Phlegm Genius

  They used to say what a difference a day makes but it’s more like what a difference a season makes at Crystal Palace. Their first trophy ever in the FA Cup then winning the Charity shield (a big deal if you’ve never won anything or just one trophy) to getting dumped out of said competition by a non-league side, losing your two best players and your manager announcing he’s off soon too. And let's be honest they’ve played like they know he’s leaving. Mateta was never the most prolific but he’ struggled this season and although they’re in no danger of going down it juts seems metaphorically someone let all the air out of the room.  It was meant to be a celebration of a season almost a free hit, they were in Europe they’d had won silverware at the start albeit a charity match but they beat the Champions. You could have been forgiven for not necessarily tearing up trees with Eze leaving at the start of the season but no one expected terminal decline. And yes even with Guehi going...

  Arsenal dropped points tonight to Brentford and missed the chance to go six points clear. And yes Man City are chasing them down (I’m a neutral no dog in the fight) but they have to hold their nerve. If anything a close title race will be better for all and for Arsenal if they win it. It doesn't matter how you get over the line as long as you do it. And if it’s by a single point winning is winning. Fans expecting a 12 point gap and panicking it’s not that are missing the point in my opinion. Showing your metal is being there in May not leading 12 points in February. After all, some of the greatest premier league teams and some good sides have blown 12 and 13 points leads to not win the title. Arsenal clawed back a 13 point deficit in 1998. Newcastle famously blew a 12 point lead in the 95-96 season. I felt months ago when Villa were in the title race and they still are in  my opinion (even though everyone else disagrees) that the monster coming down the track for them and Ar...

  The Department of Work and Pensions announced earlier this week that, following a trial starting in October 2024 involving 25,000 working age people with health conditions, the scheme would now be rolled out nationally. They hope to reach 250,000 people. The DWP describe the scheme as “a personalised service offering early help for people struggling with their health.” It aims to connect them to local services such as physiotherapy, counselling and also helps with workplace adjustments with the aim of enabling them to remain or gain employment. It sounds like a localised streamlined one-stop version of Access to Work and they have had pilots in East Birmingham and North Solihull, the Black Country, North Central London, and Herefordshire and Worcestershire, They claim to have high success rates in these pilots. Support is provided via work and health coaches and a team of clinicians and practitioners with specialising in mental health, muscular skeletal conditions, occupational t...

  On  January 23, 2026 , the government officially announced the Independent Disability Advisory Panel. This will be a new panel of 10 representatives from the Disability sector, all people with lived experience of disability. The panel will be chaired by Zara Tood with the aim giving views on policy related to health and disability. They will work with ministers in relation to initiatives such as Access to Work and The Disability Confident Scheme. However, it appears they will not be directly involved in the Timms Reviews of Welfare Reform. People within the disability community particularly those working within the (raises hands to make speech marks) disability sector may raise their eyes at this news and I get it. What will change? Will they be listened to? Is this a gravy train for some leading lights of the disability sector? And those sceptical can have their view. I’m as sceptical as the next person about the construction of these panels. In fact I’ve got a gold medal i...