Gloucester Saint

Free Speech my arse, it’s censorship of views they don’t agree with. No better than Russia or China. The US is on the brink of not being a democracy https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp39kngz008o

Was in Malham during October for a short break. The Dales road you really don’t want to do in any motor home is Park Rash going into Kettlewell from Coverdale. 25%+ and a couple of very sharp hairpins where your bonnet disappears…

Cheer up though lads, a Reform voter is coming home 😉https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgke51rzpvro

Although it stops for a couple of days, the World Championship Darts I enjoy at this time of year.

Was a bit of hoo-hah a few years back when we holidayed in the Dales and Jason Gillespie was Yorks CCC Head Coach. Gillespie is an outspoken vegan and had a rant about the dairy industry and how it should cease. Yorks CCC’s main and shirt sponsor? Wensleydale Creamery. Lovely area, the Fleet Moss road from Hawes via Gayle going past the Creamery is stunning, climbing over 2000ft and gives your transmission a workout. Top marks to those who cycle it.

And associated bad tempers/horns beeping/automated tills and 25 checks slowing everything.

Ruddock probably has more of an issue with Short seeing it as was a final excuse/justification for Branfoot to sack him!

I suspect the plan was that he’d miraculously be better and that they wouldn’t need to pay him off but alas no. Down to last 18 months of his deal so the last 12 months subsidised or part-subsidised somewhere else wouldn’t hurt as much for SR. McCarthy out of contract so the keeping department needs a wholesale rethink. Preferably with goalkeepers who can catch/dive/use their hands, with the Hollywood passing a nice to have.

Family members getting older so enjoying each Christmas with them to the full. Made most of our food now - mincemeat and marzipan loaves cooled down on the rack, some for us and some for presents. Trifle - 🍒 with cherry amaretto sponge fingers, vanilla custard (lactose free) and lactose free double cream on top the main item still to make other than the Christmas Day veg we will prep tomorrow and roasties made on the day. Having our Christmas Eve meal at a local Cotswolds Stone pub, CAMRA branch winner. Got some great beers in, alcoholic and non alcohol. Hopefully, England cricketers (if they can stay off the booze long enough themselves) and Saints/Cheltenham footballers give some sporting entertainment on Boxing Day.

Timothy Taylor is my favourite.

Been on Barmy Army Tours and mixed with the lads on night out. All OK when you’re competing well, but don’t remember meeting a senior England player in this state

It wouldn’t be the EU Customs Union the UK left in 2020 but a bespoke one https://ukandeu.ac.uk/is-a-customs-union-worth-it/ Pros and cons in the link above

Trump listed as a passenger at least eight times on Epstein’s private jet on the latest releases. The walls in the MAGA have huge visible cracks. Thomas Massie now joining in with the Democrats calling for Pam Bondi to resign.

And fouled Beattie for the penalty here (very harsh it seemed from my seat in Kingsland North) http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3564570.stm That win didn’t ease the pressure on Sturrock either. One of the strangest games I ever went to at SMS atmosphere-wise. You knew something was up.

Streeting on manoeuvres. I agree with him though, Customs Union is common sense. The Red Wall don’t want foreigners living here (Single Market and FoM) but they’ve never been upset about trading with them https://news.sky.com/story/no-10-sticking-to-red-lines-on-uk-eu-customs-union-after-streeting-comments-13486691

That and a striker. Archer might well be off as well as Downs, barely featured this season and struggled when he has (Bristol City). I suspect clubs will still want him and think Saints haven’t utilised him properly. Only time will tell.

Pretty clear from that that the club are willing to but very much of a case of ‘your move next Damion (literally)’ to him and his agent. Personally I’d waive the money if I were him and he’s anywhere as unhappy as he comes across on the pitch, return to a league and nation where he’s had a modicum of success and get my career going again. Because if he doesn’t it will be a string of subsidised loans and he will finish up in the pre-MLS regional leagues by 25, his full-time football career effectively over and his US team days a distant memory. His agent only has to look at the careers of Guido Carrillo and lots of other SFC flops and outcasts to see what can happen.

Horrific. A smaller scale echo of the French case.

Quarshie I don’t mind as much, League 1 fee, German u20 and very quick. Poor on the ball which is an issue but he’s looked x100 a better footballer than Damion Downs (ok, very low bar!). Should make at worst a modest profit there, which doesn’t excite me in the slightest but as we know Rasmus creams in his boxers about such things, possibly better. I don’t mind when he’s on the team sheet. Won’t be on silly wages either, but it sounds like they have put Downs on larger wages (very silly).

That’s what the third time that’s happened now? If Damion Downs is the worst outfield player I’ve ever seen start a game for Saints, Bazunu has to be the worst keeper. I know @Chez reckons Ian Andrews was worse but at least he only played 10 games in 5 years. Was a very promising prospect at Leicester but a big money move to Celtic when the SPL was good (Dundee United in a major European final, winning in the Nou Camp - Paul Sturrock might have scored the winner, and Aberdeen beating Real Madrid in one) failed and destroyed his confidence. Baz’s career highlight is a mixed spell in L1 for the skates. Got POTS but plenty of errors - check out their home defeat to Ipswich.

And if he doesn’t want to be here, which is very clear tbh, then no point in him being greedy. If he wants to play in the WC next summer then he needs a move and if Saints have to be flexible on cutting the fee and losing a bit, Damion ought to do the same on wages. Only reasonable how diabolically bad he has been. And diabolical is being very generous!

I think the Boxing Day was 3-0, Aldridge scored as did Hebberd, my parents remarked on it at the time. The 3-1 was the following season IIRC. Aldridge also scored in the 1-1 at the Dell with a header. Looked it up and that confirms it https://www.11v11.com/teams/oxford-united/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Southampton/ Maxwell switched focus to Derby which is why Shilts and Mark Wright (originally from Oxford) went there along with Dean Saunders.

Won the replay 3-2 IIRC, Matt Elliott scoring for them, alas he signed for Leicester afterwards and not us. Got hammered there 3-0 on what might have been Boxing Day 1985, Trevor Hebbard getting his revenge for being left out of the League Cup Final squad in 1979. Drew the return at the Dell 1-1 midweek, was there for that one. Remember us beating them 3-0 at the Dell after that but possibly another Manor Ground defeat. Other than that, can’t think of other competitive games against them. Records say we beat them 1-0 at the Dell in FACR4 Jan 1990 - anyone remember that?

The behaviour of Labour, Tories, Reform politicians and the press around the Motability scheme (yes, it did need some readjustment but without some of the misleading headlines) has led unsurprisingly onto poor public behaviour towards blue badge holders https://inews.co.uk/news/motability-backlash-sparks-abuse-blue-badge-holders-4125168?srsltid=AfmBOoqfQjQFsn_sAjTf1yY97P97owEtMOcQWLAK1fQ5hEnrich26WL- For a start, blue badges are a different scheme to Motability. There is also for balance some abuse of blue badges by family members - some stiff penalties there for misuse (rightly so) https://n-somerset.gov.uk/news/north-somerset-council-tackles-blue-badge-abuse But no excuse for the behaviour displayed in these clips

To watch SR’s brand of crab-ball, Double IPAs, and Imperial Stouts at 11% would probably be the order of the day. A few of those plus the style of football and we’d all be asleep like the WBA fan was a couple of years ago.