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SURE, WE’RE IN the middle of the Euro 2016 group stages, but if that isn’t enough to satisfy your footballing needs, then you’ll need something else to pass the time.
Thankfully, there are a number of great football games out there that can help you kill some time. Here are our picks.
Football Manager Mobile
For: iOS, Android
Cost: €8.99
We should mention there are two different versions of Football Manager’s app but we’re mostly focusing on the more accessible Mobile. Accessible is probably a generous word to use as it’s still a very comprehensive game.
If you want a more comprehensive version, Football Manager Touch (€19.99 for PC, Mac, iOS and Android) follows the PC formula more closely, but is designed for iPad and Android tablets.
Tiny Striker
For: iOS, Android
Cost: Free
A quick game to dip into, Tiny Strikers is all about scoring free kicks as quickly as possible. Starts off easy but the challenge ramps up as walls are added and angles get tighter.
Pixel Cup Soccer 16
For: iOS
Cost: €2.99
A straightforward arcade game that’s fast and fluid, Pixel Cup’s simple control system – the two buttons switch from passing/shooting to tackling/switching players when you’re defending – quick pace, and sharp visuals makes it one of the better football games on the iPhone.
New Star Soccer
For: iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Cost: Free
One of the older games on the list is still one of the best out there. Manage your player, train and play in games that are a cross between Football Manager updates and quick mini-games.
The freemium element may irk some, with ads appearing regularly (you can pay to get rid of them), but for the most part, it’s a pretty solid game.
Pocket League Story
For: iOS, Android
Cost: €4.99
If you’re looking for a more lighthearted approach to the beautiful game, the approach taken by Pocket League Story might be more up your alley. Sign players, train them, build up your stadium and become the best team in the league.
The second one is out but it’s a freemium game and a little heavy handed with them.
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Decided to put off part of the refurbishment work on a house I had bought just before covid struck. Thought I’d borrow less and do it in 2-3 years later when I’d saved up a bit more. One global pandemic and ongoing major war later, seems I made the wrong choice! On the other hand I’m alive and although I need a new roof, at least my house is still here to attach it to.
I spoke with a local builder last week who told me that there are jobs being cancelled all over the place due to costs increasing. He has 2 months of work ahead and after that it’s looking fairly uncertain.
@Lee King Buckett: Happening everywhere. A buddy of mine in Queens, NY priced work before C-19. $25 a sheet of plywood at that time. Their clients gave them the green light to start work after restrictions loosened up a bit. He went to his timber providers and the sheets of plywood were now $54 per sheet. Hard to make money on a job where the price of materials doubled between the original quotation and the start of the job!
Shocking times.
@Lee King Buckett: oh good they should be able to do my paving then I’ll have the materials ready for them. Funny the guy I got to quote recently said the materials would cost €500 but I managed to get a quote for delivery of same for just €278 by ringing the builders providers directly.
@Sean: I’m sure there’s plenty of dishonest builders/tradesmen who will use this excuse to up the price of jobs unnecessarily
News comment by Monday…… New children’s hospital is going to cost another 100miliiion due to materials increase in price…..
@Greig Fairfield: And the rest!!!
I can’t understand how prices went up so quickly. Most of the timber and steel is and has been in stock in providers all over the country. I get the increase on new stock but surely stock bought before all this should be sold in accordance with the price it was bought at?? Am I missing something?
@Niall Gannon: Supply, demand & capitalism.
@Niall Gannon: most general plank and sheet material that comes into a builder providers yard on a Monday is usually gone by the following Monday so the stock is always being refreshed. We were getting weekly prices from most of our suppliers for about three months at the beginning of last year.
Pricing mdf today and was told it’s going up another 15% at the end of the month.
@Niall Gannon: it has already been said in response to your comment, but the situation was getting worse even before the Pandemic, and now it has snowballed. It is the same for anything any country imports. Nothing is stored anymore. Countries rely on a steady stream of imports. This is one of the effects of globalisation. If the imports stop, are drastically slowed down, or increase in price, then the effects are pretty immediate.
@David Stapleton: Brexit, Covid, War – none of these have helped.
My occupation is a carpenter,nearly €30 for one length of 6×2,over €50 for one sheet of plywood it’s completely unsustainable.ive had a good few people cancel jobs.construction could be hitting another big recession again very soon
Timber prices are increasing because of a mixture of incompetence in the department and objections from every kind of nut job to anyone planting a crop of commercial timber, or felling it when it’s mature.
These so- called ‘environmentalists’ have no problem with timber farming, as long as its done in other countries and the end product shipped here at huge cost.
@John Mulligan: well that is true and a lot of farmers who got into forestry and weren’t able to harvest the crop due to objections are getting out of it again. The situation was widely flagged about four years before it became a major issue but nothing was being done about it. Meanwhile the government are plucking figures out of the sky promising new housing completions. What are they going to build them with and who’s going to pay for them?
They’re all r@ts
8 x 4 sheets of wood price is increasing daily at this stage, bug shortage too supposedly, we cant get our hands on laser birch ply wood at all
Time for the government to step in and force regulations to be changed to allow recycling of concrete to be certified for the construction of buildings. Concrete from demolished buildings and foundations is being either dumped in landfill or sitting in stockpiles, a cheap material option going to waste.
have your say