Red-Robbo

According to Qatar's own (probably unreliable) information all the stadiums have some sort of climate control that makes them "comfortable at any time of year". Hmmm...

I think you're right, MR. When bus services were privatised the only clauses were that they continued to run certain named routes: reliability, passenger access, fare and timetable information, all were not specified. There's likely a class-based unconscious prejudice thing going on as well: trains are used by MPs and other important people whose complaints will matter to First Group, whereas buses are seen as the transport choice of the poor, elderly and young.

The odd total ranker, too.

I couldn't agree more. This season, I've started taking the bus for Saturday games. I'm away for home for longer, but I make a day of it. Meet friends, have a few pints etc. A day pass at £7 offers me good VFM given I'm saving petrol and the headache of parking. BUT why can't First Bus manage to let people know if there is a change to timetables? The one posted on their website is months old, the new one is glued to the local bus shelter, but they have no way of letting you know if they cancel a service - which happens frequently. The drivers at the station don't even think to come and tell the waiting lines of passengers what is happening. It's my only gripe, but it's important. Why don't Somerset bus stops have those "bus expected" boards linked to the bus's GPS, that you see in Bristol? Why can't First Bus maintain an up-to-date website and have latest service data on there? The same company does for its trains. Passengers are treated as incidental to the good running of the service.

Yep, totally impossible for lots of people. When I worked in London, I'd take the tube in Mon-Thurs, but needed to drive in on Friday as that's when I drove back to Somerset. No feasible way for me to get back to my house without it. Housing costs, the expense of moving, and lots of other factors make it difficult for people to move nearer their jobs as well.

There was a guy in Dolman Block B who must've had the loudest voice in Bristol. I can remember during one particularly poor display he boomed out "Mitchell, you're a cabbage!" so loud that it echoed around the Gate and caused a few smiles on the pitch.

Benny's Viking FK team won the Norwegian Cup and knocked Chelsea and Sporting Lisbon out the Uefa Cup; McInnes has been successful with Aberdeen. In English football, you're dead right.

Very true. Trouble was - as @Davefevs has eloquently explained - there was just too much volume, too much churn, too many punts. If you're Chelsea, hoovering up great prospects from all around the world and loaning them out to see how they develop, you can do that. You have the money. Bristol City didn't.

Bit unfair on Denis Smith as well. I think lots of his efforts were undermined by the board.

The Austrian Bundesliga isn't too terrible. I wonder if with Tin we kicked the can down the road too early?

SV Ried in the Austrian Bundesliga. The wonders of Wikipedia...

23 to 32 is November average (according to Visit Qatar) but as I say, humidity is much higher than in the UK.

Because summer would be uncomfortable for spectators getting to and from stadiums presumably. Averages over 40C.

It's the high humidity that tends to do Europeans in.

Dunno. Probably. You're right that their health will have to be very closely monitored though.

Aren't the stadiums roofed and air-conditioned? Will still be hot, mind you. Teams acclimatised to a northern European climate will be at a disadvantage.

Even if you ignored the evil regime, the exploited virtual slave labour building the stadiums and the corruption that landed them the gig, it will be a crap experience. Get drinks only at a hotel bar, strict dress codes, an unfriendly society and weather that even my sun-loving friend who lives in Doha says is unbearable. He says life is just leaving your air-conditioned apartment by lift to your air-conditioned garage then driving your air-conditioned vehicle to your employers' air-conditioned garage under their air-conditioned office. As little time as possible is spent outdoors. Not really the travelling football fans ideal.

Traffic flow is like water isn't it. Block one route and it'll just find a way around it. You see this with "traffic calming" measures, congestion charging and CAZs. They may persuade a few people onto public transport, but there are sound reasons why many journeys cannot be made this way, so instead traffic is displaced onto smaller roads often in ways the schemes' designers do not foresee. Better public transport (to offer more options) and ultimately, better town planning, creating fast link roads outside of densely populated areas and bringing employment centres within an easy walk or cycle of residential areas, are the only long-term solutions to congestion.

I believe the cash incentives to switch are provided by a grant from central government.

I think the idea is that there are charge points in roads, on places like lamp posts and street signs etc, but I agree with those who say that they just can't imagine this massive infrastructure project getting done by 2030. Re: the tax thing. I guess you increase fuel taxes and car tax on ICE vehicles until they become unviable. Again, unless we see significant falls in the affordability of electric vehicles, I just can't see this being a policy any government would dare to implement. Changes to the availability, reliability and cost of public transport are much more achievable and should be prioritised IMO.

Gotta be honest, I'm not sure what the plan is there. My guess is they'll eventually be taxed out of existence apart from as heritage items. Like the poster above, I just can't see charging points being ready to implement the ambition timeframe they've given themselves though.

As we've read, by 2030 we aren't even supposed to be making or selling internal combustion engine vehicles. I can't see that happening then, and I can therefore imagine exclusions might be temporary for a lot longer than some might think.

I don't think many of us can. Hybrids are due to still be on sale until 2040, so for us street parkers there is an option. Personally, I can see this deadline slipping back and back.

His career fell right away after his partnership with Denise Van Outen broke up.....

I think it's more to do with demoralisation. Psychology can be used to lift a demoralised team, just as it can lift a demoralised person. It isn't just about skills. They can obviously do the skills in training. Why does the ability desert them en masse in matches - because they are demoralised. A depressed office worker performs worse than a happy one. Particularly when under pressure. Ditto footballers. A good manager can lift the morale by himself, instinctively. Perhaps it's harder for an ill and absent manager, and a stand-in who hasn't known the players for long.