CardiffGreens

Appropriately enough my usual supplier of overpriced tshirts delivered my latest purchase half an hour ago:

Some councils are also offering those who pay over 10 months to be able to extend the payments over 12 months instead, so it might be worth checking their website for a covid update for your options.

Each club sends their mascot to run the 90-s style Gladiator TV final run, travelator and all. Final league standings based on time taken. We can also invite West Brom's Ideal Boiler man* and Marcelo Bielsa's bucket along to give them a shot at promotion. *Yes I know it's not their actual mascot, but it's my idea, so my rules.

After dipping into the FIFA threads in off-topic gaming over the years, @Dave-R is nothing if not enthusiastic about the merits of EA's annual cashino-with-added-football release. And my immediate thought was just to pour as much scorn that the idea of using eSports to complete an actual real-life football league deserves. (For a start, if they were going to do this, it'd been through Kick off 2 anyway). Whilst the UCI has recently taken steps to attempt to codify some rules and regulations around eSport competitions that would fall under their control, these standings will still be separate from actual real life events - and the idea that some digitised representation of a sport, with it's in built failings, exploits and idiosyncrasies (not to mention the multitude of games these days with built in gameplay "problems" that just happen to have a purchasable resolution) could somehow be integrated into real-life sport. Well,, at least it's given me 5 minutes of fun at least.

There's juts been a new model released, so that's compounded the problem. Smyths apparently have 2 available in Wallsend or Durham if you fancy a drive

If it is, they've been playing the long game Appears they were a works team for a WWI munitions producer. So that's today's thing learnt for me at least.

Lily Parr I think is the answer (though did have to cheat myself and do a search or two)

This would also have the benefit that even if decisions were over turned; those decisions are still made by the on-field referee - whose word is final. The current set up is helping undermine that imo. Though I have minor doubts about the implicit psychology in asking a ref to "have another look at that" (whether the act of being asked to review their own decision results in a ref subconsciously looking for something to overturn, rather than confirm their own decision); it cant be worse than the unseen arbitrator of laws that the PL's implementation have given us* On the topic of mics, I was under the impression thats been slated for introducion in the next (couple possibly) seasons - though the officails are wired up at the moment, (and have been for a while) its for their ears only * though naturally I expect the PL to make things worse and leave us pining for the glory that was VAR 2019-20 ...

Looks great, though I did have most of the contents spoiled by news feed popups before I could find it though. All that stuff they have shown there does suggest the delay was for some polish - I was a little concerned there was going to be another delay - but I'm looking hopeful at what we've seen

I recently discovered "vente" referred to the cup being 20 ounces in size (apparently on some secret menu there's a "trente" but I''m yet to find somewhere that sells it, or whether I'd be willing to see what happens after 30oz of coffee). I still ask them for a large out of spite mind.

On the plus point, at least it'll be easier for me to not invest any time into watching it and just pretending it's all just been a horrible dream and that they never bothered to attempt to make it in the first place. Though to be honest, anything that didn't have Rob Brydon as the voice of Carrot was always going to be a let down to me.

Been in game for at least 5 years now.

Without going too off topic, this came up in one of the more useful bits of research from Soccernomics. There isn't generally a correlation between transfer fees and eventual league position (a clubs wage bill was more closely aligned to league positions).

Nah, they've got that spot on (in terms of correctly applying the laws of the game). Though can't disagree with the rest, the handball law is currently a one sided farce loaded against the attacking team. Unfortunately I suspect the remedy in future will be to penalise defensive handballs as punitively as they've done this season with attacking handballs as well.

Because I'm nothing but a laws pedant I thought I have to flag this up; that goal should have been ruled out and a drop ball awarded at the point of impact between the beachball (being an "outside agent") and football. It (the -lack of- application of this law) was brought up by the post-match TV interviewers and an entertaining ignorance of the laws was displayed by both managers if I recall. Prior to the law change this season officials were deemed to be part of the field of play (hence why assistant officials stand far back from the touchline, so there was no chance of them inadvertently preventing a ball from fully crossing the line and rebounding back into play), which is why that whole Andy D'Urso incident happened waaay back when. Back on topic, not sure that NFL-style challenge flags are worth looking into; there are already booth reviews in gridiron for touchdowns and interceptions (so essentially the "game changing incidents" that are already automatically reviewed) - and goals are far more game changing events in association football than american (some cursory googling suggests that whilst it's about 2.8 goals per game in Premier League history and 4.8 TDs per NFL game, association doesn't have the "get out" scoring mechanic of field goals to supplement the scoring) - so essentially every (at least opening) goal would almost certainly be challenged, just on the off chance. And that doesn't even get into the point that you're essentially arbitrarily limiting the scope for corrections on decisions across a game, rather than giving additional opportunities for potential corrections.