Couldn't think - from Dec 2022

OldCastleSwift

buffybegood said:

OldCastleSwift said:

Mubama has scored a hattrick in the U18s cup semi-final tonight. 5-1 up now.

He has something like 28 goals in 20 games for them this season. Worth a place on the bench IMO, particularly as Scamacca is out for a bit. Lad at least knows where the goal is.

He's certainly an option in the Antonio type mould, so worth considering if the game isn't suited to Ings (not suggesting he should replace Ings on the bench, simply that if the game suits an Antonio type player and Antonio has nothing left to give, then having the option to replace like for like could be advantageous). Maybe replace Lanzini on the bench as he doesn't seem to be in Moyes's thoughts at all in PL games.

If scoring goals has been an issue for us all season, then giving the most in-form striker at the club one of the nine places on the bench doesn't seem too bad an idea to me.

Like you say, Lanzini isn't getting a kick in the league at the moment, and we have Fornals as an alt CM/AM on the bench anyway, so why not give Lanzini's place to Mubama. It's a big step up, obviously, but I can't see any reason not to do it.

MIAHammer

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65209818

The cynic in me thinks this is a way to get the match abandoned if your team is losing!

MrsGrey

BubblesNeverDies said:

It doesn't help the cause of people genuinely fleeing persecution by whatever means that they're being joined lately by large numbers of Albanians (almost entirely young men) who are obviously purely economic migrants.

Home Office admits there is absolutely no evidence they have to support this assertion.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/08/home-office-admits-no-evidence-to-support-key-claim-on-small-boat-crossings

Edit - bubbles, you should get in touch with the HO and offer to help them out by sharing your data
;-)

ASLEFshrugged

Home Office handcuffed Gurkhas who worked as security in Afghanistan

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65197867

BubblesNeverDies

MrsGrey
"Edit - bubbles, you should get in touch with the HO and offer to help them out by sharing your data
;-) "
Why the sarcasm?
From the Guardian last October
"MPs previously heard that about 12,000 Albanians have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year, of whom 10,000 were single, adult men. This compares with 50 in 2020."

MrsGrey

Isn't that rather the point - MPs have been misled?

The issue is labelling them as economic migrants, with no evidence to support it.

( Meant to be jokey not sarcastic, hence ;-) )

BubblesNeverDies

So why are you digging me out? Obviously I was also misled.

thornburyiron

Isn’t it odd though that the majority of them are in fact single men. If they are as you state fleeing all sorts of horror why do they abandon their families, they can’t all be orphans.

BubblesNeverDies

And this.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-63473022

alderz

My brother wants to move to Australia for economic opportunities. Nobody is saying he should drown for wanting to do so. I think if people want to move to a new country to start a new life they should be allowed to

OutcastLondoner

thornburyiron said:

Isn’t it odd though that the majority of them are in fact single men. If they are as you state fleeing all sorts of horror why do they abandon their families, they can’t all be orphans.

It isn’t odd. The same has been said about Afghan and Syrian asylum seekers but the journey is very difficult and there’s a reason it’s young males.

A common pattern of most people smuggling/trafficking routes is that some money has to be paid in the first instance to get the person out of the country and onto the route. There is usually only enough for one person, so who do you choose? Usually a young male but who is old enough to get through it. And you hope if he gets refugee status you can get the family reunified.

The traffickers are exploitative people and sexual abuse is extremely common when women travel on trafficking routes so where ever possible a family would choose a male. It would be whoever is fit and able to get through the journey. The money they pay often doesn’t get them through the whole journey because traffickers change conditions, especially somewhere like Libya. They often have to work to earn money again to get to the next stage and somewhere like Libya definitely isn’t safe. Men and teen boys are more able to get work in many of these places and less vulnerable to predators than women. The accommodation is also often shared and very cramped - if it can even be called accommodation. In some cases another reason for sending boys/young men is because they’re most likely to be forced into fighting. So you send them on the journey and hope they are granted asylum. If families can afford to travel together and they believe all of them can make it, they usually do.

Bazshuayi

I decided in 2009 to make a new life for myself in California. I feel blessed that I come from a country which other countries dont have an issue granting that chance to. I was lucky that I worked remotely and didnt need to seek anything from USA outside of the chance beyond 3 months to stay. Other people around the world arent so fortunate...

ASLEFshrugged

Bazshuayi said:

I decided in 2009 to make a new life for myself in California. I feel blessed that I come from a country which other countries dont have an issue granting that chance to. I was lucky that I worked remotely and didnt need to seek anything from USA outside of the chance beyond 3 months to stay. Other people around the world arent so fortunate...

Some Americans seem to have a problem with foreigners although it does seem to depend on where they come from

People from Europe seem acceptable while people from elsewhere not so much

buffybegood

ASLEFshrugged said:

Bazshuayi said:

I decided in 2009 to make a new life for myself in California. I feel blessed that I come from a country which other countries dont have an issue granting that chance to. I was lucky that I worked remotely and didnt need to seek anything from USA outside of the chance beyond 3 months to stay. Other people around the world arent so fortunate...

Some Americans seem to have a problem with foreigners although it does seem to depend on where they come from

People from Europe seem acceptable while people from elsewhere not so much

Again, isn't this mostly down to legal v illegal immigrants?

alderz

Not an expert on the Mexico - USA stuff, but I did see recently that Robert Jenrick (MP for Newark, and Minister for Immigration) responded to a freedom of information request saying:

"There is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to claim asylum or temporary refuge, or make a claim for asylum or protection from abroad."

Which basically means there is no way for people to apply for asylum in the UK legally, according to the Immigration Minister. So it's not really about legal vs illegal in the UK, because the government are essentially banning all legal immigration.

ASLEFshrugged

There is no legal way for refugees to enter the UK

And we were deporting Gurkhas who were working as security for the British embassy in Afghanistan

OldCastleSwift

Every time I watch City, Haaland is absolutely bang average, then just turns it on almost at will.

He's been pretty anonymous tonight against Bayern and then bang, a great assist and then a goal.

City have been brilliant tonight. Defensively so strong and clinical in attack.

buffybegood

Our u18's have just beaten Arsenal 2-0 to win the u18's league with 2 games to spare. They face the same opponents on 25th April to complete the League/Cup double

https://www.whufc.com/news/west-ham-united-u18-premier-league-south-champions

IronHerb

Got my ticket for the final. ⚒

claretandbluesky

At least we have some talent coming through, let's hope we can keep them onto proper contracts as I am sure others will come looking now.

Slacker

MIAHammer

This popped up on my Facebook thread. Throwback to another season (1976-77) where we avoided relegation by the skin of our teeth. We went unbeaten in the last 7 games with 5 draws and beat ManU in the last day to stay up.



Flirting with relegation was a regular occurrence back then. I had hoped those days were behind us.

Although nice to see Spurs going down!

BubblesNeverDies

Interesting that only 11 of the 22 teams are still in the 1stDiv/EPL

buffybegood

17 years ago today that we lost John Lyall, sadly only 66 when he passed.

ValiantIron

MIAHammer said:

This popped up on my Facebook thread. Throwback to another season (1976-77) where we avoided relegation by the skin of our teeth. We went unbeaten in the last 7 games with 5 draws and beat ManU in the last day to stay up.

Blimey, how even is that league? Using three points for a win, every team would finish on more than a point a match and the Champions are less than two points a match. Compare that with the current league distribution!

thornburyiron

Coventry would have gone down instead of Sunderland.

buffybegood

Woman gets a lift during a race and accepts 3rd prize 😂🤣😂

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65322631

alderz

thornburyiron said:

Coventry would have gone down instead of Sunderland.

This made me curious, so I've just looked at what the table would look like if we never changed to a 3pt system, and basically very little would be different this season. Newcastle and Man Utd would switch positions, and so would Brighton and Villa, but otherwise everything would be the same in terms of league position.

Last season would have been slightly different, with Everton going down instead of Burnley. I am consoled by the fact that, in 2002/03, even if we'd had a 2pt for a win system, we'd have still gone down.

buffybegood

Dreadful news, Leah Williamson has done her ACL and will miss the World Cup. She knew straight away, when she went down, that it was serious, but having seen the incident it's shocking how easily it can happen. There was an article a while back investigating the number of ACL injuries in the WSL (I think after Williamson's Arsenal teammate did hers earlier in the season, it's been updated in the second link below) and it does make you wonder; I still can't work out what happens with Williamson to cause such a devastating injury.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65349115

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64032536

Dodger58

Very sad for her, she will be a great loss to the team, but to miss the World Cup will be hard to take.