Alex

I think he must be doing what Howe wants him to do. I could still see him leaving because the club appear to be very intent on sticking to ffp. So a £60m upgrade means any reasonable offer for him would probably be accepted. Howe will give him some leeway re: consistency though I reckon. The way he plays means he’ll have games where he’s quiet. He needs to show application etc when that happens. Tl:dr there’s no way Howe was going to play him in a match like Sunday (or the cup final) if he didn’t have faith in his ability to deliver

Even the best managers need a bit of luck at times. Bar injuries and suspensions Almiron and Joelinton could well have started on the wings against Man Utd. Obviously they’ve both done very well this season and no one knows what might’ve happened. But sometimes the changes forced upon you work well. Almiron in particular has looked a bit jaded lately. A combination of the way he plays, not having a rest and teams sitting deeper and playing more defensively against us. And getting wise to most of our attacks having previously come down our right, dove to him and Trippier offering more going forward (than Joelinton/Burn). I think we definitely benefited from that on Sunday, ie the forced changes being a massive factor in our performance

I think it’s 11 years (the season we came 5th) since we’ve passed the 50 point mark in a season in the top flight. And we’ve still got more than 1/4 of the season to go

Also Honister Pass looks dramatic but is a piece of piss in terms of driving it

Yeah. I mean you’re not really gaining much in terms of it being less steep going the other way in any case imo. You still need to get to the top the section where you get to Low Water is quite steep and hard work but the good thing about it is you’re almost at the top by that point. Loads of kids climb it.

Saw a lass attempting to cycle up Hardknott Pass as I was driving up from the Eskdale side. To say she was struggling was an understatement. If her thighs got any more red they were going to catch fire

Aye, Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam 👍🏻

Go to the Rijksmuseum. Everyone goes to the Van Gogh one. It’s good but unless you’re there before it opens it’s heaving. At the Rijksmuseum head for the Nightwatch Gallery. Bruges is class but look out for the alcoves

I’ve actually done both as I’ve climbed it about 5 or 6 times. But I’d say do the quicker route, heading north via Low Water

They say that like it’s a bad thing

The only thing that is slightly annoying about yesterday is not putting away a few more chances and giving them another humiliation (in terms of the score). But anyone who watched that and can’t accept that we dominated them in pretty much every department is kidding themselves

I watched about 2 minutes of the True Faith podcast just to see what boils wyki’s piss so much. They appear to be just a couple of boring know nowts. Charlotte hoyed in a few swears to mask what a terminally dull middle class bint she is. And Tory boy makes her sound interesting. I can’t understand why anyone would bother listening to their views

I did Sca Fell from Eskdale via Slight Side. I think that’s called the Terrace Route. Old Man of Coniston is a doddle in relative terms. Especially if you miss out the tedious climb from the village itself and park where I mentioned.

Hardknott / Wrynose pass is not to be sniffed at but a canny bit easier coming from Eskdale side. However you’d be starting the other way, gloom. By the way, if you fancy climbing a ‘proper mountain’ with kids I would give the Old Man of Coniston a go. Coniston isn’t far from where you’re staying. And there’s a big free car park on the Walna Scar road. From there it’s less than 3 hours up and down. On a clear day the view is amazing

Done Pavey Ark a couple of times but have given Jack’s Rake a wide berth on both occasions. Langdale is very beautiful as has been said but I would NOT equate climbing Bowfell with Catbells if you want a magnificent view with very little effort try Orrest Head. You can park for free at Booths supermarket at Windermere. Slightly more challenging but still easy is the walk from Ambleside to the top of Wansfell Pike via Stock Ghyll Force. Great views again from there.

@Dr Gloom Townend, near Troutbeck is just near where you’re staying and worth a visit for a curiosity. You’ll need to book though. Troutbeck itself is a pretty village and seems like a million miles away from the more hectic Ambleside and Windermere. It’s got a couple of good pubs too. The Mortal Man (great name for a pub) is a bit more down to earth and has a great beer garden. Get yourself to The Queen’s Head for more of a gastro pub experience. Don’t do what wor lass’s dad did when they were staying with us in Troutbeck though. He used the sat nav coming back from Coniston and ended up at the Troutbeck 30 miles away near Keswick

Nike Air Morphy Richards

I like the cut of his jib

They just played the side top of their division. They had 30% possession against Burnley. Which you might say is just a one off game. But they’re also 30 (vidiprinter: THIRTY) points adrift of them. Having played a game more. Like you say, if the PL is shite, what does that make them?

Might as well include Pele and Maradona in the list as they’ve got about as much chance of signing them

Wrong. We’re going to have another decade of ‘has the penny finally dropped’ type posts

Check his hard drive

I thought he was excellent yesterday tbh. However, I think part of his changing the way he plays is that he seems to have lost that explosive burst of pace he had when he first arrived. It’s the reason you’ll never see him dancing past 3 players and leaving them in his wake like he once could. I do appreciate he’s trying to adapt but he’s never going to be able to consistently do the work Howe wants from his forwards in terms of a high tempo, pressing game. I think that’s why his days are numbered here

Which is nice