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Played really well in the first half, it was clear from early on that Salah was on fire. And Nunez while very raw has settled in nicely. When he's running with the ball he cause chaos, not always in a good way, but he's entertaining!

We were poor again in the second half. Thiago and Bobby in particular were just very sloppy and we handed back possession continuously. Spurs can only blame themselves for not getting the draw.  2-0 at the break I would have had Trent off. Some of his passing was absolutely sublime, but truly awful defensively again.

Agree with this. Trent is a massive problem defensively. He is so narrow that there is always an outlet ball for the opposition to that wing and we know the issues in behind. If Son had been playing we would have had an even bigger issue yesterday.

I genuinely think its time to try to move him into midfield as his passing last night was absolutely unreal. Could he do the Alonso type role? He is fit, his tackling is reasonable and he sees passes other players dont.  I am sure Klopp has considered this but if it worked that would solve a major problem going forward in terms of age profile in there. Obviously LFC have 2 young backups for the RB position so while you will miss his creativity out there, both Bradley and Ramsay look promising longterm.

Nunez is a wrecking ball albeit very raw. I thought Konate was excellent yesterday as well, he has been a big loss all year. Allison excellent again bar his one mistake. Says a lot when he has been Liverpool's most consistent player all year.

Liverpool have beat 3 of the current top 4 this year and lost to the bottom team. Go figure.

Surely not as bad as the Partey situation, where he has been accused of actual rape, is still on bail but is playing away.

It depends what team you support

will the energy crises have an effect on clubs

Noticed last time at Fintona they have a generator running their lights (rather than running from the grid or as backup?)
They'd probably be able to give a figure (in litres of Diesel) of what it costs to run the lights when they host a championship game

I see a good few sports pavilions round the country have solar panels on the roof. Does anyone know how these work in terms of electricity bill? i.e. if the sun is shining is the club off grid and not importing any electricity or is it exporting to the grid and getting paid for it? I know it will depend on the usage at the time but I would be curious because I have heard some stories of people who have panels on their roof who are getting paid about 5p per unit that they generate but charged a multiple of that when they are importing. I know there are different ways to set this up with batteries etc but I woudl be interested if the clubs who have panels would recommend it and the best way to do it?

[have]

It's all very well paying water rates if the money goes back into infrastructure development. We had a kick up a few years ago about water charges but most reasonable people don't mind paying their way if their money goes toward an essential service. But as we have seen across the water is that CEO bonuses need paid as do shareholder dividends before there is any further investment capital discussed. When you have Tory MPs voting to permit water companies to pump shite into the waterways you know rightly that they'll never be held to account.

We have to find a better means of holding onto the water that falls from the sky for 50% of the year.

100%. There should be no bonus to the top cats or dividend payment to shareholders until these water companies have upgraded much of the infrastructure. I have a problem with paying for water when this is all ongoing and the people at the top are stripping all the profits out of these companies and then come cap in hat expecting the tax payer to fund years and years of underinvestment. These businesses need to meet certain criteria in terms of investment, fixing leaks etc before a bonus or dividend can be declared. It is amazing the number of these utility companies that reward incompetence.

Is it a cultural thing or what is it?

I would say its actually the opposite to the bit I highlighted. The incompetence is on the side of the people who set the rules. The companies know exactly what they are doing and do it well (albeit for their benefit)

Those companies are all regulated which in theory should place the minimum capital investment requirements on the company. The problem is that when the parameters of the required investment and capital expenditure is being agreed (usually once every 5-7 years) the companies spend huge amounts of money (£millions) on consultants and high paid staff to negotiate with two men and a dog in the Regulator who could not care less what is agreed. They are generally under resourced, want an easy life and when they are getting threatened by a team of London lawyers that they are  breaking clause 127.4.b of the Water Act you can imagine what happens. The Agreement gets signed off (usually to the benefit of the company) and the companies do exactly what you would expect, the bare minimum they are required to do under law and the Regulatory Agreement. If the Regulator actually paid some money upfront to get a team of heavyweights to set the parameters properly it might be a different story.

How much of the leeway that these companies seem to have in their obligations is driven by political influence is a whole other (stinking) ballgame.

House of the Dragon.

Decent first episode. Don't see it straying much from the GOT formula.

Are the episodes coming out weekly? I have never seen GoT so I'm working on the assumption that if I start with the new series it'll be a lead-in to GoT or is the plan that this is a spin-off rather than a prequel similar to Saul and Breaking Bad?

Episodes are out weekly. First episode was very good.

Seems to be a prequel although it's hard to tell yet whether it will have much lead in if any to Game of Thrones.

Its a Prequel 200 years before GOT

Query on the MOT that hopefully someone can help with.

I have my MOT test booked for tomorrow and sods law the car has just started throwing up a "Brake Pads Worn" amber warning when I turn the ignition on. I am sure the brakes are still legal, its just an advisory warning. Anybody know if this will cause any issues with teh MOT? Have had some people say that warning lights are a fail?

Should pass Ok. Yellow light is just advising you to change them soon. The inspector will be able to see how much is left by just looking in when the car is up on the ramp. Usually a couple of thousand miles left on the pads at light on stage.

Cheers GJL. Brakes are absolutely fine and I will change the pads out at the next service. Unfortunately getting them done tonight is not an option

Query on the MOT that hopefully someone can help with.

I have my MOT test booked for tomorrow and sods law the car has just started throwing up a "Brake Pads Worn" amber warning when I turn the ignition on. I am sure the brakes are still legal, its just an advisory warning. Anybody know if this will cause any issues with teh MOT? Have had some people say that warning lights are a fail?

I'm not getting into any chat with folk on here re Covid but it's staggering what people will believe. I spoke with a husband and wife for Co Derry recently who urged me to do my research into QAnon. I initially thought they were taking the hand. Mind blowing. Cannot be healthy down in that rabbit hole 24/7

I had to go and google "Finland doesnt exist" from the chart above....... Jesus wept!

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/finland/articles/does-finland-exist-many-dont-think-so/

Tbh it's borderline fraud what the DUP are at.

But, but, but NI Protocol..

Oh, and fleg.....

And Themmums

[True but renewal prices tend to be quite expensive. Think companies hope that customers just let it go for handiness sake]

Woke up this morning to find that my car insurance had automatically renewed.
Forgot to contact them to cancel the renewal when I got email few weeks ago.
Am I tied in to this or does the cooling off period hold here?
Automatic renewals a real pain.

This is one case where autmatic renewals might not be a pain. If you had just forgotten to renew and headed off driving today with no insurance then you would be glad of automatic renewal.

True but renewal prices tend to be quite expensive. Think companies hope that customers just let it go for handiness sake

They have tried to bring this practice to an end.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/dec/30/landmark-uk-insurance-shakeup-poised-to-benefit-loyal-customers

You still should shop around but impact now much less

Diesel is killing me. Price of groceries creeping up too.

Diesel is shocking. Can hardly see the needle moving when you put £50 in. Madness.

How do people do it if they're doing big miles every week?

Doing 500 mile a week myself for work. Don't chat.

I feel your pain RH88. Currently doing about 450miles a week for work, then add in the extra miles in the evening & weekends. It's costing a fortune.

Those are serious commutes lads. I feel for you. The one good thing about lockdown was that my place got established into Work from Home and I am now 2 day a week maximum in the office. The extra time I have in the evenings, never mind the cost of the travel means I would seriously consider my options if I had to go back to 5 days a week on site. My diesel bill would be about £500 a month. If you gross it up and take into account wear and tear on the car its probably the equivalent of £10-12k on a salary.

This Cardiologist doesn't care either in having the balls to push back.
https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1542510038912077825?t=rgpMyuQJ4ga36nU9TeBo-A&s=08

Life expectancy has been extended by 10 years in the last few decades thanks to medication.
We can treat disease now in a way never thought possible in the 70s or 80s.

🤔 Life span v Health span. Which is better. A friend of mine has 3 nursing homes filled with people who barely feed themselves or wipe their own arse! So it's all good. Bravo to the system!

Thats a can of worms. Not for this thread but from a personal perspective I would rather clock out "early" when I still have my full faculties rather than just survive in an home for years. Happy to save my grandkids and children a few quid as well.  I would have no issue with companies like Dignitas etc operating here, obviously under proper regulations and controls.

I read somewhere recently he is on a five year deal for the same money as Diaz is on. Dangers of a desperate buyer although to be fair Liverpool have not got stung too often recently.

I think he is on £60k/pw which is probably what I would have expected, just though Diaz would be on a lot more.

Diaz would be on double that at least

I would have thought that as well but not according to media at the time of the deal. I would say if he keeps his form up a renegotiation is likely this year like they did with Salah/VVD etc

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpool-transfer-news-luis-diaz-26078016
https://www.teamtalk.com/liverpool/luis-diaz-transfer-agreed-porto-star-to-fly-to-england-to-sign-up

Ben Davies on 60k a week? Not a chance.

I am just going by what I have seen online with all the usual caveats but thats the only figure I have seen quoted.

https://lfcglobe.co.uk/liverpool-fc-players-wages-contract-details/
https://thecelticstar.com/second-time-lucky-former-celtic-target-ben-davies-to-leave-liverpool/

https://www.spotrac.com/epl/liverpool-fc/ben-davies-71614/

Minamino gone to Monaco - 15m euro plus add-ones

Good deal for all concerned...seem like a good fella but just never going to get games with the bucks in front of him

He didnt play an awful lot, but got some improtant goals particularly in the cup run. Bought for around 7m and sold for 15m after 2 years of beinga solid squad player is decent enough business.

Completely agree. He has moved on, Sadio, Divock, likely that big Nat, Neco and Ben Davies go too. That frees up the guts of £350k per week salaries wise. Nunez is £100k the 2 young lads a drop into that,  maybe a contract for Mo is not out of the question....

Did Ben Davis ever kick a ball for the Liverpool first team?

Not competitively. Played a pre-season game I think. His fee that was paid out has been recouped through the loan fee from last season so any money made on a sale is profit. Small money but still like likely to be £3-5m

I read somewhere recently he is on a five year deal for the same money as Diaz is on. Dangers of a desperate buyer although to be fair Liverpool have not got stung too often recently.

I think he is on £60k/pw which is probably what I would have expected, just though Diaz would be on a lot more.

Would like to see a midfielder like Tielemens come in as well on the assumption Bellingham is not available but I would not be convinced that is the end of it, especially if Ox/Minamino and Neco all leave. It leaves us with a central midfield panel of

Hendo
Thiago
Fab
Jones
Naby
Milner

I am not including Elliott and Carvahlo as they are more attacking options. On paper it looks fine but a long term injury to Fab/Thiago/Hendo and it could get tight.

Jones needs to step up this year and become a real option for an extended run but I would be concerned about a lack of goals from midfield, especially when teams park the bus.