ben garside

@AntonioMango4 Kroupi style!

🇨🇮Mamadou Koné (19) signed for Lorient from Academie Africa Foot, after they won the race against Barca Today he came off the bench for his second debut & scored his first Goal in senior football. The youngster decided to join Lorient for better pathway into senior football

@DanGibbs14 @WestHamViews_ @TheAthleticFC In the Court of the crimson king !

@WestHamViews_ @TheAthleticFC "21st Century Sicknote Man" ( Apologies to KC fans ) I agree...it hasn't worked out. Callum Marshall must be given more minutes....like Freddie Potts has been 👍

Niclas Fullkrug's agent has spoken out on how he believes the move to West Ham "hasn't worked out in the end". He believes a move away for the 32-year-old would "make sense" for both parties. [@TheAthleticFC] #WHUFC #COYI

@BenCrellin Ben ,you give a lot to the community. This seems a really exciting time of change for you ,I hope you find a good therapist to help you be kind to yourself+travel through this change with you.

I still want to share things about how autism has affected my life. This is like DIY therapy... I suffered way more trauma at home than at school. I have lots to say on that but I will wait until I see a therapist before I fully spill my guts. The reason for my trauma was connected to my autism: "many autistic individuals possess a strong sense of justice and can be highly sensitive to perceived unfairness". I remember I used to always tell myself I was being tough and doing well mentally because I'd never thought about suicide, I'd only 'thought about thinking about suicide'. And somehow I still didn't think my depression was real! It seems like I survived longer in education than most people with undiagnosed Level 1 ASD. At school I did well academically and terrible socially, but I had the opposite experience at university. I actually had the time of my life in my 1st year of uni. I made some really good friends - I met them when I asked to join a card game during freshers week. We eventually got obsessed with playing poker together. I became the best player of the group, and the most addicted (I quickly blew £1k of my student loan when I started playing online). I did Russian at uni because I got my best A Level grade in it. I could easily understand the structure and rules of the language and never had to learn to speak it fluently at school. When I got to uni I really started to struggle with it, partly because I couldn't learn to speak it fluently. My poker addiction obviously contributed to my academic struggles too. I stopped going to lectures in 2nd year — I got really anxious when I started considering the year abroad in 3rd year — and I ignored all the letters from university staff asking where I was. So I eventually formally quit uni and tried to make it as a professional poker player. Poker went okay. I won money overall. I did well in the micro stakes. I never did well enough at at the medium stakes. I got bored of it eventually after having played about 5 million hands. I've never had a "proper" job. I never thought I would cope with a regular '9 to 5'. FPL saved me. I feel really really lucky in some aspects of life - the friends I made IRL at uni, the friends I've made online on here and the financial security that FPL has given me - I have the perfect job for my type of autism and it's great to have the affirmation I get back from the community.

I've had an emotionally overwhelming and potentially life-changing week, and I want to share what I've gone through. I'm autistic. I'd never properly considered it before. I've always felt different, but I had very little knowledge of what the autism spectrum entails. Writing this tweet has been therapeutic. I'm going to share a lot about my life. I feel free to do this because I no longer feel so much shame. I obviously have Level 1 autism (the mildest form). When I was 13, my dad used to talk to me about his experiences when working for a charity that cared for adults with level 2 and 3 autism. I did once ask him if I was autistic, but he said I wasn't; people didn't know as much about autism back then and I didn't behave anything like the adults that he was working with. I saw a YT video by someone who got an autism diagnosis in their 30s last week, and that made me seriously consider that I might have autism - maybe a 50% chance, and then I went down a rabbit hole and every day it increased by 10-15%. It's at 100% today. Discovering that I have autism has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. I no longer feel guilty about all the painful things that happened to me as a kid. I'm understanding that I was traumatised by some it, and that's normal for autistic people. Last year I tested positive for the Motor Neurone Disease gene that killed my Dad & Gran (whom I never knew). I'll likely get the disease by my late 60s, and I'm now way more worried about it because I feel like I've got a life to live. I now know that the constant anxiety and spells of depression that I've had are real. I used to think that my anxiety and depression were insignificant compared to other people who had real mental health problems. I've never had counselling. I actually suffer from crippling anxiety and it's all related to autism. Thankfully I'm no longer depressed. I was depressed during my 20s and I was super depressed at school. I was bullied so badly. I have big memory gaps in those years - I think it's known as dissociative amnesia. My parents fostered a challenging 9-year-old boy for a year when I was 14. He knew how to wind me up, which aggravated my anxiety. I only have one memory of that year: playing monopoly on the day he left us. I'm so grateful to FPL and the FPL community. The niche that I've found here is incredible, and autism has certainly allowed me to find it, but autism has also led me to become reclusive. I'm nearly 35 now. I have a comfortable but fairly unfulfilling life. Most days I only interact with my mum. I have no good friends locally. I rely on podcasts and social media interactions to fill the gap. My life is designed to minimise anxiety. I like being alone but I know this isn't sustainable. I knew that I had to try and improve my life - I just didn't know how to. I even considered getting a life coach a few months ago, but that would have been a waste of time if neither of us knew I had autism. I now have an idea of how I'm going to improve my life. I see a path forward. I'll start by going to a weekly meet-up for people with autism in my nearest town. I'll obviously continue to do what I've always done in the FPL community, but I'll use it as a foundation to build on. I'll give some other examples of how autism affects me: - In case it wasn't obvious, social interactions with neurotypical strangers cause me anxiety (but I do enjoy meeting people from the FPL community) - I have difficulty engaging in back-and-forth conversations - I find it hard to express myself - I talk in paragraphs instead of sentences - I struggle to make and maintain friendships - I like to plan things carefully before doing them - I'm hyper sensitive to certain sounds, smells, loud noises, materials and bright lights. I absolutely hate busy indoor spaces where people have to speak loudly to make their voices heard over loud background noise. - I'm emotionally sensitive - I take things literally. e.g I struggle when people exaggerate by using superlatives. - I'm clumsy - I always have cuts and bruises - I have a rigid routine in areas of my life and I have OCD tendencies - I really struggle to transition from one task to another e.g getting out of bed, getting out of the shower, getting ready for bed - I have very keen interests in certain subjects. My interests aren't particularly unusual but they are extreme - I notice patterns in things that other people don't - I've always been extremely fidgety, and I now realise this is called stimming. I've noticed that my stims are weirder when I'm alone. In public I just scrunch my toes. I've learned to try and fit in and hide my weirdness. I'm sharing all this partly in the hope that other people might realise that they're also autistic and get the help that they need. Here are links to YouTube videos/channels that I've found helpful. youtube.com/watch?v=YnU01H… @imautisticnowwhat" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">youtube.com/@imautisticnow… @MomontheSpectrum" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">youtube.com/@MomontheSpect… @autismfromtheInside" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">youtube.com/@autismfromthe… @YoSamdySam" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">youtube.com/@YoSamdySam And this one I discovered last night which has resonated the most with me youtube.com/watch?v=StLrjs… Finally, here's The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) Test, which I've done a few times. I scored 40 on it last time I tried it. psychology-tools.com/test/autism-sp… I'm going to try getting an official diagnosis via the NHS soon, but I don't feel I desperately need it. ♥️🌈♾️

@Zicozico1011752 @jamie47631 @ZlatovValentin @Joel_CP_70 @themagic_tophat Completely agree with your analysis of likely outcome

@jamie47631 @ZlatovValentin @Joel_CP_70 @themagic_tophat Of course there is government discussions Military contracts etc. it’s quite clear they’re are going to be found guilty But other clubs didn’t turn down their money Grealish Stones etc City will point that out Outcome: massive fine and next season hefty points deduction

🚨 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘁? There are reliable rumours that: 1., Man City are actively consulting financial advisors that specialise in corporate restructuring; and 2., Have a series of staff meetings planned for this month. This is a typical approach when you are planning to restructure your organisation and make large-scale redundancies, in order to reduce your cost base. But… based on Man City’s latest accounts, this would be absurd. They record some of the largest profits in football. They have the largest PSR headroom in the Premier League (likely clearing it by more than £400m this season!) They’re cashflow positive and have an owner who has shown a willingness to inject as much cash as they could need. Plus… it’s not as if a corporate restructuring would move the needle much for Man City AS IT IS NOW. That’s because corporate restructuring would only shave off 2-3% at most from the cost base given the vast majority of costs are football or infra related - corporate headcount is relatively small. So… why gut your corporate organisation that has been supposedly growing the business so well and sap its morale when you have no need to do so? Man City have more cash and PSR headroom than they know what to do with! It’s the epitome of counter-productive. Well… it would make total sense if they are anticipating a massive drop in revenues and vast fines/compensation claims (that affect PSR). Such as when they’re found liable of the 130 charges and subsequently relegated and fined, for example. Then again, maybe the presence of restructuring specialists at the same time as staff-wide briefings is a complete coincidence and unrelated to anything else happening in Man City’s world right now! 🤷‍♂️

@JordanDunbar10 @BBCOne Excellent documentary, direct ,up to date and compassionate,thank you

To mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz I had the honour of speaking with survivors of the camp. I wanted to know what it really means to ‘never forget’. Tonight on @BBCOne at 8.30pm

@City_Xtra @MatteMoretto Good

#ManCity captain, Kyle Walker is in talks with the club to terminate his contract. [via @MatteMoretto]

@FFScout Mika Biereth.....if only Arteta had figured

The best Saka replacement is...

@AFC_Elite @EduardoHagn Well he did....he got rid of Mika for pnuts

@EduardoHagn Thank god we acted in the transfer window and planned for this, well done Arteta 👏

I see two options to cover for Bukayo Saka: • Martinelli • Nwaneri

@themagic_tophat And it could have been Mika B......

𝗔𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹’𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚-𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 £20-25mpa - Sesko £25-35mpa - Gyokeres*, Duran £35+mpa - Isak, Osimhen, Vlahovic 𝙒𝙞𝙙𝙚-𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 £20-25mpa - Lookman*, Semenyo, Mbuemo, Baena £25-35mpa - Kvara, Kudus, Raphinha*, Simons, Williams £35+mpa - Rodrygo, Musiala mpa = millions per annuma against the P&L for amortised fees, wages and taxes *Lower re-sale value after 2.5 years due to age Some thoughts… - Arsenal can do a £35+mpa deal without selling anyone but then headroom is getting tight at a time when they want to put Saliba and Saka on bigger contracts. - I’d be shocked if they sign more than one attacker without moving on a player first. - Rumoured activity suggests to me that they wanted to do an attacking signing under £20-25mpa last summer with a bigger money signing in mind for Jan/Jul 2025. - I don’t think Osimhen is likely - if Arsenal had wanted him then they would have made their move in the summer. - I don’t think Gyokeres happens because of a combination of cost, age and lack of Big 5 League experience. If I’ve missed any strongly rumoured names, please send me the rumour and I can band them.

@gilescoren Are you one of those parody accounts?

@cathynewman @BishopNewcastle @Channel4News No @BishopNewcastle you are not out of step with watchers. Thankyou for speaking up. The speech was offensive ,trivialising the distress of victims and the previous postholder's tone was insulting and he clearly has learnt nothing from his resignation. Thank you again.

Covering this on tonight’s @Channel4News

While everyone's talking about Taylor Swift or god-knows-what, the government's National Wealth Fund has deployed financial guarantees to secure £1bn private lending to improve energy efficiency in social housing businessgreen.com/news/4370669/n…

For all these folk having a go at Labour at the moment, where've you been these last FOURTEEN years? The mess in this country is the fault of one party & one party only...the Tories...but 'cos they were VOTED OUT by the country...Labour have a mandate to clean it up. Patience.

I remember a time when one income could buy a house, support a family. When you knew your GP and ambulances arrived within minutes, we all had dentists, and we had clean beaches to visit. Now we have food banks and warm banks, a housing crisis and people living pay cheque to pay cheque. Millions of children living in poverty and an NHS unable to support people. The right will tell you it’s migrants fault but in reality it’s down to the choices of Tory govts.

Under Labour plans 73% of farms won’t pay any inheritance tax at all, the smallest farms will be protected and those that do pay will have ten years to pay it. The bleating you hear is very rich people being asked to cough up a bit of money - when they die - maybe.

Running tally of all the kinds of 'working people' we've heard about in the coverage of this week's Budget - Buy-to-let landlords - Rural landowners - Second-home owners - Parents of private school children - Anyone with a nanny

@Vindahloo @themagic_tophat @PatrickjaLee Imo right wing press hand wringing in response to budget that started to redress the balance of long term favouring business + rich.

@themagic_tophat @PatrickjaLee Over the last two years, NI has been reduced by 2% as a vote grab by the Tories. Then increased again. Are those companies who were viable prior to the cuts now nonviable?

I hated the last Government. I strongly suspect many were corrupt, and rather incompetent too. I appreciated what Labour were saying in opposition and they certainly purported the image of basic competence. So I voted for them. Turns out, it was a lie. It was all lies. They have gone back on their word again and again. And now they are demonstrating gross incompetence on a massive scale. I hate UK politics.

BREAKING: In a terrifying moment, Donald Trump says that his Project 2025 plan to round up migrants will be a bloody operation. This is what fascism looks like. Retweet to make sure every American sees this and knows how dangerous Trump is.

To those saying comments like "oh good more money for those who contribute nothing" - check ur facts! 40% of UC claimants are the working poor others are carers, have disabilities or illness, & some who don't have work, want it. A little more compassion & less judgement wouldn't hurt.

@5_News @peterofthelane Excellent sensitive interview of Mr Stapleton , expressing compassion + care while asking interesting questions. Thankyou

The teenager accused of the fatal stabbing of three girls at a dance class in Southport has been charged with production of a deadly poison and a terror offence, the Chief Constable of Merseyside Police has said. @peterofthelane reports.