davieG

Made In Leicester Rob Hubble · Remember when it looked like this......

https://www.lcfc.com/pages/en/media-article/elliott-league-cup-final-brace-drinkwater-liverpool-stunner?fbclid=IwY2xjawIpgohleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHeiq1iNvwUoVm5ZqD7Me5mUVPEtPThCuxf3gn6G7SZ5Oy7F5lV5IEiz1aQ_aem_UAIZyYc5dbkHTCBO8IfHkA While their form would continue to stutter afterwards, the Foxes got back to winning ways with an authoritative 3-0 success over the 1995 Premier League champions on Tuesday 26 February, 2013. Chris Wood's ninth goal in as many games got us off to a good start at King Power Stadium before future England captain Harry Kane nodded home on his home debut for the Club, on loan from Tottenham. The third headed goal of the game, from Andy King, sealed the victory for City, who would later squeeze into the play-offs on the final day of the season, only to lose out to Watford in the semi-finals.

# Hashem Al-Ghaili · Follow A Map of the Northern Magnetic Pole's Shift Over 400 Years: Earth's magnetic poles are undergoing dramatic change — and the pace of change is accelerating. The North Magnetic Pole, the point where Earth's geomagnetic field is vertical, has been steadily shifting for centuries. A historical mapping of its movement from 1640 to 2020 reveals a gradual northwest trajectory in more recent centuries, primarily toward Siberia. This shift has significantly accelerated in the past century, with the pole rapidly approaching Russia. The movement is influenced by changes in the dynamics of Earth's molten iron core, which generates the planet's magnetic field. Unlike fixed geographical poles, the North Magnetic Pole's position fluctuates daily within an oval-shaped locus due to geomagnetic variations. To create maps like these, scientists use historical data from magnetic measurements taken at various locations over centuries, including records from old compass readings, volcanic rock samples, and recent satellite observations. Image: Nature

https://talksport.com/football/2949782/elvis-hammond-cocaine-money-laundering-ruined-career/ I was a Premier League striker and international footballer but cocaine and money laundering ruined my career Ailsa Cowen Published: 10:00, 24 Feb 2025 Close Football is a ruthless and unpredictable business, where aspiring players could see their careers in tatters at any turn - but few end in this much scandal. Elvis Hammond played Premier League and Championship football for Fulham and Leicester City, but his promising career came crashing not due to a lack of talent on the pitch, but what he did off it. It's estimated less than four per cent of academy players make it to the top level, and even then professionals can be written off by coaches later down the line, or be forced to retire due to injury. In Hammond's case, his life as a professional footballer ended in a haze of drugs scandals and money laundering. Born in Accra, Ghana, Hammond was a product of the Fulham academy having moved to London at a young age, eventually making his first-team debut in 2000. The striker made 13 appearances for the Cottagers, including 11 in the Premier League, without scoring a goal - spending most of his time at the club gaining experience on loan at Bristol Rovers, Norwich City, and Dutch side RBC Roosendaal, where he scored twice in 15 matches. In 2005, he joined Leicester City, initially on loan before making the move permanent. He played for the Foxes until 2008, scoring eight goals in 58 appearances. After leaving Leicester, Hammond continued his journey through several clubs up and down the English pyramid, including Cheltenham Town, Sutton United, Woking, Farnborough, and Eastbourne Borough. He earned one international cap for his country, his sole appearance came in a friendly against Mexico on March 1, 2006, a match played in preparation for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Hammond did not score any goals in his international career and appeared to end his footballing career at non-league side Kingstonian in 2015, but his journey was anything but free from controversy. Hammond was given a six-month suspension after he was found to have taken cocaine in September 2003, during his loan spell at Carrow Road. He joined Leicester City in 2005 He joined Leicester City in 2005Credit: Getty This troubling information was unearthed in a Channel 4 Dispatches investigation in 2011, which also highlighted former Birmingham City striker Gary O’Connor’s positive test for the drug during the 2009/10 season. The programme uncovered an apparent cover-up involving both the club and the FA, following former manager Alex McLeish’s claims that the striker was sidelined due to injury. A secret document disclosed several players had tested positive over the past eight years - one of those names was Hammond. But the controversy did not end there as, in 2012, Hammond faced a 12-month prison sentence for his involvement in an international money laundering scheme. He admitted guilt, alongside another accomplice, in illegally transferring £278,532 from Ghana. This hefty sum was allegedly funneled into a bank account belonging to H & W Enterprise Ltd, touted as a refund for a doomed property deal in Ghana. According to police, the money was frozen after it was taken from the account of a Ghanaian property development company. A trail of fraudulent documents later exposed four unauthorised transfers totalling $1.27million to the UK and Cyprus. In January 2010, shortly before Hammond joined Woking FC, the duo were charged and were due to stand trial. However, the trial was suspended as Williams and Hammond provided sale contracts and plans showing that Williams' family had sold land in Ghana. But detectives again traveled to Ghana and obtained evidence to prove that the documents were false. Today, Hammond's current whereabouts are a mystery, suggesting he may have quietly stepped away from the world of football. Despite a promising start to a once bright career, the shadows of his off-pitch transgressions ultimately proved to be a devastating price to pay.

Story of Leicester An unusual view of Leicester today - looking along Belgrave Gate from the top of The Clock Tower circa 1900. Read more about The Clock Tower including who the carved figures on the corners of it are - four of Leicester's most prominent benefactors: https://www.storyofleicester.info/civic.../the-clock-tower/ Comments Ian Baker Little round window on the left still appears to be the one above Mallard jewelers

That the games where so exciting that everyone stayed until the final whistle and were proud to clap the team off.

Born and Raised in Leicester · Follow Vic Berry established his Leicester scrapyard in 1973 on the site of what had been the former GC Braunstone Gate goods yard, just south of Leicester Central (GC) Station. Like Woodham Brothers at Barry, Vic Berry focused initially on breaking up redundant passenger coaches and goods wagons. The first locomotives did not arrive until 10 years later in April 1983 when three BR Class 76 electric locomotives arrived for breaking up. The yard was best known for scrapping large quantities of Class 25 and Class 27 diesel-electric locomotives. This led to the famous 'stack' of Class 25 and 27 locomotives which reached its peak in 1987 with 30 examples stacked. The yard did not exclusively deal with these locomotives, as examples of classes 02, 03, 08, 20, 26, 31, 33, 37, 40, 45, 47, 50, 82, 83, 84, and 85 were scrapped on site, along with a large quantity of BR DMUs. Vic Berry also scrapped a London Underground train and ex-CIE 201 Class locomotives 208 and 219 in 1990. Vic Berry also specialised in asbestos removal as well as scrapping withdrawn locomotives and rolling stock. This was of value to railway preservation societies, who sometimes would benefit from purchasing a locomotive from Vic Berry as it would have already been stripped of asbestos. As the scrapyard was connected to the Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line, the yard contained a large number of locomotives, coaches, wagons and DMUs which were held for either purchase or scrapping. The yard moved from scrapping locomotives to DMUs and rolling stock in December 1990 when what was believed to be the last complete locomotive in the yard, 25213, was scrapped. Another 18 class 25s were broken up by Vic Berry at other sites; five were broken up off-site while the other 13 were also broken up off-site but with their cabs subsequently transported to Leicester.

Made In Leicester Rob Hubble Filbert Street 1985.

So many and mostly gone.

Had a few points in there. I seem to remember there was a small patio / terrace overlooking the canal.

Neuralink's CEO, Elon Musk, has stated that the company's brain-computer interface could eventually be as affordable as an Apple Watch. He suggested that with mass production, Neuralink's brain implants might cost between $1,000 and $2,000 and could be implanted in just 10 minutes using robotics. By 2026, Neuralink aims to implant over 1,000 brain chips, marking a major breakthrough in neurotechnology—once thought to be pure science fiction.

Born and Raised in Leicester · Follow Aylestone Road. Leicester.

Mine too

If correct I presumes that's after we got rid of a lot of high earners

The only Pride on display will be the rainbow laces

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ruud-van-nistelrooy-implies-leicester-9967304 Ruud van Nistelrooy implies Leicester City strategy failure as loud cheer reveals big problem Jordan Blackwell debates the big talking points from Leicester's 4-0 home defeat by Brentford and manager Ruud van Nistelrooy's biting post-match comments ByJordan Blackwell 14:29, 22 FEB 2025 Ruud van Nistelrooy has now lost more league games 4-0 than he has won as Leicester City manager, and after the latest capitulation he dropped some bombshells. “With the squad we have,” he said, “it’s a huge mountain to climb to stay in this league.” He added: “We have to accept that we are in a position where every week we face a better team.” Those comments suggested he believes the squad isn’t good enough to stay in the Premier League. When that was put to him directly, he denied it. Maybe he was just trying to lower expectations so as to take pressure off the players, but nobody believes that City are serious contenders for a mid-table spot. Everybody was already aware City would struggle and that it would be a battle to stay in the division. Maybe the manager thought that any kind of positive take on the game would be deemed to be glossing over another disastrous evening, but why undermine his squad to that extent? So maybe it was also just a burst of raw honesty, van Nistelrooy letting out his true feelings after another damaging night. “It’s not fair to have certain expectations,” he said. “You cannot live up to them. You can only be the best you can be. We’ll see at the end if it’s enough or not.” In short, even if they play at their maximum, City might not be good enough to survive. And who’s to blame for that? In a subtle dig, van Nistelrooy suggested it was the club and their recruitment strategy. Without prompting, he praised the way Brentford had built their squad, buying players for a particular style and with the characteristics needed to succeed in the top flight. “The gap between them and us was very big in quality,” he said. “A team that is together for such a long time, that has been built in an idea of play, with the profiles physically, tactically and technically there. “They’ve had quite a few years in this league and gradually built into a squad we are far off.” He didn’t explicitly say it, but Van Nistelrooy left the dots there to be connected. By laying out what Brentford had done well, he seemed to be implying City had got it wrong, that their approach to signing players was scattergun and that those brought into the club were not of the required quality. It’s not an assessment that many on the outside would disagree with, but to come from the manager of the team was eye-opening. It felt like a defeatist approach from van Nistelrooy. It may have been his honest, emotional thoughts in the wake of another heavy defeat, but it also stunk of self-preservation, a kind of shoulder-shrugging ‘what do you expect me to do with this lot?’ approach. Perhaps that is a harsh interpretation, and it would seem out of character for van Nistelrooy to be so self-centred, but it did feel like a pre-emptive attempt to absolve himself of blame from the inevitable relegation three months ahead of time. Van Nistelrooy took the job knowing the players at his disposal. Maybe he really did expect that he would be able to overhaul the squad in January. Maybe, once again, the club have pulled the rug from under a manager and have over-promised and under-delivered in a transfer window. But, having said the squad was good enough to stay up at the conclusion of the winter window just a few weeks ago, maybe this is just van Nistelrooy changing his tune so as to protect his reputation. Either way, it doesn’t reflect well on the club, the manager, nor the team’s chances of staying in the Premier League. Comments will further damage belief Where do they go from here? Suggesting the squad isn’t good enough feels detrimental to making them play better, even if it was an attempt to relieve pressure. Perhaps the sense that they cannot compete in the division is why they keep collapsing. There’s been a few examples under van Nistelrooy now where they’ve been fine, or even played well, but then fallen apart upon letting in the first goal. On Friday, they looked totally panic-stricken in defence in the first half and didn’t calm down again until the game was beyond them. No player took responsibility. But there’s still 12 games to save themselves. The situation may be “alarming”, according to van Nistelrooy, but it’s still not as dire as it was in 2014/15 and City survived then. Yes, there needs to be self-reflection and analysis, but players need to have belief in themselves and in each other, and it doesn’t feel like van Nistelrooy’s words will inspire that. Do City find another manager who has greater faith in keeping this squad up? It would cost them to do so, both financially and in their reputation. Do managers really want to join a club where bosses don’t even last 15 games? From this whole debacle, it’s the fans who suffer most. They’ve already sat through what is now the worst home run in the history of the English top flight and now they’ve heard that their manager is running out of faith in their squad. What hope are they to have? Why should they shell out to attend games? It’s a mess. Buonanotte cheers show why RvN words won't cut through It’s difficult to ascertain quite how the fanbase feel about van Nistelrooy as much of the anger from the crowd is still directed at Jon Rudkin and the board. But support for the Dutchman does appear to be dwindling. His assessment over the squad and his possible dig at the club’s recruitment policy would have backers in the fanbase if they thought he was picking the best 11 himself. It’s clear they do not think he is. The biggest cheer in 540 goalless minutes of Premier League football at the King Power Stadium came when Jordan Ayew was substituted for Facundo Buonanotte. Ayew, perhaps unfairly, has become the symbol of what is wrong at City, in both recruitment and selection. He was signed, aged 33, for a few million quid despite being in the final year of his contract, and he’s now started six straight games without providing a goal or an assist. He was one of City’s better performers against Arsenal, but when you’re an attacking player who is not delivering at the top end, you really have to do well to justify your selection. Van Nistelrooy explained Ayew and Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s continued inclusion is because they make the team more “solid”. But that has to be justified on the pitch. Ayew was fine on the ball but totally lacked energy and urgency to help out his defenders, ambling back when City weren’t in possession. His performance was in direct contradiction to van Nistelrooy’s explanation. In the fans’ eyes, he’s never done enough to justify keeping his spot over Buonanotte, even if the Argentinian has lacked impact in his recent substitute outings. There were effectively celebrations in the stands when Buonanotte came on and he responded by attacking with intent. His quality was there to see. It was his best showing in a while. Van Nistelrooy is only going to have support from the stands if he is deemed to be picking his best available 11 or, if he’s not, to have the players he does choose justify their inclusion. With the lack of goals over recent weeks, and now given the performances of Ayew and De Cordova-Reid, that support from the stands simply won’t be there unless he starts Buonanotte at West Ham on Thursday. Player arguments show passion, but they're rarely good news Harsh words were clearly uttered between Boubakary Soumare and Mads Hermansen after Brentford’s fourth went in, and while it didn’t seem like they would come to blows, team-mates still got between them to ensure it wouldn’t happen. Van Nistelrooy was not concerned. In fact, he was pleased they were showing “passion”. Maybe it does show an element of care, and that’s certainly preferable to the opposite. Especially as there were multiple moments in the second half where Wout Faes appeared not to give a hoot, including for the fourth goal, when he stood on the line and seemed to accept that City would concede again. But it certainly suggests things aren’t harmonious. An argument between two City players that exhibited such a level of anger has not been seen since the thrashing by Brighton in the previous relegation season. It’s not a good sign. City want players who care, but they need to care as a team. If the odds are as stacked against City as van Nistelrooy suggests they are, the bonds between players have to be tight. That argument suggested they’re not. What hope is there to cling on to? After such a performance, such a poor run, and after such comments from the manager, it feels irrational to try to find positives. But why bother with the whole sport if not to try to have hope? So here’s a few nuggets. As mentioned above, City have saved themselves from worse situations. There are four poor teams at the bottom and there’s plenty of time yet for City to show they are the best of a bad bunch. They have, in the past, shrugged off such desperate displays and managed to produce decent performances in the aftermath. Losing 4-0 is not a new phenomenon for them. They did, before Brentford’s first, create a few good chances. The game could have been different had either Woyo Coulibaly or Jamie Vardy’s efforts beaten Mark Flekken. By the nature of the game, their luck will change. A bounce will go their way. They’ve had 64 shots, 20 on target, in home league matches without finding the net. If they keep averaging more than 10 shots a match, goals will come. Their defence may be wobbly but they have a midfield duo in Wilfred Ndidi and Boubakary Soumare that can protect them, as long as they’re not playing as openly as they did on Friday. There are good players in the attack. Buonanotte and Bilal El Khannouss can produce moments of magic and Vardy looked sharp on Friday, even in spite of the problems behind him. There’s not a lot to clutch at, but there’s enough there for fans not to feel the next three months are destined to be miserable, even if it may seem like it right now.

What makes you think they'll be one?

Managing one of the worst Premier League sides of the modern era to then having to take charge of this Leicester side. It’s been a rough few months for Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Madame Tussauds