Recent posts

#1

Down / Re: Down Club Hurling & Footba...

Last post by Hard2Listen2 - Today at 04:45:10 PM

This is a fantastic opportunity to make it to an Ulster final, so I hope there is a lot of support on Saturday night.

Will ya be goin urself TH?
Day out for ya!

#2

GAA Discussion / Re: Ulster Senior football cha...

Last post by thebigfullforward - Today at 04:42:25 PM

Just goes to show anyone can beat anyone on the day. Harte is a stubborn f**ker though so I'd put money on Lynch pushing up the next day too! Not many teams have the midfield to dominate Glass!

Derry are a class side, I've no agenda here... But Conor Glass is so overrated it's unreal..another shocker performance, he saves his shockers for when Derry are in a tight spot too

I'd agree with that. Even from what I've seen at club level he's able to take it up a notch in the final 10 minutes but before that it doesn't feel like he's in the game. Seems to be the same at county level as well. Capable of a few big plays during a game but it doesn't feel like he's there consistently for 45/50 minutes

[and has got big performances from Rashford in the past]

#3

General discussion / Re: Man Utd Thread:

Last post by JoG2 - Today at 04:40:47 PM

Get Southgate locked in for next season 

Is he really that bad an appointment compared to ETH? The number of shots that United concede is absolutely shocking and this mainly due to the gaps between defence, midfield and up front so easy to play through. Southgate would  have them a more stable outfit and has got big performances from Rashford in the past.  Could be possibly get a tune out of Sancho?

so has Ten Hag, so what!

The relationship with ETH and Rashford is clearly fractured and I doubt he will regain any type of form with him at the helm.  Southgate is certainly a better option than ETH at this stage. 

Played through by a championship team at the weekend but sure just stick with him hes doing a great job. 

I enjoyed the commentator's question on Sunday in Utd Cov game re Rashford and the Euros, wondering 'Will the real Marcus Rashford please stand up'... That is the real Rashford, as windy and watery a modern footballer as you're ever likely to see

[and has got big performances from Rashford in the past]

#4

General discussion / Re: Man Utd Thread:

Last post by statto - Today at 04:36:14 PM

Get Southgate locked in for next season 

Is he really that bad an appointment compared to ETH? The number of shots that United concede is absolutely shocking and this mainly due to the gaps between defence, midfield and up front so easy to play through. Southgate would  have them a more stable outfit and has got big performances from Rashford in the past.  Could be possibly get a tune out of Sancho?

so has Ten Hag, so what!

The relationship with ETH and Rashford is clearly fractured and I doubt he will regain any type of form with him at the helm.  Southgate is certainly a better option than ETH at this stage. 

Played through by a championship team at the weekend but sure just stick with him hes doing a great job. 

#5

General discussion / Re: GP's & Hospitals - What is...

Last post by bennydorano - Today at 04:32:40 PM

My friends aunt was up from the South, needed to see a doctor, paid £75 quid to see one in a private clinic in Armagh ran by an ex Tyrones missus, the doctor she saw is the doctor I would see if I ever got an appointment!

That Doctor is in all likelihood taking those shifts because his or her practice can not give them any more shifts. Not the fault of the GP but the system.

I dont think so. Went part time (or just left) NHS to go into the private sector.

#6

General discussion / Re: Premier League 2023-2024

Last post by quit yo jibbajabba - Today at 04:25:04 PM

F*ck me Bunker I've read some shite on this board but that's deffo up there 🤣🤣🤣🤣 sorry/glad I missed it first time round. Those last two sentences will take some beating.

When you've time on your hands write down the amount of points the likes of United Arsenal Chelsea Spurs finished behind city in the past 6,7 years then revisit your musings 🤣🤣🤣

#7

GAA Discussion / Re: Standard of Refs

Last post by HokeyPokey - Today at 04:15:58 PM

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-41379304.html

Ah the aul hindsight and replays, multiple angles and so on, people hate VAR in the PL but call for it here!

Galvin needs to throw stuff out there otherwise he'll be not getting a wee earner

The PL have made a hames of VAR though. The standard of reffing in the PL is just generally abysmal considering the standard of the players. The same refs are in charge of VAR so it's a reflection of that. They could easily automate things like the ball going out of play and semi automated offsides. They have made some absolutely terrible mistakes. There's continually changes to the way they ref, some of which is announced, sometimes it's not. So something can be deemed a penalty, one week and then not be a penalty the following week.

It generally works grand for rugby and also for international soccer tournaments as far as I can see.

That's because they have tried to implement a system which is looking at something which is ultimately opinion and interpretation based. It is not black and white and 3 different people in the VAR room watching the same footage could make three different calls on it, so it was never going to be the silver bullet for refs.
If anything I think it is had made their life more difficult instead of less.

Yes, it is subjective, but they have made numerous mistakes which were objectively wrong. How it has been implemented has been terrible. There's been numerous incidents of them forgetting to draw the lines or not communicating leading to a goal being wrongly allowed/disallowed or not being able to tell if a ball went out of play. Changing the interpretation and thresholds of contact etc. throughout the season does not help inspire confidence or consistency. When you do hear from the PL referees or former referees they don't inspire confidence either. 

VAR works much better in other tournaments in soccer and is much better. It's almost never an issue with rugby. Having clearer defined rules and better processes is possible. It's possible to speed things up by having semi automated offsides and inform the ref when the ball goes out etc.

#8

General discussion / Re: GP's & Hospitals - What is...

Last post by Applesisapples - Today at 04:15:36 PM

My friends aunt was up from the South, needed to see a doctor, paid £75 quid to see one in a private clinic in Armagh ran by an ex Tyrones missus, the doctor she saw is the doctor I would see if I ever got an appointment!

That Doctor is in all likelihood taking those shifts because his or her practice can not give them any more shifts. Not the fault of the GP but the system.

[Before COVID you could ring the GP surgery and get an appointment the same day, Why are GP's not back to seeing patients, is everything just been sent to the A&E departments. What are they actually doing?]

#9

General discussion / Re: GP's & Hospitals - What is...

Last post by Applesisapples - Today at 04:12:35 PM

The school rang my wife yesterday about our 12 yr old son who was saying he didnt feel well and said his chest was sore. Teacher said his heart rate was pretty fast. He hadn't been running about or anything. Long story short he was lifted from school and the wife thought she would call into the GP Surgery in our small town. She said the car park to the surgery was empty (this was around 2pm) and when she went to the reception she could see they waiting room was empty and they told her that there were no free appointments available and to ring this number.

She rang the number and explained what was going on and was told to be at Craigavon for 6pm.
Went up and got a ECG done which showed nothing out of the ordinary and said that it might be best to get a chest xray and sent her over to the A&E department.
My wife said it was crazy, the place was packed with only standing room and she just came home as she would probably be still waiting.

Before COVID you could ring the GP surgery and get an appointment the same day, Why are GP's not back to seeing patients, is everything just been sent to the A&E departments. What are they actually doing?

We are not ones who run every time to the doctors if one of us has have a sniffle and the last time I was we were at a hospital was when our last was born which was 8 years ago.

Surly this can go on like this as staff at the hospitals couldnt work under them conditions.

Sorry for the long post.
 

Few points on this.
No you generally could not see a GP the same day before COVID. Routine appointments were handed out a month in advance. Slots would be reserved for emergency stuff on the day but for the most part, you had to wait a few weeks at least.

In fact, more people are seen "on the day" than ever before. The move to a day to day triage service has ensured that calls can be triaged and redirected to the appropriate person (GP, pharmacist, a&e, etc).
There are more consultations per day now than before COVID, and that's with less staff. To the point where safety concerns have very raised by the BMA.

There are a few reasons why surgeries are ridiculously busy at the minute. A shortage of doctors like I said, but as well as that the amount of people on waiting lists for secondary care is growing, leaving these people essentially going to their GP to treat symptoms whilst they wait for expert assessment. An aging population and increased rates of obesity, T2DM etc also contribute.

This is correct, ad to that the amount of money GP practices receive to provide services has not increased in a long time meaning that all staff wage increases and the normal cost of living increases have been taken out of the GP's pocket so it is becoming harder to retain GP's.

#10

General discussion / Re: Premier League 2023-2024

Last post by HokeyPokey - Today at 04:06:13 PM

Must be a parade or two for those glorious points tally's?

That's the tough sh1t of sport. You can be the best team in a below average league and you can be a really top team in a  in a competitive league.

City are going for their 6th league title in 7 years. They'd be going for 7 in a row if Liverpool did not break their run. They are going for an unprecedented 4 in a row this year. People can say money is the factor, but money will only buy you a very strong squad. You still need hunger and organisation. I hear all this talk of the 115 charges against City, if they held any substance then City would be deducted points like Forest and Everton. There is no way the League would treat one club different to the rest. Klopps record of being competitive in the League here and there and being competitive in the Champions League is over blown. Any other club other than City could do what Klopp has done at liverpool the last 5 to 6 years. It's mad that he lasted so long at the club.

Cities are much more complicated. Not sure why it should take so long. There's loads of dodgy stuff like receiving millions of sponsorship money from companies that didn't exist.

Money can only get you so far (see Yanited). But it can get you the best manager in the world, the best players and scouts etc. Pep hardly went to Man City for the mediocre history, did he? It's not as if he took a bunch of lads from the academy either. It's an impressive sporting feat what they have achieved, but it's pretty clear that they did so outside the financial rules etc., which are lax as it is.