Sheaf Saint

While I agree he looks an upgrde on all of these, it's worth remembering that Djenepo scored a wonder solo goal in one of his early games away at Sheff Utd, and we all thought we had a proper player on our hands. He's gone on to do basically fuck all except run down some blind alleys since then though. Not saying I think Aribo will follow the same pattern, because he looks to have better all-round atributes than Moussa, but I understand Hypo's calls for people not to get too carried away by a bit of showboating in a meaningless friendly.

The manner of his departure? What did he do wrong exactly? The way I see it, he had a year left on his contract and he accepted an offer of a better wage elsewhere and we got a big fee for him. Why do some people have a problem with that? It's not like he slagged us off in the media and smeared shit all over the walls at Staplewood on his way out or anything. I'm not saying I would want him back - that ship has sailed. But he did nothing to deserve some of the vitriol he gets here. It's just childish really.

Was interesting listening to Alex Scott talking about how they virtually begged some clubs to allow their stadiums to be used back in 2018 and most said no. It's pleasing to know that Saints were one of those that saw the merits of it back then.

Oh, what a surprise... https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/29/boris-johnson-lords-cronies-legitimising-bribery A confidential document prepared by CT Group, the influential lobbying firm run by Lynton Crosby which advises Boris Johnson, and which I have seen, makes no bones about the defenestrated prime minister’s aim to pack the House of Lords. The document proposes that Johnson ride roughshod over every convention and standard of propriety in an effort to secure political nominees who will vote for the Tory government, especially its bill to disown the international treaty it has itself signed over Northern Ireland. This draft plan to add 39 to 50 new Tory peers includes an extraordinary requirement that each new peer sign away their right to make their own judgment on legislation that comes before them. They have to give, the paper says, a written undertaking to attend and vote with the government. The plan also legitimises straightforward bribery. In a throwback to the Old Corruption that was a feature of 19th-century Tory Britain, compliant lords will be “rewarded” with lucrative special envoy positions, and, while those who fail to attend votes will be placed on a “name and shame” list, CBEs and additional titles will be handed out, responding to what is an apparently insatiable demand for the already ennobled to be showered with additional honours on top of their peerages. But the cynicism of the Crosby firm’s paper plumbs new depths when outlining what it calls “useful cover from any media backlash”. The perpetrators of this coup will claim, wholly falsely, that their real aim is to redress the balance between the south-east, which has the largest number of peers, and the north of England, Scotland and Wales, which are underrepresented, as though the award of peerages is a genuine form of levelling up. The paper also suggests that the “perfect excuse” to flood the House of Lords with Johnson’s cronies will be the Lords’ doubts about a hard Brexit, “on the grounds that the ‘People’s Brexit’ can only be delivered by such a wedge of new Tories”. This will, it says, provide an “excellent cover” for railroading the nominations. The report is also useful cover for Crosby, whose firm has had close links with the tobacco industry, when it states that the creation of Tory peers is also justified by the refusal so far of the Lords to vote for a “laissez-faire attitude to tobacco manufacturers and importers”. The media, according to the Crosby firm’s paper, can be easily blindsided by the appointment of a few controversial figures or well-known celebrities, which will distract journalists away from the real issue, which is the sheer scale of the gerrymandering.

RIP Nichelle Nichols. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/jul/31/nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura-star-trek-dies A wonderfully kind and gracious lady by all accounts, whose performance as lt. Uhura was pivotal in breaking down cultural barriers in the 60s. I understand she was going to quit the show after the first season, but MLK convinced her not to because of how much of a role model she was to the black community in the US. Whoopi Goldberg, when she talked about joining ST TNG, said seeing Nichelle in a major TV role when she was young gave her belief that she too could take up acting.

Yeah, like you have to use a secret handshake to get entry to the stadiums 😄

Fan-fucking-tastic. Well done girls. European champions.

Shane Long-esque.

Shit. It's been coming to be fair.

She would be an upgrade on Mccarthy IMO.

What game are you watching then? Both teams' defensive shape has been very good. Hence why it's still 0-0.

Two questionable yellow cards for England in quick succession, after the ref had let so many challenges go completely unpunished so far.

Popp injured in the warm up. That's a huge blow for Germany, and a massive boost for England.

Definitely. She's a spiteful, vindictive moron who simply doesn't have the intelligence or the necessary mental filters to realise when tweeting something is a bad idea... https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/31/nadine-dorries-disturbing-tweets-on-rishi-sunak-condemned-by-tory-mps Conservative MPs have condemned “divisive, disingenuous and disturbing” interventions against Rishi Sunak by the culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, including a tweet showing Sunak wielding a knife at Boris Johnson. Other Conservative ministers have condemned comments by Dorries, a supporter of Liz Truss, about Sunak’s dress sense, after she compared his Savile Row suit with Truss’ earrings from Claire’s. One suggested it was deeply provocative for her to tweet the image of Sunak stabbing Johnson, in a parody of Julius Caesar, given two MPs have recently been murdered.

Never thought I would see the day you would be in agreement with Owen Jones Ducky 🤨

I have to disagree. He was multi-talented and did so much good work on stage, TV and cinema... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13099773 He could have done more cinema, and I'm sure he had many offers to do so, but he always came across as being very happy with his oeuvre. I remember him vividly from Jackanory when I was a kid. He had a uniquely brilliant way of telling engaging stories. He's a legend IMO.

They don't need to 'buy' it back. They just don't renew the franchise when it expires.

This is about the strongest case for public ownership of public services you'll ever see... Centrica - the parent company of British Gas (which was sold off by Thatcher's govt) has posted a record profit of £1.34bn for the 6 months to the end of June - a 5-fold increase on the same time last year. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/centrica-profits-gas-energy-bills-b2132932.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-62330478 Real national treasure. Sad loss.

Good goal from Germany. Then a bit of good fortune for France with the lucky rebound off the keeper for the equaliser. Both teams are well organised so whoever gets to the final it won't be easy for England, but if they perform like they did last night I think both teams are beatable.

Everton fans on GOT are up in arms about this. Wondering about the wisdom of buying half the squad* of a team that was relegated last season. * Their words MLG, not mine.

Yep, it's like his personal disclaimer that he can use as a backup when he gets rumbled. When you can't bullshit your way out of something, play dumb instead.

And as for his "As far as I am aware" comment in his letter about his meeting with Lebedev, he's essentially admitting that there might have been a massive security breach but he was too pissed to remember.

Telegraph now reporting that he is being tipped to become the next General Secretary of NATO. He really is like a turd that won't flush isn't he.