RoverAndOut

Sigh....brevity has never been my strong point. I had the same list, but in individual Cabinets and without clear reference to who was alive and dead. Thankfully, particularly from Blair onwards, I was pretty sure who was still pegging and who not, but even so, Lord Elton does not appear on your list either!

Having had a perusal, I can confirm that every player seems to have 5 names in every category! I do have one query on the Cabinet Ministers category, which only affects one player. Rodney Elton, chosen by MariNisia, served in two government departments but was never the Secretary of State so far as I can see? He served in the Home Office under Leon Brittan and in the Environment Department under 3 Secretaries. I only noticed because he wasn't on my long list, which I gathered by going through each Cabinet on Wikipedia. Thought it best to flag it up now, rather than someone mention it down the line if it becomes relevant. Do let me know if I'm mistaken, though.

Well that was another inspired prediction. Ancelotti has re-signed as Real Madrid manager. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57319559 I should've guessed with all these big jobs available this summer, someone would take a punt on the guy with experience who was probably easy to poach.

That relies on me knowing anything about baseball to know some are better known than others. The only one I'd heard of was Willie Mays, and I picked him (based on health reasons of course!) It was fun to dip my toe in, though, even if I know only a bare minimum more now than I did before.

Amazing the knock-on effect of a bank holiday weekend. Incidentally, the analysis on the BBC article here states that, by the current definition, there was a day last summer (July 30th) with no deaths but at the time a different measure was being used. So, I've no idea who that would affect but anybody want to lodge an appeal and claim victory retrospectively?

Well, two out of 4 ain't bad. Nigel Lawson was my sub, I may regret that one.

For my sins, I looked at The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, Voyager and the films. Even then, I only looked at people on IMDB that had a picture of themselves, and only catalogued those born from 1962 and before (I didn't even look at them in great detail after that). I also took a handful of names from some Original Series research I did previously, mainly just those aged 90-odd and above. Anyway, after all that, I have just over 600 names listed, and that's nowhere near exhaustive, and I didn't even look at Enterprise, Discovery, Picard or the 70s Animated Series. It'll be upwards of 1,500 at least I'd imagine, and that's just the one's that are still alive! What I did find is that there's a number of actors they called again and again, either within the same show or across different iterations. Plenty of people appeared in all three 90s series (Next Gen, DS9 and Voyager) in various guest roles.

Ok, so here's how the teams stand after a season: Rover and Out 1. Dean Smith (Aston Villa) - after last season's bare survival (thanks to *that* Sheffield United non-goal), I expected more struggles this time around but another big spending spree has seen an improvement (Martinez has been a predictably inspired signing). Will the progress continue into 21/22? 2. Sabri Lamouchi (Nottingham Forest) 3. Phillip Cocu (Derby County) 4. Joey Barton (Fleetwood Town) 5. Paul Warne (Rotherham United) - another change of league for Rotherham and a visibly devastated Warne refused to make a kneejerk decision on his future after the last match. Is he up for another promotion campaign or is it time to step back? 6. Marcelo Bielsa (Leeds United) - I felt the temperamental Argentine may self combust in a difficult first season back in the Premier League, but Leeds have been surprisingly successful with their inconsistent performances, ending up in the top half. They seem to be prime candidates for Second Season Syndrome, though and I have a feeling Bielsa is set for a surprise exit at any point (he never signs for more than a season...) 7. Slaven Bilic (West Brom) 8. Lee Bowyer (Charlton Athletic) 9. Grant McCann (Hull City) - hated by Hull fans, a bad start to 20/21 was surely curtains for McCann, but it didn't come! Coasted to promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt, now can he keep them there and show he's made progress at this level? If this season's anything like his last time in the Championship, I can't see Hull giving him long. 10. Daniel Farke (Norwich City) - fancied Norwich to struggle a bit back in the Championship and that Farke would make an exit but another side that bounced straight back, so similar questions to McCann, can he keep them up? And if not, do Norwich pull the trigger this time to try and save themselves? 11. Hayden Mullins (Watford) 12. Carlos Corberan (Huddersfield Town) - felt like this was a classic "Number 2 steps up only to fail" scenario, but, incredibly at Christmas Huddersfield gave Corberan an extended contract to the end of 23/24 when they sat 12th. They finished 20th, 6 points clear of the drop zone and were absolutely woeful against my team Blackburn, losing 5-2 in our second-to-last home game of the season. Maybe next season it will click, otherwise, that's a big pay out. 13. Garry Monk (Sheffield Wednesday) 14. Neil Warnock (Middlesbrough) - been trying to remember why I put him in, as he's unlikely to quit and unlikely to struggle. Perhaps I assumed he would get bored and walk away. Might still happen, and I'm not sure he'll get 'Boro promoted. 15. Russ Wilcox (Scunthorpe United) 16. Mark Kennedy (Macclesfield Town) 17. Paul Lambert (Ipswich Town) 18. Sean Dyche (Burnley) - assumed he'd quit due to the uncertainty last summer, or that he'd be poached by someone else but, unsurprisingly, nobody fancied him. There's talk of him going to Palace, maybe he'll get investment from the new Burnley owners and stop around, but he's been there forever and something needs to change at some point soon. 19. Eddie Howe (Bournemouth) 20. Stuart McCall (Bradford City) Great Uncle Bulgaria 1 Eddie Howe (Bournemouth) 2 Dean Smith (Aston Villa) - see Rover and Out 3 Hayden Mullins (Watford) 4 Daniel Farke (Norwich) - see Rover and Out 5 Tony Mowbray (Blackburn Rovers) - my team. Not the success we were hoping for this season, and the fans are getting restless but the owners have faith in Mowbray and accept the difficulties of the Covid season. But if there's not significant improvement next season, I suspect his time may be up. 6 Paul Warne (Rotherham) - see Rover and Out 7 Paul Cook (Wigan) DNS 8 Lee Bowyer (Charlton Athletic) 9 Paul Lambert (Ipswich Town) 10 John Askey (Port Vale) 11 Darrell Clarke (Walsall) 12 Grant McCann (Hull City) - see Rover and Out 13 Ryan Lowe (Plymouth Argyle) - perhaps GUB expected them to struggle back in League One, but Lowe kept the Pilgrims up and has signed a new contract until 2024, so unless they get into difficulty, I suspect he'll be staying a while longer. 14 Steve Bruce (Newcastle United) - I'm sure this was expected to be a success at some point. The fans hate him and they flirted with relegation until March, but an astonishing end saw them finish 12th, miles clear of a woeful bottom 3. With fans back next season, will they do well enough to keep the mob at bay? Joe Willock is surely a key part of that equation. 15 Philippe Cocu (Derby County) 16 Mark Molesley (Weymouth) 17 Paul Doswell (Havant and Waterlooville) - I must profess I know very little about the non-league game. A risky pick given the possibility that Covid would curtail the season again (which it did), when they were mid-table with multiple games in hand (they'd only played 14 to some teams' 19). 18 Bradley Quinton (Welling) 19 Hakan Heyrettin (Maidstone) - similar story to Havant & W. Maidstone had only played 13 games and sat 2 places further down the Conference South when the season was cancelled. 20 Danny Bloor (Eastbourne) - Eastbourne were going well, 3rd in the Conference South at shutdown, having played all 19 games. Did GUB think he might get poached by someone bigger? It's not happened yet... 21 Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace) Buffalo Phil 1. Daniel Farke - see Rover and Out 2. Steve Bruce - see Great Uncle Bulgaria 3. Gerhard Struber 4. Tony Mowbray - see Great Uncle Bulgaria 5. Phillip Cocu 6. Grant McCann - see Rover and Out 7. Sabri Lamouchi 8. Alex Neil 9. Mark Warburton - has been under some pressure at QPR but ridden out the criticism and finished 9th. If the board expect a play off push next season, will failure to achieve that see his end, or are their ambitions less lofty than that? 10. Mark Bowen 11. Slaven Bilic 12. Pep Guardiola - this seemed speculative in all honesty! Did Phil think that he'd had enough? That seemed a possibility after a poor start to the season, but they responded as you'd expect, won 2 trophies, including regaining their Premier League crown and lost to Chelsea in the FA Cup semis and the Champions League final. Will he stay until he makes City Champions of Europe or is it next season or bust for Pep? 13. Paul Warne - see Rover and Out 14. Joey Barton 15. Michael Duff - well this was a turnup for the books! Little Cheltenham only went and won League Two! Seems unlikely they'll sack him next season, unless it's a horror show. 16. Richie Wellens 17. Dean Smith - see Rover and Out 18. Darren Ferguson - Take 3 in the Peterborough hot seat and once more he's got them promoted back to the Championship. Can he keep them there and, if not, will he be leaving once more to await his 4th stint in the job? 19. Lee Bowyer 20. David Artell - presumably Phil tipped Crewe to struggle in League 1, but they did well, finishing 12th, 8 points off the play offs and a whopping 19 clear of the drop zone. Anything similar will surely see him safe for now. msc 1 Roy Hodgson - Palace 2. Dean Smith - Villa - see Rover and Out 3. Ralph Hassenhuttl - Southampton - this seems perfectly feasible after a poor end to this season and a second 9-0 thrashing in 2 seasons. Seems like a good bloke and a decent manager but they need more consistency and to put all the pieces together to be more successful. If they start badly, I can see him getting the boot. 4. Pep Guardiola - Man City - see Buffalo Phil 5. Frank Lampard - Chelsea 6. Eddie Howe - Bournemouth 7. Gerhard Struber - Barnsley 8. Sabri Lamouchi - N Forest 9. Daniel Farke - Norwich - see Rover and Out 10. Russell Martin - MK Dons - barely survived last season but much improved this season, probably against msc's expectations. Only 9 points away from the League One play offs. A promotion push next season? Or, if they struggle, could it be curtains this time? 11. Grant McCann - Hull - see Rover and Out 12. Paul Lambert - Ipswich 13. Lee Bowyer - Charlton 14. Chris Beech - Carlisle - finished 7 points adrift of the League Two play offs, much improved from last season. Perhaps msc was expecting another relegation fight? Or perhaps that he'd end up somewhere else? He said in January he had no interest in jumping ship. 15. Michael Duff - Cheltenham - see Buffalo Phil 16. Steven Gerrard - Rangers - was this wishful thinking (I should know your allegiance msc, but it's passed me by!). A first SPL title in a decade and he's the new messiah. He'll only go for something bigger (does that mean waiting 'til Klopp goes?) 17. James McPake - Dundee - my knowledge of Scottish football isn't much better than my knowledge of non-league to be honest. But I know they beat Kilmarnock to get promoted to the SPL so he's in the good books at the moment. Seems like he's had some off-field issues from a few headlines on Google? Is that why he was expected to go? 18. Brian Reid - Albion Rovers - no idea. Looks like they were in trouble at Christmas but finished 7th out of 10 and well clear of relegation. Same again next season? 19. Ian McCall - Partick fn Thistle - more wishful thinking? Promoted as champions of Scottish League One and McCall is claiming they need to push for promotion from the Championship next season! Would a relegation battle see him out the door? 20. Steve Bruce - Newcastle - see Great Uncle Bulgaria Miracle Aligner 1. Eddie Howe (Bournemouth) 2. Sean Dyche (Burnley) - see Rover and Out 3. Paul Warne (Rotherham) - see Rover and Out 4. John Coleman (Accrington) - a club legend. Can't see him being sacked until he's ready to retire. Took Accrington to just 7 points shy of the League One play offs on one of the smallest budgets in the league. They could even make a promotion push next season! 5. Daniel Farke (Norwich) - see Rover and Out 6. Grant McCann (Hull) - see Rover and Out 7. Nathan Jones (Luton) - the second coming has gone pretty well. Barely survived on his return last season, but top half finish this time. Continued stability will mean he's fine, I can even see him potentially surviving a relegation, and as for being poached - he's already tried that once and it didn't work out, would he risk it again? 8. Graham Potter (Brighton) - much admired for the job he's doing and Brighton know they've got a good one. Could he be an outside pick for the Spurs job or another Premier League role if it became available (maybe Southampton?) Needs to get Brighton scoring more of the chances they create though if they're going to be more comfortable in the Premier League. 9. Steve Bruce (Newcastle) - see Great Uncle Bulgaria 10. Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace) 11. Gary Rowett (Millwall) - not as close to the play offs as last season but still backed by the club and ambitious. Birmingham haven't been as close to promotion since they sacked him. 12. Carlo Ancelotti (Everton) - will the early season optimism that petered out have dented his interest in the challenge? Or will it make him more determined to see the project through? Would Everton really sack a manager of Ancelotti's standing even if they're still in mid-table next season? Seems more likely it will be him walking away or a mutual decision, but not before the end of next season I'd suspect. 13. David Moyes (West Ham) - well who would have expected it? Back to his Everton best and has taken a floundering West Ham team into Europe. Looks secure for the foreseeable. 14. Neil Warnock (Middlesbrough) - see Rover and Out 15. Neil Harris (Cardiff) 16. Russell Martin (MK Dons) - see msc 17. Gary Monk (Sheffield Wednesday) 18. Chris Wilder (Sheffield United) 19. Frank Lampard (Chelsea) 20. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Man United) - an improved league finish, a first cup final, but a defeat to a side that had never won a trophy before and some of the fans have had enough. How much longer can Solskjaer claim to be rebuilding and improving? Do they need to challenge for the title next season or would a cup be enough? Any other thoughts or opinions more than welcome, especially by those who know more than me about some of the more obscure picks. Definitely some surprises as to who's gone and who's still in post but I think it really is still up for grabs. There's a few of mine I'm not certain are going any time soon...

With the League 2 play-off final today, the season is just about over, although some clubs are probably still finalising their decisions, but nevertheless, now seems a good time for an update (it's what I was waiting for anyway!). Hits mentioned here (13): Eddie Howe (Bournemouth - mutual consent), Russ Wilcox (Southend - new manager confirmed), Hayden Mullins (Watford - new manager confirmed), Mark Molesley (Weymouth - moved to new club), Sabri Lamouchi (Nottingham Forest - sacked), Garry Monk (Sheffield Wednesday - sacked), Philip Cocu (Derby - sacked), Slaven Bilic (West Ham - sacked), Frank Lampard (Chelsea - sacked), Bradley Quinton (Welling - sacked), Darrell Clarke (Walsall - moved to new club), Chris Wilder (Sheffield United - sacked), Alex Neil (Preston - sacked), Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace - end of contract) Also hits (10): Gerhard Struber (Barnsley - moved to new club), Mark Bowen (Reading - resigned), Mark Kennedy (Macclesfield - resigned), Richie Wellens (Swindon - moved to new club), Stuart McCall (Bradford - sacked), Joey Barton (Fleetwood - sacked), John Askey (Port Vale - sacked), Neil Harris (Cardiff - sacked), Paul Lambert (Ipswich - sacked), Lee Bowyer (Charlton - resigned) Misses (27): Paul Cook (Wigan - resigned), Graham Coughlan (Mansfield - sacked), Michael Jackson (Tranmere - new manager confirmed), John Sheridan (Wigan - moved to new club [technically ineligible for this game though]), Ben Garner (Bristol Rovers - sacked), Sam Ricketts (Shrewsbury - sacked), Phil Parkinson (Sunderland - sacked), David Dunn (Barrow - sacked), Vladimir Ivic (Watford - sacked [ineligible]), Ian Holloway (Grimsby - resigned), Tony Pulis (Sheffield Wednesday - sacked [ineligible]), Jake Buxton (Burton Albion - sacked), Glyn Hodges (AFC Wimbledon - sacked), Jason Tindall (Bournemouth - sacked [ineligible]), Keith Curle (Northampton - sacked), Paul Tisdale (Bristol Rovers - sacked [ineligible]), Dean Holden (Bristol City - sacked), Michael Jolley (Barrow - sacked [ineligible]), Steve Ball (Colchester - sacked), Ross Embleton (Leyton Orient - sacked), Darren Moore (Doncaster - moved to new club), Harry Kewell (Oldham - sacked), Kenny Jackett (Portsmouth - sacked), Aitor Karanka (Birmingham - sacked), Richie Wellens (Salford - mutual consent [ineligible]), Mark Molesley (Southend - sacked [ineligible]), Mark Cooper (Forest Green - sacked), John Sheridan (Swindon - sacked [ineligible]), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham - sacked), Gary Bowyer (Salford - return to Derby [ineligible]), Brian Dutton (Walsall - sacked [ineligible]), Conor Sellars and Mark Trueman (Bradford joint managers - sacked [ineligible]), Keith Hill (Tranmere - sacked [ineligible]), Nuno Espirito Santo (Wolves - mutual consent), Sam Allardyce (West Brom - end of contract [ineligible]) Current leaderboard: @RoverAndOut - 12 (Howe, Monk, Mullins, Cocu, Lamouchi, Wilcox, Kennedy, McCall, Bilic, Barton, Lambert, Bowyer) @Great Uncle Bulgaria - 10 (Howe, Mullins, Cocu, Molesley, Askey, Quinton, Clarke, Lambert, Bowyer, Hodgson) @BuffaloPhil - 9 (Cocu, Struber, Lamouchi, Bowen, Wellens, Bilic, Barton, Bowyer, Neil) @msc - 7 (Howe, Struber, Lamouchi, Lampard, Lambert, Bowyer, Hodgson) @Miracle Aligner - 6 (Howe, Monk, Harris, Lampard, Wilder, Hodgson) Another single success month, despite all the changes that seem to have happened as the season wrapped up, for msc and Miracle Aligner with Roy Hodgson. Mainly, this was because most of the other changes were ineligible due to the clubs having already changed manager once this season! I'll post again shortly with a rundown of who we've still got left standing and what their prospects currently look like (to the best of my knowledge!). EDITED: Updated Great Uncle Bulgaria too, as I failed to notice that his original pick Paul Cook didn't make the starting line, so Roy got in as pick #21!

Oh, terrific. All my recent googling of old baseball players means I'm now getting updates via Google on my phone for the current MLB scores...

Ok, so now my Scavenger Hunt team is in, just for the sake of completeness, can anyone clear something up for me? The 1959 Pulitzer Prize for History winner Jean Schneider (research assistant of Leonard D. White, who she won with) is talked about online (in very basic terms) as still being alive. According to her (very brief) Wikipedia, she was a graduate of Vassar College's Class of 1921 (with link to the College's own confirmation as such), which would mean she was born around the turn of century, making her about 121. So clearly she's dead (and not in my team!) but can anyone (or did anyone?) turf up any concrete information on when she died? No worries if not, just curious.

Team has just been sent in, Biblio. Enjoyed researching this but the possibilities in most categories are practically endless! Not expecting many uniques in all honesty but I suspect there are some names that will have to be on everybody's list who spotted them (and doubtless I've missed a severe cancer sufferer or someone who's had dementia for a decade but that's the way the cookie crumbles!). Good luck, all.

Definitely entering. Trying to find any hidden gems I've missed but if need be I could throw a team together in 5 minutes from what I've already got if push comes to shove.

The UK as a whole or personally? UK top 3 public vote was Lithuania (12), Iceland (10), Bulgaria (8). We gave France a decent chunk (5 or 6) and gave Italy (the winners) 2-4. I can't remember exactly. Personally, I voted for Iceland as much on last year as this year in all honesty, but I thought it was a surprisingly decent year for songs and am perfectly happy with the UK's top 3, plus the lukewarm points for Italy.

I don't even think they hate us. I think they just couldn't give a shit about us, which is worse. Having heard them all tonight, though, I don't think it was vindictive to give us nul points, we just were really average and easy to forget.

It's not just about us choosing to send someone decent, it's about someone decent wanting to take part. I'd be really interested to see how someone like Adele might do at Eurovision and I do feel that after 25 years without winning it, she'd be a national hero if she won, but I guess from her point of view, there's always the risk of finishing 20th on 40 points, losing out to some nobody from Latvia so why take the chance? But surely then we'd prove we have no chance whoever we send. The argument that western nations lose out to the political vote doesn't really stack up, though, when Austria, Portugal and the Netherlands have all won in the last decade.

It does all have the air of desperation. "I'm not getting my way, so here's another thing you did to screw me up." I'm not entirely sure what it is he wants though, he's currently got a free life to do what he wants in the sunshine of LA, with his wife and (soon to be) children and he also gets to keep his title, while doing nothing to warrant it. It is peculiar that the Royal Family has ruined his life yet he still wants to be the Duke of Sussex for some reason.

Easy to remember: half term starts next Friday.

I'll be in, still (pointlessly) deliberating.

I actually came here to mention something else on the same theme. I'm confused as to what Harry is seeking to achieve? He ended the Oprah interview by stating he hoped to re-establish close relations with his father and brother and then came over for Prince Philip's funeral. There was an assumption that would be the first step in thawing the ice on the bombshells they'd dropped but instead he now seems to be stepping up his 'revelations', now claiming to be on a destructive spiral between the ages of 28 to 32, trying to block the pain out and calling out his dad for not being more supportive. How continuing to air your dirty laundry in public is supposed to heal rifts is beyond me, which suggests he has no intention of doing that at all. I'm also slightly concerned that during this incredibly difficult time when he was suffering with fragile mental health, we gave him a gun and sent him to Iraq.

Seven people, all healthcare professionals, are charged with Maradona's 'homicide'. They include the surgeon who performed his brain surgery two weeks before his death. https://www.espn.com/soccer/argentina-arg/story/4390371/diego-maradona-case-seven-medical-professionals-charged-with-homicide

I literally put him on my research list today!

Unless they fall foul of the Supreme Leader of course.

Totally deserved. What an incredible performance. Stunning goal from Tielemans, equally stunning save from Schmeichel (he must have wrists of steel!) and then the drama of the VAR call! So pleased for you, such a likeable club, such a model for foreign owners and what can actually be achieved. Enjoy every moment of it, Biblio.

Yeah, but with the issues with Brexit, 150,000 coronavirus deaths, an incredibly dodgy Prime Minister and a lobbying scandal, you can never be sur...oh wait. You can.