egg

So what sectors are you referring to? Which sectors have you had direct dealings with, and what level? What are the actual issues you've experienced?

You cannot make such a sweeping statement. You plainly have zero idea about the reality on the ground. I only have direct knowledge of the court system, and that has been chronically under funded and staffed for years. Pay more money, and they'd have even less staff and even more backlog and chaos. The staff, on the whole, are superb, and the issue is not too many people or poor talent. You'd do well to understand the reality rather than making sweeping comments.

I think you're expecting a bit much. That's a bloody good bench for this level.

The squad includes the options we've had all season, and we've scored 18 goals. Relax poppet.

I know several ex players who are. Incredibly popular bloke.

As I said, you'll go around in circles. I know the difference outlooks we have, and as much as I don't respect your political views, I respect that you can have them. I'll leave it there.

I'm not going here with you given your Israel/Gaza stance mate.

I won't carry on a discussion with you because you'll go round in circles, but I'll comment re lineker. He's a bloke with a moral compass. His opinion about Zionism isn't a complicated one, and anyone can and should have an opinion on that. What he had was the bollocks to voice it, unlike most. I'm not sure how you can conflate that with his stance on his tax - where he challenged a wrongly applied principle - and was proved correct. I see him as standing up for what's right, whereas you applaud people who stand up up for what's right for their pocket.

I have no respect whatsoever for any person who abandons their country for selfish ends. Lineker I respect immensely. He's got a moral compass and a pair of bollocks.

The issue with your posts is that you frame this as him joining an exodus, now, but that's not the case. He's a bloke who went years ago for his own selfish reasons, and is now having a moan because the north sea won't open as he would like, and then sticking the boot in on the country he abandoned whilst failing to recognise that much if the world economy is fucked for reasons beyond the control of a couple of central governments. I read the same words as you, but through a different lens.

I take your point, but Ratcliffe ain't Einstein. No businessman is a genius in the way that inventors or scientists can be. Successful business owners make money. Scientists can make a difference.

He's correct in that we're in a difficult place, but so are all the other major European economies. If he was abandoning us and going to Spain or Belgium because it was the land of milk and honey, I'd take your point, but he fucked off years ago to a tax haven. If you read what he says, he offers no solutions save opening the north sea (on which I agree), but that's not an altruistic plea given his business interests. If he had any genuine interest in his country he'd stay and contribute, but he showed his colours when he went to Monaco to tax dodge.

Probably, in that he will need to drop down the leagues to play mens football and find his level. In truth, we haven't produced a centre forward good enough to improve us, or even give proper competition, since Shearer. Of those who've moved on, and improved and learned their trade in lower leagues, I can't think of many in recent times other than Morgan and Ballard. Despite the clamours for Ballard, he's the poor relation of those 2.

Ehibhatiomhan scored another 2, but as we know, that doesn't suggest he can make the step up.

Soup 🤦

Massacre

Wow... increased to what? Can't imagine it's 67.

Exactly Whelk, society has gone soft. You'd have thought that after Brexit, those sort of values would have come back.

Answers please...

Yep. We got caught in the early 90's with our first house. Prices plunged and rates went through the roof. Our mortgage was about 2/3 of our joint net income. Life was shite, but we were dealing with a £30+k mortgage for a starter home, whereas for these youngsters, it's £200 + k. Frightening, and as you say, not their fault in any way.

GMT, greek maybe time, is a wonderful system.

I feel for you having to re fix. My daughter is in the same boat, and being a youngster at the early stages of career, she doesn't have the income headroom for it. Whatever peoples circumstances, however, it's obvious that the combination you highlight is a perfect storm. Difficult times ahead for many, and opportunities for others.

On the last point, the masses do have mortgages on their homes, and most property investors have mortgages. The latter is reflected in residential rents which has a massive impact on people the wider economy, and commercial rents impact the punter. Re fixing, people may fix for 2, 3 and 5 years, but nobody who's fix ends now or in the foreseeable could have foreseen that the world would be as it is now, with the consequences we're starting to see. I'm mortgage free on my home, but I've got friends and family who's fixed is ending and they're shitting themselves, quite rightly, despite having done the right thing. On the wider point Turkish made, we plainly need to finance ourselves, and having borrowed to the hilt with increasing borrowing costs, only so far we can cut spending, a need to spend more in defence, it's obvious that taxes will rise. I've lived, and been in business, through several recessions, and I think we're building to something pretty horrific unfortunately.

The whole episode is a disgrace. I'm not sure any of us expected to live in a world where the major power blockaded a country, a weak one at that and which posed it no danger, abducted it's president and his missus, then stole it's natural resources and monies, leaving it's people struggling. And then for the leaders of the US to lie so brazenly, and badly, about it all.

That's one interpretation. I'd argue the wrong one. Sheeran has lost followers, and gotten shit, because he allowed Krath (lovely fella - Epstein list, Zionist funder, charged with sex offences) to dictate that Macklemore couldn't support him, then come out with some flouncy nonsense essentially saying he's neutral on the subject and apolotical, despite having taken public political stances previously. That's what's cost him, donations have nothing to do with that. The donations look horribly cynical, and follow the event. Where they're intended to go, and whether they've actually been made (the pledge was reported by Krath), is unclear. Re publicity, whether Krath was used to publicise Sheerans donation pledge I'm unsure, but he's made it public. Fwiw, I think the pile on for Sheeran is unfair, and reading between the lines, I think his views aren't dissimilar to Macklemore. However, he's worth half a billion, and could and should have told Kraft to go fuck himself and made it clear that him and the others would fulfil their contractual obligations and turn up at the gigs. And his music is shit.