Mark Cleaver

Coventry and Warwickshire sports fanatic. Working in the leisure industry.

[Section J @weearra61]

@jongaunt No, I feel sorry for Henry Nowak, Peter Lynch, three little girls from Southport, Soldiers from 1975, people that were jailed for expressing a different view from him , pensioners and farmers.

[Rael Braverman @raelbrav]

Yet again, we can barely hear the Prime Minister speaking on the steps of Downing Street because someone is blasting music in the background and nobody seems able or willing to stop it.

For me, it is symbolic of a country that has lost its sense of seriousness. We cannot even ensure that a national address from the heart of government can be heard properly. Small things matter because they reflect a wider culture.

I am tired of living in a country that increasingly seems incapable of doing basic things with competence and authority.

[Roberto Parrottino @rparrottino]

Marcelo Bielsa: “Jugar cuatro tiempos en lugar de dos altera la concepción que culturalmente se había construido para interpretar el fútbol. No le agrega nada y le quita mucho. Cuando se dividió en cuatro no se pensó en el efecto que puede tener sobre lo que hizo que el fútbol sea un deporte que enamora, sino que se pensó en otro tipo de repercusiones que no las discuto ni las analizo. Antes de esta decisión el fútbol tenía una característica; ahora tiene otra. La gente se enamora del juego por sus características”.

[Bazball™️ @BazballNation]

So basically, Rob Key overreacted, made a brainless call without a full investigation, dumped the captain mid series, and didn’t even have the conviction to back the vice captain. Whatever the outcome, this fiasco has Key’s fingerprints all over it. If the series is gone, he should be the first one shown the door alongside the head coach. Reckless, knee jerk decision making from the top has turned the ECB into a complete laughing stock.

[Danny Baker @prodnose]

So encouraging that the booing of the shameful "Hydration break" is catching on.
Football supporters have so little voice at this WC.
Cat-calling this nonsense is admirable.

[Andrew Lawrence @andrewlawrence]

Prison for flagsh*ggers...

[Sky Blues Blog @skybluesblog]

They've removed BTA's assist.

How can we treat assists as meaningful if the definition ignores contributions such as his?

A skim off a defender's boot does not invalidate the action.

If it does, the definition is incomplete and the stat too arbitrary to be accurate.

@OptaJoe

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Widespread boos for the hydration break midway through the half. For a game indoors, played at 22C. Crazy new ruling that kills the momentum. Please make the pause stop. #ENG #ENGCRO

[Test Match Special @bbctms]

🗣 "How did that get there?!?"

Jacob Bethell flies through the air to take an unexpected catch to dismiss Tom Latham 🦸🏻‍♂️

#ENGvNZ #BBCCricket

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

This is the year when the game of two halves became the game of four quarters. And the greatest sport and event was damaged for fistfuls of dollars. Hydration breaks ruin the game’s flow and frustrates fans and viewers. If hydration breaks were solely about player welfare then they would be linked to the temperature in the stadia. It’s a nonsense having a three-minute break in an air-conditioned arena.

Fifa should long ago have established a working party of coaches, sports scientists, national team doctors and Fifpro to agree a set temperature at kickoff, say 25C, which triggers the breaks. That would prove the breaks were for player welfare. At the moment, and to nobody’s surprise, it is widely accepted that these breaks are for US TV to accommodate commercials. Big bucks for the small screen.

Fifa should have thought more about the effect on games and to fan (and viewer) experience when negotiating. Coaches’ desire for a mid-half tactical time-out masquerading as a drinks stop should be resisted anyway. Games have been played for 150 years without needing such intervention. Coaches can shout instructions. And who says that 22 mins and 67 mins is when a coach needs to intervene anyway. It’s nonsense. It’s about money.

Respected and sane footballing voices from Virgil van Dijk to Mauricio Pochettino have spoken out against the breaks. Fifa should listen to them not appear only to listen to the rustle of dollar bills. It’s important that there is resistance to this from all over. Because if we tolerate this, our TV games could be next. BBC can’t do ads, ITV says it won’t follow its US counterparts. But it has been discussed by TV people. It’ll come one day. #FIFAWorldCup.

[Jen k 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @Jenny_1884]

It really winds me up when someone is asked on the TV how we can cut benefits & the first thing they say is scrap the Triple Lock.

For starters it should not be called a benefit as pensioners have worked really hard all their lives for a measly £12k

Secondly why do they never talk of cutting it for the people who have never done a days work in their lives & they receive far more.

It’s disgusting the way pensioners are the first people they go after.

Rant over but it just winds me up the unfairness of this system.

[Jonathan Norris @jonnorris12]

Spot on.

[Jan Vowhagan @2techie4me]

Whether you agree with @RestoreBritain or not, when the party polling third is excluded from a UK wide platform in favour of those in fourth, fifth, and sixth, it looks more and more like a massive stitch up. As a Makerfield constituent the public interest isn't being served here

[Rupert Lowe MP @RupertLowe10]

The BBC has been forced into three separate apologies/corrections recently over its coverage of my activities - including a malicious attempt to smear our Rape Gang Inquiry.

Its behaviour in refusing to invite Restore Britain to its Makerfield debate is blatant election interference.

This is an outright attempt by the organisation to suppress Restore Britain's support.

I am formally writing to the Director-General of the BBC demanding an explanation.

There is no doubt in my mind that its own political beliefs are leading the organisation to deliberately censor and attack Restore Britain.

Restore Britain will tell the truth.

The BBC is a destructive cancer at the heart of Britain.

[Restore Britain @RestoreBritain]

The entire mainstream media has spent two weeks harassing and abusing Rupert Lowe.

He stands up in Parliament, and reads out the harrowing testimony from multiple rape gang survivors.

Not a single channel/paper covers the testimony.

That tells you everything you need to know.

[Sky Blue Archive @skybluesarchive]

Ian Wallace and Tommy Hutchison August 1979

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Thomas Tuchel presents Frank Lampard with the Sir Alex Ferguson Trophy LMA Manager of the Year. Lampard finished ahead of Keith Andrews, Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery, Pep Guardiola, Andoni Iraola, Michael Skubala and Andy Woodman. Lampard… Tuchel’s successor one day? #LMAawards.

[J Stewart @triffic_stuff_]

DISGRACE: Foreign men with multiple wives are milking British taxpayers for EXTRA cash on every wife AND Starmer’s Labour just INCREASED it! 🤬

Katie Lam has exposed the scandal: each additional wife gets an extra £119.50 a week in pension allowance. Now this government is hiking it by nearly 5% to £125+.

Hard-working Brits are grafting like c*nts, paying taxes through the nose, just so we can subsidise polygamous marriages that are ILLEGAL in Britain!

This is a total betrayal. Polygamy has been banned here since 1604. We should NOT be making special allowances for imported cultural practices and handing out our money like sweets.

Ban it NOW. No more extra wives, no more extra benefits. Stop this sh*t immediately!

[The Footy Feed @TheFootyFeed]

Southampton fans at Wembley this weekend...