A disappointing display and deserved defeat for Newcastle United here, with us a yard off the pace and blunt in attack against Leicester City.
Goals from James Maddison and Youri Tielemans did the damage as we tired early on in the second half and left too many gaps at the back after steady start.
Andy Carroll scored his first goal for the club in over a decade to give us a glimmer of hope in the final five minutes, however it was a case of too little too late from our perspective, with our urgency to attack and get bodies in the box only coming when the damage had been done.
Wilson was too often isolated, Joelinton and Almiron struggled, our tiring midfield was too easily bypassed and our defence was cut open as a result, being left exposed for both of Leicester’s second half strikes.
The late strike ended our goal drought, but the defeat highlighted how lacking we are in a box-to-box midfielder capable of keeping up at both ends of the field and quality attacking options to supply Callum Wilson when ASM and Fraser are missing.
The results leaves us winless in our last five and stuck in 15th on 19 points after 16 games, with us eight points clear of the bottom three at present.
Steve Bruce made two changes for this one, bringing in Sean Longstaff for the suspended Isaac Hayden and handing Miguel Almiron a recall at the expense of Jacob Murphy:
As we come to expect, Leicester dominated possession in the early stages, having over 70% of the ball in the opening 10 minutes. We were higher up the pitch once again and attempting to press – although this time the visitors were finding gaps and threatening to get in behind.
The danger of a high line is it gives strikers like Jamie Vardy space to get in behind if gaps open up – and he very nearly punished us on two occasions. The first saw Youri Tielemans make a mess of his clever cut-back, then the England striker had the ball in the net minutes later – only for the offside flag to save our blushes.
We were a yard behind them, weren’t always getting tight enough and seemed looser in possession than we were on Wednesday night, however we did have a decent spell midway through the first half, with Joelinton getting a header on goal then being unlucky not to set Wilson in behind after his ball over the top was cut out via a crucial Kasper Schmeichel interception.
This half-decent spell helped stem the tide. Leicester were still having the lions share of possession, but we were working hard all over the pitch and getting a little bit tighter to their key men to deny Vardy of the kind of service he was thriving from in the opening 15 minutes.
One thing that had to improve was our ability to get bodies closer to Wilson – he just 11 touches in the opening 45 – Joelinton’s first touch and our passing from deep, with us often lumping it long (even when we had the chance to build from the back) and the referee Rob Jones having more touches than some of our outfield players in the first half!
That said, we went into the break at 0-0 and had managed to contain a Leicester City that threatened to tear us apart early on. It wasn’t pretty and we had to be better on the ball in the second half, however it was another solid defensive effort – despite a few scares.
The game got back underway and there was immediately a couple of early warning signs as Vardy and Co. got in behind, only for his shot to slice wide of Darlow’s near post.
We got into a few good positions, with Yedlin whipping in a brilliant ball that somehow evaded everyone in black and white and Almiron also had a few attempts to slip Wilson in behind cut out.
Just as we were growing into the game and threatening to cause problems, a Leicester City counter attack saw Harvey Barnes leave the Longstaff brothers for dead and play in Vardy. He cut in and laid the ball back for James Maddison, who lashed a powerful strike beyond a helpless Karl Darlow and into the roof of the net. 0-1 Leicester.
Against the run of play based on our promising start to the second half, but an away goal that always looked likely if they caught us off guard with players out of position and struggling to get back.
The Longstaff’s hadn’t played badly in the middle up until this point, but their lack of pace was badly exposed for the goal, highlighting how badly we need a box-to-box midfielder capable of keeping up with play at both ends of the field.
Murphy and Shelvey then replaced a very disappointing Almiron and Joelinton. The former immediately burst forward and a wicked cross soon followed from Matty Longstaff…but once again no one was in the middle to make the most of it.
Then, five minutes later, it was 0-2 via a combination of brilliant Leicester finishing and dreadful marking from our perspective.
Ritchie was caught sleeping to allow Albrighton all the time in the world to pick out Youri Tielemans in the box. The Belgian still had a lot to do, but with Jonjo Shelvey treading water in his attempt to get back and Matty Longstaff out on his feet, he swept the ball past Karl Darlow expertly.
We were at sixes and sevens at this point and Jamie Vardy smelt blood as he then got in between Schar and Fernandez. His resultant shot rattled to crossbar and Andy Carroll then entered the field with just over 10 minutes remaining – and he made an immediate impact!
His introduction stunk of desperation based on his recent attempts to ‘make an impact’ from the bench, yet he lashed home a volley to score his first for the club in over a decade and hand us a surprise lifeline heading into the final five minutes.
We had Leicester camped in their own half for a spell and were lumping hopeful ball at the big man, but little came of it. That said, Shelvey put a teasing cross that was asking to be finished off, but YET AGAIN there was no one in black and white able to make the most of an inviting ball across the box.
That was that and Leicester held on for a deserved win.
Next up, an FA Cup clash against a much improved Arsenal next weekend!
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It felt a lot like a game we were expecting defeat really.
The first half was ugly & scrappy by both teams. But there was a couple of times early in the 2nd half where Vardy in particular got in behind & it only felt like a matter of time.
You knew when it fell to Maddison that he scores, and their 2nd was a lovely finish … (though Schar turned his back on it).
I don’t blame Bruce today. The shape was fine, but the players weren’t good enough imo. Joelinton & Almiron weren’t good enough. Sean has to be one of the most ineffective midfielders in the league at the moment & Matty looked like he had lead weights in his boots. Good on the ball, but zero pace.
There was a slight glimmer of hope with Carroll’s late goal – but I think it would have been another smash n grab really. Leceister were by far the better side. Effective forwards & quality midfield.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I blame Bruce, Sharpy. He continues to play the same way regardless of who we play. He described this season as “half ok”. He said today we didn’t deserve to lose! The guy is now starting to lose my respect as a person. He’s talking ***** and I can only assume he thinks we’re morons
Stuart79(Quote)
Stu – he switched back to the 3 CBs against Lpool having played a very ineffective 4-4-2 before that.
I do think the 3 CBs gives a better balance. But Joelinton & Almiron aren’t good enough. I’d love to see this formation with ASM & Fraser instead. I thought Murphy was an immediate improvement on Almiron.
Get Jetro and push Ritchie further forward instead of Joelinton & that would be better in ASM absence imo too.
But I agree. If he didn’t think we deserved to lose today he’s deluded.
I would have put Gayle on instead of Shelvey today. Didnt really get the point in moving Sean up behind Wilson – he did nothing – he did nothing all game other than run a lot.
Sharpy17(Quote)
JUST NOW
Woeful performance once again, Bruce does not have a clue, his lack of offensive tactics are none existent and mindless substitutes leave us frustrated. FCB needs to get rid of this moron before its too late. Team to slow, awful ball control, too slow and give possession away to easily. Hard times ahead looking at upcoming fixture
Stew(Quote)
Any attacking player in the world would look ordinary in this team playing these tactics every game. We attack one at a time, always let the opposition have the ball and have a defend first attitude regardless of who we play.
Stuart79(Quote)
Played with 9 men again. What is the point of Joelinton when even if he is open his 1st touch gifts the ball back to the opposition. And Sean Longstaff must play his way into the team or go on loan as he has been awful for 18 months. He has been given pretty much a free ride.
Almiron was OK except for his choice of final ball which justified the 4 Olly gave him. Better execution and Wilson would have been in twice.
If you dont think we need another central midfielder you couldnt have been watching our matches. I am looking at you Ed Harrison. I know I said this before but this is a new thread.
Looking at Matty, I am left wondering if he is really that slow or was it that he had played too much with 3 games in 8 days. Probably the former I am afraid. He has other qualities so I wouldnt give up on him but we need someone quick in midfield. That seems our biggest problem as the alternatives are Shelvey and Sean who are even slower.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
What game was Bruce watching to think we deserved something? Vardy strayed off-side twice or it could have been worse. Ball also hit Darlow in the face to keep them out. How many shots did we have? You have to shoot to score.
I am going to bang on about the Longstaffs again. They are not the future of our club. They both seem limited and their lack of pace has been illustrated by a speedy Leicester. Not that many could keep up with Vardy. We must have the slowest midfield in the league. Fix that and Almiron’s decision making and we might be OK.
I would like to get Almiron back on the wing. It would be a double Brucie bonus as it would mean Joelinton would be dropped. This is the end for me. I never want to see him again. A lot of people have tried to say he has improved out wide but he hasnt. He really hasnt.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Oh, and Darlow’s kicking was awful, but can be partly explained by our defenders putting him under pressure with backpasses when Leicester players were right there.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Having had time to think about it, the scoreline flattered us. And Bruce thought we deserved something from the game!!! I must be one of these hysterical fans he talks about!
Leicester’s defense is pretty ****. Evans is overrated. I cannot see them making the top 4 with that defense. They are a Vardy injury away from 8th. And still they made us look like cloggers.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
It is flogging a dead horse time… I think today was the first time it became apparent that we have absolutely no pace in midfield. Maybe it was the 9-0-1 system that hid it because they didnt really have to run very far? I knew Shelvey was slow, but the rest of them are too. That’s not Hayden’s forte either or Hendricks’.
We cannot play Sean Longstaff as a defensive midfielder. Give him another couple of goes as a number 10. He can shoot and control the ball, 2 things that Joelinton cant.
We still have pace upfront if Bruce would use it – St Max, Gayle, Wilson, Miggy.
Joelinton came with a reputation of having a bit of pace. Has anybody seen a glimpse of that? I havent. He was also supposed to be able to beat his man. I have seen absolutely no evidence of the skills he supposedly had in Germany. Bruce tried to make him a hold up number 9 and persisted too long. But you cannot really say he has been BRUCED because he is also **** at the things he was supposed to be good at.
I just think our midfield was exposed today as not being very good. We had all held out a bit of hope in the Longstaffs because they are local. Now I am not sure if they have it in them. I asked Sean to prove me wrong when I saw the teamsheet. Unfortunately, he did nothing to allay my fears that he was a flash in the pan. I really hope he can find spot as a number 10 or go out on loan.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Another national lockdown looming! Dear God! Why not we’ve already ruined the future for a generation of people and possibly another generation now… Why not ruin a few more to delay deaths of less than 0.5% of our population for a couple of months…
What’s wrong with telling those who are vulnerable to just stay at fucking home?!!!
Stuart79(Quote)
Eric our MF is powder puff, has been for yonks. I keep seeing us linked with defenders yet there is zero interest in decent mids.
If only we could get our hands on another Rob Lee/Speedo , Tiote type player.
kimtoon(Quote)
Because a lot getting admitted now are young and the new variant is much more infectious then the original back in March.
Also Stu the majority of old and vulnerable ARE staying home with a lot of them suffering extreme mental health issues because of it now. You were harping on about mental health of people a few weeks back yet you do not seem that concerned about all these people you want to stay locked away now.
No one wants a lock down, i’m trying to facilitate a quick house move, but if it has to happen to save our NHS and get a better grip on this thing then so be it.
kimtoon(Quote)
I noticed yesterday the ref had a better touch than Joelinton. That man makes HS2 look fantastic value for money…
Stuart79(Quote)
That’s not true, Kim. The people being hospitalised are those who have always been more susceptible to Covid ie over 70 with underlying illness’. 388 people under 50 with no health issues have died.
Clearly the vulnerable aren’t staying at home otherwise we wouldn’t be having the hospitals allegedly being over run.
I literally couldn’t give two ***** about it now. The government just fold every time the media or the scientist tell them to. It’s pathetic.
Don’t you worry though, Kim. As you once said “People will get another job”… ?♂️
Stuart79(Quote)
I’ll start taking it serious when the government ban all smoking, drinking of alcohol and the eating of shitty, processed carb/sugar laden food. These cause more deaths than Covid but low and behold we can do them to our hearts content… Go figure!
Stuart79(Quote)
Stu, I think you will find that the Government are taking steps to control sugar and fat intake with new laws that stop supermarkets from selling BOGOF and other offers on those types of food, at least that’s what i read in the news last week. Something they are actually getting right.
Can you put up a link on those stats you gave for admissions re covid . It’s only that a doctor on the news was saying that a lot more younger admissions were happening last week.
58,000 NEW INFECTIONS reported in one day and hundreds more deaths, i do not believe all those people were old or vulnerable.
What is vulnerable ? old? diabetic, asthmatic? Epileptic? Disabled?Transplant patients? Cancer sufferers?
With the exception of the old, all on that list under normal circumstances should expect a pretty decent life expectancy shouldn’t they ?
kimtoon(Quote)
Stu, when this is over and it will end once enough are vaccinated ( that’s the biggest issue by the way ) and we are back to some normality, then the jobs market will open up again, so yes jobs will return.
People will always want holidays, cafes and bars so new companies and premises will open and with it jobs.
The high street was in decline long before covid because of the internet, covid just sped it up .
kimtoon(Quote)
Anyone still think it’s a joke , watch this morning right now, Mathew wrights entire family has covid symptoms and his neighbor is in intensive care about to have his life support switched off, a guy with zero underlying health conditions under 60.
kimtoon(Quote)
He also says, that his children have been seriously ill with it and he was on verge of calling 999 over the weekend.
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim, a matron was on Twitter saying her ward was full to capacity with young people. It was shown to be lies. Politically motivated BS.
You just been to go to the government websites to see that 92% of all Covid deaths are people over 50 and out of them 95% have serious underlying health issues. Average age of Covid death is 82 and 97% with serious health issues. These are the facts.
The poor are still suffering from the last financial crash. 12 years on and peoples living standards are still lower. This is ten times worse. You are happy to completely right off an entire generation and I find that utterly bizarre.
What did the last lockdown achieve? We are in a worse position now than before the last lockdown. It simply achieves a delay on deaths.
If saving Covid lives is the single most important thing why didn’t we just lock down in March 2020 and then not open until March 2021? Why are the government keeping Supermarkets open? That’s where a lot of it is spread. Why?
Stuart79(Quote)
A very slow death over years and decades. And people have a choice about smoking, drinkin and eating fast food. The Virus is not a choice unless you call taking precautions a choice, but that does not always help. You are making a false equivalency. The prople in nursing homes do not have a choice. In supermarkets, Drs and Nurses and many others. Again Stuart, you are making a lazy point.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
And Stuart: everything is not a conspiracy against the Govt. A rogue nurse spouting shyte is anecdotal. You would have to come up with a lot more evidence than that to say there is some plot against Boris and Pals especially since the press is mainly Tory and the PM. Cabinet and MPs have much more opportunity to get their word out. The opposition have virtually no say now. That’s just the way it is when a Party won most of the votes. They have almost complete power (and still they fck it up and pretzel themselves when they are proved to be lying idiots).
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Stu, were you this concerned when the pits were shutting and we had mass unemployment under Maggie ?
Also a new lockdown has a better chance of working as we can get vaccinations done during it so that when we come out of it we are better protected.
kimtoon(Quote)
Stu, i now know personally of 3 deaths in the last month or so, two under 50 and one under 40 all of whom had no underlying health issues. To say they are all old and ill is wrong , i don’t think this government has been in anyway totally honest with us on any facts regarding covid.
We supposedly have over 70,000 dead now, and they were all old or health compromised , sorry but i think that is total bull ****.
And i think it’s far more than 70,000 plus too.
kimtoon(Quote)
“Lies, damned lies, and statistics” hmm quite
kimtoon(Quote)
Oh I couldn’t agree more, Kim. I’d love to see the real stats on deaths. How many have died with Covid as opposed to of Covid… All stats are from 28 days of a positive test. That in itself is a joke.
Also not sure shutting coal mines is comparable but there you go…
There is a point of principle here. Government are literally running the country like Communist China, taking away our liberties and condemning millions of people to a life of poverty, bad health and limited education.
We have a virus that kills less than 0.5% of the people who get it and only roughly, 5% of the population are vulnerable to dying from it.
It’s like burning down your house because you can’t put a candle out.
Still, anybody answer my earlier question: why didn’t we lock down for a full year and why do we still have supermarkets open? The super spreader of shops? Answers on a post card please…
Stuart79(Quote)
We all saw it with our own eyes but the stats back it up. Joelinton lost the ball 13 times yesterday and he was only on for 70 mins. It was his bad first touch. If he somehow managed to actually control the ball he then kicked it too far in front of him with the second touch. Then he would trip over his own feet and fall over. It wasnt the sly Grealish move trying to win a foul it was his clumsiness.
Malcolm McDonald says Joelinton is not a footballer. The evidence is now in and SuperMac is correct. Joe has had enough chances. Bruce has tried him at No 9, No 10 on the left wing. Nothing helps. He has no pace and no control and scuffs every shot.
I honestly think Joselu was better and he cost 5 million.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Kim – I’m actually quite surprised at your laissez faire attitude towards jobs and business’. When all these business’ have gone bust and all these people have lost their job you say people “will always want holidays, bars and cafes”. How can people afford holidays or to go out to a bar if they haven’t got a job? Whose starting these new business’, Kim? Thousands and thousands of business’ are about to go bust. They can’t just start up again – they have no money. Where’s the money come from to rent the property, buy the stock, pay the staff? Don’t forget they’ll have be start ups and need money. Where does it come from?
All a bit naive, Kim, sorry to say.
Stuart79(Quote)
“There is a point of principle here. Government are literally running the country like Communist China, taking away our liberties and condemning millions of people to a life of poverty, bad health and limited education.”
Well, you voted for them, anyway never mind, at least we got Brexit eh.
kimtoon(Quote)
Ah, your go to phrase pops up again.
Stu, there will always be people with cash to start up businesses, there are people cashing in now on the back of covid, just look how many friends of the tories have had cash thrown at their companies to supply stuff, even those with zero experience have gotten contracts ffs.
And you say i’m naive 😆
kimtoon(Quote)
All measures taken & restrictions put in place were for one main reason – protect the NHS.
The reason being – they are 40,000 under staffed. All of our emergency services are under staffed – they are figures that can’t be argued with.
They brought people out of retirement & rushed medical students through last year & managed to increase the numbers by about 15,000 – but they are still well short of staff needed to truly cope.
The Nightingale hospitals were a token gesture of them doing more – but the truly is they don’t have the staff to open them – if they did, why not use them?, why not have intensive care capabilities? – because they don’t have the staff.
Much like Ashley signing Carroll. Never going to solve problems, but it’ll keep the fans sweet.
The problem so far is that they have made a decision, then buckled under media pressure. Starmer is there to put up a counter argument – I don’t think he’s done a great job either. But Boris reacted & started name calling and trying to belittle him. But the U-turns have made him look stupid. Make a plan & stick to it, but they haven’t & they’ve lost trust.
They now have to manage the mess as much as the spread, until this vaccine is out there for all.
Then they can big themselves up that despite building the hospitals, they managed it that well that no patients needed to go into the nightingales ??♂️.
Sharpy17(Quote)
The great & might Pep didn’t cover himself in glory this weekend either.
They called their game against Everton off coz of COVID – yet then it comes out that Walker & Mendy are throwing seperate parties & breaching COVID rules.
Pep defended them saying loads of people have & will be doing it – oh well that’s ok then ??.
Walker has been a serial offender throughout this pandemic.
I’m pretty sure Pep lost his mother to COVID as well.
City should be fined & deducted points imo. The players are just f@ckw!ts. A 10k fine would be pointless – not even a days wages I bet. They have no conscious & clearly have more money than sense – so what punishment for them??.
They won’t ever deducted points from City, but they defo should coz that’s the only way the club would truly get their players in order.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Eric – I honestly think Ivan Toney was better, but we were happy to sell him for less that 500k ?
Sharpy17(Quote)
Here’s the thing, Boris & Hancock both saying they won’t rule out tougher measures – they are saying this having made changes only 4 days ago!!.
If tougher measures are needed after 4 days, why mess around with it?!.
I genuinely get they are in such a tough predicament, but they do nothing for public confidence with talk like this. The indecision & u-turns really don’t help.
They are scared of the media.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Returning to football for a minute it is not only the Longstaffes who are slow. All our players are slow. Even Almiron seems to have lost his pace. Other teams look incredibly fast compared to ours. I think that our training is lacking. We don’t win many fifty fifty balls either. It all points to a lack of sharpness as does usually falling back into our own half for the last ten minutes. The players are not fit enough.
Groucho(Quote)
Sharpy, City seem to be a law unto themselves and their players have acted appallingly imo. As you say. dock them and any team points if players continually flout the rules re covid.
Times like this players should be setting examples .
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim – the main thing is that the PL are having to abide by strict rules to keep the league going.
They are keeping clubs operating & staff paid – including players who will be picking up bonuses each game.
Everyone is having to suffer including fans who can’t go to games, and yet the likes of Walker repeatedly breach. He’s an absolute moron but fining him won’t make a difference coz it’s peanuts to him.
With everything everyone else is having to do to keep this league running I think points deduction is perfectly fair – but the PL will still bottle it.
Sharpy17(Quote)
They certainly look knackered much earlier than our opponents in games, you do have to wonder at our fitness regime .
On Sunday our MF was overrun yet again, sean looks a shadow of the promising player since his injury and i don’t know what the hell has happened to Miggy since Bruce arrived. If Shelvey is the answer then not sure what the question is, the guy won’t track back or tackle at all . And what IS going on with ASM, he’s stuck out in France, Bruce says weeks away but the player reckons he’s fine .
As always with us, it’s all as clear as mud.
kimtoon(Quote)
I don’t suppose there’s any chance of answering my question, Kim? Clearly Covid deaths are the single most important thing for the gvt and clearly you. So why haven’t we locked down for a full year? Why haven’t we shut supermarkets?
Stuart79(Quote)
Hilarious that so called liberals are the first to demand draconian measures that are the single biggest affront to our freedom in history.
Stuart79(Quote)
Our second full lockdown, third in total. Wow they all worked then didn’t they…
Stuart79(Quote)
Stu – it’s not the single most important thing – in fact, deaths are rarely mentioned. Ultimately it’s to try and manage the strain on an already heavily under staffed NHS.
But yeah, in turn hopefully that saves some lives along the way as well.
But nobody on here or from the gvt is suggesting that the lockdowns or tougher measures will alleviate COVID deaths.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I can accept this nonsense because a vaccine is being rolled out. I’m lucky – others will lose their jobs, their homes, their families and in time add burden to the NHS. In a few years time when we’re over run by ill health and have no money to invest in the NHS I wonder what the answer will be…
What’s more frightening is that a lot of people thought this was a good idea even when we didn’t have a vaccine and weren’t even sure if we’d ever have had one.
People already moaning because civil servants won’t be getting a pay rise. Just the height of idiocy and a complete lack of self awareness.
Stuart79(Quote)
It is not a liberal/conservative thing. You are the only one politicizing this. It is about basic competence and also messaging to an extent. It is also about personal responsibility. If you think the British Media is liberal you havent been paying attention.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Sorry Stu, didn’t realise you were waiting on an answer .
I’m guessing because a prolonged lockdown wouldn’t end up being adhered to, plus the intention of the first one was to stop the nhs collapsing under the sheer volume of admissions from covid.
This time we have an end goal, get the infections down save the nhs and roll out the vaccines, then hopefully when restrictions are lifted we are better protected .
Ofcourse we need people to get the jab in adequate numbers to get full efficacy from the vaccine . As ever it’s up to joe public to play their part in beating it.
kimtoon(Quote)
Well, I just cannot see how they can continue with the football whilst on another lockdown. It would be inconsistent with what they did last time. I said last week that I thought they would finish the weekend fixtures and then there would be a “pause” but this pause would be hard to get out of. A lockdown makes it harder. For selfish reasons I dont want this to happen but the FA Cup weekend makes it more likely. I think eventually they will cancel this years’ FA CUP.
The lower league teams were not getting tested AT ALL. I looked into it a bit further and read that any team playing a PL team would be tested. It’s a money issue.
Again on a selfish theme, we have somehow ended up with Danny Higgenbotham. Please can you take him back? I hope the lockdown doesnt mean he is stuck here, but I dont think there will be football anyway.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
You can carry a slow player as long as they bring other things. Pirlo and Glenn Hoddle werent exactly lightning. I just hadnt really noticed how slow our midfield were until we played Leicester.
It would actually be better if it was a fitness thing because the old saying is true – that you cannot teach pace.
My main problem is some people who supposedly know football being satisfied with this midfield. Most fans are not but someone who runs a blog is and it appears that it is not a priority for Bruce.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
You never know with the PL though. They were letting fans in in Liverpool as they were shutting down London. It was obvious what was happening – but not to them. It was like the M6 had never been built.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
And how exactly will the UK run out of money? It’s like saying a football game will run out of goals to score.
Funding (or not funding) the NHS is a political decision; it is not about finance. You’ll find, though, that the Tories will argue that there is no money for it because that will give them the excuse they want to sell the NHS to private enterprise.
Brisvegas(Quote)
I really have absolutely no idea why one single person in the entire world is in poverty. If countries can use QE to infinity why don’t they? Why are most countries in Africa poverty stricken? Surely it’s a political decision?
Stuart79(Quote)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9112199/Furious-owners-say-non-essential-shops-BUST-new-blanket-lockdown.html
It’s ok don’t worry about it. Don’t let the stress or the fact you have no money for a healthy life bother you… Even though it will probably put a unbearable strain on the NHS in the future.
It’s no problem we can just print our way out of this with money.
Stuart79(Quote)
And if you think it’s bad here. Spare a thought for the French. They’ve only vaccinated 516 people so far.
Thank God we got Brexit when we did eh, Kim… 😀
Stuart79(Quote)
How can you countenance continuing to play football when the whole country is on lockdown and schools and colleges are being closed? There is this new strain that they do not seem to have a handle on and if past is prologue will turn out worse than they are making out. And the whole justification for playing games has proven to be false. The bubble has been breached at most teams and in a major way at teams like NUFC, Fulham and Man City. And how can you have a “bubble” at lower league teams when there is no testing? On top of all of this you have players flouting all of the rules and having parties – Covid Parties they should be called. What is Kyle Walker thinking? He must be the biggest idiot in the country and should be afforded leper status. Pep should suspend him indefinitely. I dont think that is hyperbole, I think has gone against their rules and should be sanctioned.
I still think the football will be shut down again. They will try to keep it open because of the money involved but their public reason for doing so doesnt stand up. I am not sure that there will be an outcry because we all want this distraction but it doesnt mean it is the right thing to do. They are always saying the players’ health comes first, but that is simply not true. Money comes first with the PL.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I am not even arguing against Stuart here and his belief that the economic impact is worse than the lockdown “cure”. I have sympathy for that view and do not have all of the answers. What I am saying is the PL justification for playing games has been proven to be false when the rest of the country is suffering through another lockdown. The players go home at night so the bubble theory was a non-starter anyway.
All you have to do is look at the figures. When Covid was relatively under control there were few cases in the PL. Now that infections have exploded this is mirrored in the PL with matches being called off and very high percentages catching this virus where there are bubbles. The bubbles are actually working in reverse because the players are in such close proximity and ignore medical protocols that the rest of the population adhere to. Common sense tells you that this is what would happen once Covid entered the bubble if it was not detected quickly enough.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
And Stewie: it is not a competition with France to see who can distribute the most vaccines. The numbers in France have no impact on the UK. You are king of false equivalencies.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
In just seems to me that there is a massive disconnect between what is happenning in the country and how Covid etc in terms of football is discussed in the papers and on TV. It is virtually ignored, even when games are cancelled and cases are in double figures at NUFC. It seems that they think if they dont talk about it then it will just go away. It will catch up though as the general population cases seep into the PL. It is like the PL are in a parallel universe.
I hope I am wrong, but I think it is inevitable there will be another shutdown but nobody is addressing it. Have a fcn discussion about it because this is more important than any individual game. They do not even discuss player health, whether players would be within their rights to refuse to play and what about spread to families. These are all dry subjects but they are the big picture and affect whether games will even be played or not.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I am going to come out and say it that the EPL and Championship should be shut down immediately. They DO NOT TEST unless a player has a temperature. That is no different to a Mum testing her kids with a $10 thermometer. Except her kids can no longer go to school because of lockdown rules.
And yet, EPL and Championship players are allowed to mix freely with no masks and no social distancing and their usual spitting everywhere. As I have said, they are creating a sort of reverse bubble because it the the same people mixing all of the time with no safety protocols. If there is an infection it will spread if it is not caught in time and these clubs do not have the resources to catch it in time.
Even PL clubs who have better testing have shown how dangerous the reverse bubble can be.
How can the Govt have fines for the general population and get on their high horse about breaking the rules and let Football Clubs ignore the rules?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Oh dear. I could write a book in response to that sort of ignorance (and many have). As I thought, though, you know sfa about the topic and just parrot what the hegemony (look it up) tells you to say.
And that might give you a hint about why people are in poverty.
Brisvegas(Quote)
Staying at home and waiting for the vaccine is not enough to stop the virus, a Sage member has warned.
Prof Andrew Hayward said last week that the UK could be heading towards a catastrophe if there was no national lockdown. Asked if the new restrictions would avert the catastrophe, he told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme: “The threat we’re facing is at least as bad as what we were facing in March, but the virus is different and it may be that the lockdown measures that we do have are not enough.
“So we do need to learn from the new insights and the new technology and we need to learn from the last lockdown.
He added: “You need to do more than stay at home and wait for the vaccine“
What on earth are these imbeciles on? So if lockdown doesn’t work what’s next? Might as well just have one big nuclear bomb party and finish the fucking planet ffs
Stuart79(Quote)
Didn’t know David Eyke had moved to Australia
Stuart79(Quote)
Don’t think I mentioned a competition to be honest… I was simply pointing out that the UK aren’t the only country/government that are going through this without mistakes.
Stuart79(Quote)
Positive corona virus tests at Derby now and they have shut down training. Also at Man City women. It is not getting any better and is very likely to get much worse. I am going to say it again, you cannot have the whole country shut down but allow the EPL and Championship to carry on with no testing. I am sorry, but taking a player’s temperature is not testing. Can you even meet a single person outside under tier 5? You can if you are a lower EPL footballer, 24 of them plus staff. You can even hug them and fall on them and spit near them every Saturday in an otherwise empty stadium.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Stuart: if there was a competition Trump would be winning worst job by a landslide. He is doubting the numbers again when he can even be bothered to address it. He is not providing money or assistance to States to distribute the vaccine where he promised 20 mil doses by the end of 2020 and delivered 2 million. This is the man who suggested injecting disinfectant as a cure.
I think Boris and his cronies have made a genuine effort to address this even if they were funneling Govt funds to their pals – that is akin to war profiteering and is amoral. Trump has just ignored it or undermined science and medicine. I would give Boris a B for effort and a D for execution (u-turns). Nobody in the world looks good by the way and Germany and France probably get the same grades. Trump gets an F for everything. If it doesnt help him he doesnt care.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Just another £4.6b in business help this morning… Pfft it’s only paper…
When this is over and the business’ are busy this will look like an awful lot of waste. It’s like keeping someone’s life support machine on simply because the doctors like the flashing lights on it.
Stuart79(Quote)
New Zealand, Eric. They’ve done remarkably well. Albeit they have two reasonably large islands with a population less than London in total. They shut their entire country down but again I suppose it’s so much easier to do that in such a remote country like NZ.
Stuart79(Quote)
Flogging a dead horse again – the only thing I see as possibly remaining open is the PL. That depends on testing twice a week and having the players stick to the rules for outside contact. They also need to look at the rules for physical contact during games. It started out with fist bumps and no shaking hands and now it is “as you were” before CV-19. If any player or staff member goes on a ventilator I think they will shut it down. I think there will soon be Govt pressure to shut down anyway as there are too many contradictions in what they did last time and what they are doing now in the general population for this not to become an issue. The bubble argument just doesnt wash.
Walker and any others flouting the rules should be suspended. There have to be consequences. That’s the only way I see the PL being able to continue but I highly doubt that it will.
The Euros will be cancelled again and possibly be pushed back to winter in the warmer countries. At present they were scheduled to have it spread over 12 different countries. THAT AIN’T HAPPENING. It could buy some time to finish a suspended season though.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Next World Cup is in winter so they could bump the Euros to Summer 2022? Or split next season and have them in March. I dont think they will abandon them. Too much money involved.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Stuart: there are calls now to shut down Japan. I think that was one of the so-called success stories. All of the so-called success stories have turned out to be mirages – Germany, Denmark, Sweden. As soon as life gets back to some sort of normality the virus resurfaces with a vengeance. It is happening in California with LA being basically shut down.
I am going to Maine in May so I looked at their rules. They hardly have any cases but they are basically shut down at the moment. Only 1 hr from Boston. They are not saying they are closed but have a 10 day quarantine for out of state visitors. I am going for 5 days so if it is still the same I could not do the quarantine so I think they would put me on a plane back to Chicago. Where I would also have to quarantine for 10 days at the moment.
But I still could go to Florida today if I wanted. They do not have quarantine rules. It is all so arbitrary and haphazard, everywhere!!!
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric, apparently our new strain of covid has surfaced in the states now.
kimtoon(Quote)
Just watching Andrew Neil on This Morning. He’s said the media in this country are brilliant at slagging the governments off in this country but we never give them credit when they do something right like the vaccine. He’s spot on. I haven’t seen anybody praise the government for vaccinating more people in the UK than the entire Europe!
Stuart79(Quote)
Very few cases so far but that is what happened last Feb with the original strain. The big picture of worldwide covid is too complicated for me to wrap my head around. Whatever Govts do seems to fail, or it comes back. Have to rely on the vaccine I think which means having competent people in charge. That will never happen with Trump but hopefully a more centrally coordinated NHS will do a better job. My 88 yr old Aunt got the vaccine on Saturday.
What I am concentrating on is how this all affects the football as you can come to conclusions much more easily than “saving the world”. If you have read anything I have written over the last few weeks you will see that I think that the clubs, PL and players are all delusional and burying their head in the sand and hoping it will go away. I am quite a logical person and have tried to apply this to football/covid and it all points to a shutdown.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
My rants have been correct though mainly because the conclusions were obvious and the PL rules were just stupid to begin with. Having fans able to go to Anfield and Goodison after London grounds were shut down was just so obviously stupid they should have sacked Masters and Hoffman on the spot as well as the Chairmen of the clubs.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
There are 2 problems with discussing the Covid situation as regards football. Sky and the rest employ too many ex-footballers, a lot of whom are a bit thick, and if they are not are seeking to be controversial. Secondly, the Journos are also immersed in their own little worlds of trying to prove their points and show how smart they are. But also, Covid does not get clicks on a football website!!! That’s what it is all about now.
Football was/is supposed to be a working man’s/the people’s game. All of the Journos are a bunch of middle class grammar school boys. I listen to the Guardian Podcast now and again and they all think they are comedians now and laugh at their in jokes. If that is not bad enough I listened to one where they all talked for 5 minutes about what grades they got at A Level. Who give a fck. Shows you what jumped up, show off, entitled tw@ts most are.
So between the 2 groups we get people looking for controversy and clicks and to show you how funny and smart they are. Not sure what category Ryder fits into 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric I agree you can’t teach pace. You either have it or you don’t. However you can train players so that when they do run they don’t look absolutely knackered at the end of it. Rose said training under Bruce was undemanding compared to Spurs.
Groucho(Quote)