Leeds Ram

When you think we were a week away from going under it does put everything else into perspective. I do think once David has moved on  as chairman, so it is appropriate, that there should be considerations for a statue or at the very least a stand named after the man who saved us from oblivion. He'll be an excellent custodian of the club as he seems to have been thus far and we're really fortunate to have him as our owner. 

The more I think about it the more confident I am we'll get it done. We looked so dominant against Leyton Orient and against Cambridge we did what was needed. I don't think we're gong to let this chance slip through our grasp.

It would have been nice if Peterborough had done us a bit of a favour and kept in the hunt but they'd obviously downed tools after Saturday. Never mind it's up to us all we need is a point after all! 

read vision or mirage by david rundell on saudi arabia which i think was very good. Also reading Burr by Gore Vidal as I want to start his historical fiction series and it's good.

10 minutes ago, Anag Ram said:

… and hope they have a hapless keeper who doesn’t come for corners.

 

That will also help! Watching the highlights from the game at their place and they looked very dodgy defending set pieces 

I think we've got to approach it like we did the leyton orient game. We've got to be firm, aggressive and attacking from the off. If we can get an early goal then the nerves will settle and we could win at a canter. I think if we get to halftime and it's 0-0 people will suddenly start getting very nervous. We need to be positive and focus on getting a win against an already relegated team in front of another full house which should be absolutely rocking!! 

I don't mind Burton. They're a small outfit and they have punched above their weight which is good to see. Unfortunately it looks like back down to league 2 for them. Hopefully they'll have a go and get out the division. 

7 minutes ago, Kathcairns said:

Well make sure you get off after 15 mins so us oldies that cant run can applaud the team🤣

I'll do my bit haha. 

I'm 30 and kind of enjoyed the billy davies years at the age of 13-14 but it wasn't the prime age to really savour it. It is the first really big bit of success we've had as supporters and we should treasure it. Yes it's the third division but it doesn't matter. Considering what happened at the club two years ago and we almost went bust it makes this promotion extra special. We should all be singing our hearts out next Saturday as we finally confirm an automatic promotion! 

anyone who has a problem with a celebratory pitch invasion is the definition of a fun sponge in my book. Of course, many people want that moment of cathartic joy to be expressed by running onto the pitch. Obviously it goes without saying people need to behave themselves and ideally getting off the pitch within 10-15 minutes so a lap of honour can proceed afterwards would be great but i would be surprised if there wasn't a pitch invasion and if there is one I will likely join 🙂

Pressure will really be on Bolton so maybe they will slip up

In fairness a fair few of people now wanting a ticket have had plans change. 

14 hours ago, Highgate said:

Speaking of incongruence, we may be both falling into the trap of speaking of a monolithic Iranian public opinion.  It's a broad and complicated spectrum, brought about by a fascinating but tragic history of malevolent foreign interference as well as homegrown oppression.

There are those that support the theocracy and their actions and there are those that oppose it. Likewise there are those that support the regimes proxy war against Israel and those that completely oppose it. And yet there are very few people in Iran, I would imagine, that support Israel's destruction of Gaza or the direct attack on the Iranian consulate.  And given that we can all agree that Iran's regime's very obvious position is one of violent opposition to Israel, it can't possibly let itself get attacked by Israel and not respond, to do so would damage it's perceived credibility enormously. Not only would it anger and disappoint those who still support the regime but it would also give it's opponents yet another reason to criticize it. 

 

 

Well there is a gap in opinion between the more conservative rural areas of Iran and the more liberal urban cities. However, I think Iran's reaction yesterday- with morality vans dragging women into them for not wearing their hijab and threatening with court action activists who are criticising the regime's response speaks to a certain nervousness about the potential for an internal backlash. 

This isn't even the Iran of 2005-2008 under Ahmadinejad where despite the green revolution's claims of vote rigging Ahmedinejad's more conservative values probably did win enough votes in the rural areas to carry the election. The guardian council have been much more aggressive in recent years in striking candidates from the lists and election turnout has fallen to below half. 

2 minutes ago, Highgate said:

I don't dispute at all that the Iranian regime have real ideological motivations for their foreign policies, such as their support and arming of Hamas and Hezbollah. But I definitely think that even the most authoritarian regime has to be concerned with how their rule is perceived in their own countries, (After all when an authoritarian regime falls....it doesn't usually end well for those who were in charge). They definitely don't want to look weak, but that's exactly how they looked when Israel was able to destroy their consulate and kill their generals as they pleased. The fact that they are basically lying about how effective the strike against Israel was seems to suggest that they really do care about how this plays out in Iran.  As you rightly say, it's not a popular regime with much of the Iranian population so a strike against Israel was calculated as necessary so as not to add weakness in the face of Israeli aggression to the list of the regime's shortcomings.  That's my guess at least. 

I'm just not sure the Iranian public overall would want that kind of strike against Israel given how they are opposed to the actions in Yemen and Syria which has cost them a lot in blood and treasure. It strikes me as a little incongruent as a reasoning. It wouldn't surprise me if it was done more with regional dynamics in mind than domestic consumption tbh.

On the question of does the regime care about public opinion- yes and no I would say. The Grand Ayatollah has recently bemoaned the lack of public religiosity which is partly down to the regime itself becoming increasingly reliant upon the armed forces as a separate wing to enforce control, as well as the 'basij' as a separate civilian militia. The danger for the regime is when the Ayatollah dies (I believe he's 83 if my memory is correct) what happens then as the legitimation for the regime has gotten too narrow to be considered stable. However, Iran is a sophisticated state, unlike Syria, which has significant capacity militarily to quell uprisings. Their response to challenges has not been to listen but to project 'strength' and crackdown on increasing numbers of opposition activists. 

40 minutes ago, Highgate said:

I'm not sure it was a political own goal.  I think the main reason for this attack was to so the Iranian government could maintain credibility with the Iranian population.  After Israel's attack on the embassy in Syria, or the consulate building next to the embassy I should say, the Iranian regime would have lost all credibility at home had it done nothing.  So it launched this very publicized attack on Israel, and despite most missiles being shot down it did manage to hit the very military base from which Israel launched the attack on the embassy/consulate.  

News reports in Iran are, as you'd expect, exaggerating the damage caused in Israel enormously, suggesting the base has been completely destroyed and so on.  So far, as a domestic PR operation, it seems to have been a success and the Iranian regime are saying they are satisfied with what occurred and their retaliation is complete. 

Unfortunately despite most of the world urging Israel to do nothing in response..... it's likely that there is a very serious response coming Iran's way.  

I'm not so sure about that. The Iranian regime has been suffering on multiple fronts from a direct lack of legitimacy. The 'hybrid' system initially developed at the beginning of the Republic has now all but broken down into simple authoritarianism. The regime's foreign adventures in Syria and Yemen are not popular with Iranians who have demanded resources be spent at home rather than abroad. I'm not sure how launching this kind of attack helps with that tbh. Nor do I think the Iranian regime is that bothered about the 'pr consequences' of their foreign policies as if they were they wouldn't still be propping up the Assad regime or arming the Houthi rebels. 

Admittedly I've not kept a close eye on the reaction domestically to this though so I may be wrong. 

23 hours ago, Ram-Alf said:

IMO the strike on Iran's embassy was a ploy to draw Iran into conflict the USA would have known also, Iran obliged, Israel/USA would have known what to expect so planned for it, All boxes ticked, All chess pieces set, A response within the week

I may be wrong but I believe the attack technically was not on the embassy but a building adjacent to the embassy itself. 

Thought we played well and managed the occasion excellently. I can't believe anyone would be moaning or disappointed after winning 3-0 and our rivals dropping points. Really feeling like we can do this now! Thought the atmosphere in the first 20 minutes was excellent as it was in the second half. I can't wait for Carlisle as I'll imagine we'll take the roof off if we go up! 

I'm sooo nervous about today. Just hope we can get it over the line! COYR

https://www.972mag.com/lavender-ai-israeli-army-gaza/ 

Interesting piece which might help give a bit more insight into why this particular round of conflict has been so destructive 

I don't see Bolton beating Portsmouth and Peterborough but I can see Peterborough winning their last 5. I think they'll edge us out by a point or two in the end. We'll look back at this game and Northampton being the clinchers. Maybe we'll win in the playoffs but I'm far from confident. We possessed no composure and second half ran around like headless chickens. Poor game management from the coaches and the players who needed to keep their heads and stick to the formula which has won us 12 away games this year. 

read two faces of liberalism by John Gray and This is Europe by Ben Judah which are both great books. Although Gray's critiques are a bit worn these days. About to start the novelist by Jordan Castro which has had strong recommendations too.

41 minutes ago, Comrade 86 said:

Kings is where my lad did his postdoc - pharmacology. If I understand you correctly, you've completed your DPhil and are looking to remain in Academia? In any case, it's a highly prestigious seat of learning and if you can secure work there, I'm sure it'll make things much easier in the future, as you'll be even more employable. Hopefully you get the nod soon anyway, as I know how stressful the wind down period of any contract can be. 

Oh wow, that's excellent for your lad massive congrats! Yeah, I finished my PhD in 2022 and currently a teaching fellow at the University of Leeds. It would be great to get to work there as it is very prestigious and the project looks right on what I'm interested in 🙂 Thanks, it is stressful but trying to manage it 🙂 

4 hours ago, BatRam said:

Hey man , hopefully you get what youre looking for. But in the worse case scenario another door will always open. Even if you have to get a rubbish job just to make the bills pay till you get something else. Theres always stuff at supermarkets and stuff ( i know its prob nothing like what youre doing but atleast its money in the bank).

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it 🙂 Yeah, I'm hoping my contract will either be renewed, or I'll get some postdoctoral funding or I'm applying for a research job at Kings College London. If none of these work out, then definitely I'll get a skate on looking at other things! 🙂  

4 hours ago, Comrade 86 said:

Chin up lad. It's hard at certain times of the year. My mum went very early and despite that, I still dread October. All I can offer by way of encouragement is to think about what your dad would want for you. He'd not want his memory being something that weighs you down, I'm sure, at least that's what I tell myself when I get morose.

As for the work thing, that's the nature of contracting, I'm afraid and most I know have seen things slow down recently. Contractors do earn a pretty penny when in gainful employment and there are lots of benefits to not being tied into one entity, so my advice would be squirrel as much away as you can while you're contracted, to carry you through the periods when you're not. Also, don't be afraid to spread your wings and look outside the UK. Most other countries are not being crushed by high interest rates and you might well find gainful (and very well paid) employment elsewhere and you're young enough to take a risk or two, though not knowing what it is you do, I'm not sure whether this is relevant.

Thanks for the kind words I really appreciate them🙂 On the work, unfortunately my partner will definitely not sanction a move abroad. I'm applying for a job at Kings College London and am still waiting to hear on postdoctoral funding so trying not to panic too much 🙂 

4 hours ago, Archied said:

Really don’t know if this helps ( probably not ) , but how it is for me ,

with a devastating loss I kind went with the well trodden phrase that it gets easier with time ,,, it didn’t / doesn’t and I came to the conclusion you learn to survive it , anniversary s are hard but I allow myself to feel the way they make you feel ( not sure you could stop it anyway ) , there’s also something a bit freeing and needed about those times where I can open the box and just be with the stuff that I probably wouldn’t survive if it was running round my head all the time,

not really sure I explain it properly 🤷🏻‍♂️

This does help 🙂 Thanks for the kind words I really appreciate them 🙂