Sheaf Saint

No point dwelling on that. He got it wrong, but was never going to change his mind. If Manning was actually doing his fucking job rather than pointlessly arguing with the lino, we'd still be in the lead. It's not the first time he's just switched off today either. Just utterly brainless from him again. Stupid prick.

Three. Quarshie, Jander and Scienza

I put that down to the personnel rather than the formation itself. We've changed the CBs since then, but I'm not convinced any of our FB options are good enough defensively to play a four.

Only three of our summer signings starting. So much for having a complete refresh of the squad.

Very wet and windy up north today. Gonna be horrible conditions on the pitch. In previous times I would suggest that might work against us as it would hamper our passing game. But our passing has been generally awful this season anyway, so it might just even things up a bit.

I remember at the time someone on here described him as 'an odious little man', and it's stuck with me ever since.

Wasn't it just. I remember turning to my mate and saying we had no hope of scoring and rescuing the game, and then up popped Rasiak and absolute carnage broke loose in the stand. One of those very special moments that make following Saints totally worth all the pain.

Ok I take your point, but your original post was badly worded at best. It came across like someone who doesn't have even the slightest understanding of public finances expecting what they want money to be spent on take higher priority than anything else, and it surprised me because I know you're not that dim. The general point I made, and on which I think we are probably in agreement, is that some people are slipping through the security net because current resources don't allow for the level of monitoring that could have prevented yesterday's horrific event. The fact that this attacker was already on police bail and whose father has openly expressed some heinous views is surely testament to that.

Acknowledged. But the same can be said of literally every public service in the UK (or any other country, for that matter). Some people think the NHS should have more money to protect the lives of British citizens. Others argue that the armed forces need more to do the same. We simply can't afford it all, so it's a balancing act that weighs up the amount of investment against the overall benefit to the country. Your post said: "If we need more funding and resources concentrated on rooting out Islamist extremism which takes up the majority of existing resources then that should happen immediately". What's that if not an over simplistic demand for more funding?

Every provider of public services will tell you that they don't have enough funding and resources to do everything they want to do. And the police and security services are no exception. You seemed horrified at the idea that counter-terrorism policing isn't fully funded, and insist that it absolutely should be. Well of course, in an ideal world it should be, but we don't live in an ideal world and you know that full well. And even if it was fully funded, what implications would that have for our society? Would other services need to be cut or abolished completely to pay for it? Would it mean that we live in a totalitarian state where everybody's movements are recorded and monitored in minute detail? Like I said - just demanding that it be fully funded is a ridiculous over-simplification of what is in reality a very complex problem. That's what populists like Farage and Trump offer, because they know it's exactly what people of low intelligence want to hear, and because they also know they never actually have to be held to account for failing to follow through on such promises.

How much funding does it need? A million pounds a year? A billion? A trillion? What sort of manpower and infrastructure would it need? Whose budget would that come from? How would the funding be distributed spatially? What other services would you cut even further to make it affordable? You come across generally as an intelligent bloke, but on this you seem to be falling into the populist trap of expecting overly simplistic solutions to complex problems.

To which I refer you back to my earlier point...

Turns out he was known to the police because he was out on bail for alleged rape. https://news.sky.com/story/synagogue-stabbing-latest-police-at-scene-of-reported-attack-in-manchester-13442674

And, it goes without saying, be completely prepared for the physical demands of the league they're in as well. No question.

If this guy came to the UK from Syria as a child then he was most likely a genuine refugee. We can't be 'selective' about accepting those, and we have international accords to adhere to (and contrary to what most Farage fans would have us believe, we don't take more than the rest of Europe. Not by a loooong way). As to why he didn't flag up on the radar of anti-terror units / MI5, the answer is most likely to be the same as it is for the failure of any public service - lack of funding and resources. It's all very well saying we should choose more carefully who we let in and deport people with extreme views, but in reality it isn't that simple unfortunately.

Poor, unlucky bloke. Seems to end up with mentally weak players wherever he goes. If only he had the power / responsibility to influence that and improve the players' mentality.

I'm not sure Arma will be particularly effective in a central role, given that he never has been in all the years he's been with us. What's happened to Matsuki? He looked pretty good in that AM role early in the season but seems to have fallen completely out of favour.

Why don't the Met go one step further and ask all the London football clubs to cancel their matches this weekend as well if they are that concerned about resources? We're at a very dark point in our history when people wanting to gather peacefully to hold up some placards as part of a campaign against an unjust and, frankly, ridiculous legal ruling are being singled out by the police on Twitter and being described as 'choosing to encourage mass law breaking'. Whether you support Palestine Action or not, this is something that should concern us all.

Gonna be a bit rainy as well. That gives me flashbacks to the playoff semi final there in 2007, and getting thoroughly soaked walking back to the station having just seen us lose on penalties 😔

The meaning of phobia in this instance is 'aversion to' rather than 'fear of'. Semantics aside, Islamophobia is every bit as real a thing as antisemitism is, and is clearly evident in your last sentence. 'Fearing' the entirety of the Islamic diaspora because of the actions of a tiny minority of nutty extremists is no different from blaming all Jews for the actions of the Israeli government.

Cheers. Got myself one last night after missing out previously ☺️

Very impressive performances over the last week. He just looks very assured and confident, and isn't afraid of trying to get his head on everything that comes near him, unlike certain other defenders I could name. Has to be our first choice CB from now on I reckon.

For some reason I read that last sentence in Saggychops' voice in my head.

Yeah it does seem like the journo has just put two and two together and come up with £15m doesn't it.

Yeah it's so obvious on the replay. Got his arms all over Macca and backing into him with no intent to try and play the ball. The fact the ref blew up for it before Peck even made contact with the cross tells you how clear it was to him. I heard it from up the other end of the ground, so I don't understand why Peck then went and destroyed the corner flag in celebration because he must have heard it too.