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Thread | A huge sense of entitlement
at 12:23 23 Sep 2024
I watched some of the City/Arsenal game.
Had to turn it off (before the late equaliser). Then read some of the reaction today and got angry again.
The payers in the PL were all told that kicking the ball away would be a yellow card. Trossard clearly did that and Arteta moaning about the ref following the rules is pathetic and childish and does him,his club and the PL no favours.
Then we see a whole half of time wasting at every opportunity from Arsenal in particular.
The day I run the PL, it would mean Arsenal losing the point they claimed.
What arrogance to think that your club is big enough to have its own rule book. |
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Thread | Does a small improvement against a weak team = corner turned?
at 08:39 23 Sep 2024
Have seen extended highlights of the Ipswich match.
I'm pleased to see that our possession stat was lower than usual but that the ratio of attempts per minute of possession was better.
Less pleased to see that Ipswich had more attempts than we did. Allowing the opposition to have an effort at goal, will eventually allow then to score and Ramsdale kept us in that match.
Disappointed that we did not score another especially as Ipswich came forward and allowed space at the back.
In my view the subs brought on killed our momentum and ambition and I'm baffled as to why RM did that.
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Thread | Beware Apostle and Goodchild
at 08:33 23 Sep 2024
There was an accounting firm called Apostle Accounting.
They were owned and operated by a Zoe Goodchild.
Following a high profile campaign from HMRC, the activities of this firm were deemed to be unacceptable and a Tribunal case was accelerated to a hearing.
In short, Apostle/Goodchild would encourage "clients/victims" to make claims for expenses that had never been incurred. Because HMRC operate a pay first, check later system, many taxpayers got a refund, a good percentage of which went to Apostle/Goodchild.
It was close to fraud.
In the Tribunal case HMRC made a huge error. Not only did they fail to observe the terms and conditions of the assessment they made, but they then failed to bring their witness to the hearing.
Unsurprisingly, they lost. Not because the taxpayer had a good case but because HMRC failed to bring any case.
Goodchild is now crowing that she has "won". She has not. She also thinks that the taxpayer's case is the actual decision. I suspect that she is not the sharpest tool in the box but she is a good saleswoman.
Her firm is now renamed "Innovative".
HMRC will stop this fraud and will punish all those who used it.
Please - DO NOT - use this firm, this adviser or make any claims on HMRC that cannot be justified and supported with evidence.
If you are already a victim, go and get unbiased and proper advice. Most firms operating in the tax enquiry space will give you 30 minutes for free. |
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Thread | Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse?
at 11:58 19 Sep 2024
There's a report in the Times today claiming that 3.9m people are on sickness benefits in the UK.
That is one in five of the working population in some ares of the country.
Various nuances are identified as possible reasons for the increase in claims. Covid of course gets a mention. Cost of living increases as well on the grounds that some who have not previously bothered to claim, now do so to offset some costs.
It is suggested also that this is a situation which other countries are not experiencing. Again, one possible reason put forward is that the level of unemployment support int he UK is lower than comparable European countries meaning people turn to sickness benefits.
(This is the Times as well so there is a suggestion that this is a problem caused by or made worse by Labour being in power rather than something that has been going on and getting worse under a decade and more of Tory mismanagement.)
Is this a problem we need to solve and how?
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Thread | Man U - lesson learned?
at 08:32 16 Sep 2024
I was not at the match and therefore have only watched the extended "highlights" which as always with TV is very partial to Man U.
We know that our defenders struggle to play the ball out of defence and that it has costs us at least two goal against this season (so far). It seems however that there is a lack of confidence spreading which now means that they are not doing the job of defending either.
To not mark players from a corner or a cross following a slow build up will get punished.
I suggest that the coaching team need to go back to basics with the defenders.
I also think that the fiddling with defensive positions is unhelpful. They don't really know who is marking which player/space and are looking at each other. Now that Stephens will be missing I suggest it might be a good time to play the same players in the same positions for a few matches and rebuild that confidence.
Part of the problem remains having the ball but failing to make a chance. I cannot for the life of me understand why we play slow balls across the pitch, trying to create an opening, whulst having two wide players on the pitch.
I do hope that RM sees what we see and has a plan to change things, because doing ghe same things and expecting a different result is insane.
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Thread | A turning point perhaps?
at 15:53 3 Sep 2024
I see that Koeman (present manager of the Dutch national team) has said that the international career of a 26 year old winger is now "closed" following his transfer to a Saudi club.
Koeman says that the move shows a lack of ambition to play at the highest level and therefore makes him unsuitable for international duty.
He distinguished the case of a defender he took to the Euros on the grounds that said defender went to a Saudi club because his PL team was not playing him.
I'm very definitely in the Koeman camp on this.
I think the Saudis (and other rich Arab nations) pose a risk to all football in Europe and if enough players are tempted by the money, we will see a drop in standards.
I also think that players should examine their conscience at least briefly and see if they really want to paid by those with such a poor human rights record. |
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Thread | Financial con men
at 09:05 2 Sep 2024
I've previously mentioned here the activities of an Iain Stamp.
He is a con man. He promises people financial freedom which is based on:
1. Paying him a big fee
2. Claiming that UK tax and financial rules cannot apply to a sovereign citizen
He was accused by an organisation called Open Democracy of being a con man. He went to a Court (one of the Courts he says have no jurisdiction over him or anybody else) to sue them. He failed.
He has since produced a 48 page document which seeks to justify his criminal activities. (This might be a contempt of Court).
If you run across him in any way, shape or form, please distance yourself and your funds as quickly as possible. |
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Thread | individual errors v team tactics
at 08:59 2 Sep 2024
Another loss (to Brentford) largely created by two individual errors which Brentford scored from. Aside from that, they were not that much better than us.
It's now unfortunately known that we will try to play out and I'm expecting to see more teams press us high and unfortunately, without a change of approach, more goals given away.
We saw last season that RM thinks changing the plan is somehow making him less of a man (whereas I see changing something that is not working to be a sign of strength) and I think he will need to lose more games before he admits this.
Dibling can be a good player and we could do worse than start him in the next game. |
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Thread | Too stubborn to be flexible?
at 12:41 27 Aug 2024
Lot of threads here about tactics, team selection and the hate/hate most of us over the possession and passing game.
My view is that teams promoted to the PL on the back of a possession/passing game tend to do poorly - Burnley, Norwich etc.
teams who learn to speed up passing and play fewer more direct passes, tend to do better. Forest are a good example. That style however needs a central striker willing to make a dozen runs into the box and get the ball once. We lack that focus.
So we need to manage with what we have but playing the same way we did in the Champ is not going to work.
Is RM so stubborn and/or convinced of his way of playing that he is willing to risk the chance of losing a lot of games?
Or should he react to what he sees every day and find a new way of playing?
Answers on a postcard please.
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Thread | A dark forest
at 08:33 25 Aug 2024
As I said in my post about the Newcastle game, it's going to be easy to find some negatives so I'll try to stay balanced.
The reality is that Forest were not much better than us but they have learned that their players are comfortable with a more direct attacking approach and will try something in two passes that we would need five or six to do.
Their defensive style was all about shape and working hard and this early in the season it works because they're all fit and have trained together for weeks. It's also helped by our playing passes sideways and not forward.
We have one player at PL level - KWP. RM needs to look at all the others. |
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Thread | For my sins
at 16:55 22 Aug 2024
Going to Victorious this weekend (Sunday).
Any fellow Uglies there? |
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Thread | That explains a few things
at 16:53 22 Aug 2024
I see that Kyle Walker is claiming that his father never praising him and always criticising him in his younger days has made him the player he is.
In turn he says that he doesn't always let his kids win at games (even the two he has with a mistress and never sees?) as otherwise, when they do lose, they won't know how to react.
My view is that his father sounds like a mean man and Walker is a mean mans' son which is why he is capable of being a selfish, arrogant and not above the dark arts in football and life.
Do you/did you let your kids win at snakes and ladders and has that made them a better or worse person?
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Thread | Newcastle away - my takeaways
at 08:37 19 Aug 2024
It's going to be easy this season to find something negative in many games but I'm going to try to stay balanced.
The game was physical and I'm pleased to see that our players did not back down and instead stood their grounds. That said, Brereton did go down like a wounded gazelle and gave the ref no choice. Did he need to? Some will say that the Newcastle player was stupid and that our guy "felt contact" and went over. Personally I'd rather our guy (and all players) realised that the game is about scoring goals and not getting people sent off.
The goal against was GK error. It was however compounded by the fact that the other defenders were just not ready for that kind of error. They all know that playing short passes out of defence is risky but they all assumed we could do and let their concentration lapse. That is a coaching error.
The position that Stephens plays is necessary but for me he's not that player. We looked weak there. If RM wants that shape then he needs to find a better player. And if he can't find a player, he needs to change shape.
We made a lot of chances but last season's problems of a player to finish them, continue. It seems that nobody in our squad, fit enough to play, is the answer so these next two weeks of transfer window need to be used.
Overall we've seen worse starts to a season and whilst it's always disappointing to lose to 10 men, the team showed enough to encourage us.
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Thread | Truss and the lettuce - justified?
at 08:34 15 Aug 2024
Our former unelected PM, Liz Truss, was pranked yesterday during an "interview" to discuss her views (aka an opportunity to sell her book).
A picture of a lettuce was lowered behind her. She was clearly unamused and stormed off.
She was a disaster as a PM and many are literally still paying for her term in higher mortgage rates.
Her book is variously a collection of excuses for her time in office and a set of theories about how the "deep state" frustrated her plans which would have worked if they had been given a chance and that pesky global market system had not been in place. It reads as though she had a choice of which cabal to join and picked the wring one.
(At no time is she able to identify the deep state by the way).
Is it acceptable to prank her in this way and is this sort of stunt the best way to defang the right wing? |
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Thread | who is and is not doping?
at 15:31 6 Aug 2024
Lots of innuendo about Chinese swimmers doping as "evidenced" by one winning a sprint race by 3 or more metres.
Bad losers making unproven accusations?
Or is there a truth that the Chinese are being aided by their own Gov't run doping controllers to escape the tests.
Compare with the US which is allowing a runner to compete despite testing positive and blaming bad meat. |
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Thread | Olympic teams - who is not eligible and why?
at 17:18 22 Jul 2024
There's a difference of opinion between the Netherlands and Australia about who could/should be picked as an Olympian.
The Dutch have selected a 29 year old volleyball player who as a 19 year old was convicted of travelling to the UK and raping as 12 year old girl he had groomed on the internet. He served 12 months of his 4 year sentence.
The Aussies have said that anybody with a conviction for a sexual offence will NEVER be selected by them for an Olympics.
So, do we believe in the power of prison to reform characters and trust that the individual has - as reported - completely changed his ways and in now a mature adult and not a callow youth of 19? As such he deserves his place on sporting merit.
Or do we think that the moral outrage of his crime is sufficient for him to be forever barred from representing his country, regardless of his ability? If so, is there any hope of such a person ever being a "useful member of society"?
For the avoidance of doubt, I stand with the Dutch and think the Aussies are being very hypocritical given that they regularly "poach" talent from other countries, brush poor behaviours of their touring teams under the carpet on the grounds that "boys will be boys" and are generally ready to bend any rules if the individual sportsman/woman has talent and a chance. (Other countries, including us, do the same of course). |
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Thread | European sanctions for players who make racist comments?
at 09:43 18 Jul 2024
There's a very decent article on the BBC Sport site this morning about the Argentine players singing a song that is seen by many, especially Europeans, as racist.
One of the Argentine players filmed singing this song (post their Copa America win) apparently is on Chelsea's books (although I've never heard of him).
The suggestion is that Chelsea, or the FA or UEFA and perhaps even FIFA will impose some sort of ban or fine or both on him and any others judged to have used racist remarks even though not on club or league duty.
The BBC articles notes that supporting the international team is a "chance to be aggressively Argentinian" and that such behaviour is common place in league matches in South America. Apparently "unsettling the opposition" by any means is considered to be a fair tactic.
We've seen some Eastern European international and club sides sanctioned (mildly) by UEFA in the past but it seems that South America remains behind that particular curve.
Is it fair to impose club/European bans and fines for South American players on international duty? |
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Thread | Southgate gone - opinions
at 13:01 16 Jul 2024
To no great surprise Southgate has resigned.
Despite being the most successful manager since Ramsay he has clearly decided that he has gone as far as he can.
He leaves the team in a better place than he found it and in a tournament or two we will have good young players with experience and hopefully be able to take that final step.
He has also shouldered a lost of criticism, some deserved, most not, and I'm sure that was part of the decision.
For me he has had a successful time in post not so much for the quality of football (I think he has been naive at times and has picked players out of form or played them in a system they are not used to) but for changing the culture around the squad. He has made changes to the talent recognition process as well and relations with clubs seem to be much better.
I wish him well in whatever he does next. |
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Thread | Euro 2024 - observations and a final word
at 14:20 15 Jul 2024
First, on the day Spain were a better team and deserved to win.
Second, I struggle to understand the England set up. We put in a low block meaning that if we did win the ball it would be inside our defensive third. The "out" ball would then have to be either to a CF who could hold on to it long enough for help to arrive, or a fast counter break. With Kane in poor form and being easily brushed aside, the "long ball and hold it" was a non starter. With Kane clearly struggling, a fast counter was never going to happen. We saw when Watkins and Palmer came on, that Spain were vulnerable to a counter but until then, we did not have the players to exploit it.
Third, we played with the attitude of limiting what Spain could do to us rather than what we could do to them. Lack of confidence? Lack of plan? Lack of enough players of sufficient ability? The first two perhaps, not the third.
Fourth, we have the players in this generation to make a difference. Bellingham, Foden, Saka, Rice, Mainoo, Gheui should be the core of the next team. Kane is finished at this level. Stones had a good tournament but did not play like he can for City and that's what we need, a CB with the ability to bring the ball into midfield and draw defenders to him. Shaw/Tripper were competent as was Pickford. Walker is not going to make the next tournament and should be replaced. Given that we seem reluctant to throw the ball into the box, a player like Grealish to "win" free kicks in crossing situations is probably a luxury and I'd play a fast striker like Watkins in preference.
Fifth, the Spanish have moved on from tika taka. They now pass the pass less often before putting it in places to hurt the opposition. We need to do that. The WC is 2026. Too soon for a new generation coached in the Spanish manner to be in place but the core players above already have that and we need perhaps three/four more from the present under 21 and youth teams.(Incidentally the new defender we have from Peterborough looks to be exactly right).
Lastly, I hope Southgate steps down from active coaching but stays on as adviser. The team and process is so much better now than when he started and he has left a successor in a better place. Given where we were, he deserves a gong of some description so let's give him that and then look to a new generation of manager.
Overall, we exceeded expectation to get to the final (we lost to Iceland a few weeks ago) but we now know how far we need to go to win something. I think WC 2026 might be too soon, but Euro 2028 (which is here and Ireland) should be a taregt and then WC 2030. |
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