workers, then the sofa loving Brits will step up. Yeah, right).
If the economy is a blind alley in terms of who might manage it better, then do I look to a truly awful tory management of the UK in the last 14 years and trust that Rishi (or the new PM a few months after the election) can fix it (whilst keeping the far right of his party at bay) or the untried Starmer?
Tricky. |
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Reply | General Election
at 18:28 13 Jun 2024
I'm not trying to defend what people do in the name of religion.
Pretty much all religions have been through phases where killing and maiming has been seen as acceptable - it's not. It never was.
We also know that Islam, like other religions, has its cadre of zealots and radicals who choose to believe that what they do is justified. It's not and never was.
Most of those who follow a religion do so for their own reasons. Family expectations, faith, comfort, etc. They are not the ones burning witches, getting confessions under torture, killing the heretics.
To therefore benchmark ALL adherents to a religion or faith system by their radical and often insane elements makes no sense.
In my opinion, Reform wants people to do that. They want people to believe that being British is white, working class people oppressed by minority voices and who have a need to "strike back". It's political jingoism.
If that's your bag - fine. It's not mine. |
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Reply | General Election
at 17:21 13 Jun 2024
I would define islamaphobia as an irrational fear that follows of Islam are more likely to be anti British (which I suggest is a very subjective position) and interested only in furthering their own agenda at the expense of non Islamic people.
There are people who follow Islam and who believe that theirs is the true faith and that all should follow it. There are groups within the Christian community who have similar beliefs.
In terms of politics and esp. Reform, we see anti Islam sentiments expressed in terms linking them with the alleged decline of services, standards etc for "British" people.
I'm not a religious person and follow no faith groups or thinking. Consequently I find those who seek to discriminate against those who do choose to follow a code are doing so for political (or sometime religious) reasons, both in my opinion, unaccepatable. |
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Reply | Noel Gallagher
at 15:43 13 Jun 2024
The owners don't care about any fans except those who pay to watch via TV.
I also wonder how many "fans" at matches are "fans".
We've all seen the double ended scarf being sold and tourists in the stands gazing at their phones or taking selfies. They're not fans either but the owners don't care so long as a premium price has been paid. |
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Reply | General Election
at 15:29 13 Jun 2024
I am not a remainer/remoaner. I'm a realist. We're out of the EU and we now need to make the best of it.
Can you really say that Reform does not contain more than its fair share of would be neo Nazis, those who equate the colour of skin or type of religion to their being "terrorists" or who think women's equality and minority fair treatment is not required?
Perhaps many middle aged, white men do think that.
Perhaps many uneducated young thugs willing to be told what to do and think do think that.
Perhaps all those stories and pictures of Reform candidates spouting hate and antisemitism and various forms of prejudice are all made up as part of a conspiracy?
The choice to make is either than Farage knows the make up on his candidates and members and by allowing them to continue endorses their behaviour - in which case he is no better than them or he does not know in which case he is incompetent and unfit to lead. |
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Reply | VAR
at 11:49 13 Jun 2024
A final thought on VAR.
Do other top leagues in Europe use it?
Are there any learnign points from that? |
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