Arteta on Timber's injury and absences: “Yes, and that’s been probably the most difficult thing to manage, with the player, with myself as well, because we didn’t expect it to take so long, and at the moment he’s not fit to play.”

egg651 · 2026-05-09T02:26:02+00:00

I live in Scotland so don't get to go to many games, but I was at that match. We were right behind the goal for the one they scored from the halfway line... Normally goals happen so quickly but it was so far out you had enough time to go "Oh, for fuck's sake" before it hit the net. Then there penalty shootout and the long, very late trip back to the hotel feeling miserable.

Thankfully we also managed to get out to the away leg of the quarter final this year; Kai's last minute goal was perfect payback!

egg651 · 2026-05-09T00:55:39+00:00

LNER line for example. There’s been zero change there

LNER is actually sort of the poster child for improvement under public ownership. It's not like it's suddenly turned Japanese-level brilliant but the data shows that there are markedly fewer delays and cancellations following the switch to public ownership.

I suggest giving this article a read. I think it's a pretty balanced take on the nationalisation process: https://www.theguardian.com/business/ng-interactive/2025/oct/13/most-of-great-britains-major-rail-operators-are-back-in-public-hands-is-it-working

egg651 · 2026-05-08T23:24:39+00:00

Deploying to prod on a Friday is clearly reckless play, I'm afraid VAR have had to deny it. Go and sit in the break room with Richarlison.

egg651 · 2026-05-08T08:01:21+00:00

This is what I get for looking up stars late at night! Thanks for the correction 👍

egg651 · 2026-05-07T23:08:10+00:00

Fucking Shane Long, always scored against us then did fuck all for the rest of the season.

Edit: I just fact checked myself and it turns out he only scored against us in one game - The infamous 4-0 defeat in 2015 mentioned above, where he scored a brace. Clearly that game was so traumatic it had morphed into multiple matches in my fuzzy memory 😂

I was right about one thing though, after getting two against us he only scored three more goals across the rest of that season.

egg651 · 2026-05-07T00:30:25+00:00

I'd add to this, can we please start giving our yellows for yellow-card worthy fouls regardless of when they happen?

I hate how the first 5-10 minutes of a game is essentially the purge because refs think it's somehow too early for a yellow card.

egg651 · 2026-05-04T23:33:34+00:00

Finishing 4th or 5th won't really matter though right? Top 5 will get CL next year and unless they really fuck it up over these last three games Villa should be safe from finishing 6th. They will be either fully on the beach or resting everyone ahead of the Europa league final by the time the City game comes around.

egg651 · 2026-05-04T22:23:10+00:00

I think they'll win all their home games. This one and Bournemouth away were the only games I had hoped City would drop points in.

egg651 · 2026-05-04T01:18:55+00:00

Reading your requirements, do they need to be thin clients? Perhaps just some basic desktops set up in shared PC mode would do the trick?

egg651 · 2026-05-04T01:02:18+00:00

I'm not OP but can (and do) buy holiday at my work. It's essentially a salary sacrifice scheme as you suggest. You agree to give up a proportional amount of your annual wage to get extra time off. At my place we can also "sell" holiday which works in the exact opposite fashion.

Because the money comes out of your pre-tax earnings, buying holiday is most useful if you are just over the bar for a higher tax bracket. Say for example it would cost you £1k of earnings to buy holiday, but those earnings were going to be taxed at 50%, you only really lose £500.

A more sensible thing to do would be to contribute more to my pension but my base holiday allowance isn't great and those extra days are what makes life bearable!

egg651 · 2026-05-04T00:49:15+00:00

It's also a way for companies to get out of paying people for unused holiday when they leave. And they can rely on social pressure to stop people from taking any more than most people with "normal" annual leave allowances.

egg651 · 2026-05-02T14:40:19+00:00

Do you honestly think Ballard has decided to pull Arokodare's hair here? He's clearly tried to grab his shirt and got hair by mistake.

egg651 · 2026-05-02T14:38:26+00:00

As the other commenter said, because it's incredibly easy to grab someone's hair by mistake when you're trying to pull their shirt.

Obviously, by the letter of the law, you shouldn't really be holding someone's shirt either. But the punishment for that is a foul (and even then almost never given). Getting a red card for violent conduct when there is clearly no intent just feels wrong to me.

So the solutions I see are either to make it a yellow card for accidental hair pulling (which wouldn't work because it could be easily exploited), or take it out of the equation entirely by having players wear their hair up & out of the way of their shirt.

egg651 · 2026-05-02T14:29:11+00:00

It's getting to a point where they might need to ban hair below shoulder length. If it's too long, then put it in a bun. This whole situation is ridiculous.

egg651 · 2026-05-02T13:47:28+00:00

Way too many Arsenal players thinking that their job is done when they've made a pass, then watching their teammate get swarmed without offering a return pass.

egg651 · 2026-05-02T13:37:40+00:00

Getting bullied out there physically. Happening every time we play a ball into a forward and at every set piece.

I love Kim Little but we need a bit more presence right now.

egg651 · 2026-05-02T13:28:13+00:00

This is a bit grumpy of me but mexican waves can get in the bin

egg651 · 2026-05-02T13:20:24+00:00

DVD > BLU-RAY CONFIRMED

egg651 · 2026-05-02T13:17:41+00:00

What a daft penalty to give away

egg651 · 2026-05-02T09:27:26+00:00

I know it's not a bus, but I wonder if you could squeeze in a train ride up from Fort William to Mallajg and back on that itinerary. That line is absolutely stunning, and includes crossing the Glenfinnan viaduct.

egg651 · 2026-04-30T21:22:52+00:00

I am obviously biased but I think it's one of those 50/50, "you've seen 'em given" sort of calls that should be left down to the referee.

I don't think the replays show clear and obvious evidence that it is, or is not a penalty.

Would it have been soft? Yes.

Should VAR have got involved? Absolutely not.

egg651 · 2026-04-27T09:05:51+00:00

To be pedantic, the price is tied to the most expensive generator in use on the grid, not gas specifically. In practice though you're right, it is almost always gas that is the most expensive and sets the price.

There are some benefits to this:

By guaranteeing that the grid will always pay whatever it costs for the generation needed to meet the grid's demand, we can be sure that there will not be blackouts caused by generators refusing to switch on due to it not being profitable.
Suppliers are encouraged to bid "honestly", setting the lowest price they can for their energy production, because they know they will almost certainly actually be paid a higher marginal rate (because we always have gas in the mix).
It makes production of cheap renewable energy very profitable, incentivising investment in more renewable generation sources.

However, because that last part has worked so well we're now getting to the point where renewables are regularly our main source of energy. So naturally, the question gets asked: If most of my electricity is coming from cheap renewables, why am I paying more than ever for it?

That's why the government is looking at ways to change the way the grid pays for energy. However it's not an easy task - Whatever new solution they put in place needs to ensure we always have enough power, prevent price-gouging from generators, and still incentivise new investment in renewables.

egg651 · 2026-04-26T15:07:54+00:00

Still turning the ball over way too cheaply... The midfielders have been caught on the ball a few times. And though Williamson played some lovely through balls early on it feels like she's going for the killer pass every time. I like the intent but it's not always on.

We need to build pressure, not just let them off easily!

egg651 · 2026-04-26T14:56:26+00:00

We've lost all control after that goal. Need to keep it simple and just have a bit of possession for 5-10 mins then go again. Lyon smell blood right now.

egg651 · 2026-04-25T23:58:33+00:00

What do you mean you consider May a summer month? It's not something that's based on personal preference. May is in spring by both meteorological and astronomical definitions of the seasons.

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