As Starmer is in the process of being replaced, Politicians of all Parties seem to refer to the "good old days" when people voted in, and removed, Prime Ministers. However, the reality is very, very different.

Since 1940, there have been 18 (soon to be 19) Prime Ministers. How many were initially elected into that position? 7. Just 3 since Thatcher in 1979.

How many were both voted in, and voted out, by the electorate? 2. The last being Edward Heath (1970-74). The last Prime Minister to actually last for an entire term was Cameron (2010-14)-shortly before being forced to keep quiet about his Opposition to Brexit.

This constant need for change is not primarily due to Politicians. It is the electorate being unwilling to give anyone time to deliver the actual manifesto that people voted for. Conservative and Labour alike.

We get the Politicians we deserve.

Or, indeed, look in a mirror

[everything]

Today's headlines are typical of the increasingly hysterical media and politician-led frenzy. Devoid of relevant facts, to place things into context. In order that sensible choices can be made.

Reform are probably the worst offenders in relation to this. Endless meaningless soundbites. And no real budgets. But all Parties and Commentators do it.

Let's start with the obvious lies.

People want you to believe that taxes should be paid by people not like you. And benefits should only be paid to people just like you. And that's really not the way the system works. Never has. And never will. And the Farages of this World know that fine well.

Next-defence spending. People always trot out the "just an extra 0.5% of GDP" bit. As though that is not a lot of money. When it really, really is. 0.5% of GDP is £15 BILLION. This year. Next year. And every year. GDP isn't "tax"-it is the total of everything earned in the UK

Forget the Far Left's "We'll just tax the rich". The World has tried to increase tax for the rich since time began. And-guess what? It doesn't succeed.
The Far Right think it is as simple as cutting benefits and net zero targets. When the former only tends to create a new benefit need identical in cost to the last one. And the latter saves a tiny sum.

The reality is that any increase will-as per usual-fall on the taxpayer. Not the Pensioner, with the Triple Lock still sacrosanct. Not the rich. And not those on Benefits. In simple terms, £15 Billion a year is an extra 2p on income tax. This year. And every year.

Is that cost worth it? Maybe. Maybe not. But don't believe the lies of politicians that the cost won't fall on the taxpayer. It will. It always does.

"Warfare not Welfare"? My arse.

[less]

My dog is a Lakeland Terrier called Billy.

Quite a rare breed-mainly because they are naturally so vicious towards other dogs they are both neutered very early on and are generally unable to get close enough to another (without fighting) to make little Lakelands. Imagine a breed regularly cross-bred with Jack Russells to make them less aggressive

He has simple rules. My Wife is his Master, I am his friend, and the kids are to be tolerated, and generally liked unless they try and remove kills. (His rule is kills will only be dropped in exchange for cheese). We got him as a rescue dog. Place spent 10 minutes checking on us, and 2 hours checking he couldn't escape.

Recall sharing a table with Neil Channing at an SPT some time ago. On my phone was 1 picture of son, 1 of daughter, and 8 of the dog. Table full of people trying to impress Neil with their poker skills-we were busy talking about dogs...

Good to be able to read this at stupid o'clock. Awake because I really am the man my 14 year old dog thinks I am. The slave to let him out for a wee at 03:30 am. Followed by a snack. Followed by him nicking my pillow for a nice kip

Agreed that the MGM has always been a poor place for poker. Back in the day, played there quite a bit. For 2 reasons:-

1. Decent number of pissed cash game players
2. Those salt beef sandwiches from the deli. With the pickle. Making me hungry

Good luck

[not]

Hi Tony

You most certainly have not "butchered" your stack. You have what looks like an average stack. Perfectly playable. And you have only dropped down from above average. Not a chip leading stack.

You have given detail about any decisions that, with the benefit of hindsight, turned out to be unwise. Something completely normal in Big O And no detail at all about the rather more hands where, either by luck or skill (almost certainly a bit of both) your stack has grown. Be just as proud of your good plays as critical of your bad. Well done today. And good luck tomorrow.

PS. You mentioned you were "pushing 80". From which direction? 

Really, really looking forward to this.

Sure I am one of many. Whether it be the "wish I'd been to Vegas" type, or (as in my case) "been lots of times, and suspect I will never go again" variety.

VBOL young man

Leaving to 1 side my natural antipathy towards the Woolwich Wanderers got to say it was deserved. In all honesty, Arsenal made advances, while all their rivals went backwards (unless you counted Man Utd as a rival at the start ofl this season).

I think most fair-minded people would have believed at the start of the Season Arsenal had 4 top, top players-the sort that play every week when fit. Gabriel, Saliba, Rice and Saka. And this season a 5th was added to that-Raya. In 1 sense, Arsenal were a little lucky that those 5 kept fit. In 37 League games, those 5 have have made 166 appearances, only missing 19 between them.

But what they have not got credit for is this. In the past year, Arsenal have made a net spend of £230 million. To improve the players around those 5. So-for example-Defenders to supplement the 2 CBs now include Hincapie, Timber, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Mosquera and White. Same with adding Eze, Zubimendi and Madueke. Not necessarily an upgrade on the best 4 midfielders last season, but a massive upgrade for 3rd-8th best. Compare/contrast with Liverpool, who spent squillions trying to replace their ageing stars, resulting in a horribly unbalanced squad.

Shows the difference between fleshing out a team/squad and major surgery

Breaking news.

Arsenal to change their name, to make it clear who their main sponsor is....

Varsenal 

Agreed.

If Given and Murphy are the answer, then it must have been a really stupid question

Given seemed to be saying that Arsenal have cheated in a similar way in previous games and got away with it, therefore West Ham should be entitled to cheat in the same way. That's really not the way football works.

In relation to the ridiculous stuff in the box at set pieces, which was probably started by Arsenal, but now done by most teams, the answer is simple. The Ref needs to give 1 warning. After that, the ball is deemed live even before the Corner is taken. A couple of Penalties and a Sending Off and, as if by magic, all this nonsense stops.

And that isn't new. I remember that certifiable loony tunes Jens Lehman being sent off in exactly that way. Wrestling, blocking off the keeper etc is (or should be ) no different to kicking the ball away or preventing a quick free kick.

Off to watch Spirs v Leeds on Sky. I've warned my Wife that my language may get a bit, er, industrial...

Interesting article.

In relation to Sky sports, I feel they are generally pretty good. The glaring exception tends to be the ex-footballer co-commentator. Almost all of which have no Managerial experience. And make a half-decent comment in the 1st minute of a game. And then repeat it every other minute for the entire game. I'm sure which 1 you dislike the most is based on who you support. For this Spurs fan, does feckin Alan feckin Smith have it written into his contract that he can give his ill-informed twaddle at every single Spurs game?

But is (for example) Carragher or Neville better? And Jamie Redknapp is only not nasty because he is routinely beige.

For me, the Jury is still very much out on Arteta. Has he improved your lot? Yes. Has he won anything worthwhile yet? No. And articles like that 1, seeking to get the excuses in first, don't really help. If he wins, suspect it will be down to him. And if he doesn't, it will be due to the players. In his mind, at least.

Wenger was a brilliant Manager. Emery would IMHO have been just as good, had he been the Manager after the Manager after Wenger. Timing is everything. Meanwhile your squad is unbalanced. If your Forwards were as good as your Reserve Defenders and Midfielders, your lot would be a lot more confident

A little.

I'm not saying rivalry isn't important-it is. But perspective is also important.

I love my Club. Always have. Always will. Like any true fan, the "like" bit can be a bit strained sometimes. But never the Love. Which is far, far more fundamental than the Dislike I have for Arsenal.

I was lucky enough that, when I was young, my Mum worked for the Arsenal for a while. And the Director who was her boss was a lovely man who understood where the right line is on tribalism.

It has always been a slight disappointment to me that, by and large, Arsenal fans are thoroughly nice people. On that subject, so are West Ham fans. Spurs have always liked West Ham, although the feelings have never been mutual. Surprising that they never mention single-handedly winning the World Cup 60 years ago

Know the feeling.

In the past, you have been more Spurs-y than us, regularly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It is faintly ridiculous that a Club of your size and ability has never won the Champions League, or the Premier League for the last 22 seasons.

22 years ago was, of course, your "Invincibles" season. A look at the current Portuguese Table amuses me. Too much is made about how supposedly uncompetitive other Leagues are, but not in Portugal.

Mourinho is only 2 games away from having an Invincibles season (P32, W20, D 10). But Benfica cannot win the title, as Porto are 9 Points ahead. And Sporting Lisbon are level on Points with Benfica.

The Top 3 in Portugal have this record:- P96 W72 D21 L3. All the more remarkable when you factor in that 12 of those results involve those 3 playing one another

Think you will win the League. You'll probably be 2nd Favourites in the Champions League, but plenty of worse teams have defied much bigger odds in that Final

I'm sure you and Tony won't mind that this Spurs fan won't be wishing you luck in the CL Final. But please feel free to "hammer" Wet Spam

Wish I could.

Unfortunately, there was a confidential agreement involved, and I believe my former Client is very much alive.

Whereas the 2 main players on the other side, Spike and George Harrison, sadly, are not

Similarly, the all-Chinese clash was Xintong v Diddle-I-Po, for this lover of the Goons.

The closest I ever got to the Goons was once acting on the opposite side to Spike Milligan, and he rang me up to call me a See You Next Tuesday.