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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 25, 2024 12:36:17 GMT
Sam Finley quilting, is there more to this than meets the eye? Maybe he's bedding down to fabricate a new career... First clean sheet of the season?
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 25, 2024 12:28:47 GMT
Not sure if anyone knows, but it's been agreed for Denmark to sell some older fighter jets to Argentina. This is significant as it brings Argentina under their new President back into the Western fold. China were hovering with their own offer which would have been another South American nation under the influence of Beijing. Q more sabre rattling over the Falklands Plus ca change and all that. The new president seems more pragmatic and at the end of the day, there is nothing Argentina can do. Had they not invaded in 1982 it would most likely be theirs by now as the FO wanted rid.
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 25, 2024 12:25:42 GMT
Cue more Indyref2 mandate, 'will of the Scottish people' delectation. I think the high water mark for independence has been and gone ,can't see it happening. I'm inclined to agree, especially with the scandals around the SNP and a Labour government in Westminster with a decent majority is likely to happen soon. No coalition deals with the SNP and a lot of the grievance is going to be toned down for a few years. It'll keep popping back so I'll never say never, just not likely this side of 2030.
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 25, 2024 10:56:59 GMT
Cue more Indyref2 mandate, 'will of the Scottish people' delectation. The SNP have issues from all directions at the moment - Murrell (Sturgeon's husband and former chief executive) was re-arrested last week over the historic financial issues within the party, Labour overtook them in the polls and could (with the support of others) force an early election with a vote of no confidence, Yousaf's brother-in-law was arrested and charged over an abduction/extortion incident and that's before we even get to their unpopular and sometimes ludicrous policies.... Shh! Don't mention ferries. 😉
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 25, 2024 10:37:41 GMT
The SNP/Green Party coalition in Scotland is over...I wonder if Humza Yousaf will look for a coalition with another party or try to see out three years with a minority government...? Cue more Indyref2 mandate, 'will of the Scottish people' delectation.
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 25, 2024 8:08:46 GMT
New law being proposed in Georgia. "For the last ten days, thousands of Georgians - many in their late teens and early twenties - have been bringing the traffic of the capital, Tbilisi, to a standstill. They demand that the government scrap plans to introduce a controversial bill - dubbed the "foreign agent" law - many say is inspired by authoritarian legislation neighbouring Russia uses to crush dissent. Many are also worried that such a law will derail Georgia from its path towards the much-coveted EU membership which - as a poll by the US National Democratic Institute showed - is supported by nearly 80% of Georgians." www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68881833
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 24, 2024 15:27:30 GMT
Surprised? The twitter comments (whether anyone takes them at face value) back him up. Completely ignoring the rules at sea, let alone umpteen international agreements and basic humanity. But ECHR...... interesting how some will always blame foreigners for our own failures. Has the penny dropped yet?
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 24, 2024 14:08:05 GMT
Erm, another issue I raised with Nobby who dismissed it as we'd just get a bilateral agreement with France. Incidentally which is costing us more funds too. Funny that. 🤔
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 24, 2024 12:18:55 GMT
Rayner just rinsed Oliver Dowdenn in PMQ’s . You should have a listen supergas 😂😂😂 Couldn’t bring myself to watch it today, Bargain Hunt was more appealing.
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 24, 2024 12:10:10 GMT
So why don't you concentrate on the many in your own party ?. In the last week there's been two . You come across a bit desperate to score just one goal !. Plenty reporting what a few Conservative MPs have done. Why is no one (seemingly apart from me on here) holding the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party to the same standards...? Aghast, Gassy (I think) and I all agree she needs to answer questions, we've stated that previously. If anything, the individual Conservative MPs have got off lightly on here, the initial headline then moved on....to the next one.
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 24, 2024 10:46:31 GMT
I’m surprised to read this post. Despite being on the other side politically, I do enjoy reading what you write and think that it’s actually balanced, considering it’s the opposite view. However, this comes across as judging before conviction. And tbh, the amount of scandals of the last 10 years that have been in the heart of our government must be a record. I’d far rather Rayner than any of those pillocks. Surely I can judge her in the same way she judges others she politically disagrees with? I have certainly read more evidence against her than she normally has when she launches into an attack on her political enemies? The main reason I keep banging on about her is that it highlights the massive double standards from her (and her party), the mainstream media and so many people on here who are defending her *despite* the evidence, yet would be happy to condemn someone they politically disagree even when it's only allegations that are being made... Rayner could clear this up today. She could have cleared it up months ago. We know she and the Labour Party hold certain documents that could be published without breaching any confidentiality rules that would disprove the long list of allegations against her. As I stated weeks back, if it *was* an error, that's not a problem - admit it and move on. It's the attempted cover-up and the bad politics that is her problem now... Since when do politicians ever admit they made an error? MPs of all colours shouldn't be afraid to admit to failings.
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 23, 2024 14:54:55 GMT
I've said it before,chucking money at Public Services is totally the wrong answer,they need fundamental reform,world class management and a clear pathway of how to get from very poor/mediocre to excellent. More for less ! Where have I heard that before ? 🤔 Think of money as the oil that keeps the engine running, too little and it seizes up, too much and it runs hot. I think what Clive means is that, using the same analogy, the engine also needs replacement parts and a slight redesign. 😉 In truth, we need a bit of both. Cash to speed up the process but also a better, more appropriate for today way of thinking. My point yesterday being an example, using agencies to fill in gaps is all well and goes in the short term but it would be better and cheaper to help me directly.
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 23, 2024 11:35:08 GMT
Not sure if anyone knows, but it's been agreed for Denmark to sell some older fighter jets to Argentina.
This is significant as it brings Argentina under their new President back into the Western fold. China were hovering with their own offer which would have been another South American nation under the influence of Beijing.
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 23, 2024 11:30:07 GMT
I've said before, if they feel they play too many games then forfeit the League Cup and leave it just for EFL teams.
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 22, 2024 22:14:29 GMT
Sounds like they won’t be touching the terracing that remains which frankly makes the project sound underwhelming and as if it will be done on the cheap "But we will be looking to increase the capacity to around 16 to 17,000 from this level plus have more seated stadium than now. We hardly have about 5,000 at the moment with the South Stand but we will take that to about 12,000, maybe 13,000 seated. I’d be really interested to see how you can fit in 7000 extra seats without touching the terracing “on the cheap” And I wouldn’t say that increasing capacity by 25% and a seating increase from 40% to 75% of capacity is underwhelming considering out track record…assuming it gets built of course Not the shiny new stadium many have dreamed of, but hopefully it’s actually deliverable and without the need for any canvas or posts! It's 12,000 seats out of 16,000 (or 13,000 out of 17,000) either way that's 4,000 terrace spaces. The North Terrace is about 3,000 and 1,000 for the unaffected West stand. If that's the case then the East stand should be fully seated. Going by that, I wonder if we are looking at building a small stand behind the North terrace with the final makeup roughly being*: South stand - 3,500 seats West stand - 1,000 seats (including SW stand) and 1,000 standing North stand - 3,000 standing and 3,000 seats East stand - 5,000 seats *Figures are illustrative only, we could retain the terracing on the East side and go fully all seater on the North. Various permutations are available at this stage.
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 22, 2024 18:35:11 GMT
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 22, 2024 16:56:24 GMT
"On the stadium plans, AlSaeed said: "We have two main infrastructure projects. The Memorial and the training ground and we’re working on both at the same time. For the Memorial, we are, more or less, close to two weeks or maybe a bit more away from completing the plans but we cannot share anything at the moment until we complete it and we also share it with the council members and see what their reaction [is] about what we intend to do.
"But we will be looking to increase the capacity to around 16 to 17,000 from this level plus have more seated stadium than now. We hardly have about 5,000 at the moment with the South Stand but we will take that to about 12,000, maybe 13,000 seated.
"So this is the main element of course to complete it and we have empty spaces that we’re working with the architect to close and to make it a really friendly surrounding plus upgrading the executive and VIP lounges to make it more family [friendly] and reception to the older members of families. That’s basically what we intend to do."
Regarding the training ground, a significant part of the ownership's pledge to take Rovers up to the next step is investing in the academy to allow it to progress from category three status to category two which would allow them to implement a development team on top of the under-18s.
Currently, the under-18s is the highest level of the academy before the first-team which is a sizeable gap to bridge. Clubs higher up the pyramid tend to have an under-21s or 23s team as well as their under-18s and that is a major target for the Gas to achieve.
Rovers did in fact have a development squad led by Gas legend Lee Mansell before it was disbanded in 2021 due to financial constraints and therefore withdrew from the Central League. Former manager Joey Barton made the point that the club needed an under-23s programme on a few occasions and Matt Taylor has made similar suggestions since his arrival in December.
However, getting to category two will require notable investment with such status, according to PlayerScout, "given to teams whose infrastructure falls just short of the investment and resources implemented by category one teams" which is measured in millions. Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic are the only League One clubs with such status and all have previously been in the Premier League, although League Two sides Colchester United and Crewe Alexandra also have category two academies.
Additionally, Executive Vice President Abdullatif AlSaeed revealed in the Fan's Q&A back in March that a small stand will be built at The Quarters for development team games once that stage is reached. The vision is to eventually have the first-team, academy and Women's team all training at The Quarters
On the Women's team, as part of its return to club management and going semi-professional, the Gas Girls will also be using The Quarters when they train alongside playing their home games at the Mem.
All of this points towards the target of eventually seeing the club promoted to the Championship with three years the target set out by the Chairman in his open letter earlier this year. However, the Kuwaiti has repeatedly stressed the point that it will take time and first the club needs to build sustainability to ensure that, if they are promoted to the second tier, that they stay there and don't come straight back down.
"Yes, as first step but slowly," AlSaeed said when asked if the stadium is being prepared for eventually reaching the Championship. "We don’t want to get anybody’s hopes up. We’ve seen a lot of the clubs go very quickly up and go very quickly down but we want to be on a solid ground and to make solid ground means good infrastructure, Memorial plus the training ground. The training ground is just as important because that’s where you attract good players, that’s where you make the good players, that’s where you train and it’s just as important.
"We’re working on the plans to develop it and to also take our academy from cat. three to cat. two which will also open an opportunity to have more young players for this club and eventually develop them and we’ve been known to give chances to young players and I think that’s a golden opportunity. But we need the right facilities to attract those young players which we are aiming to do as well."
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 22, 2024 16:49:41 GMT
So flights to Rwanda should take off in 10-12 weeks. Wonder if that gives a pointer to the GE date? Could make it late June or early July. I honestly don’t think seeing flights take of for Rwanda will have any effect on the polls . Me neither, but they'll be able to show it happening. Parliament sitting today pretty much until it passes. Could be a long night unless government concede some ground on the Lord's amendments.
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 22, 2024 15:39:56 GMT
So flights to Rwanda should take off in 10-12 weeks.
Wonder if that gives a pointer to the GE date? Could make it late June or early July.
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Post by stuart1974 on Apr 22, 2024 13:16:23 GMT
Oh my effing god. That, Stuart, makes me feel sick. I am so sorry. It really is a f... ing travesty,we save the NHS a fortune by providing our own care instead of getting them to do it,feel like saying we're not doing it anymore over to you We stopped claiming quite a while ago when my other half got more work ,they just don't see the whole picture. I think I've posted this before, we get some help through the council with care. The agency charge £31 ph, the nurse sees little under half that. If they paid me similar I could give up work, remove the need for the local authority to spend so much on agencies and free up my job for someone else.
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