revolution saint

The booking system does sound quite poor but I'm sure they'll sort those problems out as time passes. In the mean time I'm quite prepared to swap with you and take your place. I'm under 50 though so you may be waiting till the summer but, and here's the good bit, the booking system is bound to be the dogs bollocks by the time you're eligible.

Saints v Middlesbrough, March 1981, Saints won 1-0 and Moran scored. Only the four ex England captains in the starting lineup.

Because when they bought them they didn't know which ones, if any, were likely to work so they hedged their bets. There's also the issue of supply so this should mean that if any of them have production difficulties then we're not in the cart. Given the global demand I would think we could probably renegotiate if we did end up with excess vaccines anyway.

Poll Tax, Interest rates at 15%, Abolished free school milk, deregulated banks (effects we still feel today), massive contribution to decline of manufacturing industry, precipitated the housing crisis by selling off council homes and not replacing them, unemployment at 12%, cosied up to dictators and human rights abusers such as Pinochet. Yeah, you know where you were with Thatcher - you were fucked. She'd have taken tough decisions but they'd have been the wrong ones.

Canada and the US both have higher rates of obesity than the UK but have a lower death rate due to COVID. Far more countries including Japan, Italy, Portugal, Greece, and Germany have a higher percentage of over 65s than the UK and again have a lower death rate so the minister was wrong and attempting to shift the blame. When that happens they should be challenged. What's causing what was the worst death rate due to COVID in the world (I think we've moved down to second today) is the amount of cases we've had. Again, we need to find out why this is. The government are quite happy to lay the blame at the door of the public - grass up your neighbours, stop having parties, don't stray more than two miles from your house (and for the record I would agree we shouldn't be breaking the rules) but what seems to be a bigger driver of the increase in cases is the failure of test track and trace to identify people who should be self-isolating and the failure of people to do it when they have been informed. The government need to be looking at why this is. The evidence seems to suggest that a lot of people are simply not in a position to be able to completely isolate - either because they can't afford to do so or because of other circumstances. If you've got the second worst mortality rate due to COVID then it's right to ask why that is. In this regard the rest of the developed world have all been far more effective at controlling infections rates. I can understand people getting annoyed at constant bashing of the government and, in some case I think they're unjustified, however our woeful record during this pandemic justifies questions being asked. It's not like we've done very well is it? For the record I wouldn't criticise the lack of PPE during the first wave when the rest of the world was scrambling for whatever they could get their hands on. I think the economic response has been decent and I think the vaccine rollout so far has been very good. But..... the situation with care homes in the first lockdown was borderline criminal, the failure of the government to recognise infection trends and take notice and action early is very poor. Every time we've had a lockdown it's only been after weeks of government denial that they've had to face the inevitable - how many lives could have been saved if we had locked down earlier? The situation with schools has been farcical - threatening legal action over schools closing because they think infection rates make it unsafe to open and then days later closing schools when it was blatantly obvious that was going to happen. Ridiculous. As mentioned earlier our world class test, track and trace system is anything but world class. The exams fiasco was completely avoidable. These are just some of the things the government has fucked up and they should be questioned on them - if our death rate was comparable to Germany, for example, then there wouldn't be as much need for criticism. We're not there though and this is the price the government are going to have to pay.

For a 21 year old from another league to come in and perform the way he has is excellent. Seems to have everything he needs to play in that position and should only get better. Different kind of player to OR but it's good to have this competition for places. Think Diallo probably has the edge in terms of playing the ball forwards quicker and more accurately and also has a bit more pace. Certainly deserves to keep his place in the side at the moment. One thing I will say though - he's been better than Hojbjerg ever was for us. More energy, much better range of passing and far better at releasing the ball quickly and enabling us to keep momentum going forward. Probably slightly worse at giving bland interviews where he tells us the players take responsibility, know what they need to do to get out of relegation scraps and are disappointed at the recent run of results.

Well done lads, this really made me laugh and GM - keep it up mate, there's not enough laughter in the world right now.

Jesus Christ, what is the point of these press conferences when Patel is incapable of answering a question?

Dunno about limited view of history but Ford pardoned Nixon which had the effect of avoiding impeachment proceedings (Nixon resigned and was never impeached). Interestingly the US Supreme Court pronounced that a pardon "carries an imputation of guilt and that its acceptance carries a confession of guilt". Anyway, whilst I'd love nothing more than to see Trump impeached I'm not sure it'll happen and even if it did it would make Trump a martyr in the eyes of his supporters. Wouldn't be as satisfying but probably more sensible to have both houses give an official censure and let him drift off into the relative obscurity of fighting legal cases over his taxes.

Daily Heil have us linked with Balogun again and apparently Liverpool and Brighton also interested. Never seen him play outside of some YouTube clips so hard to say whether he's going to be any good but seems highly rated. Given that he's rejecting a contract from Arsenal on the basis that he wants game time then that would suggest Liverpool wouldn't be a likely destination. It's the kind of signing that would make sense and might be worth a punt especially if he's able to play in any of the forward positions.

Fuck me there’s some sad bastards on here. Who cares what a public holiday is called? Hardly anyone celebrates this as a religious day but if they do then fair play, they ain’t harming me. When I was a civil servant I got the queen’s official birthday off - doesn’t mean I condone a ridiculous, outdated, anti democratic and offensive to intelligent people everywhere institution. I just used to get pissed up.

Indeed, I don't get your half baked idea that an outdated vision of sovereignty trumps economic prosperity. More importantly though neither do any of the other brexiteers otherwise they would have had the balls to admit it. Every time an economic warning has been made concerning brexit it's been labelled untrue and "project fear" so, like it or not, success is going to be based on how well we do economically.

Shouldn't really take that long though should it Wes? Surely we can measure our success in terms of growth against other comparable EU countries? For me this is all about economics - if we're richer as a result then great, I won't stop you feeling free to knock one out over a picture of Nige. If we're not though then it's been a failure that has wasted billions. What I hope doesn't happen is more shifting of blame - sounds like you got what you want so congratulations on that but no more excuses and blaming remoaners or the nasty EU. It's time to deliver now.

Genuine question but have they actually published any data on the new strain that backs up the claim it’s 70 percent more effective at transmission? They may well have done so not trying to score any points, just wondering. Wouldn’t surprise me that they’re blaming a new strain when it’s just an increase of cases of whatever strain. Just guessing on my part though.

Great news Wes. When am I going to be richer? Time to deliver now.

I was 10 when the ‘82 World Cup was on and still my favourite World Cup ever. Remember rushing home from school to watch the Brazil Italy game and loving it. Rossi was a hero but so too were Zico and Falcao. That game and the France West Germany semifinal were brilliant. The final also had the greatest goal celebration ever. Happy days and thanks for sharing the story.

And VAR is still subjective - that's the point. VAR doesn't come up with a decision itself but allows someone to make a more informed decision based on multiple camera angles and a bit more time compared to a ref making it in real time on the pitch. VAR doesn't eliminate bad decisions or subjectivity but overall should contribute to less mistakes being made. When a bad decision is made then the problem is either with the person making it or the rule itself (exactly the same as when a ref makes a decision). Personally I think VAR has probably highlighted a lot of instances where it's difficult to apply a level of consistency when it's borderline or still fairly subjective. We should probably move away from demanding consistency and instead work with broadly agreed rules that are subject to personal interpretation. VAR would have no bearing on this and if we allowed the referee/VAR bod to justify why they made the decision then I don't think many people would be complaining. Blaming the system isn't the answer though.

The whole VAR debate is misleading. VAR is just another way of applying the rules of the game. When it was entirely down to referees and linesmen people moaned about bad decisions and now that VAR is there to help out, people moan about bad decisions. Ultimately the application and interpretation is still down to opinion (in the case of VAR somebody with access to replays and multiple camera angles) - doesn't mean everyone will agree with the decision though. I'd hazard that we've had fewer bad decisions since VAR than we used to have. Gets my goat when people moan about VAR as if rules have been invented entirely around VAR when they haven't. So this means when you disagree then it's either because the rule probably needs changing, or you just disagree with the opinion of the person applying the rule - it's not VAR at fault though. Muppets like Carragher and Kamara don't help the debate. I've heard them asking for consistency and common sense in the same sentence - when you're that dumb you're never going to make a coherent argument.

Depends what the German rules are on immigration (outside the EU) but whatever they are, they aren't affected one bit by what we choose to impose here. I guess the argument would be that Sancho and others won't have to go abroad because the tighter rules would free up space for them at British clubs. I'm not that bothered about European competitions but I would imagine long term this will make the premier league less competitive in those competitions but in theory should benefit the National Teams. One thing I've never really liked are the rules that take into account the level of the country they play for or their club. Basically means if you manage to scout someone of talent outside of the Fifa top 50 countries or in one of the more obscure leagues then you'll have trouble getting a work permit. That's not really the players fault though and potentially penalises good scouting networks.

Fair play to everyone at the club - work they've put in deserves this. One of the great things is it's so difficult to pick a man of the match as virtually everyone had a blinder - harried, pressured, brave on the ball and helped out their team mates when needed. Exceptional team performance all round with almost total commitment and, as a fan, you can't ever ask for more than that. Special mention to Che Adams - have to confess I never quite thought he'd make it (and if you look through my posts I've said that). Hold my hands up - wrong! Guy is developing into a cross between Keegan and Mark Hughes with his energy and hold up play. Might never be as prolific as those two but offers a hell of a lot to us and a justified first name on the teamsheet. I've been thinking that if you look at a lot of our players it seems to take about a year before they really get to grips with what Ralph wants from them. Adams, Armstrong, Ings, Romeu, Ward-Prowse and a few others have really started to shine after a year. Some of that falls into the physical conditioning necessary to play the game he wants but also understanding the tactical aspects as well. No one else is going to be able to copy this style of play without putting serious work in which is great.

Indeed, brexiteers have never pretended to give a fuck about the working man.

Well you said the media output which includes TV news doesn't it? Perhaps you should be a bit more precise when you frame these things otherwise you're in danger of people taking you at your word. As I say, don't really want to get into the whole BBC bias. I don't think it is but it's a personal opinion and you couldn't really measure it even if you wanted to so I'm not going to convince you. Pretty effing obvious we don't have the equivalent of Hannity, Tucker Carlson or even Anderson Cooper on British TV let alone the BBC so in that respect TV output between the countries is not the same.

When it comes to TV news that, frankly, is rubbish. Both Fox and CNN rarely provide a dissenting voice or try to show the other side of the argument whereas all UK TV news invariably does. I'll grant you the print media is biased and obviously so but that doesn't apply to the TV channels. Of course if you're looking for bias then you're going to get it whether it exists or not but you only need to spend half an hour comparing any UK TV news output with both Fox and CNN to see that the two countries are not comparable. Indeed we even have ofcom there to ensure impartiality whereas the US abolished the fairness doctrine. Don't really want to get into a debate over bias in the BBC (again) but the assertion that we have comparable output in TV news is wrong.

I wonder what Fox News position was on George W Bush or Reagan? Both capable of forgetting names and appearing senile. To be honest I don't think many sensible people would say Biden is the best Democrat to be president - but he is the one with the best chance of beating Trump and getting elected. He's inoffensive and doesn't give people a reason not to vote for him - you can tell this because Trump and the rest of the republican party have reverted to the tried and trusted tactic of calling him a radical left socialist. What a joke. I hope that if/when Biden does get elected and if they manage to control both houses (all of which seems likely) then they do make Puerta Rica and Washington DC states. Republicans have and will use any trick in the book to get (and retain) power - they have no shame and so it's time the Democrats did the same. Incidentally on the subject of Fox News and CNN - both partisan to the point of being propaganda. Admittedly CNN is a bit more clever about it but very tiresome when you're looking for a genuine unbiased view.

Walcott would be backup to Armstrong and I guess he could probably do that role fairly well. Ralph has said previously that Armstrong struggles with too many games in short periods so it kind of makes sense from a squad point of view but it's a disappointing loan if it happens. It's also a bit of a rebuke to anyone thinking Smallbone was the answer - clearly not if this is Ralph's thinking.