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Highlights 2-1 NI.😉 26' A cross by Milot Rashica (Kosovo) from the side of the pitch flies into the box, but fails to find its intended target as the aim was poor. 52' Milot Rashica (Kosovo) attempts to send over a cross in order to find one of his teammates, but an opposition defender averts the danger by intercepting the effort. It's a throw-in for Northern Ireland. 69' Alain Giresse has decided to introduce fresh legs, with Arber Zeneli (Kosovo) replacing Milot Rashica. 77' Ian Baraclough prepares a substitution. Jamal Lewis is replaced by Shane Ferguson (Northern Ireland).

No one should be in any doubt how Brexit has damaged the UK economy. Most Smaller businesses no longer find it viable to export to the EU.

The tax cuts are not the issue. It's the increased borrowing to fund them during a period when the pound is already weak and when we have high inflation caused by $ priced imports. If the BOE wants to bring inflation under some form of control, the £ will need to be supported by rate rises, which in a country of variable rate mortgage holders and high house prices will cause demand to drop sharply. That basically makes the tax cuts irrelevant as a mechanism to create growth. By all means, come back to me in 6 months and tell me how I was wrong if the UK suddenly enters a boom, but for the time being, it looks like an economically illiterate policy bases on an extremely narrow understanding of economics.

Absolutely gutted this genius of a history writer has passed away. Wolf Hall on IPlayer for me tonight to start the weekend on a high.

As Stevenage are looking a tean umder Steve Evans thought I'd give it a view. First half was typical League 2 fare, hoofball extreme by both sides. Second football broke out but only played by Stevenage. On 60 minutes Boro made 4 substitutions one of them was Saxon who went to LB. Saxon proceded to be very capable with the ball in disrtibution and effective going forward and he has strange method of putting in long throws. We can see young Saxon at Carrow Rd fairly soon provided the curse of the LB doesn't strike. Certainly the best Canary LB I've seen this season. May be seeing more of the Boro if the rail unions have their way

Woop woop it’s the sound of da (forum) police

What has been proposed is a mirror of the "Barber" budget of 1972, which is universally accepted by economists to be the worst budget of the last 70 years.

That is a very measured (even you could say courteous) and also sombre read. My take is more tabloid... Who could have possibly guessed that the worst thing to happen to this country was probably not Brexit, bad though it is. Nor was it Covid, though we're not over the pandemic of a century yet, nor a once in a lifetime liar of a disgraced leader run out of office by his own party who managed to shred any remaining trust in democracy as a principle, nor a war near us with a embattled and embittered antagonist with his hands near a red button threatening world energy supplies and breaking up a nation. Might it possibly be Liz Truss who will send us headlong into a thirties type depression, huge societal unrest, a widening rift between rich and poor accompanied by soaring crime rates and public infrastructure collapsing because there is no more money to support health, social and community services. It's almost as if she has had to out do all that has gone before. #headlinestory-you-will-never-see-in-the-Mail

Definitely not this. The Keynesian principle of borrowing to stimulate when the economy is struggling is pretty widely accepted, but not for a giveaway that gives you more the better off you are and does nothing for the worst off. Pretty horrified that this is what the UK is stuck with until 2024, and they will, because they're screwed and they know it so are just going to cling on as long as they can. I must be honest, I'm wondering if the Queen heard Liz' plans when they met and just gave up at that stage.

I had the pleasure of seeing them in The Grapes on Trippet Lane (2004) in Sheffield, capacity 50 I think. My mate Al produced their early demo's and told me this is "the band to watch, they're going to be huge". Glad to be there at the beginning. Not sure, but think that's where my tinnitus came from! 😄

I can't get excited about international football. Win or lose. Maybe there was a time when international football was the highest standard in the game. But that hasn't been the case for some time.

At least we know why: 'They weren't pulling off each other' FT: Italy 1-0 England Matt Upson Former England defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

What strikes me as totally bizarre is directors of BP will be given huge amounts of borrowed money. That money will then be paid back by the likes of us. So it is ok therefore to give said director more money and tax us all, but not tax them on profits they are making that are only being made because of the circumstances that result in them being given huge amounts of money.

👍 It will be costly for us but the alternative is even more costly.

Below describes this folly abundantly; The Barber Boom (1971-1974) is the story of an economic gear shift which sent post-war Britain careering around country lanes, before skidding on an oil slick and being sent ditchward. There it was left, engine smoking, entangled in the brambles of inflation. It wasn’t until 1980 that road-side recovery eventually arrived in the shape of Paul Volcker and his inflation curbing toolkit.

Vardy will be 36 in January so quite young still is our Pukki. Yes, he is a strong player too, doesn't rely on pace like Vardy, a good couple of years in him, at least.

Sorry to reply twice, but after a Saturday morning coffee I couldn't help but think 'but what if RTB is right'. The problem is, a boom doesn't help us. We have virtually full employment, so there's only so far the British economy can grow without significant growth in worker productivity. Without that growth, any boom will be exceptionally short lived before workers start demanding higher wages and a wage/price spiral begins. I'm very happy to be corrected, but I still can't see where the supposed gains will come from.

Oh dear! Simply doubling down on your embarrassing failure to understand Thatcherite economics isn't going to make your childish mistakes go away. Thatcher did NOT do similar to Truss because she wasn't foolish enough to borrow billions to give tax cuts to the very wealthy. Neither does Truss have mass unemployment as an excuse for borrowing money to pay for her crass tax cuts; indeed, we have more jobs available than people to fill them. To borrow money at a time when it is extremely expensive to do so, in order to fill the pockets of the very wealthy is utterly absurd as the international markets have made very clear.

I think they will try and bring Boris back before they go down the election route. When called to vote in a no confidence vote they have already proved their own interests are put ahead of the citizens of the U.K. so an election is unlikely. I suspect if there was an election now they would be destroyed. Any English parties would only need 2 policies, windfall taxes and getting rid of bankers bonuses, with any nationalist party outside England only needing one policy, do you want these people running your country.

What would your plan be ? Those that were meant to invest in the U.K. by not getting taxed are withdrawing their investments, and the pound is sinking like a stone. Early indications are if these market moves do not stop the BOE will call an emergency meeting and increase rates by upto another % point. This has backfired, she thought she could use money to bribe us into thinking she was great, but even those who you call idiots and naive have seen straight through it. Hidden in todays announcements was the attack on the Unions. This I fear has just moved us closer to a national strike as people will be united by the fact that those struggling have just been s*** on.

Thanks Kiwi you star🌟 I love them! I love the strategy too. Especially if everything goes belly up tomorrow we still have some thing to follow on Sunday. Good luck @KiwiScot and all you PUPs 🤞🍀💪

There are a large number of MPs who do exactly that. They’re called the opposition. Then there are backbench MPs, many of whom do express their misgivings. But the organisation of Westminster and the main parties means that those with ambition to rise to positions of authority have to keep to the party line or remain on the backbenches indefinitely. You can call this **** licking but it’s not that different to most jobs. To expect MPs to bite the hand that feeds them is optimistic. See Isabel Hardman’s “Why we get the Wrong Politicians” for more, although I found it a depressing read.

I’m going to make an effort for this one. My daughter loves them and got indoctrinated by me playing them on the way driving to swimming lessons in Loughborough 15 years ago. Special moments shared subconsciously without words be needed to be shared.

It is stretching it a bit but please remember it's the unions who are making reasonable offers while their employers and the government are making unreasonable demands. Or don't.

RTB, I believe I know your take on experts well enough but surely it's a step too far to compare epidemiologists and scientists on Sage with economic experts talking about the macro economy. If you followed your logic unquestionably then you wouldn't want anyone to be educated! It's the same logic as Trump and bleach. We know how that went. I assume you are not being serious. And if you are you may be losing your senses old chap😅

Says the man who brought to the Forum That guy from Ireland Donald Trump The New York Mayor Nurse Campbell The stealing of the vote Alex Belfield At least 1/2 of those have criminal charges being laid against them, think I would trust the OBR, Chris Whitby, Patrick Vallance and the BOE a bit more than your group of heroes.

No but I can still hear Arrdee laughing about that post 😂

I found the use of the present tense off-putting and in some cases confusing, and wasn't tempted to read the last two books in the trilogy. This is not a literary point but she has been given credit for showing Cromwell in a positive light. But that kind of reassessment/rehabilitation was going on when I was at school in the 1960s.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/22610672.rspb-england-scathing-warning-tories-investment-zones-plan/ “NOWHERE will be safe” if the Government goes ahead with plans for investment zones across the UK, a leading charity has warned. RSPB England, which represents the views of the UK-wide bird charity, issued a scathing response to the proposals – warning that they could “tear up the most fundamental protections our remaining wildlife has”. Not sure how Farmers are going to re-act to this Brexit u-turn, remember paying Farmers just for having land was a crazy EU idea that we had to get rid of. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/24/brexit-bonus-farmers-poised-to-scrap The government is to scrap the “Brexit bonus” which would have paid farmers and landowners to enhance nature, in what wildlife groups are calling an “all-out attack” on the environment, the Observer can reveal. Instead, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) sources disclosed, they are considering paying landowners a yearly set sum for each acre of land they own, which would be similar to the much-maligned EU basic payments scheme of the common agricultural policy.

We tried to watch Wolf Hall but we found it hard going because of the lighting. I thought the Dark Ages had ended by the Tudor period.

Well at half time we are have 5 of the 10 needed goals Barrow v Leyton Orient Bristol Rovers v Accrington Woking v Solihull Moors Peterborough v Port Vale Welling v Havant & W

Alright Woking, Welling and Peterborough on the board. 7 goals to go.

Yes WBB - Truss is trying enact (without any true mandate - this is NOT the government and policies even elected under Johnson) her 'Britannia Unchained' mantra. She's trying to enact her revolution. I rather suspect there will be a revolution (spell check had revulsion) but not the one she imagined.

Always squeeze it from the bottom or you'll ruin the the striping effect.

I sang Ballroom Blitz when our cricket team did a Stars In Their Eyes night at our local pub. I was quite frankly brilliant and should have won but I was beaten by the bloke who was counting up the points 😡

Indeed! Keynesian arguments for borrowing were premised on investment in building infrastructure and creating jobs. Keynes frequently despaired of economics as a discipline because it was all too often discussed in isolation from its function as the source of creating a civilised and just society. Kwarteng's utterly irresponsible budget would appal him for both economic and moral reasons.

Pardon? 😛

Anyone for a bit of glorified rounders 🤔🤣

£1,841 on what appears to be a scarf ? In time honoured Tory tradition you have to wonder if it is a Truss family member running the club shop and they are just applying the standard markup for any directly awarded government supply contracts ... 😉

For nuclear weapons to become a genuine option for Putin it would be an admission that his war has gone catastrophically wrong. We would then have to assume that people in positions of power in Russia (in the military and government) would be willing to join Putin in risking precipitating a nuclear conflict that could threaten the lives of millions of Russian people, and the obliteration of major Russian cities. All in the cause of stealing relatively small pockets of land from their "brothers and sisters" in Ukraine. Even Russia's closest "allies" have absolutely no interest in seeing anything like this happening. The prosperity of China and India, for example, depends fundamentally upon exporting to Western markets. Whilst we should take the Russian threat to use nuclear weapons seriously, I strongly suspect this is nothing more than sabre rattling from a man who knows his military and political gamble has failed miserably. I'm more inclined to think that Putin's future will resemble that of Hitler's as it is so brilliantly depicted in the film Downfall. His levels of hysteria will reach maximum but are likely achieve nothing more than abandonment from those not inclined to prostrate themselves before a madman set on a path with suicidal consequences. Ordinary Russian men are already demonstrating such abandonment by fleeing conscription in their thousands. I can't imagine Russian generals are particularly optimistic at the prospect of being expected to win a war with an influx of ill-trained, unmotivated cannon fodder. It is absolutely essential that the West remains resolute in its support for the Ukrainian cause in order for this to happen. The evidence so far (especially given Biden's speech to the UN) is that they will.

I think it’s because there is far too many pointless friendlies and now this pointless tournament. I think the WC or the EC always bring excitement and interest, and it should be confined solely to that, with maybe a maximum of two friendlies which must be played in the week before either of the tournaments start.

Indeed! And if you had quoted my sentence in full, you would see my point was that when Thatcher made her tax cuts she funded them with government money by making changes elsewhere (VAT). What she didn't do was borrow billions to give tax cuts to the very wealthy. To borrow money to give a tax cut to those earning over £150,000 is not Thatcherite but utterly reckless and immoral.

A thoroughly decent bloke but you're right. The average ranking of the teams England beat in the last 2 tournaments was 20. When they play a top 8 team they lose. Quite simply he got incredibly lucky with the draws. Not so lucky this time round. If it goes according to seeding England will need to beat France, Belgium and Brazil to win it. I can't even see them beating Wales. I've just heard Southgate on the radio. He says England keep losing because the Nations League means they have to play good teams. Oh dear. The difficulty he has is that England will now be in the 2nd pot in 2 weeks time for the Euro 2024 draw.

Thanks everyone, you've found some great picks on such a difficult weekend. I've looked at them all and deliberated all evening. In the end these are the six I decided but so many others have been close. Fingers crossed I get these right.🤞 I've placed them with Bet 365 and the potential return is £131.19. Here are the details... Wuhan Three Towns **EP** 2/5 12:30 Sat TSV Schott Mainz 1/8 13:00 Sat Northampton **EP** 31/20 14:00 Sat Bradford **EP** 3/4 15:00 Sat Greece 3/5 19:45 Sat GAIS 1/6 18:00 Mon The games marked **EP** will be settled as winners if our team goes two goals ahead at any time. I wanted to be on one in the final six so my pick is Greece. Good luck everyone 🤞🍀💪

Ok Nutty. I've overthought this with what I thought would maybe 3-4 picks and it's snowballed from there Stick £4 on this Barrow v Leyton Orient Bristol Rovers v Accrington Woking v Solihull Moors Peterborough v Port Vale Welling v Havant & W Shove a £1 on this Denmark v France Netherlands v Belgium Wales v Poland Chelsea Women v Manchester City Women

Imagine calling up about 50 fullbacks and you decide "Yes, Saka the winger who's one of our most pacy and exciting players should play at left back even though hes never played their in his entire life"... Just Southgate things

They’re not though, are they? There are lots of hard working MPs who spend many hours beyond a normal working day trying to do the right thing for their constituents or to improve the country, but that’s not an easy story so we don’t hear about them. Partly because the ones who do so are left on the backbenches so are relatively anonymous.

Cool. I'll be able to hear it from my house! Now announce Radiohead, blink, Rammstein, rage, madness or the who please! I'm not fussed 🙂

Maybe they just didn't like you FF, and asked you to move. Don't blame them ! 😃

The aisle is a good suggestion as it helps visibility of the action too. I done that for my lads first away match at wba a few years ago. He recorded the OTBC and had it as his ring tone for a while.