AUTUMN NEWS

Yes ...I saw that....what you think....looking at a keeper or defender.......as a Liverpool supporter there is no way he would travel north just to watch Everton....somethings afoot.

 

Fans coming back in October has been cancelled.....inevitable with Covid-19 going up.....you've got to party till the end haven't you.....prats.

 

it was inevitable wasn't it? It's fair to say that those who haven't obeyed the distancing rules to drag us back here again wouldn't have obeyed the distancing rules at football matches either so I doubt it would have lasted long anyway.

 

It's not just about partying and the like although that would add to the problem. To put it that simply though is a distraction from all of the causes. Kids back at school being one. 3 of my Grandchildren go to 3 different schools. None of them have a remote chance of isolation or social distancing yet despite the Authorities being told this they are back. Students have returned in droves. People have been encouraged to go back to the workplace. All 3 of those scenarios have an impact on Covid and all of them have financial consequences which led to it happening in the first place. Children go back to school to release carers back into work. Students go back to ensure Universities don't fall over and people going back to work places is about supporting High Street businesses which were empty. Opening pubs and cafes is another example. The finances dictated the advice not the Covid bug. So just to blame people going out is selling the problem well short of reality. Look at it now. Don't go into the Office is one which tells you the original advice was pants. Closing pubs at 10pm. Why? Can't you catch Covid before 10pm at night? The whole approach this Government have taken has been flawed from the start and they just continue to demonstrate they don't have a clue what they are doing apart from panic legislation or blaming others. They don't even lead by example........

 

There are a lot of threads in this, including the delicate issue of ethnic groups who live in closer knit, high density family and religious groupings whilst also tending to hold high risk, lower paid jobs. A map of the areas in local lockdowns in England would sit pretty closely on top of one showing ethnic distribution in the Midlands and the North. As I hope you know, I despise racism but facts are facts. In many ways these people do no more than live their lives the way we used in the supposedly golden age between the wars but it does put them at greater risk than other groups.

However, as I keep saying, we've developed a nationwide white underclass who don't care a fig for anyone or anything. In the days before the Group of Six Rule came in, they were laughing and joking about last minute house parties. They'll be out in the pubs tonight and tomorrow before the pubs have to close at 10 and for nights after that unless there is enforcement. I hear what you say about only being young once but the fact is that these are the people who are knowingly putting those around them at risk and laughing about it.

 

If we will be under some form of lockdown for another 6 months...that will be a year for those that have taken Covid-19 seriously since last March 23 rd.

A whole year at my age means that there ain't much left to enjoy afterwards....assuming we come through the other end....and also assuming that the virus is in major decline by then.....and hopefully we will be nearer a vaccine being available.

I do despair at the casualness of how some take the restrictions.....people of all ages going into Sainsbury's and not all wearing face covering (okay some might be exempt)....bypassing the bacterial hand and trolley cleansing station without a thought of using it....ending up quite often with their face mask tucked under their chin....and some obviously been using the same face mask for days unwashed.

I know the thought of snitching on those that abuse the system is rather foreign to most of us....but after months of obeying the rules...not meeting family and friends for birthdays, anniversaries etc....having to miss your sons 50th birthday....your grandson passing his driving test...not going on that regular holiday break to Bournemouth....and watching some neighbour's doing things as usual blatantly doing the things that most of us have deciplined ourselves to not do at the moment.
You start to hope that they will fall foul of the rules and maybe get Covid-19 or get pulled up and fined....but sods law generally lets them get away with it and the dear old lady who has done things to the letter of the law is the one who gets it.and is gone forever.

 

Game called off 2 hrs before kick off (6pm)....no decision has at present been made about the tie being re-scheduled or Spurs going through....they have no free date in the calendar with European games coming quick and fast....an announcement will be made soon.

 

Getting the fans back into stadiums (or should that be Stadia) is essential for the financial health of football...especially Div 1 & 2 clubs who have limited ways of making money....no lucrative TV deals in the lower leagues....in fact the National League hasn't even started yet.

But we know that the October hope of starting to introduce fans was blown out of the water yesterday because of the rise in Covid-19 cases....and now with a possible 6 months of restrictions to face....you wonder how we'll ever get back to going to a match again during the 2020/21 season.....can we actually have a full league season without the financial support of the fans....and where does that leave season ticket holders this season who have already paid up front.

You do wonder if it is viable for Div 1 & 2 clubs to spend out each week...especially for away games without the finance of home games....in Argyle's case 10.000 plus fans....okay 50 % of that might be STH's....but can you expect them to pay for matches that they have now no chance of going to ?....they do get a free match viewing but is that all they can expect for their money....the FL have some hard decisions to make in the next few weeks.....and with players picking up the virus and matches being postponed being inevitable how safe will it be if Covid-19 really takes off.

 

MAY extend for another 6 months. What he said was that if everyone abided by the rules, there could be a relaxation in a shorter period.

That's a big if though and I've just seen the head of the Police Federation explaining why they aren't going to enforce the rules.

 

Boris might be forced to get tougher if things improve faster in Scotland...Nicola Sturgeon is already saying that England haven't gone far enough and she intends to stop all house visiting.....but of course Nicola and Boris are not buddies....so England becoming tougher later on is a problem for the Government who wouldn't want to be seen as following Scotland's lead.

The horrible decision is how many deaths are we willing to go up to...so that the economy doesn't stall completely....who wants to make that decision.

 

And that would mean the Government and Boris give a flying monkeys how many die in the first place. That's why he sent the sick back to Nursing Homes previously. People are right though that if you are going to do something then do it properly. I was listening to 5Live this morning who do the PMQs thing on a Wednesday and have a few MPs on before it kicks off. The Tory girl was a classic. A bloke asked the simple question of why can't his parents (2) visit him and his family (5) in either homes but he can go out and mix with 5 others from individual households who may well have another 5 each at home. He can do this in a room (pub) where there are 10 other groups of 6 individuals making it 35 households outside his circle. Well the MP was a classic of couldn't answer the question or even get close. Yet despite this example which is simple enough she still defended the concept and thought Boris was on top of it all. It's getting more and more like a Monty Python sketch every day.

The reasons of course are simple. People who go to your front room don't spend money there but the ones in the pub do so clearly economics are far more important than human life which demonstrates clearly that Boris doesn't give a monkeys if you live or die as long as you've spent your wealth first. It's the same reason the need for child care has been removed to allow you back to work by sending kids back to a classroom where they can't remotely isolate or social distance. It's the reason your Government told you to return to the office. Money. It's the reason behind all of these decisions.

 

The Covid-19 tests taken recently...have confirmed that there was two positives.....one playing staff and one none playing staff....both are self isolating....PAFC will not be saying anything more on the subject.

The club have told Wimbledon and also next Saturday's opponents Shrewsbury of the situation....Saturday's game is definately on.

 

So Yann Songo'o joins Derek Adams at Morecambe for the third time on a freebie.....Ross County and Argyle being the other two.

 

The other difference between a pub and your house is the former is obliged to operate a full Covid safety regime whereas you (or I) won't be.

Whether they ARE is a different matter but that's why we need effective or even oppressive enforcement from the police and the councils. Less of this policing by consent crap.

By the way, the poice may say they have too few resources but I see they had enough resources to proudly announce the results of a major exercise against "dangerous driving". Ax usual, this mostly consisted of officers sitting on their arses all day pointing cameras ar cars going a few mph over the limit.

 

So if the rules are rigidly enforced in a pub then why a need for a curfew? Because you and me both know it doesn't happen as does Boris. I assume your comment on speeding motorists is because.............................you are a motorist. Fancy picking on our beleaguered Police.

 

It depends what type of pub and when you go doesn't it? A gastro pub perhaps in an affluent village is going to be pretty safe. I saw an interview with the owner of a bar owner, aimed shall we say youthful drinkers, who said their establishment opened until 3am and 50% of their turnover was after midnight. Combined with the concentration of the new cases in the 18 to 30 age range, draw your own conclusions.

Yes, the police do irritate me. Too politically correct to catch real criminals so content to criminalise the ones they can catch.

 

All I will say to that notdistant is I spent 5 years in total in two shifts at Dartmouth Naval College. If you have never heard of a Hurray Henry who thinks nothing of performing as they see fit then you have never been anywhere like that. The so called toff varieties can often be far far worse than the plebs. They have less manners that's for sure. They all fitted into the 18 to 30 category as well. I really don't see the similarity to any kind of village, affluent or not, and somewhere like the crowded Barbican.

 

The good thing about Hooray Henries is that they mix predominantly with other Hooray Henries.

What you need to do Sensible is get a Twitter account. Then you'll see the scale of the chavism out there. Racism, Brexit, Trumpism misogynism, football hooliganism and open statements that their right to party is just hard luck on the old and the fat.

It's worse than you know I think.

 

Bring back National Service is what I say.....it did me no harm..............

 

INCOMING

Whispers for a few day over this.....Jerome Opoku ...6ft 4.5in...21 yr old defender on loan until the new year.

His only league experience was last season....21 games for Accrington at this level.