Greg2607

still loving our BMW i4. It's got all the bells and whistles we would ever need, feels premium AND has decent range as well. Only gripe is rear leg space............ Conversely, I've got a new job at work as a secondment, which comes with a company car. As it's only a secondment, I've had to take a reallocation vehicle and I have a 2023 Hyundai Kona.... which is absolutely Pony. Awful car.

I mean to be fair... Some of them might be studying for their GCSE's!

Seems likey fears were well founded. I can't continue to support this though. The squad may lack quality, but they also lack fight and that absolutely is on the manager.

I feel like we need to match up their formation 2nd half and also read the riot act at half time...... Forget it. Just scored.assive stinky balls.

that doesn't sound great does it.

genuinely, I would have never guessed that this was her future career! It feels at oods to the person that she was back then.

is this a bad time to admit that I used to work with her?

It's funny on here at times. Everyone is saying "they can't be any worse the Ayew or BDCR"... yet also hate our own home grown talent in Hamza and Luke Thomas and McAteer. RVN has the U18's and U21's training with the first team, if anyone was standing out above and beyond the first team squad, then he would play them. They are young and developing. Training with the first team will really help that development. Just dont expect the youngsters to solve all of our problems. There are hundreds of examples of youngsters breaking through and failing to reach the standard. Remember the saviour of west ham Freddy sears??

Coulibaly has looked suspect since he came on.

Hang on.... is soumare...... Rapid??!!!

i'll make it easier for people - GB Energy is not exactly an incubator, but it does have some characteristics of one. Instead of acting like a traditional incubator that nurtures startups from early-stage development, GB Energy functions more like a public investment and co-development vehicle for renewable energy projects. How GB Energy Works: Co-Investment Model: GB Energy will take minority stakes in renewable energy projects rather than developing them from scratch. This means it partners with private sector firms to accelerate large-scale renewable energy deployment. Public Ownership with Private Collaboration: The company is publicly funded (£8.3 billion over five years) but will leverage private sector expertise in energy technologies like offshore wind, nuclear, and hydrogen. Focus on National Energy Strategy: Unlike an incubator that helps small businesses scale, GB Energy is designed to secure energy independence and reduce energy costs by directing investments into projects that contribute to the UK’s net-zero goals. Is There Any Incubator-Like Role? While it isn’t an incubator in the startup sense, it could act as a catalyst for innovation by: Funding emerging technologies in renewables. Partnering with innovative energy firms. Accelerating commercialization of new energy solutions. In short, GB Energy is more of a strategic investor than an incubator, but its investments could help stimulate innovation in the sector. It may or may not be the solution to our problems, but at least it could help lead to innovation. It doesn't "really" matter how many people GB Energy itself employs, if it leads to new industries / technologies that THEN creates mass jobs. I don't mind the direction of travel of this government so far.... since the new year they've: - started to remove barriers for SMR's in Nuclear Announced a focus on AI agreed a heathrow expansion in principal looked at Gatwick and Luton Expansions Announced a New Town in Tempsford Announced 8 new resevoirs Announced the Oxford - Cambridge Golden Arc. If nothing else, this has to help to stimulate growth, even if it's government led investment.

But that's because we don't REALLY own our energy infrastructure isn't it. We privatised everything. Lots of people in the UK will have EDF as their energy provider. Literally providing profits to France for them to invest in their own country. It's a situation of our own making and successive governments have failed to invest in providing more of our own energy solutions. I'm hoping that this changes, with the creation of GB Energy, albeit, clearly, that is just an investment vehicle for supporting UK producers in the future. We are also the only country in the world with a fully privatised water sector. Which is mental. as a country we missed the opportunity to invest hugely in our infrastructure when interest rates were so low and we are all paying the price for it now. I can see the current government are trying to do things to set us up for growth in the future, but the pain is going to be felt for years to come yet and living standards will continue to fall.

did I miss the Evening Standard and the Telegraph?

for any of you that are worried about the UK economy, have a detailed read about what happened to Japan in the 90's. There is a real risk that we are going in a similar direction and there are lots of similarities of our economies - as a summary... chat gpt has helped me out... The UK has already experienced its own version of "Lost Decades" since 2008, with stagnant economic growth, weak productivity, wage stagnation, and rising inequality, much like Japan after its 1990s crash. However, while Japan struggled with deflation and an aging population, the UK faces high inflation, Brexit-related trade disruptions, and workforce shortages. Austerity policies weakened public services, and business investment remains low, preventing a strong recovery. Unlike Japan, the UK lacks a strong export-driven economy and has been more vulnerable to external shocks. To avoid permanent stagnation, the UK must boost productivity, invest in infrastructure, fix trade barriers, address labor shortages, and support high-value industries like green energy and technology before it’s too late. if you look at the things that we need to do to avoid further stagflation, Labour are genuinely trying to effect those things now. THe impacts and results won't be immediate and they are having to do lots of unpopular things, that should probably have been done a long time ago, but the early signs are positive in terms of action... but i do also understand why alot of their actions have been unpopular... even if this has been hugely amplified by the Right Wing media and places like Twitter (X)

the ones that the daily mail told him about.

Entirely agree with you.

Are there laws preventing someone playing in the first team at 15??? I genuinely don't know.... There are probably stipulations about using changing rooms and things separately.for safeguarding.

I agree. I played in the youth teams with Matt Piper and Matt Heath. I was a "solid" player, but ultimately reached my level and was released. In the younger age groups, I wasn't out of my depths, I pretty much went toe to toe and they didn't necessarily "stand out" (they were clearly good!) Then as the levels went up, I couldn't make that step for some reason and yet they could. Maybe I wasn't quite quick enough, or didnt read the game quite well enough, but they adapted and went on.... And that's two players who didn't even reach the pinnacle of the game. The gap between "good at U21" and "established PL player" is gargantuan. Now Monga looks like an exception to the rule... At 15 he shouldn't look THAT good in the 21's....

You could see Rudkin being moved up stream at a "group" level for all the King Power sporting operations, with DOF at both OHL and LCFC reporting into him.

I said in one of the chats prior to RVN joining, that my fear was that he was used to managing a team competing at the top of the league, with the best talent. The problem with that, is that you develop a style that relies on having better players and being on the front foot. When you then have a team that doesn't have the talent that's better than who you come up against, your system fails. This is what we are seeing. A high line, front foot approach, that sees us getting carved apart. Exactly what I feared is what is playing out.

Congratulations!!!! I wish you the happiest retirement!

Turns out my nervousness was well founded. I genuinely can't decide if it's the manager or the squad, but we are properly up the creek aren't we.

There is. He is currently managing Everton though.

The one saving grace is that an Everton wins puts spurs only once place above us in the table.

Well that's a depressing line up.... But we have a depressing squad. It's very telling that you look at the bench and immediately think "even the subs won't make a difference.". What a mess.