Laurence

I think to put the blame on the centre forward is a bit mean. The game plan didn't get the ball up to the front man. We should put a sign up at each end with the words " kick the ball this way", Every time the attack got going the ball was thumped out wide to back up wide men and the move broke down. The strikers never got into the game. If we had , had Wayne Rooney up front it would have been the same story. Lets get some useful wide outs.? With some crossing ability, who keep the moves going.

When a ball is sent to the wing, the full back or winger has to run with the ball , not kick it back into traffic.

There was booing at the end of the game

John  Hughes take note

I was wondering was there a reason for so many injuries.

My conclusion was if you dwell on the ball and play a slow passing game, you are more likely to get caught by hard tackles, hence you pick up injuries.

Please Mr Hughes do not play Meekings at Right back/wing back, he seems completely at sea as a wide out.

1. To Oddquine A few parts of the budget I thought  need support.

2. Wages

   The National Living Wage, starting at £7.20 and rising to £9 an hour by 2020, replaces the £6.50 minimum wage

   Tax

   • Personal tax free allowance rises to £10,800 next year and £11,000 the year after. A tax cut from 27m people.

   • 40p rate climbs to £43,300 in 2017-18

    

   • Corporation tax cut to 20pc from next year, and simplified to cut relief on foreign branches

   • Tax loopholes being closed will raise £3.1bn

   Duties on fuel, alcohol, tobacco and gaming

   • Cancel fuel duty increase for petrol. Osborne says £10 off a tank with the Tories

   • Cutting beer duty by a penny off a pint, cider duty down 2pc, whisky and spirits by 2pc, wine duty frozen

   • No changes on gaming or tobacco

   Energy/North Sea

   • £1.3bn of support for the oil and gas industry through a series of tax cuts to petroleum revenue levies, supplementary charges and a tax allowance.

   • This will increase production by 15pc by the end of decade according to the OBR

   Launches a sale of £13bn of UK Asset Resolution mortgages. This is the "bad bank" of bailed out Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley

   • £9bn of Lloyds shares will be sold this year

   • The bank levy will be raised from 0.156pc to 0.21pc, raising £900m a year

   Regional initiatives

   • A comprehensive transport strategy for the North to help create a Northern Powerhouse

   • Business rate receipts devolved to Manchester, and offer to do the same to Cambridge

   • Eight enterprise zones across Britain, with new ones in Plymouth and Blackpool

    

   . Inheritance Tax

   An increase in the inheritance tax threshold to £1m for married couples by 2017

    

    

    

I will be at the Motherwell match with great anticipation, Motherwell after their fantastic escape at the end of last season ( 6 1 win in the playoffs); will be a huge challenge, if Inverness win then it will be a useful yardstick to judge the season by.  In some ways I am going into this season happier in my thoughts than  at the beginning of last season. I was amazed the team started so well with the win at Hamilton.  If we can get off to a winning start again  it will be a huge boost to the confidence not only of the team , but the staff and the fans as well. True we can look at the team and say we need this or we need that, but somehow I have a feeling we will be there or thereabouts just like last year.

Maybe members are elected to govern not oppose?

Bills are not one dimensional, they are composite, so if part of the measures are OK and part of the measure you disagree with, you can find yourself abstaining.

Then again you have a brain, should you not blindly follow the party whip, or should you stand up for your beliefs?

The interim Labour Leader took the view that to abstain was the right course of action, to vote against the finance bill, is not good government, and could lead to massive problems in governance of the country. Should the budget not be accepted

It is a hard concept for non parliamentarians or rookie MP's to grasp. but the British government is not a free for all. It does not want to end up like Greece.

I mentioned once before  that I was willing to run an NFL  fantasy league for Forum members

It is relatively easy to form  a league or you can join a national league on even a paid league

Leagues usually have 10 teams. There are no transfer fees to worry about as in a soccer fantasy

You join a live draft or you can opt for the automatic draft feature.  There are several rounds , The person who drafts first in the first round drafts last in the second round so on and so forth.

Each person drafts in turn. The NFL make it easy by suggesting the best player available as you go along.

Each slot must be filled, Running backs score the most points so when drafting experienced players try to get the best running backs in their team before somebody else gets them. After that you get Wide receivers and Quarter backs.   Tight Ends and then kickers  are usually left till near the completion of the draft rounds.

There are practice drafts you can sign up for

If enough people show interest I can go ahead and form the league.  I won't worry if insufficient interest is shown . but if people want it I will go ahead

Take the mickey if you like I won't worry about that either, I have heard it all before.  

Link below should help

http://www.nfl.com/fantasyfootball?icampaign=fantasy_myteampromo_slashfantasy_accessnow

You are just arguing for arguing sake I don't see the point

I explained how it came about, I was checking the ticket to tell my wife the time the match started.

I have no idea about default times and such like, Maybe I am old fashioned, but I am 72 in a couple of weeks. I don't see why a ticket is not correct.

It maybe an   8  not a zero   it is academic to argue , As I explained earlier it took me by surprise somewhat. -  Totally unprofessional to put a default time - Yngwie is quite right to say so

It

No I am not worried at all

My wife asked me the K O time because she would travel up with me and do some shopping. Just to check I looked at the ticket. I immediately saw 12.08 am

My  reaction was blimey it is an afternoon K O  " must be something to do with Rumanian T V",?  I showed my wife who said 12.08 am is actually early morning , so I knew it was some sort of error and quite amusing because if the time had been more reasonable but still wrong, I might have turned up at the wrong time.

A lot of people with tickets not on the internet  and maybe living many miles away may  have tickets and not know the real  K O time. So  I think replacements should be sent out. To avoid any misunderstanding , Not very professional ICT?

See you all just after midnight

My camera  was one of the first digital devices I bought it duty free well over 10 years ago on a cross channel  ferry - when it was "state of the art" believe it or not ?

But The picture is authentic not pixelated whatever that means?

The Black timber raised beds in my garden are designed to represent the work of the great designer Charles Rennie Macintosh

Last October it was just a lawn.  So a lot of hard work has gone into it.

I find all the above comments to be well thought out and the basis for debate,

I sometimes wonder how  many times I have changed my mind on this aspect over the many years of my life.

I suspect their is room for a "think tank",as such, -  the name ( House of Lords",  gives rise to what in France was named  "Bastille Day", , I don't suppose Alex would get out the dreaded blade to see off the "Aristos", but I wouldn't put it passed him. The knitting needles and all.

Maybe a change of name would be appropriate, ,  On a historical basis from an English point of view it was the Magna Carta  which the Lords challenged the monarch with.

It was their Lordships however who  lost the American colonies, ( Lord North )  after being warned by the commoner William Pitt.  "There's the Rub".

To Alex

Many thanks for your reply I always find your comments to be more interesting  than those who shall remain nameless

I did Pre - empt  my comments as a feeling you know. nothing more nothing less

By the way my wife as 3 degrees and cant sing a note lol

I have a feeling and that's all it is, that there is a divide between the leaders of the SNP and the rank and file.

I think the referendum campaign was an eye opener for the top people in the SNP , things like currency, banking , imports, etc., Had not been properly researched. The rank and file of the SNP supporters, would not have to implement Independence, but the leaders would have too.

If there is to be another campaign, I believe it will be far more professional than last time.

Having said all that, the SNP must be delighted with the back door status they have achieved post referendum, and  the considerable new powers that will come their way.

The problem with votes of this sort that they are very divisive and not really good for the country either at home or abroad, The bonds between England and Scotland that were cast iron, are very much weakened now.

Jokes on the Radio about Scotland take place on a irregular basis now, where before nobody I knew in England was much bothered about activities in the north.

The SNP will have a night to remember in the Scottish parliament elections, it could be they have a massive landslide, As other political bodies have found in the past with very large  majorities comes a lot of problems, when there is no notable opponent factions , develop and internal infighting takes over.

I was very unhappy to see Ross leave , We need to sign players not lose them

In Butcher's time I felt he was a permanent feature, but his style was not really to Hughes liking.

I feel Dundee is not the best club for him, ( I had a hunch he would surface in South Wales.)

I work to hard to read all the pages on this  web platform , some of us have work to do

Not saying it is the greatest it is surely the hardest a blind man on a galloping horse can see that

Look  chaps the English clubs are there on merit

The problem they have is that their schedule is much harder than any other league

They have to have huge squads to compete on several fronts. With nail biting games in every competition.

So if they don't quite do as well some years as others with less demanding schedules then it is churlish in the extreme to suggest they have too many places in Europe

We are talking about some of the best football teams in the world.

The top 4 teams in England have got to be in the Champions league. No question about that

Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United , Manchester City, Could give any team in the world a good game.

Could ICT meet West Ham United ?   Teams below

Full entries
First qualifying round
West Ham United FC (ENG)*
FC Sheriff (MDA)
Rosenborg BK (NOR)
IF Elfsborg (SWE)
HNK Hajduk Split (CRO)
Apollon Limassol FC (CYP)
AC Omonia (CYP)
ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
AIK Solna (SWE)
Neftçi PFK (AZE)
WKS Śląsk Wrocław (POL)
MŠK Žilina (SVK)
FC Aktobe (KAZ)
Go Ahead Eagles (NED)*
FK Crvena zvezda (SRB)
Debreceni VSC (HUN)
Brøndby IF (DEN)
FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk (BLR)
FC Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)
PFC Litex Lovech (BUL)
FK Vojvodina (SRB)
FC Spartak Trnava (SVK)
FH Hafnarfjördur (ISL)
Saint Johnstone FC (SCO)
FK Željezničar (BIH)
Randers FC (DEN)
Strømsgodset IF (NOR)
KR Reykjavík (ISL)
Jagiellonia Białystok (POL)
FC Botoşani (ROU)
NK Lokomotiva Zagreb (CRO)
Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL)
F91 Dudelange (LUX)
İnter Bakı PİK (AZE)
Linfield FC (NIR)
PFC Beroe Stara Zagora (BUL)
Valletta FC (MLT)
FC Differdange 03 (LUX)
FK Rabotnicki (MKD)
FC Torpedo Zhodino (BLR)
Aberdeen FC (SCO)
FC Dacia Chisinau (MDA)
NK Koper (SVN)
Saint Patrick's Athletic FC (IRL)
Beitar Jerusalem FC (ISL)
HŠK Zrinjski (CRO)
HB Tórshavn (FRO)
FK Budućnost Podgorica (MNE)
Birkirkara FC (MLT)
NK Domžale (SVN)
FC Vaduz (LIE)
FK Čukarički (SRB)
NK Celje (SVN)
Ferencvárosi TC (HUN)
Nõmme Kalju FC (EST)
FC Flora Tallinn (EST)
FK Sutjeska (MNE)
Skonto FC (LVA)
Víkingur (FRO)
KF Renova (MNE)
Odds BK (NOR)
FK Kukësi (ALB)
Qäbälä FK (AZE)
KF Shkëndija (MKD)
FC Kairat Almaty (KAZ)
FC Ordabasy Shymkent (KAZ)
MTK Budapest (HUN)
FC Shirak (ARM)
FK Mladost Podgorica (MNE)
KF Laçi (ALB)
Ulisses FC (ARM)
FC Saxan (MDA)
Glentoran FC (NIR)
VPS Vaasa (FIN)
FC Dinamo Batumi (GEO)
Tskhinvali (GEO)
JK Sillamäe Kalev (EST)
FC Lusitans (AND)
SJK Seinäjoki (FIN)
FC Lahti (FIN)
Víkingur Reykjavík (ISL)
FK Jelgava (LVA)
FK Olimpic Sarajevo (BIH)
NSÍ Runavík (FRO)
UE Sant Julià (AND)
FK Atlantas Klaipėda (LTU)
Glenavon FC (NIR)
Cork City FC (IRL)
University College Dublin AFC (IRL)*
FK Kruoja Pakruojis (LTU)
SP La Fiorita (SMR)
AUK Broughton FC (WAL)
FK Partizani (ALB)
FC Progrès Niederkorn (LUX)
FK Trakai (LTU)
FK Spartaks Jūrmala (LVA)
Balzan FC (MLT)
Bala Town FC (WAL)
AC Juvenes/Dogana (SMR)
Newtown AFC (WAL)
Alashkert FC (ARM)
College Europa FC (GIB)

*Respect Fair Play entrants

Second qualifying round
FC København (DEN)
PAOK FC (GRE)
Trabzonspor AŞ (TUR)
Legia Warszawa (POL)
HNK Rijeka (CRO)
FC Thun (SUI)
FC Astra Giurgiu (ROU)
FC Dinamo Minsk (BLR)
FK Mladá Boleslav (CZE)
R. Charleroi SC (BEL)
IFK Göteborg (SWE)
Wolfsburger AC (AUT)
Hapoel Beer Sheva FC (ISR)
Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (SCO)
PFC Cherno More Varna (BUL)
51 first qualifying round winners tbc

For Mac

During tonight's  Champion's league  Final.Some visitors to my village from Spain stared cheering as they passed my house

I wondered why ?  apparently they mistook the I C T  Flag in my garden for the red and blue of Barcelona

 

 

 

   Funny how Sturgeon's now backing off from the idea of full fiscal responsibility - because she knows it would blow a big hole in their finances - now saying (although it was in their manifesto) 'it will take years to implement' . Really how come they planned for it to take only 18 months after the referendum to become fully independent (in the event of a yes vote)?!? Maybe it has sunk in that even with £1 billion of Tory cuts they would still be much better off than going it alone. It seems to me that what they want is maximum power and minimum responsibility so when anything goes wrong they can still point the finger at Westminster. The SNP is basically like a spoilt teenager who likes to moan about mum and dad and decries 'oppression', yet still expects them to do his washing, feed him and pay his bills and his debts!

 

 

 

I actually clapped but it doesn't mean I like him or agree with him

But he now has a job to do  for everyone  not just his supporters.

He is not Rt. Honourable though as his introduction  indicated

That  title is for Privy Councillors only

 

How is she backing off from full financial responsibility?  Who is even offering full financial responsibility for her to back away from, pray tell....(I must have missed that one)? 

 

I thought that in the GE manifesto, all they pretty much said was that they would get as much as they could from Westminster to try to fulfill the VOW.

 

Or are you still mithering on about the referendum manifesto?  If so, the reason Salmond said 18 months was not to get Scotland out of all the joint UK encumbrances, it was 18 months to the Declaration of Independence, by which time they would have set up basic necessary departments and systems to cope with our own newly minted, much less complicated ideas, but still not have managed to finish extricating Scottish money from the ludicrously complex Westminster system. Those negotiations would have still been ongoing, and given the Westminster rhetoric, somewhat difficult and acrimonious.and long-winded.

 

Any financial devolution within the UK is not simple and does not allow the same level of tearing idiocy up and doing sensible as independence would. After all, there was a bill in 2012 giving Scotland some very small measure of devolution, and of some income tax and two small tax incomes, stamp duty and landfill.......and Stamp duty and landfill has only come in in 2015 (that's three years, btw.....and it is going to be 2016 before the income tax rasing is applied (and that is four years).  Anything in the new Scotland Bill, whatever is in it, is not going to be applied much before 2020......which is five years from now.

 

Laurence, like being in the House of Lords, being a Privy Councillor is a job for life.so Alex Salmond is one, just as Henry McLeish and Jack MacConnell are, and as is Nicola Sturgeon.......and for the same reason, the men have been First Minister of Scotland and the other is now the FM.

 

Big Deal So you think it right to be introduced as rt. Honourable when you have only had a mandate for less than a month

You would argue black is white if the SNP said so. If Sturgeon shouted jump we would have to pull you off the ceiling.

 

Laurence, every MP who was handed a qualifying job in government when the first Cabinet was chosen after 4 days is now a Privy Councillor. If it took Nicola a month to be appointed, the establishment dragged their feet.( I am assuming that it is Nicola you are talking about, because Alex Salmond has been a Privy Councillor since 2007....two years less than Cameron and a few days longer than Milliband, in fact).  If you want to make a point, better to do some research first, don't you think?

 

You obviously don't know me very well.  I am not a member of the SNP, and don't support them if I think they are wrong, but as you only read me on here, where most of my posts are defending pro-indy voters, the Scottish Government, and therefore the SNP,  from the snide comments, misrepresentation and bile posted by some Unionists members, you won't be aware of that. Elsewhere, where the debate is a little less polarised and nasty.and more like a debate, I do and have criticised the SNP.

 

The problem on here is that it is a very rare occurrence when someone actually makes a calm collected post criticising the actions of the Scottish Government with reasoned and cogent argument (and I don't have much hopes of that changing when it comes to the actions of the SNP MPs in Westminster), so I respond to the tone of what I read......and if all the posts continue to be variations on the eternal theme of SNP BAD, whether that is being applied to all of we YES voters, regardless of our politics, or the Scottish Government/MPs then of course I am going to post saying why SNP BAD is not an argument, which I accept to someone with an irrational bias against the SNP may well come across as If Sturgeon shouted jump we would have to pull you off the ceiling. 

 

Out of interest, have you ever made a calm collected post criticising the actions of the Scottish Government/SNP with reasoned and cogent argument?  If so, can you link me to it? 

 

Big Deal