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Thread | Are the days of "woke" ending?
at 09:12 9 Jan 2025
In the UK, it seems that the Tories have suddenly discovered that much of what they did when in power for 14/15 years, was somehow "wrong" and perhaps - perish the thought - "woke" so that they are now justified in calling our Labour for being PC. I get that KB needs to reinvent the party and defend against Reform stealing all its members, but how far will she go?
In the US we have an orange bully about to take over and his Gov't has a collection of controversial figures many of whom might be accused of having right wing opinions.
In Europe we see Italy, Hungary, Germany, France etc all with growing right wing power bases.
There does seem to be a potential backlash against what many would call "woke" (and some would call left wing) policies and attitudes growing.
Is that good or bad?
(Keep it polite please). |
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Reply | Stuart Attwell showing yet again how inconsistent referees have become.
at 09:00 9 Jan 2025
There was a piece in the Times yesterday about how common sense appears to have deserted refereeing which references a couple of recent decisions. One was a "ball to hand" in the Spurs Newcastle match which resulted in advantage to Newcastle. Not called as the hand was not in an unnatural position. The other was the clash of heads in the Arsenal/Brighton game, called as a penalty.
In my view both the non decision and the decision were wrong. It's only my view though.
My view is also that refs are scared to make any decision that is borderline for fear that VAR will show them it was wrong. Further they perhaps are relying on VAR to call certain decisions rather than ref the game themselves.
The article goes on to say that because of the absence of common sense in refereeing, all supporters of all clubs feel that the ref is against them, even Arsenal who are described as having "every advantage".
So it's not just Atwell, it's all of them.
We just have to accept that good, consistent, fair refs are few and far between. |
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Reply | Elon Musk
at 13:46 8 Jan 2025
I'm afraid that I cannot contribute to this thread further. Or indeed any thread in which Mr Jellybaby has seen fit to bless with his wisdom.
Before Christmas I asked Mr Jellybaby whether he thought that the Manchester bombing had taken place in which a number of people were killed and injured.
The context was a court case against a self declared "journalist" who had written a book which claimed it was all a hoax. The Court decided that said "journalist" was guilty of poor research, biased evidence gathering, stalking and various other issues.
Mr Jellybaby claimed that
a. he could not say whether an event of mass killing had taken place because "he was not there", and
b. the work of journalist was - in his view - at least as valid as the TV and MSM being full of pictures of dead and maimed people.
I interpreted that as a denial of the bombing and its motives and implications and for me points to his/her/their ability to cherry pick information and facts to suit a chosen narrative in defiance of the pictures we saw on TV and the testimony of the hundreds of emergency workers who attended.
You cannot reason with anybody who has that mindset and therefore I will not.
A free pass, Mr Jellybaby. If you wish me to stop contributing to any thread, just post some of your usual nonsense. |
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Reply | What has happened to the fans?
at 17:48 7 Jan 2025
I still have my season ticket for the last season at The Dell.
No shortage of passion and fire there. |
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Reply | Elon Musk
at 17:30 7 Jan 2025
I've always struggled with groups of people (nations, tribes, etc) who consider it right to kill others for the sake of a bunch of ideas about a supreme being and/or messengers of said being.
If there is such a being then presumably he/she/it would hold all its creations in equal regard and not wish for one group to kill another?
If there is no such being, then the philosophies and concepts we call religion are all nonsense.
To kill people in pursuit of a set of ideas that will never be proven or otherwise speaks more to the intolerance of people who cannot abide having their egos bruised when somebody has the temerity to think other than as they do.
Unfortunately I think that there is a part of man's emotional and mental make up that considers killing - from single murders to genocide - acceptable and that the religious or national or (heaven help us) "patriotic" reasoning given before is just them trying to justify their actions.
It is this flaw that convinces me that there is no supreme being because why would he/she/it have made such an obvious mistake?
And please don't lecture me about the ways of said being needing to be mysterious.
Priests, rabis, vicars, all of them cannot know the mind of a supreme being and cannot interpret them other than in their own interests.
The Bible and most other religious books are not the "word of whomever" but political texts designed to create or hold on to temporal power.
Killing for the sake of an idea is insanity. |
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Reply | Who stays and who goes ?
at 15:20 7 Jan 2025
Pretty accurate.
I think Dibling a way from the finished article and needs game time. A season or two in the Champ/L1 would help him.
I really hope he does not turn out to be another Grealish.
In my view Grealish will never be a great player because he's too greedy for attention and actually does not have the ability to go past a player when out wide and struggles with being in midfield when tackles come in quickly.
I see Dibling ultimately as No 10 rather than a forward and hope others see that as well. |
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Reply | Elon Musk
at 15:15 7 Jan 2025
There is a difference between Judisim and Zionists.
In my head, those who wish to follow the Jewish religion (fully or partially) are exercising a right to practice their beliefs and whether we agree with them or not, this is to be respected.
Zionists are a far more evangelical outfit who think that everybody should be following that religion and if they wish not to do so, then they given up all rights over the land they have lived on, often for generations. In my head that is not something I respect. |
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Reply | Elon Musk
at 15:11 7 Jan 2025
Agreed that the Balfour declaration has created more problems than it solved.
Did not help of course that as soon as it was announced, all parties revolted and in the war that followed thousands died and millions were displaced.
The noise around "rape gangs" is political opportunism at its very worst.
A seven year enquiry into the gangs and their thousands of victims reported its recommendations in 2022. The Gov't of the day (Tory) ignored ALL the recommendations and did nothing.
Now Jenrick (failed leadership candidate and wettest of wet Tories) claims he "did something" in 2022 but that Google can't find it, but that Labour need to do something or they fail at Gov't.
And politicians wonder why nobody trusts them? |
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Reply | What has happened to the fans?
at 11:49 7 Jan 2025
With the caveat that the following is anecdotal and based on no survey or numeric evidence at all, I think that there are basically three types of fans who go to matches.
One is the hardcore group who will go regardless of form, position, style of play. This group tries its best to encourage the team even in the face of the obvious disparity in quality between us and the rest of the PL. This group could protest against the owners/management but to what purpose? The owners etc have shown themselves to be happy to ignore the wishes of the fans, even this dedicated hardcore.
Another s the long term season ticket holders who have seen this before. This downward spiral into at least the Champ, perahps L1 and know that the nightmare will end - eventually.
Another is the tourist. They are therefore the experience and because it's probably cheaper than Chelsea or Arsenal and easier to get tickets for than Bournemouth. They really (really) don't care about the club, the match or football and just want some pics for whatever endorphin producing website they choose to delude themselves with.
I was in the second group for a long time but gave up my ST when Ralph was around due to the poor form and lack of a plan B. I promised myself I would return when the team improved but we know how that ended. |
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Reply | MOTD
at 16:16 6 Jan 2025
I have to say that the negative body language from the players and their inability to do their best is regrettable but not a surprise.
Most pro players have a certain personal pride in how they perform and whilst this may be because they are looking for a transfer or a new contract or just because they actually care about themselves, makes little difference. When that personal desire sits alongside a number of others obviously trying to win games, it becomes a team spirit which will bring out that extra yard of pace or last ditch tackle or desire to win the ball.
It is however a fragile thing.
Anybody who feels undervalued at work knows how demoralising and draining that it. "If nobody cares what I do, why bother?".
The constant changes by RM - dropping players in form on favour of others who are not of the standard required - the bizarre tactics, the insistence on a plan which gifted goals to the opposition, all contribute to a feeling of why am I knocking myself out when others are clearly failing?
A new manager and playing a CF who has not scored for us in two years? What does that say? That also says that he doesn't really care.
Does or should the high salary compensate for a lack of appreciation or even a matching commitment from the club?
It should but does not. There is no correlation between salary and effort. The salary reflects the market for the skill set, not the effort.
As for MOTD, we've given them too many chances this season to score easy points. |
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Reply | What's better? A yo-yo club or mid-table Championship?
at 16:01 6 Jan 2025
As a fan I'd prefer to see us have yo-yo seasons because there is always a chance that one promotion may stick and we can be in the PL for a while.
As a realist I'm aware that the present owners do not have the funds or the strategy or the management nous to keep us in the PL and that every promotion would be followed by a relegation.
That I can stomach if the contest for the bottom three is close but the events of this season are impossible to be objective about. It's one thing being ill prepared for promotion but it's another to do nothing about it and allow such an embarrassing spectacle to continue.
Sadly I agree with the OP that until the "big 6" join the European Super League, we are unfit for the PL and I fear that the damage of this season will require more than one more season in the Champ to correct. Our few PL quality players will be gone this month or in the summer. The Champ level players (AA, Bednarek, Wood etc) will be gone in the summer. Those who are not good enough for even the Champ will go back to where goals are easier to come by. |
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Reply | Stand Up & Be Counted But Address The Real Issues Not The Petty Ones
at 15:29 6 Jan 2025
The situation the club/team finds itself in highlights a number of issues that are wrong with the football business.
Ultimately, the club did not lack investment but it did lack an experienced hand in placing that investment. The result is a team that is low on quality (and now confidence) to such an extent that we may struggle to stay in the Championship next year.
It may be that we were promoted too early which surprised the strategists and/or the rules designed to keep PL teams in the PL and not allow outsiders to join the club and/or just the wrong manager which compounded the recruiting problems.
Regardless I suspect that the owners gave little or not thought to the fans because ultimately it's the owners the club belongs to and not the fans.
We fans have an emotional attachment of course and we make a contribution to revenues, but a small one. TV and syndication rights are where the big bucks are at. So long as they continue, the owners care little for where the club is unless we have a real long term fall into L2 - at which point they sell.
Boycotts of match day purchases will make little difference.
A good section of the fan base leaving the match at a given time, say after 40 minutes, would be a better way to protest. |
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Reply | Elon Musk
at 15:19 6 Jan 2025
Most of what Musk says about anything is designed to further his position in the bonkers MAGA cabal and as a result can be seen as racist or Islamaphobic or designed to increase the sales of his shoddy products.
What would happen for instance if Europe reacted to the proposed Trump tariffs by applying a tariff to all Musk electric vehicles? I suspect a less antagonistic attitude may come to the fore.
Basically however Musk is a toddler with an inflated view of himself and his thinking which in a narcissist is quite the heady mix.
I also notice that the initial condemnation of the nutter who killed many people in New Orleans from both Musk and Trump - who called him an immigrant in the US illegally - has not been amended even though we all know this is not the case.
Still never mind. Unless you actually saw the carnage - it didn't happen and can be denied - but the demented musings of conspiracy theorists must always be believed without question. |
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Thread | That was 2024 - what comes in 2025
at 09:53 2 Jan 2025
I've been away for a while but I see that not much has really changed.
I'm surprised that Martin was pushed out. Whilst he is certainly culpable for some of the poor performances, he is not solely responsible and the new manager is showing that you cannot improve the players enough to meet the required standard, despite now apparently playing a more direct game. |
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Thread | Back in January
at 15:04 28 Oct 2024
I'm about to take an extended leave from work and from this forum.
So I thought I'd share some observations and predictions.
First I predict that when I'm back in the UK, we will have the same manager, making the same post defeat statements and continuing to think that the tree which does not bend in the wind is stronger than those that do.
Second, I predict that by January we will six points.
Third. we will fail to secure a decent striker in the January transfer window.
I was at the Arsenal/Liverpool match this weekend with a small group which included a couple of youth coaches for an East coast USA franchise which hopes to have an MLS team in a season or two. There were a number of instances in which players went down under minimal (if any) contact, screaming their lungs out.
I observed that - to me - looking to con the ref in that way was cheating.
They observed that they would "encourage" the reaction we saw, use it as an excuse to deliver some positive reinforcement, claim that this was just "part of the game", "winning" a foul is a form of victory.
We agreed to disagree and moved on.
Just before the Liverpool second equaliser, one of these guys was buried in his phone which had live statistics from the game. I made the mistake of asking him about them. He was so engrossed in telling me how the game was now all about the numbers, that he missed the goal. I observed that getting lost in statistics, often leads to not watching the game. He refused to be discouraged.
So for me all that is wrong about the PL in particular and football in general is in those two incidents.
I predict it will not change by the time I'm back.
Have a good Christmas and Happy New Year all.
COYR |
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Thread | Which rules to observe?
at 14:30 28 Oct 2024
I see that Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Robinson) has been given 18 months for contempt of court. This follows earlier cases where he was given a suspended sentence and then 6 months. It also comes after the incident he is jailed for this time (sharing a film in which he makes false accusations) was aired despite his being under court direction not to.
Can't say he wasn't warned.
In mitigation his brief is saying that the sentence is likely to be spent in solitary and that this causes his client anxiety and panic attacks.
So he wants to make false allegations about people and then spend his jail time in some open prison, protected around the clock by warders.
I would say that as a functioning adult he was aware of the consequences of his actions and should bear them.
I also accept that he can say what he likes and so long as it is true and does not amount to defamation or harassment or bullying,.
It's only when what he says or does crosses the line drawn in the sand by the law does he lose that privilege.
Or am I wrong? |
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Reply | Why do people deny mass killings?
at 09:46 25 Oct 2024
Mr J.
This looks like a denial to me and exposes a contradiction at the heart of your belief system.
On the one hand you say that because you did not witness the bombing and killing and maiming, then you cannot say for sure it happened and on the other the "evidence" of the faux journalist here should be believed even though you were not in the car with him when he was stopped by police and arrested for harassment.
Selective facts to support your own confirmation bias.
We've had our debates Mr J and for so long as the issues were not what I would describe as potentially dangerous for you or me or the readers, I've been happy to poke fun and point out inconsistencies and I've been happy to take on board your points. That is a healthy debate.
I fear however that a line has been crossed here.
If this post is truly your view and not just another attempt at a wind up, I think that we are going to be at opposite ends of the credibility scale with a gap that cannot be crossed.
I think I'd be wasting my time trying to use logic and facts to overcome your reliance on rumour and fabrication by people with an agenda that is unknown.
I have enjoyed our exchanges but regret that this is the last.
I wish you and your family well. |
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Reply | Why? Why can't people see it's the owners who need removing?
at 17:20 24 Oct 2024
Stripped of hysteria, an owner can be removed only if they are willing to sell or they are persons thought not to fit and proper to run a football club.
Looking at owners of PL clubs,that "fit and proper" hurdle is clearly very low and anybody who isn't a belly crawling animal can get over it.
Why would they sell now? A season the PL enriches them regardless of results. The parachute payments shelter them.
Selling after the parachute runs out might be viable, but that is three and half seasons away.
Why bother buying out RM's contract? As you say, another manager would want more money anyway, so it's a double hit.
Does SR care if a small number of fans who can be bothered to post here are unhappy? Nah! We make up what, a thirtieth of a full ground.
No, we will continue to vent or unheeded fury to no purpose. |
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Reply | 1984 and all that
at 17:13 24 Oct 2024
The client is I think beginning to see that the UK authorities are at least as "dangerous" as those in Canada and is apparently reconsidering his choice of new abode.
He is also considerably miffed that if he arrives in the UK with a very large sum of money he will be a) unable to use Can$ to buy his groceries in the supermarket and b) will be "at the mercy" of the banks in terms of exchange rate.
(He has a view that the Can$ is worth more than the roughly 50p the UK banks will give him for it and is frustrated that they are not persuaded by economic analysis despite having exactly NO QUALIFICATIONS in economics).
I'm hoping the problem will resolve itself.
If not, my next move is to quote him a huge fee and hope he looks elsewhere. |
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