Rich NATA

I'm very happy. Almost a perfect draw IMO. Winnable matches and we got Portugal, which I just hope is in Lisbon (new city to me; culture; nightlife; ground hopping).

It's a very nice wee place... Apparently, Faro municipality has a population of just 70 thousand and Faro city only 40 forty thousand. Either way, I was there last time for 5 nights and thoroughly enjoyed it and not once did I experience an early night. Evenings in the LAB Terrace Sunset Bar... Followed by nights in the many bars in the lanes behind The Anchor. ... and don't forget the SC Farense stadium and the Indian restaurant next to The Anchor.

P.S. in truth, there are more bars than the first map shows. Just explore the lanes. P.S. if you are interested in groundhopping, the SC FARENSE stadium (Estadio de Sao Luis) is just a short walk from the marina/park. Farense did play at the Estadio Algarve (where Scotland are playing) for a few seasons, but soon returned to their traditional ground (under fan pressure I suspect).

I stayed in Faro last time for five nights. Nice wee town, which I would happily go back to. Sadly, unable to attend next time. On the below map, plenty of pubs amongst narrow lanes and most were open late. Also, if you walk through the medieval gate at the southern end of the park shown below, that will take you in amongst the old walls. There is a waterfront bar and some restaurants in there too. Only regret... I never got around to visiting the Indian restaurant (Namastey) which is near The Anchor pub.

GOAL - Che Adams (versus Watford in FA Cup replay).

I don't know much about betting and even less about cricket. I believe he was talking about this on Test Match Special on Radio 4 (?)

LBC have just dragged up an interview with Sunak where he revealed how he used to enjoy spread betting when he was a young investment banker working in America. “It was around that time that spread betting had become a thing online. I had certainly never done it before. I was sitting there working on one side doing my investing finance job, and on the other screen I was doing next wicket partnership, next wicket fall, innings total. I just discovered this thing and it was great.”

Adams, Armstrong and Fraser all start. Southampton two up. Armstrong (corner) and Fraser with the assists for the goals. A run followed by an 'exquisite' back-heel from Fraser.

Journey from the airport to Faro centre was an astonishingly short taxi ride... Something like 7 minutes.

I had a look at it on Google Street View. Looks a nice wee place with enough pubs for a wee crawl. Sadly, I don't arrive until late afternoon on the eve of the opening match.

A Tory MP said he quit his ministerial role because he could not afford to pay his mortgage on a salary of £118,300. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-68133873

GOAL - Stuart Armstrong with 89th minute equaliser in the cup.

I just watched it again. I think we might have gotten away with the offside had Hendry not - unnecessarily - touched the keeper. Such a shame. It was a wonderful goal.

Were we offside and did we push the goalkeeper? It was a stunningly beautiful goal and to be disallowed was hugely disappointing - But we played our part in having it disallowed.

I believe there is a Mercedes museum too.

Have Gibraltar still not built a stadium? They've had years. A return to the out of town Estadio Algarve? Pity it's not the Farense stadium, which is about a 10 minute walk from Faro centre/marina. Monday and Friday? A minimum of 3 days holiday when it could have been 1. So much to cram in this year.

Only a fan-site opinion, but worth a read... Southampton have report ably put a £6 million price tag on Che Adams head should he leave this January, but it seems that even at this knockdown price, the buyers are yet to put in an offer and Saints could well opt to keep him at St Mary's. Che Adams obviously feels that his place is in the Premier League, hence he turned down the offer of a new contract at the start of the season and ended up staying for the first part of the season. With his current deal up in the summer, you would have thought that a few potential suitors would step forward, especially as the asking price now is said to be as low as £6 million, roughly the price that Saints would have to pay to bring in the likes of Aberdeen's Bojan Miovski or Hearts Laurence Shankland, two strikers from Scotland linked with the club should Adams leave. Southampton seem relaxed about the situation, but with the need for a striker at the head of their list, be it Che Adams or a new man, it seems that the club will not be held to ransom and although they might well accept an offer that is acceptable, they will not do so unless they have tied up a replacement first, therefore letting Che Adams go on deadline day is unlikely. footballleagueworld.co.uk are quoting Talksport's Alex Crook who is claiming that it is now highly likely that Adams will still be a Saints player come the end of the transfer window. It seems both Saints and Adams himself are happy to see where the situation leads, the player can now see that Saints have a real chance of regaining their Premier League status and that being the case is prepared to hang on and then talk about contracts if and when the club are promoted. But he is also open to offers and should Wolves or Crystal Palace, two of the potential suitors come up with the cash, then he will consider it, it seems that Everton who were heavily linked ar now not in the running and even if they were with further points deductions in the pipeline for the Toffee's, Adams might see that his chances of Premier League football next season are better with Southampton than Everton. But I would also expect a late offer for Adams, to be blunt £6 million is peanuts for a player with Adams experience, but Saints seem to be very clear here, they are prepared to let him leave in the summer for free rather than cash in now if they have not tied up an adequate replacement.

For anyone staying near Dortmund... https://www.fussballmuseum.de/en/start This was nearly finished - but not quite - the last time we were there (for the Ikechi Anya / Referendum match). It is literally across the road from Dortmund station.

Adams, Armstrong and Fraser all start for Southampton in early kick-off v Swansea.

The day after the Rwanda vote and the news a wee boy tragically starved to death after his Father dropped dead in the home... And almost every front page covered the royals and their minor ops. Shelagh Fogerty (LBC) likes the monarchy, but even she was like WTF at those front pages. Pray for them? FFS.

Meanwhile... .

They should have got Nena. Quality MILF GILF.

Funny you mention Sam Smith. In answer to the OP asking about who we would like and not like, I was going to suggest Sam Smith for the latter. When he first came on the scene, I think people mistook his put-on whining for emotion.

I'm not interested in the least, but was wondering if I ought to make the effort to be there in time for it. Just because. Not feeling it though.

In that case, I might just stay in the pub. Just had to you-tube Kim Petras. She's no Dua Lipa.