Gloucester Saint

The IFS were pretty clear in 2024 - tax rises were on the cards whoever won to balance the books and cover the pandemic borrowings. More fool the two main parties for getting into a facile race to the bottom. By the way, Maggie promised to reduce indirect taxes but doubled VAT straight away and overall tax burden was about the same for low and middle earners by 1991 as it was in 1979 because although direct taxation was reduced from 26% to 21%, and the top rates slashed, VAT more than doubled to 15% of government income 1978-91.

Still isn’t going anywhere yet so we will see. Possibly we aren’t using him effectively a bit like with Azaz but I’m struggling to see a core strength with Downs which can be built on whereas with Beattie and Jones you could early on when it was more of struggle. He’s made some decent runs off the ball but every time he’s got into position he’s fallen over/missed the ball altogether/scuffed miles wide.

There is some truth in this clearly. However, whilst asylum and especially the visual power of the boats, clearly has to be reduced (notice I said asylum, not immigration) it’s a distraction from the fact the economy has been in the cart since 2008 and most people’s standard of living and wages are significantly down. Electing a poundshop MAGA tribute act is not going to make a positive difference to that, nor is it the fault of migrants. It would be far worse still without the contributions of legal migrants in our economy and healthcare system.

Now yes, but if the dial isn’t moving in 6-12 months, there’s a much bigger Parliament party behind him now and more expectation. Can’t bask in the GE sunshine forever and Reform needs banishing in the national interest. Fuck online safety warnings, get after Farage after his cunt comments about ending settled status including people who have been here 15-20 years plus, paid their taxes, married to UK armed forces veterans, served our communities. Disgraceful. Labour is too weak to do it so we need go after the leather-faced prick. Farage has none of his own ideas, poundshop Trump, and this also needs emphasising. Just uses MAGA phrases with a bit of casual racism thrown in.

Ashdown, Kennedy or Clegg he is not. I like him and the Post Office pile on totally ignored Paul Scully’s fuck ups when far more was starting to be known about PO’s lies. I’m sure he regrets not meeting Bates but we need someone to take the fight to Farage over the disaster that is Brexit and rub his rubber face in every fucking lie he’s told, which tbf would take 100 years. Even Harry Redknapp is more trustworthy than Farage.

Although Scafell Pike does have one, even if it’s not officially called the Bad Step as Crinkle’s is

That’s a direct consequence of neglecting the spine of the team for several years to prioritise bullshit player trades to make money/loan to Goztepe. Stephens at centre back for nearly a decade. Bednarek eight years. Romeu never replaced. Adams and Ings not replaced. Lots of projects but no-one they’ve signed I’ve ever thought ‘that position is sorted now for at least a couple of years’. If members of the spine do well and move to top 6 PL clubs for double the fee, hey fair enough. We can say if we replace them properly that we are back on track as a club. But we will never be without a capable GK-2 CBs-DMC-MC-Central striker for the league we’re in, where we are lacking in two of those departments which pulls the other bits of the spine down with them.

We just got walloped at a relegation favourite who spent the summer rumoured to be struggling to pay their players and only spent £700k in fees. I expected Downs to be quite raw and technically basic in the mould of an early James Beattie or Kenwyne Jones in the sense at least he would keep the central defenders busy/bruised and score the odd goal. For £7m, to have first touch worse than Carlton Palmer’s and to be miskicking in front of goal, the scouts have got to take responsibility there. Bromley’s centre forward Michael Cheek looked miles better than Downs when they won at Cheltenham (even worse than we are)and he’s in League 2 having come from non league. McBurnie looked about ten levels above Downs and he was available on a free! Don’t like McBurnie at all but Downs had to improve x30 to have any impact this season. If he can’t do the basics at least kick and elbow the centre halves in the ribs and win your headers for Archer/AA to get onto. Did he win a single header at Hull?

Shilts was only just 6ft, his dad used to get him to stretching exercises in the stairs when he was a kid to max his growth. But huge difference with Gavin - one of the most natural goalkeepers you would ever see in your life.

Don’t go falling down the bad step on Scafell Pike now Chris/Tommy and break your leg.

Memories of the 1990s and Fantasy Football League.

On the American Jason Lee. That’s probably harsh on Jason actually.

Not surprised by that, far from just Fraser, you can tell the other players really don’t rate Downs at all.

Never mind Duck. You can still have a good old tug over Sarah Lang https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2025/news/reform-uk-wont-speak-to-us-either-says-news-editor/

That’s because of who is putting those up. And it’s not just honest working class people unaware of the far right. No surprise given Andy Saxon’s background including a fatal racist attack https://www.instagram.com/p/DONo_91iLbo/ and https://hopenothate.org.uk/2013/01/28/exclusive-edl-bodyguard-in-racist-death-link/

Reform saving taxpayers money (source Private Eye): Since May 2025, Reform has already 14 councillors - scores on the doors are 8 resignations (eg https://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/people/corby-reform-councillor-resigns-over-serious-racism-allegations-5289085), two expulsions, and four suspensions. With the resulting by-elections triggered, the cost to the public purse already exceeds £200k in less than five months.

Remember, we’ve been told on here that Reform is a working class party with working class voters looking after their interests https://democracyforsale.substack.com/p/new-reform-donor-in-breach-of-company

Used to be our right back. His second coming on the wing last season was less successful.

Got to love all of the fresh faces in Reform, breaking with the stale political consensus https://www.facebook.com/ReformUKBroadlandFakenham/posts/we-are-pleased-to-announce-lembit-opik-will-be-speaking-at-our-reform-uk-broadla/122192858462564875/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Kruger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadine_Dorries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Pochin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Jenkyns https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1wg3zx4r0qo None of those are in any way the absolute nuttiest, headbanging former members of the Conservative Party’s ERG.

Gavin Bazunu has sensationally been dropped and banished from the first team squad ahead of Southampton’s local derby against Sholing by manager Dominic Ballard. The 37 year old veteran Republic of Ireland international has played over 500 games for the Saints, conceding over 1500 goals. This was after three clear errors in the 5-1 defeat at Winchester City. Director of Football Jack Stephens remains under increasing pressure from the 4,000 average attendance at a derelict St Mary’s Stadium with only one stand safe to use, not least since pulling a fan’s hair at the last home match against AFC Totton. Reporter Alfie House (looking like Whitey Grandad’s Einstein avatar after 15 years of watching Saints under SR).

💯 on SR’s failings that it is even being discussed and 0% on the supporters. We all agree that the club needed an injection of English football industry experience to be viable let alone competitive. What did we get instead? Spors and Still. What I’d much prefer to a new manager is new owners. Nothing will ever tangibly improve until SR sell up.

When my grandfather from the docks and his brothers/cousins drank in the Ice House in Shirley Warren during the 1950s and 1960s on 26 December, by all accounts that’s exactly what it was as the beers went down…

New owners who purchase players to build the spine of a team, and not one-off transactions in an attempt to make money based on what AI Co-Pilot spits out, instead of scouting properly and watching players, is the only remedy. Replacing such failures eg Bazunu with more of the same eg Downs though the spine as projects (Alfie House’s words) is leading to the same outcomes season after season when you add in inexperienced managers who won’t tell them to keep their nose out. SR isn’t working. Sheff Utd are also down that road but even their batshit mad board and owners have decided to bring the professionals back in to sort out their mess.

It’s staggering how easy Saints have been to play against for many years. It’s been the case since Ralph’s last few months and deteriorated rapidly as the recruitment has declined further even since Les Reed’s sanatogen specials. In all of that time, they just haven’t done the basics other teams do defensively across the team, such as limiting crosses and forcing them to be delivered from further up the pitch so they are a simple clearance or claim. No pressure on teams taking shots at goal when the owners force the managers into selecting a goalkeeper who couldn’t save a document on Word. Marking is someone that farmers do to livestock. Zonal-based system doesn’t work with thick players. That would be bad enough, but offensively no-one carries the ball between lines and on the rare occasions it happens, everybody is stood on their heels watching. Witness Archer v Skates, who the hell is following in on that? All stood ball-watching and let Cameron down when he created a chance from hard work. Something they all seem averse to. The tempo is dreadful as well, have they never heard of pass and move? Combine that with some of the shittiest players to wear our shirt since the 1960s and at best the late 00s, and cluelessness from the touch line and boardroom, I think you can see why the fanbase has had enough by and large. Only positive is that they got plenty of stick yesterday from the away end and that’s going to get a whole lot worse with piss taking and gallows humour.

Ah so, people in the north in the Red Wall and crap holes like Yarmouth and Boston, they’re workers but those who vote Lib Dem in the South West, SE and Midlands, they aren’t. I’ll tell my friends who are carpenters and run pubs in Devon and Somerset that the, that Reform said they aren’t working for a living. Reality is that those towns you refer to, if you choke off the local ex-polytechnic’s access to overseas students, that will be the last major employer in them gone and drag the rest of the SMEs with all of the ‘workers’ relying on their contracts and business down the drain. Hope they don’t need access to any key public services after Reform’s local authorities destroy them. Still, they’ve got St George painted roundabouts and Union Jacks strung up in retail parks by Reform and Patriotic Alternative (led by Nick Griffin’s deputy) to help them forget about the free at the point of entry healthcare Farage would cut. Oh, and there’s a bit of a problem with what you describe. Firstly, those places are the amongst the most ethically diverse in the UK. Secondly, the Tories might replace Badenoch with a white face in the next couple of years, probably before then.