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1. I’ve told you there aren’t comparable figures for attending the protests. It means there could have been more at either. It doesn’t invalidate it (it may in your mind cause your looking for any chink) as I have given alternative measures for assessing the level of crime / violence at each compared to arrests which is a better barometer. 2. The report is the police response to the 2024 summer disorder - google it. I’ve taken stats from that. The conclusions of the report are no two tier policing but the vast majority of evidence that informed the conclusion is from the same police chiefs under fire so I question the independence of that conclusion and whether it actually tested the conduct of the very organisation being accused of two tier policing. A closed shop if you ask me. They weren’t even asked why the arrests were so high in the illegal migrant protests but lower for the blm protests for example. Real scrutiny! 3. I’m not going to get into this but I didn’t leave because plod was after me!

Academia does tend to be more left-wingers, because left-wingers tend to be more intelligent than right-wingers. That's just a thing, and again, always has been.

That's a good start to the day. Thank you. You know I'm correct though. I can guarantee that when you were living in Lloret De Mar, you were a Sun newspaper, pint and full English at Gary's Cafe kind of man. Hypocrite.

VAFC: "He rarely has an off day"—how Le Puy turned Maël Zogba into a better player There is a "before" and "after" Le Puy for Maël Zogba, whose career had previously been defined by instability. Two seasons in the Velay region allowed him to settle down and take a significant step forward in his development. The 26-year-old center-back is now putting his talents to work for Valenciennes. Both parties will be pleased to reunite this Saturday evening at the Stade du Hainaut. Maël Zogba left Le Puy this summer because Valenciennes wanted him. Le Puy coach Stéphane Dief didn't even try to fight it; "it was pointless for us to try to convince him" to stay. The 26-year-old center-back acknowledges what he owes to the Le Puy club, where he spent two seasons growing as a player while the team moved from the N2 to the National division. But in what ways? Rock-solid reliability What do goalkeepers Franck L’Hostis, Mathis Carvalho, and Gaël Alette have in common with Maël Zogba? None of them missed a single match—or even a single minute—of last season’s National campaign. "Maël is a reliable player," notes a pleased Pierre Blois, who started him in the first seven matches of the season without ever substituting him off. This remarkable statistic speaks volumes about the player's "level of consistency"; as Stéphane Dief observes, "he rarely has an off day." The new Valenciennes signing highlights the "unseen work" he puts in and the confidence shown in him—a welcome change after two previous stints at this level with Chambly (2021–22) and Épinal (2023–Feb. 2024) that met with only limited success. "I was quite young; I needed to learn and develop." A defender who found his wings Expectations for Maël Zogba center primarily on his strengths. "A good defender, solid in duels," lists Stéphane Dief. "He has real ability when it comes to reading the game and anticipating plays—that cunning streak that allows him to compensate for a slight lack of quickness." The Le Puy coach opened up new possibilities for him by evolving the team's tactical setup during the season they won promotion to the National league: "We switched to a back three." In this system, the Dolomieu (Isère) native played on the right side of the defense; he "discovered interesting attacking skills" by taking advantage of a certain amount of freedom. "The coach asked me to take on attacking responsibilities," the player confirms—making overlapping runs with the right wing-back, pushing up the flank, and delivering crosses. "I wasn't used to that; I often found myself near the penalty area, combining with the forwards—sometimes getting very close to them—and it was something I really enjoyed." Pierre Blois didn't hesitate to push him up a notch against Rouen and Fleury, "to add a bit more presence" in midfield. "I felt we were lacking that in previous matches; we came up with the idea, and it worked quite well"—until Abu’s substitution at halftime against Fleury forced the coach to change his plans. Natural leadership The Valenciennes coach has already made Maël Zogba a key point of contact: "We don't hesitate to ask for his take on things. He’s a positive person who tries to lift everyone up." Le Puy captain Renald Xhemo saw him arrive in the summer of 2024 and "make his mark right away; he exudes a great sense of calm." Stéphane Dief describes him as "a very level-headed guy who is pleasant to talk to and shows good common sense." It comes back to the trust placed in him and its benefits: "It allowed me to develop as a footballer and to assert myself," the defender emphasizes. "I was able to develop other qualities, such as leadership." VALENCIENNES vs. LE PUY, Saturday, 8:45 PM, Stade du Hainaut. Broadcast live on Ligue 1+. Absentees: Passi, Amir, Abi (international duty), Wahib (suspended), Belloumou, Kouakou (injured), Blé (reconditioning).

Ligue 3: Christopher Rocchia and Valenciennes reunite after a missed opportunity Christopher Rocchia spent ten days on trial in 2023 and fully expected to sign with Valenciennes, only to see the door close on him. The 28-year-old full-back didn't let the second chance that came his way this summer slip by. He returns to the squad this Saturday after missing the last three matches due to injury. The story of Christopher Rocchia and Valenciennes is one of a missed connection dating back to the summer of 2023 and Sport Republic’s takeover. The full-back—trained at OM, his hometown club and the one closest to his heart—was coming off two Ligue 2 seasons at Dijon, and Ben Chorley wanted him. Discussions between the English sporting director, who was calling the shots at the time, and the player's representative intensified, leading to a ten-day trial at Mont-Houy. "Jean [Louchet] and I arrived at practically the same time." His attacking style clearly didn't suit Jorge Maciel, who was more interested in "a full-back who stays back to act as a third center-back when the team attacks." He opted instead for the Dutchman Lucas Woudenberg—a nice guy, though his performances hardly left a lasting impression in the Hainaut region. So, Christopher Rocchia left just as he had arrived: without bitterness, yet inevitably disappointed after having believed a deal was imminent. "You go home, you reflect. And then you move on; that’s the life of a footballer." "In the end, I was left with nothing" His own life took a strange turn after that episode, however. "I was supposed to sign with Estoril (in Portugal), but it didn’t happen. I had turned down offers from Ligue 2 and National clubs because I didn’t want to drop down a level. In the end, I was left with nothing." A year-long void followed. Then, in July 2024, Aubagne—freshly promoted to the third tier—threw him a lifeline. When VA approached him this summer, 28-year-old Christopher Rocchia saw a chance to set the record straight. "Even though I hadn't signed [back in 2023], I kept thinking that maybe the story wasn't over. Given its history, prestige, and stadium, Valenciennes is currently the biggest club in Ligue 3." And when fate comes knocking a second time, you don't turn up your nose at the opportunity. VALENCIENNES vs. LE PUY, Saturday, 8:45 PM, Stade du Hainaut. Broadcast live on Ligue 1+.

Limitation usually runs from knowledge. Until the findings against City, I can't see how there was knowledge.

Patriot's, the musical: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdRaRwhO8oC/?stkn=N3JnajgxZ2x1OHhs

Ligue 3: VA’s season start—blunders and setbacks Everything is going wrong for Valenciennes, who suffered their fourth defeat (in seven games) by conceding a goal in stoppage time against La Roche-sur-Yon, after having valiantly held firm while playing a man down. Their start to the season has been a litany of errors and misfortunes. Five points from seven Ligue 3 matches is woefully inadequate—especially for a team that began the season with the division's second-largest budget and an ambition defined simply as "building something." Already struggling and barely keeping their heads above water, VA is being held back by recurring issues that act like millstones around their ankles. On Saturday, captain Samir Belloumou urged the squad to "ask themselves the right questions": at this point, such a succession of setbacks can no longer be dismissed as mere bad luck. Poorly managed closing stages A week after squandering a match against Fleury—where they threw away a slender first-half lead in just four minutes and missed a last-gasp penalty—VA crumbled in stoppage time at La Roche-sur-Yon. They were beaten by a strike out of nowhere, reminiscent of many goals conceded last season when things were (already) going poorly. The defeat is all the more cruel given VA’s impressive resilience; for seventy-five minutes, playing ten against eleven, they stood their ground against a Vendée side that is notoriously tough to beat on home turf—a venue where they haven't lost since December 2024. Ultimately, however, the result is once again zero points. Blunders The match referee, Edgar Barenton, didn’t hesitate—either in real-time or after reviewing the footage: Abdelwahed Wahib’s kick-out at Hugo Lamy warranted both a penalty and a red card. "We’re shooting ourselves in the foot again," noted a dejected Pierre Blois. VA has made a habit of this: there was the header by Dany Goprou that turned into an assist for Caen’s third goal; the string of errors leading to the opening goal away at Paris 13; another own goal by Goprou; and Rayane Ekra’s missed penalty against Fleury... It is all starting to add up. A makeshift VAR setup In La Roche, the Valenciennes team had no cause to complain about the "Football Video Support" system or its application—it had already caused them enough trouble. On September 3, had the power not been unplugged—an incident that prompted VA to call for an investigation—the referee could have seen from the footage that Rouen should not have been awarded a penalty. Then again, that is no guarantee: the equalizer disallowed for Valenciennes at Caen due to a marginal offside call proves as much. It was also the first mishap of a season that is decidedly off to a bad start.

And they'd dominate the league, meaning less of a chance for promotion for clubs like us and other former PL clubs who were prejudiced by their cheating. Basically their "punishment" hurts us. They'd bounce straight back up anyway. That's not justice. Make them fight their way back through the leagues.

3 admitted breaches V 114 denied breaches. Get ready for the greatest one - sided "football" match in history.

Egg yesterday: Re the rest, I keep telling you that I'm not debating with you, and I haven't, and won't. I'll acknowledge you no further.

Hello everyone. I hope you’re all well ? News from Valenciennes: - Following another defeat away at La Roche-sur-Yon, losing 3-2, Valenciennes host Le Puy Foot at the Stade du Hainaut. It’s a must-win game tonight against a beatable opponent. Kick-off is at 8.45 pm French time, and I’ve shared some local press articles below. Whatever the results, Allez VA !

Taking a couple of examples, academia and the bbc have a high proportion of people with left wing political views. It’s the nature of people they attract. On the face of it they aren’t “politically” influenced but the people running them have their own political views which influence the approach those institutions take. Govenrment reviews on the bbc have indicated that there is a lack of impartiality due to “uninformed groupthink” In terms of having a disproportionate number of left wingers, you gov surveys of academics have indicated that circa 53% are left leaning, 35% are neutral and 9% are conservative. Policy exchange research has come to the same conclusions.

The scale of city's breach puts spygate in perspective... Sadly too late for us to be given a reasonable sanction.

Quick 'out of curiosity' question to anyone ITK... If the club wanted to, would they be at liberty to 'go public' on how the hearing went on Thursday, even if only releasing a holding statement that probably doesn't tell us much, or are they under an embargo not to say a single word, not even a one-liner holding statement, until the FA say we can? I know the response to my curiosity on here will be: "What's the point of saying anything at all if they can't actually tell us any details" but that's not my point. I'm just curious as to what they are at liberty to say, even if there's "no point" in doing so. Thank you kindly fellow Saintswebbers

You mean like the majority of British ex pats who choose to live around other ex pats, drinking in English bars, eating a full English, and who's local language knowledge extends no further than ordering a beer and a full English. I'd hazard a guess (and it is that, granted) that more immigrants here grasp our language much better than than our economic emigrants do in their destination of choice.

I can't be any clearer when I say I'm not joining your wider discussion. I may consider it once you've linked me to your evidence that Judges (not the system, the people) are politicised, but I can't see why I would waste my time joining another discussion in which you'll you throw around your uncorroborated opinion.

Wallpaper

Are immigrants a race now?

Quick few from last night: 1. Did you manage to get numbers for those protests as a first step, as otherwise the stats you posted hold absolutely no merit? 2. Can you please post the Home Affair Select Committee link for me to read? 3. I'm interested as to where you emigrated to - where and why did you move? And why did you return?

If I didn’t have family ties I doubt I would still be here. So what about my question please

And I would say, as someone who works for an arms-length government body, that this is complete and utter bollocks. EVERYTHING we do has to be 100% transparent, legally defensible, and free from any political or ideological influence. For you to make such a sweeping generalisation, based on nothing more than your own paranoia and your need to feel like the victim of a political injustice, makes you look frankly ridiculous. And this makes you look even more ridiculous. This is precisely the sort of baseless, scaremongering drivel that the likes of Reform and Raise the Colours spout in order to appeal to angry, uneducated people who need some form of boogieman to blame for their own shortcomings and won't bother to fact check it. Only last week you were trying to claim you have a higher IQ than most on this forum. Yet here you are parroting something that is so batshit absurd that I don't even know where to begin. I would ask you to provide some evidence to support your claim, but I know you'll just ignore that and give this post a laughing emoji instead, so I won't bother.

Quelle surprise.

Do you not find it strange that at the same time rapists and murderers are let out early and some cases take six years to go to trial because the prisons are full… Yet Danny thommo’s case can be heard in under 24hrs?

And then came back so you could moan and whine about everything that's wrong with the country rather than staying in the land of milk and honey to which you were so cordially invited.