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Great result for Ballycran and it was, in fairness, coming. SN were lucky to beat KL's in Derry semi-final - very lucky as a matter of fact. They were comfortable v Banagher in final but looked very leggy and lacking energy.  The break will do them no harm.

Should be an interesting final. C'dall may have the experience to edge it. They hung in against St. John's the first day so they have that tenacity but so have Ballycran re: finish in Down final.

You'd think the the 'chief scout' would be consistently doing a dossier on players throughout Europe and beyond.  He should, as you say, have a right back, centre back and forward lined up for Jan. This should be updated on a daily basis.

Who is available, out of contract, club history, injuries and character etc.

Would this not make it easier to do, especially when there's only 2 windows nowadays?

I think if you click on it club name should come up - maybe Killyman?

IOwenbeg was drained during the summer I think so that's not a problem now afaik.

Plastic poppies on the lamp posts of Bristol this weekend.

Saw 6-8 cadets in one shopping centre selling them.

Theres no way this happened 10-15 years ago. What has caused the upturn? Fund the army??

Brexit!!!

Owenbeg would be a long trip for ballycran.

I think Ballygalget play S'neil there a couple of years ago.  But it was a semi-final? 

Maybe Armagh?

Where will Ulster final be?

Eoghan Rua won Derry in 2012. Probably 2nd best team in Derry since - after Slaughtneil obviously. Very consistent team. I'd say they'll be looking to progress in Ulster. They maybe did their 'celebrating' in 2012 and will try and push on a bit this year.

We're def. not good enough for Campions League and will struggle to qualify in Europa League - that's the level Celtic are at. Scottish league is a poor enough league so teams can't expect to do well in Europe regardless of who their teams play nowadays.

They didn't invest in summer - as a matter of fact it was a mess. As I stated before board though they could squeeze through to another champions league group stage without investing. They got badly caught out. Will be difficult to qualify now in Europa League.  The gamble failed miserably. The board also think they'd win league again without much investment - which they should do but tighter than expected I think.

As you say, new investment needed: keeper, right back and centre back. A forward also. Celtic have too many average players on their books....not playing but on decent wages.  They need to go and keep a smaller panel but more quality.  Supplement this with youth team players should be the way to go in my opinion.

I think it was Nelson Mc C of the DUP said "I wouldn't care what sort of situation I face as long as I'm out of Europe".

This was Feb 2017.

That tells us everything.

Needed not only the result but a 5 star performance.  That was important. Hopefully that'll boost the confidence in the team now. Pity there's the break for internationals now - would have liked another game before them to see how it'd go.

BRENDAN RODGERS has prepared Celtic fans for the departure of Dedryck Boyata after the Belgium International has come back into the squad and played a blinder.
The centre-back took heavy criticism during the summer window, and rightly so for the way he and his agent tried to push a move away from Celtic Park. The unprofessional manner in which Boyata conducted his business was unacceptable. Brendan Rodgers refused to grant the player his move with a £7million deal on the table and it's proven to be somewhat of a masterstroke.

While Dembele got his move for petulance, the Celtic manager spoke of knowing when he can pull a situation back and he knew he could do that with Boyata. BUT the Irishman isn't naive, and as the player gets set to enter the last six months of his deal this January, Rodgers admits his time at Celtic is coming to an end. "Dedryck will leave at some point. You look at him now and you see he is really defined now as a player who has gained great confidence the last two years, the last 18 months in particular. "Going to the World Cup, he has proven there at a good level that he can play with world class players. "He is entering into his years at 28 where he can show it. I have always said when he is concentrated that he is a top class player."
Celtic must be doing everything in their power to bring in new defenders this January to cope with losing the Belgian for nothing in the summer.

In the meantime, Boyata has been in top form, and long may it continue. If he is set to leave, then Celtic are benefiting from a player who knows he's in the shop window.

Will he be sold in Jan for big money?
Or will he go in the summer for nothing?

Some good points raised here.

I think board, after this past few years of getting to champions league, thought that they could squeeze through the qualifying rounds this year without spending any big money....but if managing to go through, then they'd rake in the cash.  They obviously gambled and lost!

Although in fairness, Celtic are a Europa Cup team.  This is where they are at. Scottish football is poor and their champions can't be expected to be in the Champions League year after year.  In the qualifying rounds, and there seems to be more every year, they will get caught out.  This is what happened this summer.

Instead of buying Mc Ginn for a few extra pound, the board thought, I think, they could get by without him.  The Boyata and Dembele situation was handled badly.  Again being greedy, they wanted to hold out but the players wanted to go. I would have sold Boyata also - get the cash in for a player who wants to move on.

Celtic didn't seem to be prepared for these last minute bids etc. so I don't understand that.  The players were sought after so they didn't have a Plan B in who to try and bring in at the last minute.  That's disappointing for me.  Very poor planning by a big club, at every level.

Thanks for the advice guys.  Houses were built around 2006 - height of the boom. I've been chatting to a fee in the estate and they have the same problem.

All double glazed and I topped up the roof insulation a few years ago. No damp in the house.

I've a lad coming out to drill a few random holes and put a camera in to see what the story is.

Owen - do you reckon it's not good to top up insulation sheets (if they're there..lol) with beads?

What can happen(it happened in a friends house built circa 2005) is that the rigid insulation sheet that was supposed to be attached to the inner leaf had detached in some areas resulting in some cold spots and the inevitable mould forming. He got an insulation company in and I think they either removed or reattached the sheets and subsequently pumped the cavity.

Article here deals with this well
https://www.eco-home-essentials.co.uk/problems-with-cavity-wall-insulation.html

In my previous house built in 90's they had put mineral will in the cavity and I was advised at that time it was not possible to place bead in. I resorted to drylining the inner walls(a dusty, expensive and very disruptive job) but worked brilliantly. Poorly fitted/sealed windows and external doors can also be troublesome. Some good advice earlier with thermal cameras and air tighteness tests. Any money spent will be a very good investment.

Thanks for that. Yeah, house build about 10 or 11 years ago, so fully doubled glazed (PVC) and I topped up the roofspace.

We light a fire most evenings in the winter but put the heating on for an hour before the kids go to bed.  Don't mind spending a bit as it'll save in the long run as the price of oil is always rising!

I'm getting a company in next week so I'll let yous know how it goes! He's to do an inspection so we'll see after that.

Marty, I got the cavities topped up a few years back with silver bead, there was already 40mm sheet material in the cavity, the house was partly rendered externally and partly facing brick and experienced no issues with damp. As someone else mentioned earlier, a survey by a recognised cavity wall insulation co would be a good starting point and see what they recommend.

Thanks Nailer - did you notice must difference after you got it topped up with the beads?