Holmes_and_Watson

I heard that we've agreed to let Boro take part. But only so we can get @Matthew Le God to argue every point with them, until their brains come out their ears.

Well I certainly don't want to end up as a

@Badger or/and @badgerx16 are involved?! Just how many on SaintsWeb are paid club operatives, across the country, and how much did the mods know and organise it? #forumgate

Summer signings Stalin and Genghis Khan will no longer be joining, as Tonda is a meanie.

Postgate

VA started the better side. They were given plenty of space in the middle. Rouai took advantage of that with a good run. He passed it across to Appuah who got the opener. Appuah's output has picked up recently. He provides pace with strength in the side. He'll be hoping to showcase that more than he's been able to, back at his parent side. It was going fine, if a bit untidily for VA. Then on 20, Chateauroux headed the ball on the roof of the net. They did that again, in the half. There were signs VA were not having it all their own way.The away side were never dominated by VA, and the game was much more even than it should have been. VA took a couple of long range efforts that were not troubling. Towards half time, things picked up. Diomande showed a little flair to get past the defence, but not the keeper. Abu pushed up after starting an attack. He waited in the box for a return, also beside another VA player. Without being able to run onto it, the chance went and he fell over trying to claim a penalty. Despite the flurry at the end, the second half was a grim affair for VA. After 10 mins of free kicks around the center, it was Chateauroux who got the first chance of the half. A free header at the back post, that somehow lost all power. It took until 70 mins for Appuah to send a cross in, that didn't reach Courtet. Either side of that, the visitors were on top. Following their header, they brought a smart save from Lacombe. They won nearly all of the key challenges. VA struggled to string 3 passes together, and 2 was a challenge. Disjointed in tactics and physically unsuited for the profile of the league, with how they do play, they didn't offer much. The visitors deservedly went level, after their forward was allowed to keep moving into the middle before shooting. In the last spell of the game Chateauroux had to push forward, as they needed the points. Only then, did VA get in a couple of attacks. A very frustrated Courtet finally got a delivery he could convert. Appuah, who had all but vanished after his goal, could have had a third, his chip in front of the oncoming keeper going wide. Yet, VA couldn't hold onto the lead. A hard near post shot going past Lacombe. I don't think there was much anger, or even surprise from the players. It's the end of a failure of a season. Putting in performances that are no better than relegation contenders sums it up. Chateauroux got relegated by a point. VA finish all of 7 points ahead of them; 10th and on the same points as 11th and 12th.

In 20 years, the mods have finally found a post they can recommend. 🙂

It does. The 72 hours thing is because clubs will work on their match tactics within that period. By putting that number into the rule, clubs know when it's fair play to work on specifics. With training grounds being wide open, breaching it brings in the good faith part of it. As for punishments, it's a larger fine than Leeds. Larger, but with an eye to not being as large to fines that would be handing out for dodgy payments, contracts etc such as a Chelsea were doing. Any immediate points deductions, or for next season, would be disproportionate. It impacted a single post league game, as far as we know and not involving the everyone else is doing it. If the EFL want to impose more extreme punishments, then they should look at updating the rules.

It's Josh Simons stepping aside. Director of Labour Together. That was Morgan McSweeney's (with mentoring by Epstein best pal Mandelson's) vehicle to get shot of Corbyn by any means, and get Starmer in as Labour leader. Labour together, funded by the traditional left of venture capitalism, and hedge fund managers, that they got in trouble for not declaring. And the organisation that looked to dig dirt on journalists that found them out/ revealed their inner workings. I remember interviews with those involved pleading that investigators had gone beyond their brief. Only for places like Private Eye to be reporting that they couldn't keep their mouths shut about all the things they'd found out, and knew all about what was going on. I think they pretended they were looking for leaks. For that, they could have just asked Josh Simons. Before he was McSweeney's pal, he was a policy advisor for Corbyn, before getting fired for leaking information. Simons seems to have been happy moving from one part of the party to the other when it suited. He's clearly not bothered about little things like free speech or being front and centre of now tarnished organisations. Went to McSweeney because Corbyn dumped him. Went to Burnham because McSweeney got dumped. Somehow, his "best for the party and country" reasons for stepping down aren't very believable. I wonder what deal he's struck, and where he'll reappear next. Unless voters look at that record, look at Burnham making a deal with it, and decide to vote elsewhere.

Picking up on your worries about the economy: It took a flexible centrist to get them into office. Once there, due to the size of the majority, there were still large blocks of interest in areas on the left too. This is just a takeover of the electable part by the unelectable part (although there are even more unelectable parts still in there) As you say, Burnham may attract a core support. And certainly the unions and left. If he gets to implement them all, it's going to cost. They didn't say much before getting into office. But one thing they repeated was that everything had been costed. Throwing that out the window is going to leave them back in the wilderness again. For balance, a reform person praised Burnham for reaching out to hear different views. He was complimentary about him having values that made the contest with reform good for politics.

He has. But having played in a Scottish post-season split, he's play-off tied. 🙂

Jam

Oh, the lols if their champion of the left doesn't get the seat. Presumably, that would leave it between Rayner, in his place. Streeting and Starmer. It's no surprise to listen to those on the left wanting to spend loads of money, to embrace a section of the population. While again no surprise, I find it annoying when the unions come out to say they are let down by their sock puppet. They are setting up policies for the sock puppet they will support. They are, unsurprisingly, wanting lots of money for themselves and their members. No doubt the markets, which Starmer seems to be aware of compared to that lot, has to find a way of balancing the wish list against reality.

Certainly not the crime of the century.

Surely Q kitted out 007 with superb spy equipment designed to look just like a phone. 🙂