Picking the right team.

 Picking the - right person for the job is key to a successful cabinet and the new prime minister Andy Burnham, starts this afternoon. Perhaps the most consequential role and the tone of government is that of chancellor. The best recent example of it working well was that between David Cameron as prime minister and George Osbourne. The announcement of John Healey, as chancellor took everyone by surprise, but has been seen as positive.. The Snakes and Ladders of politics can be very brutal at times like these - when jobs are up for grabs. I look forward to seeing the new people in their various roles. 

The World Cup final.

 Tonight we have the final of the World Cup between the holders Argentina and Spain. They have similar styles of play, both enjoying possession of the ball by outstanding and skilled players. The talisman Messi at 39 - this is very probably his last World Cup. I hope Spain wins and the cup comes back to Europe. I watched the Bronze Medal match last night between England and France and it was exhilarating and exciting with the eventual victory going to England at 6/4 . One of the best matches of the tournament and especially the fact that we won. 

Not a very exciting game of football - in fact I found it a rather boring game. It went into extra time and eventually Spain 🇪🇸 managed to score a goal, despite the outrageous behaviour of many of the Argentina team. They kicked and tripped up the Spanish players . Messi wasn’t the normal magical inspiration player but thankfully - Spain put us out of our collective misery and finished 1/0. 

A changing of the guard.

 Tomorrow we see a change of prime minister with the exit of Keir Starmer and the entrance of Andy Burnham, into Downing Street. What will we remember of Starmer, in a few years time? He will along with Liz Truss, be forgotten for any good he did. In a thoughtful profile of him in this weeks New Statesman by the editor Tom McTague, he concludes ‘we are poor and don’t know how to recover’. And further in the article asked ‘when did the rot set in’? We must hope that this time the new prime minister will be more consequential than the previous - gang of incompetent and mediocre leaders. If Burnham, fails in his task of reshaping the country - then democracy is at serious risk. 

Why we lost against Argentina?

 According to a world renowned Dutch physiologist Dr Mehdi Kordi - the English team simply ran out of gas. A combination of factors. He identified that England ability to run at speed against Argentina had declined. In addition England played more games at high altitude, in particular the game against Mexico. Moreover there is the contrasting styles of playing the game with Argentina keeping possession, they therefore spent less energy chasing the ball. In addition there is the heavy physical demands of the Premier League - where we play many more games than our competitors across the whole season. In short - we ran out of energy. 

Will we ever win the World Cup in my lifetime?

 All hopes were dashed last night against Argentina as they went onto win 2/1. I cannot say we - looked as if we were going to beat this formidable side, despite scoring the first goal. They of course had the - magician Messi on their side. Perhaps the best footballer of his generation? On current form I can’t see us winning the World Cup in my lifetime, as I’m 83. The wait goes on. 

His last PM’s.

 Today was the last PM’s for Keir Starmer as prime minister. There were respectful acknowledgements of his time in the office, for a little over 2 years. Nevertheless it was impossible not to be aware of the fact that his erstwhile supporters had - stabbed him in the back over his lacklustre leadership of the Labour Party. From Monday Andy Burnham, takes over the - near impossible job as prime minister. Will he do any better? The opinion polls will soon judge whether he is a up to the task - more than the previous seven prime ministers since 2010.  

Getting ready for Armageddon.

 The chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones, has warned that there is a reasonable possibility of a - cyberattack from Russia within the next few years and we should therefore prepare for it. According to Jones the government would hold next year- the largest ‘national home defence exercise, since the Cold War’. Preparations like: having enough bottled water to last a few days, canned foods, a wind up radio, medicine and warm clothing, a torch etc. This might sound like - scaremongering, but best to be prepared for the unthinkable - as it could happen.