Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Options

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Marf on the Cyprus aftermath

SystemSystem Posts: 11,005
edited March 2013 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Marf on the Cyprus aftermath

PaddyPower now has a market on which constituency Boris will stand in at #GE2015 .bit.ly/I8PkIO twitter.com/MSmithsonPB/st…

Read the full story here


«13

Comments

  • Options
    Peter_2Peter_2 Posts: 146
    1st?
  • Options
    Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 49,200
    Nice cartoon, Marf, as always!
  • Options
    PolruanPolruan Posts: 2,083
    No odds on the possible vacancy in Mid Beds?
  • Options
    He'd walk Sheffield Hallam. .

    He'd be very popular in South Yorkshire.

    Surprised Padfdy Power haven't put a Liverpool seat on the list.
  • Options
    AndreaParma_82AndreaParma_82 Posts: 4,714
    edited March 2013
    Sinn Fein have selected Ian Patrick Milne to be co-opted as MLA for Mid Ulster to replace the one elected as MP in the by-election. This Milne got a life sentence but was sent out after the Good Friday Agreement.
  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983
    @Andrea

    From one sentence in the Maze to another in Stormont, the guy cant seem to catch a break.
  • Options
    AndreaParma_82AndreaParma_82 Posts: 4,714
    @Neil

    but does he like Teddy Bears?
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,011
    Interesting move by Theresa May. It would be good if this set a trend for removing 'arms-length' agencies with their own Chief Executives and bureaucracies which serve only to reduce democratic accountability.
  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983
    @Andrea

    He was last seen with a ballot box in one hand and a teddy bear in another.
  • Options
    AndreaParma_82AndreaParma_82 Posts: 4,714
    edited March 2013
    Neil

    Teddy Bears vote. They also have a high turnout.

    Moving to your patch, are the Cllrs all from Southwark? http://www.catherinemcdonald.org.uk/what-people-are-saying/
  • Options
    On thread, 'None' looks value at 1/6.
  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983
    @Andrea

    Yes, they are, there would appear to be 0 local momentum behind her campaign, I'd be very surprised if she won.
  • Options
    Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 49,200
    Neil said:

    @Andrea

    He was last seen with a ballot box in one hand and a teddy bear in another.

    Nah, it was an Armadillo in one hand and a Ballet Dancer in the other!

    :)

  • Options
    Tim_BTim_B Posts: 7,669
    I have a couple of rugby questions - have now watched several Super League games, and am currently watching Wasps v Northampton. It's great to see rugby of all codes again.

    1,. I notice that many kickers of points after tries go through the same routine. They stand behind the ball, feet together, crouch slightly, their hands clasped tightly in front of them, looking like they are seriously constipated, and desperately trying to have a dump. Why is this?

    2. In rugby league games, during the individual shots after a try, many of the players raise their hands in front, and hook their first fingers together - why is this?

    As to players leading out small children in miniature uniforms at the start of a game - that is just creepy.
  • Options
    AndreaParma_82AndreaParma_82 Posts: 4,714
    edited March 2013
    @Neil

    Now there's the nominations phase. Just candidates with at least 1 nomination (from ward branches and affiliates) can be considered at shortlisting stage.

  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    For anyone interested in Cyprus, there's an interesting article on Conhome by Andrew Lillico. He points out that when banks go insolvent in a western democracy, depositors have almost never faced haircuts of more than 20 per cent, largely because the bank has many assets in the form of loans, and these can be sold on by the liquidators (albeit at a discount).

    Its only in the third world ie Latin America where depositors have faced bigger losses in recent times.
  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    Tim B.

    your 1. This strange crouching kicking technique was first used by the great England kicker Johny Wilkinson, and is now seemingly universally used. It's a bit like the Fosberry flop in the high jump. You don't have to do it that way, but that seems to be the most effective way.

    Kickers all used to have their only individual styles, but now most use the Wilkinson way.
  • Options
    nigel4englandnigel4england Posts: 4,800
    tim said:

    Crick
    UKIP supporters in Portsmouth holding meeting tonight to form local branch in expectation Mike Hancock will resign and cause by-election

    A Lib Dem resign? Huhne had no choice but he hung on long enough, Handycock will have to be dragged out screaming.

  • Options
    samsam Posts: 727
    edited March 2013
    tim said:

    Crick
    UKIP supporters in Portsmouth holding meeting tonight to form local branch in expectation Mike Hancock will resign and cause by-election

    My Heath Robinson By Election predictor says...

    LD 32.6%
    Con 23.6%
    UKIP 23.2%
    Lab 14.1%
    Others 6.5%


  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983
    @SeanT

    It's before the watershed! I'm sure Marf can do versions with personalised vices. Mine would be too embarrassing to say.
  • Options
    anothernickanothernick Posts: 3,578
    tim said:

    Crick
    UKIP supporters in Portsmouth holding meeting tonight to form local branch in expectation Mike Hancock will resign and cause by-election

    An interesting commentary on the level of UKIP activity at the grassroots - they don't actually have a branch. No doubt this is true of most constituencies - this adds to the feeling that they are over-hyped and their general election performance will be poor.
  • Options
    samsam Posts: 727
    What price Peter Hitchens stands as a UKIP candidate in GE 2015?
  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983
    @sam

    He could be sure of doing better than Dellingpole did.
  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    Russians are now the 2nd most frequent visitors to the ultra-luxe resorts in the Maldives.

    Presumably, the Maldives won't be discouraging this type of investment with 40% haircuts on the deposits of Russians on the basis they are probably all gangster scum.


  • Options
    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    I'd always understood that the four food groups for models were champagne, Marlboro Lights, cocaine and Evian.
  • Options
    volcanopetevolcanopete Posts: 2,078
    As long as Johnson keeps as far away from me as possible I will die contented.
  • Options
    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Tim_B said:

    2. In rugby league games, during the individual shots after a try, many of the players raise their hands in front, and hook their first fingers together - why is this?

    Its a charity symbol for Joining Jack, a charity for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

    I believe the Super League as a whole and all clubs in it are trying to raise awareness and funds for Joining Jack and the players 'salute' with that symbol.

    http://joiningjack.org/menu/competitions/jj-salute.aspx
  • Options
    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340

    On thread, 'None' looks value at 1/6.

    Not at 1/6 when the dismal words "others on request" are visible.
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,123
    Scientists get closer to explaining Labour lead in the polls...http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/9953571/There-are-zombies-among-us.html
  • Options
    SocratesSocrates Posts: 10,322
    UKBA to be scrapped. Theresa May is my new hero:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21941395
  • Options
    Boris must be nuts to think he could be Tory leader, let alone PM. His back story is far too "interesting".
  • Options
    volcanopetevolcanopete Posts: 2,078
    Some of you may have missed the fact that Labour has just hired a fellow Canary,Matthew McGregor who worked with the Obama team.With the Tories "Merlin" running on a mixture of string and 3-in-1 oil,this is a a nice edge for Labour to have.
    Expect a rabid rebuttal for each and every time Tory/LibDem/SNP/BNP/Ukip breaks wind.
    Ever had the rug being pulled from under you?This guy is an expect in rug-pulling!
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,123
    @Socrates

    Agreed. It is an excellent step but it makes the decision to appoint the former head of such a dysfunctional and disorganised body to a more senior post even more inexplicable.

    Ms Homer seems to have left an organisation that was so incapable of doing its job that it now needs to be broken up. Her argument that the problems arose after her departure show, if anything, an even greater lack of awareness and sense of responsibility. I really don't understand this one.

    Hopefully the dreadful idea of using agency status to avoid responsibility has now hit its high watermark and will remain in retreat.
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,916
    I thought about putting some money on Kensington & Chelsea, on the grounds that, if I remembered correctly, Sir Malcolm Rifkind was no spring chicken and therefore might be prepared to stand down. So I checked and found the constituency no longer exists; there's Kensington, represented by the afore-mentioned Sir Malcolm and Chelsea & Fulham represented the much younger Greg Hands.

    Hmmm
  • Options
    MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    edited March 2013
    @SeanT:

    "The hotel was so new they didn't have a money-counting machine so two local girls had to stay up til 3am counting the notes."

    The above sentence shows how backward the UK is in a simple thing like money-counting machines: so wither our economy? No major bank in london seems to have one on the counter available for the depositor or saver to see. Instead one has to wait for laborious hand counting to end. All the banks in in Europe and most in the middle east do have them, and they are so easy and quick to count and change your money, whatever the currency.
  • Options
    MarfMarf Posts: 20
    SeanT said:

    "coffee"??

    Oh Marf, you innocent thing you.

    Yes ... cappuccino with chocolate on top didn't fit the caption line.
  • Options
    JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901
    SeanT said:


    House price rises: bring 'em on.

    ...

    There. Bish bosh. Job done. This is the UK property market: let it unfurl.


    Not sure that is necessarily a good idea. Don't really fancy an even larger mortgage, but clearly something needs to change. The stench of Stagnation is pungent.
  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    The criticism of UKBA is unjustified. It was never meant to work. It was always a sham set up by labour to reassure brits alarmed by mass immigration.

    The civil servants at UKBA behaved how labour wanted them to behave, just as labour got the civil servants it wanted at the NHS. Token expulsions only.

  • Options
    SocratesSocrates Posts: 10,322
    DavidL said:

    @Socrates

    Agreed. It is an excellent step but it makes the decision to appoint the former head of such a dysfunctional and disorganised body to a more senior post even more inexplicable.

    Ms Homer seems to have left an organisation that was so incapable of doing its job that it now needs to be broken up. Her argument that the problems arose after her departure show, if anything, an even greater lack of awareness and sense of responsibility. I really don't understand this one.

    Hopefully the dreadful idea of using agency status to avoid responsibility has now hit its high watermark and will remain in retreat.

    Indeed. I have no idea how the woman got her new job. Absolute insanity of rewarding failure.
  • Options
    Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 13,288
    edited March 2013
    @Antifrank

    Interesting point.

    Not sure they would be allowed to introduce extra 'runners' after the bet had been struck.

    We must ask Tissue Price when he next surfaces.

    EDIT: btw, I meant to imply anyway that 1/6 would be value against standing anywhere at the next GE.
  • Options
    nigel4englandnigel4england Posts: 4,800
    Socrates said:

    DavidL said:

    @Socrates

    Agreed. It is an excellent step but it makes the decision to appoint the former head of such a dysfunctional and disorganised body to a more senior post even more inexplicable.

    Ms Homer seems to have left an organisation that was so incapable of doing its job that it now needs to be broken up. Her argument that the problems arose after her departure show, if anything, an even greater lack of awareness and sense of responsibility. I really don't understand this one.

    Hopefully the dreadful idea of using agency status to avoid responsibility has now hit its high watermark and will remain in retreat.

    Indeed. I have no idea how the woman got her new job. Absolute insanity of rewarding failure.
    Common Purpose

  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    Ms Homer seems to have left an organisation that was so incapable of doing its job that it now needs to be broken up.

    I disagree. Civil servants carry out the instructions of their ministers, and I bet that was exactly the case here. The understand was probably something along the lines of 'make it look as if you're doing something, the immigration natives are getting restless'
  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983


    Common Purpose

    Not Bilderburg? Controversial.

  • Options
    RichardNabaviRichardNabavi Posts: 3,413
    @Peter_the_Punter : It's 'None', not 'None of the above'. A big difference (and a mug's market!)
  • Options
    nigel4englandnigel4england Posts: 4,800
    Neil said:


    Common Purpose

    Not Bilderburg? Controversial.

    Could just as easily be Neil, both are shadowy, sinister organisations.

    Us plebs are just stuck in the middle.

  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,123
    @taffys

    Well call me old fashioned if you like but a civil servant who is willing to work on such a basis (even if your hypothesis is true and I always prefer incompetence as an explanation to conspiracy) is not fit to be employed, let alone promoted.
  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983

    Expect a rabid rebuttal

    Wouldnt expect anything better from Labour ;)
  • Options
    nigel4englandnigel4england Posts: 4,800
    'Neville Neville, you tore my dress....
  • Options
    @RichardN

    Yes, I noticed that, but I'm still not sure they can do that.

    TP's the man.
  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983


    Us plebs are just stuck in the middle.

    It's the not knowing which shadowy group is screwing us over that really gets to me.
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,123
    @nigel4england

    There used to be a poster on here called Tapestry. Haven't seen him for a while but you 2 would get on famously.

    Just remember that if those supposedly organising these conspiracies were half as competent as they would need to be we would have competent administration in this country. The record of the last 50 years suggests otherwise.
  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    DavidL

    I thought senior civil servants have a duty to carry out the instructions of ministers, whether they agree with the instruction or not. They are meant to be unbiased and unpolitical tools of policy. That is their function.

    The civil servants at the UKBA were only the tools of labour policy at the time. If you want to blame someone, blame the minister. He has the power.

  • Options
    Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 13,288
    edited March 2013
    @Nigel4England

    David alludes to a certain 'Tapestry', once of this parish.

    It is not a compliment.

    (In fact, if I were you, I'd consult my lawyer.)
  • Options
    Tim_BTim_B Posts: 7,669
    Thanks for the feedback regarding kicking and the hooked fingers.

    Good for Super League - sounds like a worthy cause.
  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    Neil.

    I see Caroline Lucas has decided to cast in her lot with Owen Jones at the People's Front of Judea....

    Surprise? significance?
  • Options
    DavidLDavidL Posts: 51,123
    @SeanT

    "This is my latest hotel. Huvafen Fushi. It's clientele is 36% Brits, the Russians are the next most frequent visitors.

    http://huvafenfushi.peraquum.com/default.aspx"


    Even by your standards that looks pretty special.

    It is not just London that has gone offshore from the domestic economy; there is a whole new class out there.
  • Options
    Tim_B

    Can you answer one for me?

    You've seen the kickers in the Six Nations. Most of them are pretty deadly anywhere within 50 yards, despite often having to kick at an angle. Why don't US Football coaches pick some of them up?
  • Options
    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,899
    UKBA dead, long live UKBA ;)
  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983
    @taffys

    I'm not 100% sure what you are referring to but Caroline is a left-wing MP for a left-wing party and I expect (and would profit from) that to remain the case after 2015.
  • Options
    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,899
    Hopefully the new Home office bods that deal with our borders, lets call them UKBA the 2nd for short will actually police the borders effectively. Me and some others debated this a while back and came to the conclusion that UKBA should probably die but that whatever entity took over its work should resource & manage it properly.
  • Options
    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,899
    SeanT said:

    Further to me previous..

    I just had a dinner of wagyu beef cheeks, accompanied by airplaned Aussie asparagus, alongside Grand Cru red and so on and so forth. It was dished up in a teak house built on stilts so you can watch the manta rays underneath blah de blah

    This is my latest hotel. Huvafen Fushi. It's clientele is 36% Brits, the Russians are the next most frequent visitors.

    http://huvafenfushi.peraquum.com/default.aspx

    Guess what? It is 95% full. That counts as complete occupancy in hotel world. Sold out. And STANDARD rooms are $2000 a night minimum at this time of the year.

    That's the most basic room. $2000. And they have zero availability.

    Who are all these rich people???









    Russian oil oligarchs, saudi princes and international thriller writers ;) ?
  • Options
    SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,914

    Tim_B

    Can you answer one for me?

    You've seen the kickers in the Six Nations. Most of them are pretty deadly anywhere within 50 yards, despite often having to kick at an angle. Why don't US Football coaches pick some of them up?

    I asked an American bloke that on a plane journey recently - he told me that with a few exceptions the best rugby players now earn more than kickers do. Don't know if it is true or not, but now that rugby is professional, a world class kicker would be giving up quite a lot to become a kicker in American footballer - maybe the direct money would be similar, but in terms of exposure, love of the game, minutes on the field etc, there is no comparison.
  • Options
    SocratesSocrates Posts: 10,322
    Neil said:

    @taffys

    I'm not 100% sure what you are referring to but Caroline is a left-wing MP for a left-wing party and I expect (and would profit from) that to remain the case after 2015.

    They're setting up the "People's Assembly" together. All power to the soviets!
  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983
    Socrates said:


    They're setting up the "People's Assembly" together. All power to the soviets!

    I hope they each get what they're looking for from that.
  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983
    @SeanT

    The Brits probably got it at 75% discount on Priceline.
  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    That's interesting SO. I've also been reading there's a big health question mark now over football in the form of head injuries. Even the pres said he would struggle to recommend his son play the sport.

    US demographics being what they are, you'd have thought soccer can only get stronger.
  • Options
    @SeanT

    " Guess what? It is 95% full. That counts as complete occupancy in hotel world"

    Not in my experience it doesn't, at least not in the UK.

    A number of years ago, I used to stay a couple of nights a month in a modern well-run hotel in a suburb of Leeds. The hotel which was owned by a major national chain was managed by the brother of a well known celebrity so I won't mention his or the hotel's name.

    Over the several months during which I stayed there I got to know this manager well and we'd often share a few drinks in the bar. He was proud of the fact that his hotel had around the highest occupancy rate of any in the group - pushing 105% on a Monday - Friday basis IIRC which baffled me somewhat until he explained that a number of, ahem, "husband and wife" guests would sometimes arrive during the course of the day usually without any luggage, paying for their room on arrival only to depart usually within the hour.

    I don't know what happened to the manager in question, but I felt sure he was destined either for promotion for demonstrating enterprise or the sack for running a whore house.
  • Options
    NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,319
    Great cartoon, Marf!

    I agree with May that it's better if quangos are inside ministries so the Minister can't say who-me? when things go wrong. That said, we should accept that things do sometimes go wrong, and it takes evidence of systematic failure to make it fair to demand that heads roll.

    To reply to AN1 on the last thread - as you say, people tend to judge the NHS by their experience of it, and polls suggest that most patients find the experience positive. It's the voters you need to convince if you want to break up the NHS, not me. But there's a reason why the Tories don't try, and it's not that they all genuinely think the system is wonderful. That's why I was curiuous about UKIP's view. Do they want it broken up and competition to rule?
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,916
    peter_from_putney; I suggest your friend moved to run the Bangkok branch.
  • Options
    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 38,880
    SeanT said:

    Further to me previous..

    I just had a dinner of wagyu beef cheeks, accompanied by airplaned Aussie asparagus, alongside Grand Cru red and so on and so forth. It was dished up in a teak house built on stilts so you can watch the manta rays underneath blah de blah

    This is my latest hotel. Huvafen Fushi. It's clientele is 36% Brits, the Russians are the next most frequent visitors.

    http://huvafenfushi.peraquum.com/default.aspx

    Guess what? It is 95% full. That counts as complete occupancy in hotel world. Sold out. And STANDARD rooms are $2000 a night minimum at this time of the year.

    That's the most basic room. $2000. And they have zero availability.

    Who are all these rich people???

    It would be interesting to know how many people are actually paying for their stay. You will be writing an honest account of your stay in return for free flights, food and accommodation. Others may be staying as a gift from a (very) rich relative or friend. However, some others may not have paid, and be offering other services in return. In other words, they will be staying as payment of a bribe.

    Bribes are not just about money. Indeed, such non-monetary bribes can be easier to conceal. It may only be a handful, but it would not surprise me in the least if a few of the people around you were staying as part of a bribe.
  • Options
    taffystaffys Posts: 9,753
    George Osborne's comments on the Cyprus bailout are quite interesting. He criticised the eurozone and is aiming to keep the UK branches of Laiki out of the haircut.

    One for the fop finder general Tim methinks....
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    Neil said:

    @sam

    He could be sure of doing better than Dellingpole did.

    That poll result for Dellingpole is one of my all time favorites!
  • Options
    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited March 2013
    @NickPalmer

    Just about everyone has recent experience of the NHS - usually in the form of the GP.
    Moans include the booking arrangements, the Receptionists, the opening hours and NOT their experience of the GP themselves, which is almost always positive - or of the nurse who deals with vaccinations and most children's minor medical matters.

    They dissociate the medical (good, kind, caring) from the non-medical staff (rude, obstructive).

    Few have any experience of overseas medical care, nor ask why we trumpet shorter waiting-times without asking 'Why are there ANY waiting-lists/times AT ALL? (other countries manage to avoid them)'. The uncomfortable answer is that it saves some money that way, even if it also causes increased and avoidable pain and suffering.

    Hence they regard the NHS as being A Good Thing, without wondering why their Tesco is open 24/7 (or at least 18/7), whilst their GP's surgery is open for 6hrs or so, 5 days a week (in terms of actually interacting with a GP); the out-of-hours service, which a GP practice used to provide themselves is another instance of Labour's monumental incompetence at management.

    Particularly of professionals: school terms were geared to the Christian and farming calendars, yet remain almost immutable, whilst the hours (formerly 9-4, now 9-3ish) were geared around a Mum collecting her child/ren and then calling in at the shops to buy food for family supper when husband got home at 5-6.

    None of those constraints apply today - Q. so why are we wedded to them? A - because it suits the employees to do so (ie not the consumers)
  • Options
    IcarusIcarus Posts: 896

    @SeanT

    He was proud of the fact that his hotel had around the highest occupancy rate of any in the group - pushing 105% on a Monday - Friday basis IIRC which baffled me somewhat until he explained that a number of, ahem, "husband and wife" guests would sometimes arrive during the course of the day usually without any luggage, paying for their room on arrival only to depart usually within the hour.

    Known in the trade as afternooners!


  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    tim said:

    Bizarre performance by the Boy

    TimShipman
    Osborne repeatedly refusing to admit that mortgage scheme will lead to house price rises. Tyrie unamused by his wriggling...

    Without having seen the performance there is nothing bizarre about it.

    While it is a reasonable case that it *may* lead to rising house prices, the Chancellor can't just go out and throw "wills" around just because some journalist wants him to.

    "Refuses to admit". PAH!
  • Options
    SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,914
    taffys said:

    That's interesting SO. I've also been reading there's a big health question mark now over football in the form of head injuries. Even the pres said he would struggle to recommend his son play the sport.

    US demographics being what they are, you'd have thought soccer can only get stronger.

    Yes, he said that too. The big hits - which really are immense because of the speed at which these vast players run at each other - are increasingly taking their toll, and the authorities are having to introduce new rules to lessen the chances of long-term brain damage. Basically, it's just too dangerous. Although rugby platers are big, they cannot be the size of American footballers because they have to last for 60-80 minutes; also the nature of the physical confontation is very different, with much more close quarter stuff involving hnads and legs, rather than forearms and torsos. If you think about an American football scrimmage, it basically starts from the players opposing each other in the start position for a sprint - that creates a momentum you rarely get in rugby, while in rugby you are not just trying to stop someone - you also need to get the ball from them, so the way you seek to stop them is different.

    Another interesting fact is that a large percentage of American footballers are bankrupt within 5 years of retirement. They get treated a lot worse than most other US sports professionals - certainly basketball and baseball players.
  • Options
    samsam Posts: 727
    But did an opinion poll of people from a cross section of society say they would like to listen to him talk then go for a pint with him? Thats the real test...

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21942995
  • Options
    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Tim_B said:


    1,. I notice that many kickers of points after tries go through the same routine. They stand behind the ball, feet together, crouch slightly, their hands clasped tightly in front of them, looking like they are seriously constipated, and desperately trying to have a dump. Why is this?

    It is a style made popular by Johnny Wilkinson. I understand he was taught it by a coach, and he was a very good kicker. Others do it because they think if they look like him, maybe they can kick like him ...
  • Options
    @Southam

    Not be jingoist about this. I'm genuinely curious.

    I really enjoy watching American Football and am suitably impressed by the athletic prowess and professionalism on display - except when it comes to kicking.

    I appreciate that the football they use is smaller and more difficult to kick accurately but even so....
  • Options
    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453

    Tim_B

    Can you answer one for me?

    You've seen the kickers in the Six Nations. Most of them are pretty deadly anywhere within 50 yards, despite often having to kick at an angle. Why don't US Football coaches pick some of them up?

    I don't think many of the kicks in the US game are from a dead ball so the comparison is not exact.

    Of course a fan could tell you more
  • Options
    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    Paging SeanT

    @PickardJE: RT @psmith: *** TELEGRAPH LAUNCHES PAYWALL *** online access restricted to paper/tablet subscribers, everyone else gets 20 free http://bit.ly/15QpqQN
  • Options
    SocratesSocrates Posts: 10,322

    @SeanT

    " Guess what? It is 95% full. That counts as complete occupancy in hotel world"

    Not in my experience it doesn't, at least not in the UK.

    A number of years ago, I used to stay a couple of nights a month in a modern well-run hotel in a suburb of Leeds. The hotel which was owned by a major national chain was managed by the brother of a well known celebrity so I won't mention his or the hotel's name.

    Over the several months during which I stayed there I got to know this manager well and we'd often share a few drinks in the bar. He was proud of the fact that his hotel had around the highest occupancy rate of any in the group - pushing 105% on a Monday - Friday basis IIRC which baffled me somewhat until he explained that a number of, ahem, "husband and wife" guests would sometimes arrive during the course of the day usually without any luggage, paying for their room on arrival only to depart usually within the hour.

    I don't know what happened to the manager in question, but I felt sure he was destined either for promotion for demonstrating enterprise or the sack for running a whore house.

    Doesn't have to be the latter, does it? Surely a lot of those people would be young people living with their parents or married people having affairs.
  • Options
    Tim_BTim_B Posts: 7,669
    edited March 2013

    Tim_B

    Can you answer one for me?

    You've seen the kickers in the Six Nations. Most of them are pretty deadly anywhere within 50 yards, despite often having to kick at an angle. Why don't US Football coaches pick some of them up?

    Actually I've not seen the Six Nations, which is on BBC America over lunch and I keep forgetting to dvr it, mainly because the only promos I see for it are during dvred episodes of 'Top Gear' viewed after the event. Didn't it used to be 5 nations?

    For a place kicker it might be good. Depending on how the game goes, you might get off the bench, perform the kick off with the ball on the kicking tee, then go sit down again as few as 2 or 3 times per game. That's your sole contribution to the game. It's a boring living. You don't need accuracy, except to prevent the ball going through the end zone if possible.

    Also don't forget that there is a 25 second play clock in the NFL. Taking time to collect yourself is not an option.

    Kicking field goals is a very different animal. You pace off your 6 or 8 step drop back with the play clock typically running already. You begin your run when the ball is snapped, something over which the kicker has no control. When you start your run the ball isn't visible, merely the holder's finger on the ground where the ball will be. The ball will arrive a split second before your foot contacts it. It's a question of holder and kicker working together day after day to get the timing down.

    Kicking in the NFL is a completely different skill than in rugby, or soccer for that matter. A few have made the transition, but not that many.

    Regarding somebody's comment regarding salaries - for 2013 the MINIMUM salary of an NFL player is $405,000. This rises to a minimum of $630,000 in their 3rd year.

    So even a rookie kicker warming the bench all day will get at least $405k in his first season, and a 50% bounce over the next 3.

    Also remember of course, that if a field goal kicker misses 4-5 kicks in a row, or generally doesn't have a 75% or higher average, he will be released by the team and replaced. Most kickers tend to have been with several teams.

    Field goal kickers have a high pressure job. If you miss the kick, other players will stay away from you, and it's very lonely.
  • Options
    Nick Palmer:

    That's why I was curiuous about UKIP's view. Do they want it broken up and competition to rule?

    It's on their website and the answer would seem to be neither. Their answer is devolution.

    http://www.ukip.org/content/ukip-policies/2843-health-ukip-policy#
  • Options
    Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    @Tim_B

    See, I KNEW a fan would know more
  • Options
    AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    And the bad news keeps on coming

    From the Eurozone. This time Spain.

    The Bank of Spain expects the Spanish economy to register a larger contraction than the current government forecast.

    The Spanish central bank said that the economy will contract by 1.5% this year and only expand in 2014 by 0.6%.

    This forecast compares with government estimates of only a 0.5% drop in 2013, with stronger growth of 1.2% for next year.

    The bank also said it expects Spain's deficit to moderate to 6.0% of gross domestic product this year and only decrease to 5.9% in 2014.

    Unemployment is also estimated to reach no less than 27.1% in 2013 before a slight decrease to 26.8% in 2014. The government forecast was for 24.3% and 23.3%, respectively.


    Even though Spain's deficit forecasts are better than those of the UK, we should all thank our Gods that we have George in control over here.
  • Options
    samsam Posts: 727

    Nick Palmer:

    That's why I was curiuous about UKIP's view. Do they want it broken up and competition to rule?

    It's on their website and the answer would seem to be neither. Their answer is devolution.

    http://www.ukip.org/content/ukip-policies/2843-health-ukip-policy#


    4. Restore traditional nursing, especially the non-university-trained State Enrolled Nurses or equivalent.

    Hmm where have I heard that recently.....?
  • Options
    Tim_BTim_B Posts: 7,669
    Scott_P said:

    @Tim_B

    See, I KNEW a fan would know more

    I'm sure a fan would know much more than me, as of course I am not a fan.
  • Options
    MikeLMikeL Posts: 7,286
    The standard of kicking in American football is far better than rugby - almost nobody ever misses from less than 40 to 45 yards. It's not just two or three good kickers - just about every team has someone who is that good.

    Paul Thorburn (Welsh rugby kicker) trained with an American football team in the 80s and he was pretty hopeless - he played in the American Bowl exhibition game at Wembley. They let him kick-off and his kick was about 20 yards short of where it should have been and after that the coach didn't let him have another go.
  • Options
    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    tim said:

    @Charles

    Basic economics.

    I agree it is very likely to provide support for house prices at or above current levels. However, that is my estimate as a professional investor in real estate (among other things). There are other pressures which are far more significant - demand from the Eurozone for instance.

    It is always risky to disaggregate single factors. Moreover, I'm not the Chancellor and so the public statements that I make may have less impact on the market.

    Anyone - given that you have repeatedly said that high house prices are a problem for the economy, why would you want the Chancellor to stand up and say something that will be reported as "Chancellor says house prices will rise" and could lead to a self-reinforcing trend? Far better for him to say nothing.
  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983
    o/t tomorrow's Dail by-election in Meath East seems to be on a knife-edge. FG's odds have gone from 4/1 to 4/9 back to 5/6 (joint favourite with FF now). I only had a small amount on so I've kept my 4/1 bet, here's hoping the sympathy vote wins out.
  • Options
    NeilNeil Posts: 7,983
    Charles said:

    why would you want the Chancellor to stand up and say something that will be reported as "Chancellor says house prices will rise"

    Because it would be nice to see a straight answer to a straight question?
  • Options
    @TimB

    Thanks TimB. Very helpful.

    I dimly recall from the early days of Channel 4's coverage of the sport here that there was an English kicker (John Smith?) who played successfully for a few seasons with the Patriots. The story went that a US coach on holiday in the UK had seen him playing soccer for Torquay (or some similarly modest outfit) and recruited him for a trial. It went well and the young man was suddenly earning the kind of salary that would have made even the top soccer stars envious.

    I always thought that if he could do it, so could plenty of others - and particularly those playing Rugby rather than Association football.

    Obviously John Smith adapted pretty well, and maybe he had some rare talent, but all the same I have always thought US coaches might be missing a trick by not scouting more around the soccer leagues of Europe.

    But I do appreciate the kind of differences and difficulties you highlight.
  • Options
    peter_from_putneypeter_from_putney Posts: 6,875
    edited March 2013
    @Socrates

    " Surely a lot of those people would be young people living with their parents or married people having affairs."


    I feel sure that in most instances that was precisely the case - I was merely spicing up the story somewhat!
  • Options
    Brendon O'Neill gives his impression of modern day progressives. A must read!

    Those days are long gone. Today, bereft of both wit and ambition, the shuffling zombie movement that passes for the Left no longer calls for full employment, or a "great production", or the right of men to hunt and read to their heart's content (hunting is evil, right?). Instead it demands, or rather pleads for, the protection of the welfare state from government cuts. That's it.

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/brendanoneill2/100209116/what-self-respecting-member-of-the-working-class-would-sign-up-for-the-patronising-zombified-peoples-assembly/

  • Options
    NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,319
    AN1: you're saying that voters are wrong to like the NHS, because they don't know better systems. I'm not really engaging on that because I try not to get into policy debates here (though I've experience of lots of foreign systems and think you may perceive thier grass as greener than it is). I'm just saying that it's a political fact that most people think the NHS is very good overall.

    You're entitled to disagree, obviously, but you can see that parties are reluctant openly to criticise what is arguably our one really popular national institution apart from the monarchy (which, in a precise mirror image, Labour doesn't try to attack, even if we're not really persuaded it's a brilliant idea).
  • Options
    SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,914
    Tim_B said:

    Tim_B

    Can you answer one for me?

    You've seen the kickers in the Six Nations. Most of them are pretty deadly anywhere within 50 yards, despite often having to kick at an angle. Why don't US Football coaches pick some of them up?

    For a place kicker it might be good. Depending on how the game goes, you might get off the bench, perform the kick off with the ball on the kicking tee, then go sit down again as few as 2 or 3 times per game. That's your sole contribution to the game. It's a boring living. You don't need accuracy, except to prevent the ball going through the end zone if possible.

    Also don't forget that there is a 25 second play clock in the NFL. Taking time to collect yourself is not an option.

    Kicking field goals is a very different animal. You pace off your 6 or 8 step drop back with the play clock typically running already. You begin your run when the ball is snapped, something over which the kicker has no control. When you start your run the ball isn't visible, merely the holder's finger on the ground where the ball will be. The ball will arrive a split second before your foot contacts it. It's a question of holder and kicker working together day after day to get the timing down.

    Kicking in the NFL is a completely different skill than in rugby, or soccer for that matter. A few have made the transition, but not that many.

    Regarding somebody's comment regarding salaries - for 2013 the MINIMUM salary of an NFL player is $405,000. This rises to a minimum of $630,000 in their 3rd year.

    So even a rookie kicker warming the bench all day will get at least $405k in his first season, and a 50% bounce over the next 3.

    Also remember of course, that if a field goal kicker misses 4-5 kicks in a row, or generally doesn't have a 75% or higher average, he will be released by the team and replaced. Most kickers tend to have been with several teams.

    Field goal kickers have a high pressure job. If you miss the kick, other players will stay away from you, and it's very lonely.
    So a kicker will probably not earn as much as a top class kicker (international back) in rugby and he will not be in the game anywhere near as much - and, as you say, the American football kicker will only be judged on his kicking.
  • Options
    @MikeL

    Noted with thanks, Mike.

    Yes, I remember Thorburn, but was unaware of the American football connection.
This discussion has been closed.