Gloucester Saint

Buttertubs Pass became a really supreme drive after the TDF, even Fleet Moss which wasn’t on the route got done too. Not Park Rash though, the double hair pin was as rutted and lethal as always. Good segment here on Times Radio about Truss and what they think will be a continuing campaign of disruption to Sunak in the run-up to and probably during the GE campaign. Hoping James Bagge can give us all a ‘Martin Bell Tatton’ moment on election night.

That’s another damning verdict on player recruitment and the issuing of new contracts. To have three keepers that poor on what is probably a combined £75k per week in the Championship is serial ineptitude especially when the first choice all season has been bottom or near bottom of the league stats in some categories. That’s before we even think about signing a player injured for the best part of a year (Stewart) with his contract running out for £10m.

Great moment in the HoL - the front bench Tory peers trying not to laugh (and failing) https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/lords-erupts-in-laughter-as-member-makes-dig-at-liz-truss-after-un-criticism/ar-BB1lJsD2?ocid=nl_article_link Any opportunity to mock Liz Truss is a good one. Daily Star’s front page is great again today. Why Sunak didn’t expel her after she sat on a platform with Bannon, and Trump, allowing Bannon to eulogise about Tommy Robinson is beyond words, and will cost him and his party dozens of seats. That’s without taking into account the latest MLT-level delusional rantings in her book serialisation. If they’d announced she was joining Reform they’d have sunk them to boot. She really does belong on that platform at Workington on a panel with MLT, Katie Hopkins and the other nutcases.

You’d think so..but Martin is very stubborn. Or brave as he would call it. Chance for Alex to have a solid night and go on to finish his Saints career on a high playing to his strengths of saving and claiming balls which Baz is hopeless at. Worse with his feet but be clear with the back 4 that it needs to go more direct and forward.

Private Eye reported that on Radio Exe the presenter asked a question on a morning quiz segment - ‘If it’s your birthday today, 8 March, your star sign is a fish. Name that sign’ Caller: ‘Tuna’ ITV Tipping Point - Ben Shephard ‘How many sides does an isosceles triangle have?’ Contestant: ‘Five’

What really comes across from all of the sordid correspondence within PO is the second class (no pun intended) attitude towards the sub-postmasters eg ‘subbies with their hand in the till’ compared to long-serving PO employees in Crown Offices, as effectively the former are/were self-employed franchise holders, albeit with a grotesquely one-sided contract which was used as a blunt instrument to say ‘Horizon is perfect, these are your losses and you need to make them good’. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/post-office-horizon-it-scandal-b2527686.html If you are following the enquiry, I recommend Nick Wallis’s book the Great Post Office Scandal - £6.99 on Kindle currently. Nick was one of the first journalists to take the story up. No, I‘m not him! Some of the detail is staggering, and how long this has taken to come to the surface due to the PO’s stalling on evidence requests, blocking and outright lies. By the time Jo Swinson was Minister, the truth was starting to come out with increasing pressure from a cross-party group of MPs including Arbuthnot, Bridgen, Kevan Jones, Mike Wood, Albert Owen and Mike Wood. Her responses were pathetic, she was as useless as she was a Lib Dem leader. This led to the BIS enquiry of 2015 - where the POs lawyers and brown-nosing NFSP (subbies National Federation) tried to claim that a 500 page manual without any in-person or even online training was sufficient to be deemed certified to use Horizon in just one day. Alan Bates and Mark Baker ripped this apart, making clear the PO’s unwillingness to drill down into each and every kind of discrepancy. The Branch Focus manuals which came around branches Bates also exposed as inadequate, and when the PO’s lawyer tried to hit back by saying that losses only seemed to happen in sub-master controlled branches and not Crown Offices (that bias coming out again) Bates came back with a beauty of an internal report showing that Crown Offices lost £2.2m across their counters during 2007/8 at the peak of Horizon issues. The Second Sight review, which was highly critical of Horizon’s reliability and PO leadership and middle management, was being undermined politically. A system which had nearly 20000 fixes to its codes by the way so the system was different each time you used it. How the PO Board went in September 1999 from saying Horizon was miles off being operational to approving it the following month I will never understand but the enquiry must find that out from those still alive. I’m at the point in the book at the BIS hearing where Zahawi is tearing Vennells a new one about the PO stalling on giving Second Signt access to the legal files, which might ring a bell from Mr Bates v the Post Office and her colleagues are tripping themselves up about who had/hadn’t given Second Sight what had been requested and continued denying Parliament details of all of the other wrong prosecutions which had happened.

Getting the thread back on track…NSW Police believe the driver was misogyny but from a very disturbed mind. His family have to some extent backed this up and also confirmed he stopped taking his medication recently which does hint at paranoid schizophrenia https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-68814395 The authorities really do need to move away from the purely care in the community model, and blend that personalised support model for independent living with some monitoring, tracking and enforcement where needed. Not everyone with PS will be diagnosed so not 100% foolproof but a lot more can be done to help PS diagnosed folks, their families and significantly reduce the risks of fatal attacks. The one man of the six killed was a Muslim migrant from Pakistan trying to shield/save women and children from the attacker.

Killers’ family acting with dignity, saying he’s had severe MH issues since age if 17, unreservedly condemning his actions and saying that the female police officer had no alternative but to clean him out. All the hallmarks of paranoid schizophrenia. Most people with it can lead a normal life if they take their meds and have a decent support network. A lot of debate in the UK following the Nottingham murder trial recently and other cases where people with it haven’t or haven’t been able to manage their symptoms properly, plus delays in diagnosis and assessment https://news.sky.com/story/jacob-billington-mother-whose-son-was-fatally-stabbed-by-paranoid-schizophrenic-reacts-to-inquest-verdict-13089778 This is controversial, but I’ve always believed in better funding and use of secure units for people with PS who can’t manage a semi-stable lifestyle, with heavily supervised visits to family and trips out if there’s positive progress. There should also be monitoring where stable patients circumstances change. Another example here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/belfast-police-service-of-northern-ireland-more-newry-southern-b2463513.html and here https://www.stewartslaw.com/news/high-court-says-schizophrenic-man-who-killed-three-people-can-bring-damages-claim-against-police-and-nhs/ Up front cost of extra support workers yes, but it would be more than covered by people with PS who can be supported to manage and have networks realising their potential, paying taxes and avoiding expensive police investigations and enquiries costing millions, and most of all reducing the high profile and tragic cases of violence to innocent people.

The IRGC may be over-reaching here, dangerous times. If the IDF can damage them further, it might weaken their role in the Russia-China-North Korea axis and if going further still, weaken the IRGC domestically.

Nothing to do with it, Crouch was cheered after some initial stick, Fuller I’ll possibly give you. Gavin is wholly unsuited to his job and SFC is well beyond his level, as is the Championship let alone the PL. He might make a League One keeper and did show some promise with Pompey but still had a few horrors and they weren’t a patch on the outfit they have now winning that league. Martin ditto, another tactical horror today and he’s never been at Fratton. I don’t know what it is with shoehorning Jack into a DMC role but it must have cost at least 15 points now. Edit - Flynn got both of them out of jail there

The bloke who challenged the attacker with a bollard (see video in this article) deserves a medal the size of a dustbin lid https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/bondi-junction-shooting-stabbings-live-updates-police-operation-in-sydney-s-eastern-suburbs-20240413-p5fjku.html?post=p55uy8&gb=1 This is a horrific, racially-motivated attack with no justification and needs to be reported as such. I suspect Duckie may be on the money around there being a connection to it seemingly being an area with a significant Jewish population. Having said that, he didn’t seem to care who he was stabbing or trying to stab. If he’d had anything about him, he’d have spent his life saving going over there to fight the IDF. Instead his response was to stab bystanders thousands of miles away with nothing to do with the Gaza conflict including a baby. How low can you go? Well done to the copper who wiped him out with a good clean hit.

I saw an interview with Paul Merson in parallel with MLT’s own about why he departed from Sky, and Merson reluctantly admitted that MLT had several warnings about the stuff he was posting on social media and starting to say in public. He seemed genuinely sad about it all as he’s friends with Matt and working with him was a big part of his time there. That’s not to say Sky wouldn’t have made the changes but it gave them a needless open goal. There’s more to it than MLT being a white guy in his 50s with strange views being replaced by ‘wokeness’. Thompson and Nicholas were a bit older, I think MLT would still be on there personally and not scraping the barrel at a festival with that cast of nutters.

Wow, Alan Cook, the PO Director at the time, claims he didn’t know the PO was doing most of its own prosecuting. I mean you wouldn’t expect him to know minutiae of counter processes and ops detail, but top level remit including powers should be an absolute minimum. Crozier up this afternoon. He has so far held a ‘nothing to do with me guv’ stance, being CEO of the Royal Mail umbrella at the time. Wouldn’t expect him to be in the detail but to write off all responsibility? Hmmm. As he’s only got an afternoon grilling and Vennells has 3 days next month (she was in the detail tbf) he’s probably going to get away Scot free (no pun intended). Nothing to do with his ITV role and connections in an election year….

Looks like it although not confirmed anywhere obvious. Vennells is in an increasingly difficult position, only a matter of time before a clear case of perjury arises and certainly fraudulent activity and claims https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68779080 and The arrest needs to happen immediately after she’s given evidence to the enquiry and her movements should be heavily monitored and assets frozen. Two Fujitsu UK employees already under investigation for it and that will be a custodial sentence. Enjoy the porridge Gareth and be careful around the showers https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/09/computer-expert-silent-post-office-scandal/

Sickening https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68760215 I don’t agree that the compensation scheme and robust prosecutions and asset confiscation of the suspected fraudulent parties can’t happen in parallel. It’ll need a cross-agency team to do it but it is possible. Here’s some arrests and confiscation of assets to kick things off on the Post Office side - Vennells, Cook, Greene, Smith, Roberts, Mills https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68452842#:~:text=Adam Crozier%2C Royal Mail chief executive 2003-2010&text=From 2003 to 2009 the,Crozier didn't sit on. Fujitsu can make good on its promise to fund a significant chunk of the £1bn fund unless they want their UK leadership team in a police car as well.

He’s in some equally grifting company: https://www.vice.com/en/article/3abn33/dolores-cahill-covid-anti-vaxxer-big-pharma https://news.sky.com/story/katie-hopkins-criticised-as-sick-for-mocking-kate-garraway-after-husband-derek-drapers-death-13048850 And https://news.sky.com/story/katie-hopkins-australia-orders-far-right-british-commentator-to-be-deported-after-appalling-behaviour-while-in-quarantine-12358885 https://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/this-mark-attwood-fella.1540168/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Shemirani https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/clive-de-carle-speaker-dropped-from-conference-over-autism-cure-claims-2h2s7pj0t The only surprise is that Piers Corbyn, Andrew Wakefield and David Icke aren’t on the bill. East Stand Nic, Scally and KevDoh will be snapping up tickets.

Given past words between the two, bet the atmosphere was somewhere between lukewarm and freezing cold https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68767194 Nice quote from Marge the Fascist, that took all of her single brain cell to come up with that.

KWP is very popular with our fans and within the club, I think Martin knows he’s on the brink of getting the chop and no Wilcox to save him now. Plus pushing Bazanu under the bus (Bazanu is barely professional standard but just loan him out down the leagues, don’t kick him in public’, he seems a man under huge pressure. Win at Wembley or he’s gone, and if the form carries on, I’m not sure he will even make the WBA semi first leg without a clear improvement.

I think Lumley will start after Gavin got hammered by Martin after Monday’s game, although personally I’d use the next few games to get McCarthy fit for the play-offs. Other than that, if they won’t do that than it’s Charles and Downes in midfield to screen the back four better, there’s enough firepower in wide areas and with Che to win the game. Manager massively on probation now, win the play-offs or he’s gone, so stop the experimentation and concentrate on grinding out wins again.

Why not? Although as others have posted, signing Bazanu as a League One quality keeper at best for what £14m, when it should have been £750k + add-ons as a back-up, Lumley and making McCarthy a top earner, the club’s diabolical reputation for recruitment doesn’t inspire any faith. Although with a record of extortionate and inexplicable failure like Ross Stewart, Guido Carrillo and Paul Onachu in the striker department, it almost (I said almost!) looks an improvement. Lis would be cheap so would suit from that perspective.

I was at that 4-3 too, brilliant game. Great moment of terrace humour - Ipswich had a striker, Bontcho Guntchev, and he blazed a good chance direct at goal over the bar at the Milton end. Lad behind us was doing the usual early teenage ‘you’re a wanker’ routine of shouting and gestures and a middle aged bloke standing near us said in a droll voice ‘He won’t understand you - he’s Bulgarian’ 😂 Ipswich definitely got the better version of George Burley the manager. The Robson/McMenemy peak teams were just before my time but would loved to see them play each other live, saw the 83/84 Saints side in my first season of being a supporter and the 84/85 one. Ipswich’s peak was probably 74-82. Wark, Talbot, Mariner, Brazil, Cooper, Beattie, Gates, Muhren, Thysen, Burley - some serious players there. There was an episode of Bobby Charlton’s scrapbook on Sky where it was another 4-3 at the Dell, might have been 1980/1, Keegan and Wark amongst the goals, my old man and his friends were at that one (lucky things). Regret is that the Pochettino/Koeman SFC sides more recently didn’t win a trophy despite being in and around top 6 and Europe, were certainly good enough.

Broadly agree, and can understand it at a personal level but it doesn’t say anything positive about the job he’s done at SFC or his belief in it. It smacks of running away from his own mistakes to going back to being a cog again in a huge wheel instead of a leader. Drops Martin right in it, no protection now if he doesn’t win the play offs, I think SR will sack him if he doesn’t as there’s clearly frustration at the trajectory of results all-round and sheer amount of tinkering and experimentation at this stage of the season. Norwich are likely to part company with Wagner even if they make the top 6 so I reckon Martin goes there. Wilcox has a mixed report card - good outgoing sales, especially Lavia and Tella, repaired some of Ankerson’s appalling catalogue of recruitment mistakes. The incomings have been more mixed, Stewart was a horrible mistake on a par with Carrillo and Tall Paul which is a damning endorsement on SFC mismanagement. Certainly too, Wilcox and Martin’s replacements need to bring in an experienced first choice keeper in the summer, along with two first choice strikers, and loan Gavin out in League One or Two. Looks like League One/Lower Champ is probably his maximum level if he gets more consistency.

Just had an SSN app update that Man U have approached formally. From Long Shot’s posting, doesn’t seem too much of a surprise and yes, may explain the drop off in form and Martin feeling comfortable returning to strange tactical decisions. Mixed views - got some good fees in eg Tella, Lavia, but the Stewart debacle has cost the club promotion via the automatics and probably play offs.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/trump-threatens-biden-with-image-of-president-bound-and-kidnapped-in-back-of-maga-truck/ar-BB1kMPAc?ocid=nl_article_link Classy from Trump and his Neanderthal followers

Can’t say I follow Tice and Farage much but yes, it does appear that Tice committed to that on 3 January this year. Looks like the One Nation Conservative movement and older generation era splintering away, voters under 50 won’t go for much of this and it’s as unsustainable and unlikely to pass the sniff test with global markets as Truss was. Tim Montgomerie labelled it barking mad on the £50bn of ‘wasteful public spending’ (yes, he does have an agenda but he’s broadly not wrong in saying that): https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-reform-party-is-too-wedded-to-the-free-market/ The Spectator missed this out on renationalising some utilities and limiting overseas impact in their overall tone of their piece which is the one headline Reform policy (there’s other micro ones like free Wi-Fi on public transport) I do agree with very broadly. However, it would come with a hefty up-front price tag, which is OK if you’ve left enough in the Treasury to absorb it and enjoy the longer-term savings it would make and free up household incomes. Their tax cutting policies make that very unlikely https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64464933 If Farage is correct and they want to cause a ‘Canada’, they certainly could play a disruptive role, more so than Goldsmith did in 1997. What happens after the GE would be interesting, although without electoral reform they will burn a lot of cash for little tangible political return eg seats or councils held (I can’t see them doing local government at that scale but hard to build a network for repeated success without) after settling the score at this GE. Depends what their medium term goal is - to swallow the Tory Party, infiltrate it, maybe push the One Nation group into an expanded Lib Dem camp like a moderate Tory Limehouse moment? Or do they see themselves if Farage takes a more frontline role as being a more effective pressure group in the media and online to a Labour government with what looks like being a material majority. You’re probably more in touch with Reform UK so open question I guess - what do you think they want to achieve 2025 onwards?