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Thread | Couple of things missing from last night's debate
at 10:33 20 Nov 2019
Agree with the Green Party that there should have been much more about Climate change. Not saying that Brexit and the NHS aren't important but here people have either chosen sides or all seem to agree that the NHS must be protected in some way.
Climate change and where we're heading is a fundamental question for a political party and one of the most urgent aspects in this election.
Child poverty is up there too. It's inexcusable to not do what we can now to protect children but it also creates massive future social and economic problems later as these children grow up. People talk about how Brexit will shrink the economy over the next 20 or so years but that's arguably worse with having millions of kids disadvantaged in their childhood when it comes to their future contribution to the economy and eventual cost to society. That's of course after the clear moral reasons why innocent children deserve more protection. |
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Thread | Oddly enough ...
at 21:54 5 Nov 2019
I think that was one of our better team performances of the season.
It wasn’t fluent, we didn’t get the strikers involved that much (although full credit to the Rochdale back 4) but we got little partnerships going and probed with the ball while keeping possession.
Nice to see Rowe score and the confidence it gave him after that. Now for Judge who was otherwise much better tonight too. |
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Thread | Farage on the attack?
at 13:03 1 Nov 2019
According to him Boris's deal would apparently be "the end of Brexit"!?? And they'll put up candidates in every seat on the UK mainland !??
Must admit I thought the Brexit Party wouldn't go against the Tories and certainly not weaken their vote in any marginals. By splitting the vote, this would also seem to signal the end of any serious pro-Brexit force in the HoC making Brexit even more unlikely.
Is this the opening shot in a negotiation or is it for real? Of course, the more he goes for it, the better it is for his own personal brand and maybe he likes that more than any remote chance of power where he could be found out and blamed in any case. |
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Thread | Keane and Dobra - Taking the next step?
at 10:36 9 Oct 2019
Great for Keane to finish the game with a goal and only right that Dobra takes the credit for setting it up.
But prior to that it was a little frustrating how little we managed to get Keane into the game and showing his undoubted quality. The aerial and scrappy stuff forward was fine for Roberts (and he did well enough to suggest he's a good back up for our current style and game plan in the league). However Keane was pretty ineffective and only got the ball anywhere near to feet on a handful of occasions.
I think if we're going to take the next step and develop the team and style (for the sake of this season and next) we'll need to do more linking up and attacking with the ball on the ground. Always knowing we can mix it up with balls into the channels.
Which brings me to Dobra. He was excellent in the channels and in his use of the ball around the box. A complete contrast to Judge who prefers the quick, direct style, Dobra looked happy holding onto the ball, taking on his man, drawing in other defenders and exploiting space with short passes. I know he's only young but I think he should be on the bench at least with how much danger and chances he can create almost at will.
He's also the sort of player who Keane needs on the park if he's to be effective. So here's hoping Lambert will make good use of them together. It's the sort of partnership (off the bench, at least to start with) that could give us another dimension and level to our play. |
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Thread | Looking forward to the game tonight
at 10:58 8 Oct 2019
I like the fact that these FLT games "sort of matter" but they're still more about bringing the whole squad up to speed and giving a run out to players who are squeezed out of the league squads. They make a nice break from the long haul of the league campaign even when we're doing so well points-wise.
So they have the feeling of a free hit with the good chance to see another performance like Dobra's last month. And, against Gillingham and Steve Evans, the bonus of some pantomime villainry on the sidelines.
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Thread | Great stuff!
at 17:07 5 Oct 2019
And this season continues to show that the style of our wins isn't as an issue. Winning (and getting out of this league) is everything. |
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Thread | No shame: "F@ck business" part 362
at 13:07 27 Sep 2019
I know that the myth of Conservatives being the party for business ("we only mean financial services, really") has probably been exposed for what it is by now. But when did they have such a poor relationship with the business community that they were comfortable straightup lying about stuff?
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49833221
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Thread | Capitalism is dead. Long live capitalism.
at 12:27 18 Sep 2019
Quite literally a Big Read but this is a very interesting overview of where we are and where we might be heading - or at least probably should be heading.
And it's the sort of sensible, healthier capitalism that Corbyn, Sanders and the other "hard-core socialists" around Europe will likely help develop rather than being seen as "enemies of business". Economists like Stiglitz have been recommending similar for years but good to see this is more and more in the mainstream now.
https://www.ft.com/content/5a8ab27e-d470-11e9-8367-807ebd53ab77 |
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Thread | When you delegitimise and marginalise critics then you're free to do this
at 21:12 10 Sep 2019
It would be good to hear criticism from all those Israel-supporting groups like the Tory leadership, the CFI and LFI who say they are actually working for a two-state solution ... oh I forgot. That's just lip service as they again stand idly by and do nothing about the latest in the long line of annexations that is destroying the viability of any future Palestinian state.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49655226
Whether it's arming and training the Saudis to kill Yemenis, trying to manipulate factional power for commercial gain or providing a shelter for the religious and nationalist right in Israel to operate with impunity, the UK establishment is a shameful enemy of the people of the Middle East.
Do we really want our country to be seen like this? |
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Thread | The Shrews game bodes very well for this season
at 09:26 2 Sep 2019
I thought we were pretty average for large spells on Saturday and the Shrews were unlucky not to score at least one.
But ...
1. We were pretty comfortable and the early two-goal cushion meant we didn't have to take the game to Shrewsbury.
2. I think we can play better as the season progresses and the first-choice team emerges
3. We were at a different level when we broke forward and attacked them at pace. Norwood is mobile and a good focus for the attack but Jackson deserves a lot of credit for really stretching defences this season.
4. And perhaps most importantly, this seems to be how automatic promotion sides mostly play (at least from looking at the Championship over the past couple of decades). The stronger teams don't blow sides away that often but they keep the opposition at arm's length and look to capitalise on mistakes or the odd flash of inspiration. That's a base level they can keep repeating game after game to get them over the line rather than relying on total football which will come and go with form. I've got no problem with the more direct style either - with Norwood and Jackson posing different questions of the defence, it's effective and it's repeatable.
On a side note, it's also apparent from the first 6 games how much League One defences will cough up chances and how the attacks won't punish you to anything like the same degree as the Championship. I thought that the standard would be closer to the Championship than the Championship is to the Prem but it seems those people who knew about League One were absolutely right: there is a fairly big drop-off. Hopefully this will be an ideal period to get a team working well together and bedding in our younger and newer players for a decent Championship season next year.
The future looks a little brighter.
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Thread | This is good to hear from the head of Channel 4 News
at 14:26 23 Aug 2019
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-49432821
Hopefully, it can signal an actual change of direction for our media who have been frankly shocking and enabled this known liar to become Prime Minister. Maybe enough journalists can now see it's gone too far?
"What we all need to decide: what do we do when a known liar becomes our Prime Minister? I've talked to journalists from several television organisations about this issue. They said they would be loath to use that word 'liar'.
Remember when Andrew Marr told [former defence secretary] Penny Mordaunt her claim that the UK couldn't stop Turkey from joining the EU was 'strange'?
It was strange, but it was also untrue - a lie. Is it time for us to start using the L-word? I believe that we need to start calling politicians out as liars when they lie. If we continue to be so polite, how will our viewers know that politicians are lying?"
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Thread | This has gone too far
at 15:18 16 Aug 2019
This guy is a nutter clearly but that's the space you're opening up when Islamophobia becomes as normalized as it has in public debate. Whether it's the unapologetically racist views of half the Conservative members re: Muslims or foreigners in general. Or the active demonization by populists of UKIP, the Brexit Party and the far-right in our media. And how about a Prime Minister who insults Muslims and ethnic minorities seemingly at will?
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-surrey-49369683 |
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Thread | So Lankester pretty much out for the season then ...
at 10:27 13 Aug 2019
B@llocks! He was one of the players I was most looking forward to seeing this season.
5 months is a long time and even then it sounds as if they might have to take it easy to see if the problem really has gone away.
Let's hope for a speedy recovery and maybe a brief cameo at the end where he helps us cement promotion.
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Thread | I'm no fan of Man U
at 19:31 11 Aug 2019
And I think Lampard is a nice guy.
But would be quite happy to see him fall on his @rse. I know we're living in a non-expert age but seems utterly ridiculous to give such an inexperienced manager and coach one of the biggest jobs in football. |
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Thread | This is going to be unpopular but we look a worse team with Judge
at 18:07 10 Aug 2019
Although it's important to add "at the moment" because if we were firing on all cylinders Judge would be a great player to have.
We seemed to be much more of a unit with Garbutt but looked all over the shop afterwards. Can't criticize the effort or willingness to attack but everything seemed a bit disconnected and random. Second half we regressed to last season's style of play when being direct and organized seems to be far more effective. |
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Thread | Style of play this season
at 11:30 5 Aug 2019
You can't read too much into one game, especially away from home and one where we took an early lead. But I thought we looked much more comfortable and dangerous playing on the counter attack than we did last season trying to go toe to toe in midfield and work our way through teams.
The big difference seems to be we didn't have a player like Norwood last season so we couldn't get the ball up to the forwards quickly and expect it to stick or be used that productively. I think he's going to be massively important for us this season even if he only scrapes into double figures himself.
The standard will be lower so I'm sure we can also do better than last season when we have a lot of possession. But if we're going to go up this season it'll be through taking the lead, protecting it and even extending it. And from that perspective, Saturday was very encouraging.
We just need to keep doing it. |
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Thread | Not sure I understand the maths around the targets Lambert wanted
at 12:18 2 Aug 2019
1. Either we had the money to look for them or we didn't.
2. If we did have a pot, is it that none of the deals could be brought in within the transfer and wages range we'd set out beforehand?
3. Why didn't we go for two and pay over the odds accepting the injury crisis had changed the situation?
4. Why didn't we sell Judge if numbers were a more pressing issue?
All feels a bit messy and unclear. But of course underneath it all we're seeing that money has got even tighter with relegation and the drop in revenue. And presumably tighter because we also spent far much more than we wanted to last season, both under Hurst and when Lambert came in.
There is no excuse for the lack of transfer activity if it's down to a lack of a cohesive strategy and communication between Evans and the footballing side of things. But if it's purely budgetary then we might need to get used to it. This is where we are.
Added to which ... while people say Evans should push the boat out, whenever he's done that we've gone backwards or at least weakened our long-term position. From Magilton to Keane, Jewell, Hurst and, based on last season, Lambert.
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