MakemineVanilla

2 minutes ago, Philosopher said:

He is confident that's the difference. Injuries and playing for Gerrard caused him to doubt himself. Now he is confident and feels loved his happy and is playing with freedom. It's not complicated. 

Obviously the team playing well and winning gives him motivation too. 

I think he lost confidence in his body after he tore a muscle, which took a while to heal.

It always seems that when players are at their absolute peak of fitness, they are vulnerable to muscle tears.

59 minutes ago, Xela said:

Playing brilliantly at the minute. 

He has looked like he has recovered his mojo in recent games and his touch for his assist yesterday was sublime.

Pity he got robbed of the ball, which led to the equaliser though.

2 minutes ago, rbcuk said:

Watching the half time analysis, that pass from Luiz one of the best assists I’ve seen with it slowed down 

Totally Modrić!

21 hours ago, chrisp65 said:

A walk around the Mwmbwls today.

Coffee shop, beer shop, and misty fine rain.

Aha, me hearties - The impervious horrors of a leeward shore!

Against Newcastle tThere seemed to be a lack of leadership in defence, at set-pieces, and so with the main men still missing, I expect a nail-biter.

There was also a lack of connection between the midfield and the strikers, and so it's important Bailey starts, and Tielemans gets his touch and vision back.

On present form, a draw would seem like a decent result.

52 minutes ago, sidcow said:

Never fails to amaze me how grubby people can get with Wills.

When siblings fall out over who gets the mantlepiece clock, you know it has more to do with who Mom and Dad liked the best, rather than a clock which never gets wound.

20 hours ago, sidcow said:

The answer is obvious.  Buy a Porsche on credit and run up enormous debts on credit cards on hookers. Snorting coke off their tits appears to be compulsory in such circumstances. 

I can remember being highly delighted by The Testament by John Grisham, where some guy arranges his will so his relatives think they are going to inherit millions but would get nothing, and to make sure they all fell out.

Knowing what people are like when it comes to sorting out wills, the latter would be the easiest part to arrange.

Born in Halesowen and so possibly still a Baggies fan but at least he can be home at nights for his tea.

The fact that the lad was at Man City suggests he was a bit of a prodigy but didn't quite fulfil expectations.

It looks like Unai can see the ability and thinks he can coach him to his full potential.

Here's hoping!

January is the wrong time of year to make life-changing decisions.

It's not the time of year to be in the best of moods, due to the cold weather and lack of light.

Your present discontent will be mostly endocrinal.

It's only eight weeks until the clocks go forward, when you'll start to feel the warm sap rising up your legs.

Hugely disappointing but not really surprising.

Villa's second goal, chalked off by VAR due to Watkins having failed to trim his toenails, would have been a more reasonable representation of how things went.

Diaby seems to have lost his mojo and Cash's error gifted the Toon with the clincher.

A full-strength Villa will have better days but last night's performance certainly invited some serious doubts.

On 15/12/2023 at 10:01, mjmooney said:

Whisky tasting notes. Random genuine example: 

I bet it actually tastes like... whisky. 

 

 

You'll be telling us next that all whisky tastes the same.

I think "crushed nuts" is what you get if you knock over a bottle of Macallan Genesis.

23 hours ago, pas5898 said:

Absolutely fantastic manager. He will leave a massive void like Ferguson and Wenger. 

Really good news for us, as Man United begin to sort themselves out, there will be another top 5 space opening up for the next few seasons.

There is one big worry though, surely?

3 hours ago, Marka Ragnos said:

Where I work, we've got this initiative where we're trying to encourage young people to get into pleasure reading, and it's a very tricky thing. Wish I knew how to do it. I think it's sort of a contagion, when you see or hear about other people reading in your life, etc.?

Reading becomes a lot more enjoyable when you can share the pleasure with someone who is also reading the same book(s), and who you can share your favourite bits with, as well as your criticisms.

Reading the classics is especially useful for chatting up posh girls, as long as you can bear the sound of their laughter, when you pronounce Guy de Maupassant in a brummie accent.

14 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

Not quite in the same high brow mode as much of the last couple of pages, but I just finished The Enchanters by James Ellroy and it's another glorious romp through his favourite historical period, playing fast and loose with fact and reputation, often with just enough truth to keep him out of court.

He's my go-to easy read.

No one should get snooty about James Ellroy, he's a master at what he does.

I love pulp and it is lamentable that so little Dan Turner is available at a reasonable price.

On 24/01/2024 at 19:43, mjmooney said:

I like The Rings of Saturn, too. 

Just finished Malcolm Bradbury's 'To the Hermitage', and started on Joyce's 'Dubliners'. 

I really enjoyed The Rings of Saturn, and for those who might not be familiar with it, it is about a German guy's fascination with the landscape of the East Anglian coast, which he finds has sort of mystic qualities.

Having stayed at my aunt's cottage as a child, I have to agree that the landscape seems hauntingly mysterious, with its strange network of Dykes.

It has the sort of spooky strangeness which David Lean attempted to capture in his film of Great Expectations, or even Jonathan Miller's production of Whistle and I'll Come to You.

18 minutes ago, ChesterDad said:

I get where you are going and do not disagree either. The only question is whether or not it’s with us?

His age is a big factor there too, and as proven by Chukwuemeka, young players can confuse potential with actuality.

He's only played 17 games for Chelsea since 2022.

Jhon has a lot to learn and I hope he realises it.

I keep forgetting that he's only 20 because he's a big lad and actually looks older.

He's obviously got a lot to learn, and I keep having to remind myself that at the same age Watkins was playing for Weston-super-Mare.

At that age club legend Peter Withe was playing for Southport and Barrow.

Didier Drogba was 28 before he hit his stride.

I can't see how it would be possible to organise a balanced QT audience which was representitive of the UK population.

Even if we take a typical sample of those who are on VT most days, the proportion of those who comment on the political threads is very much a minority - in short, those who are not interested in politics, or prefer to be without the aggro, are in the majority.

On any particular issue, the majority would tick the "don't know" box.

Those of us who are interested in politics are actually not in the habit of changing our minds, but we think other people might be, so we demand that only our own views are expressed, and anything else is political bias.

Can anyone think of an example where something they learned off the BBC, actually changed their opinion?

On 10/01/2024 at 21:56, chrisp65 said:

I think the reason roads are subsidised more, is most people have access to roads, comparatively few have access to rail infrastructure. 

Even if I use the train, I’ve got an 11 mile drive to the train station this end and then a taxi ride the other end.

 

And, there was me thinking you lived in the same road as Gavin & Stacey!

44 minutes ago, bickster said:

Not exactly, we need a government prepared to hand the BBC it's impartiality back, proper impartiality... I suspect the wait will be some time

Indeed we do, but with the populace irredeemably divided left and right, gammon or woke - impartiality for one side would be seen as partiality by the other.

On 04/12/2023 at 09:41, Demitri_C said:

License fee going up £15 apparently 

Yay 

The BBC enjoyed an income of £5.73bn in 2023 and only £3.74bn (65%) was contributed by the licence fee.

In the end you have to decide whether you prefer your news and propaganda, to be chosen by the establishment or advertisers and commercial interests.

Neither can be considered entirely benign.

3 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

Don't think I've ever seen anything with him in it. 

I hadn't either but after I'd made sure my expectations were set low, I found I quite liked it.

These dark and chilly winter months need something not too challenging, and I'd temporarily run out of noir.