Latest news with #PotNoodle
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
£10m for a month of Alexander-Arnold exposes absurdity of Club World Cup
Hmm. Ten million pounds. What does that work out to in booing, and boo-deletion? What's the exchange rate here? How much un-booing does £10m (€12m) get you, in a highly emotive run‑your‑contract-down local‑lad‑departure scenario? This and many more equally strange questions will presumably have to be debated now Real Madrid have agreed a small but significant early release payment for Trent Alexander-Arnold, which will in turn allow his participation at the most heinous footballing entity yet devised, the new Fifa Club World Cup. The whole thing seems less important now. The Trent-Exit saga was something to talk about because the league was done. Time moves on, often in deeply strange ways. For what it's worth, I for one had no issue at all with some Liverpool fans barracking when they realised their favourite player was going to leave for free at the end of his contract. That is, I could see it was illogical and irrational. The answer to which is, duh. Meet: football. This is how the game survives, why absurd amounts of money swill across its decks every day, why the good stuff about connection and collectivism and moments of beauty can also happen. If we all just sat around taking the rational view and refusing to Become Emotional the whole thing would last about three minutes before everyone cleared their throats, looked at their watches and walked off to do some more sensible activity, like picking up litter or preserving hedgehogs. For now Madrid in the mini-window feels like a good thing for everyone. Good for Trent, who is 26, who had those luminous, oddly distant years under Jürgen Klopp, the most creatively brilliant piece of elite tactical freedom in recent times, the invention of a highly new effective role, the flank-libero, the walk‑cross man, the assist-mooch king. Liverpool aren't really a Trent team in the more orderly champion era. Whereas Real Madrid remain an oddly formless entity, a divvying up of roles, super‑strengths, star-freedoms. Madrid want him to play full-back but also to act as a rewilding element, a recreation of the Kroos-era passing range, which already sounds like a recipe for a dreamy kind of chaos. Trent Alexander-Arnold was booed by some Liverpool fans after he announced he was leaving the club this summer. File picture: Peter Byrne/PA So it's good for the neutral too, good for the basic sounds and colours, the mouthwatering story arc of Trent inside that deeply vicious media‑superstar complex. This is a footballer who will always be an object of confusion, whose passing is brilliant, sui generis and thrillingly odd in its angles, but who continues to wander about the pitch like a man trying very hard not to spill his Pot Noodle. Mainly, though, this is all very good for the Club World Cup, which is of course the real story here. And at bottom this is a Fifa story, the first significant act of the CWC 2.0, a first hum of the destructor ray for this strange new source of gravity. Most immediately, it brings us one step closer to the prospect next month of a mouthwateringly inane Madrid-al-Hilal Trent-Ronaldo celebrity face-off, the descent on the Hard Rock Stadium of a vast ant colony of weeping superfans, lookalikes, holy relic seekers and confused adolescents who really do appear to spend their days poring over the weirdly robotic CR7 Instagram feed as though communing with some plasticised ideal of show, gloss, nature-less acquisitiveness. So, there's that. Otherwise, being good for the CWC is an issue for anyone who loves the game in its existing form. Because this competition is not just a sporting abomination, a skewer of leagues, a force for stratification with its vast and destabilising income stream for the top clubs, but a kind of top-down heist. Above all, the first significant piece of mini-window business is a wonderful moment for Gianni Infantino, because this really is Infantino's baby, gestated, midwifed into being and now clasped, damp and slithering, to the Fifa president's chest through the Trump-centred brand building of the last few months. There is no secret about any of this. The Club World Cup does not need to exist. It is in effect a one-man reordering of the global calendar, a product of Fifa's unique style of government whereby a single random Swiss man is given an autocratic degree of power over the global game. Infantino even looks at times as if he can't quite believe how this thing has happened to him, staring out at the world with those flat, startled eyes, as though there is actually another man inside this man, encased in some compacted substance, a blend of processed ham, varnish and mendacity, mummified into a man-shape, squeezed into a blue suit and given the keys to the world. And now we have this, a competition that exists solely because Infantino wants access to the funds currently being harvested by club football. It fails on a basic level of sporting robustness. This is an invite-only star fest, a financial grenade chucked into every league in the world, and something Fifa has no real mandate for. Here we have the game's keepers acting with entrepreneurial self-interest, creating not just a competing format, but a competing way of perceiving the sport, a setup that invites only the biggest clubs, and marketing a vision of the game as a kind of star‑driven celebrity circus, sold through the social media feeds of its star players. Why would the clubs go along with this? The obvious reason is that interestingly sourced $1bn prize fund, the first chunk of which is now on its way to Liverpool. But it isn't just greed. There is a more subtle energy in play here, a coincidence of Infantino's ambition and the dynamic of football's new breed of owners. Gianni Infantino has done a lot of Trump-centred brand building in the last few months. File picture: Alex Brandon/AP Todd Boehly gave a significant speech at the recent Financial Times Football Leaders conference. Despite giving the appearance of having been sedated shortly before taking the stage, Boehly kept turning to two key themes. First, the urge to create out of football's global cut-through some kind of future streaming platform, a tech behemoth, which is where the real Zuckerberg money is, not mucking about with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's sell-on value. And second, his bafflement with football's existing culture, its fan-based conservatism. Football wants to grow, to dig its teeth into the wider global market. This is the real key to the Club World Cup, and it speaks again to Trent, to extreme, irrational loyalty, to geographical ties, to all those elements that lasso this thing into its existing shape. The Club World Cup is the first competition where it makes little difference if you boycott it or simply don't watch. It's not about getting you to like it. It's about power and ownership, driven by broadcasting money that exists outside normal market rules, that is basically a bribe to the clubs. It is instead about the dissolution of those old bonds, of the ties to physical place, about players as mobile marketing tools, teams not as mobile brands. It wants you to like it enough to subscribe and click, but not to feel any sense of obstructive ownership. This is also why the booing matters. Booing at least makes sense, speaks to those old sustaining structures, the link to place, colours, family, something that is the opposite of pop-up moves and individualism as a Fifa sales technique. It will be impossible to ignore this thing, to no-platform it, because it's already here, already eating away at the ground beneath football's feet. And who knows, in time Trent to Real Madrid in the mini-window might come to look like a first step, an Archduke Franz Ferdinand moment, the day the world shifted just a little on its axis. - The Guardian Read More John Heitinga leaves Liverpool to become new Ajax head coach
Scottish Sun
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
‘I need it' say shoppers as they rush to ASDA to grab popular snack scanning at just 68p
Shoppers are raving over a new Pot Noodle flavour that costs less than £1 HAPPY SHOPPING 'I need it' say shoppers as they rush to ASDA to grab popular snack scanning at just 68p Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SHOPPERS are rushing to Asda after spotting a brand new flavour of Pot Noodle hitting the shelves – and it's only 68p. The Flame Grilled Steak flavour has sent fans into a frenzy, with many declaring, 'I need it!'. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Shoppers are clearly eager to try it and see how it stacks up Credit: Newfoodsuk/Facebook The new snack has been spotted in Asda stores across the UK, and it's quickly becoming a must-have. A post in the popular Facebook group NewfoodsUK revealed the find, with the caption: 'New Flame Grilled Steak Pot Noodle spotted at Asda.' Fans wasted no time sharing their excitement. Wendy Whiley commented: 'Ooooft! I need it!' while Nigel Noble added: 'Yes just tried it and it tastes nice like flame grilled McCoys.' Others were quick to offer tips on how to enjoy it, with one user writing: 'Don't add the soy sauce, instead add some squirty mustard in it. Thank me later.' The new flavour joins a long list of Pot Noodle favourites including Chicken & Mushroom, Beef & Tomato, and even quirky ones like Sticky Rib. But it's the steak version that's winning hearts – and trolleys – this week. Kadii Allen tagged a mate saying: 'For next time we go to ASDA,' while Mathew Lundy reminisced: 'Brazilian BBQ steak used to be my favourite no longer seen – hopefully this one is banging.' Shoppers are clearly eager to try it and see how it stacks up. Christina Arrand wrote: 'Yes, I've ordered one in next week's shop,' showing how quickly it's been added to shopping lists. Sian Thomas also said: 'I baught a few of these in Asda the other day,' with fans wasting no time snapping them up. You've been making a pot noodle all wrong and this is why it's lacking flavour There's also a bit of friendly debate among long-time Pot Noodle lovers. Darren Ellison weighed in saying: 'But nothing beats Chicken and Mushroom.' And some shoppers, like Summer Santilli, are sticking to the classics. 'It's getting a bit silly now, these new flavours. I'm still in the 80s with Beef & Tomato lol,' she wrote. Asda appears to be the first major retailer to roll out the new snack, but it may well pop up in other supermarkets soon. At just 68p, it's a bargain snack that's easy to grab on the go or chuck in the cupboard for a quick meal. The excitement comes just a couple of months after Tesco added Pot Noodles to its £3.60 meal deal, letting customers pick one up as part of their lunch combo. But with a price this low at Asda, shoppers might not wait until lunchtime. It's not the first time Pot Noodle has sent snack fans wild. Previous limited edition flavours have come and gone – often leaving customers begging for them to return. Whether Flame Grilled Steak becomes a new classic remains to be seen, but early signs suggest it's off to a sizzling start.
The Sun
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
‘I need it' say shoppers as they rush to ASDA to grab popular snack scanning at just 68p
SHOPPERS are rushing to Asda after spotting a brand new flavour of Pot Noodle hitting the shelves – and it's only 68p. The Flame Grilled Steak flavour has sent fans into a frenzy, with many declaring, 'I need it!'. The new snack has been spotted in Asda stores across the UK, and it's quickly becoming a must-have. A post in the popular Facebook group NewfoodsUK revealed the find, with the caption: 'New Flame Grilled Steak Pot Noodle spotted at Asda.' Fans wasted no time sharing their excitement. Wendy Whiley commented: 'Ooooft! I need it!' while Nigel Noble added: 'Yes just tried it and it tastes nice like flame grilled McCoys.' Others were quick to offer tips on how to enjoy it, with one user writing: 'Don't add the soy sauce, instead add some squirty mustard in it. Thank me later.' The new flavour joins a long list of Pot Noodle favourites including Chicken & Mushroom, Beef & Tomato, and even quirky ones like Sticky Rib. But it's the steak version that's winning hearts – and trolleys – this week. Kadii Allen tagged a mate saying: 'For next time we go to ASDA,' while Mathew Lundy reminisced: 'Brazilian BBQ steak used to be my favourite no longer seen – hopefully this one is banging.' Shoppers are clearly eager to try it and see how it stacks up. Christina Arrand wrote: 'Yes, I've ordered one in next week's shop,' showing how quickly it's been added to shopping lists. Sian Thomas also said: 'I baught a few of these in Asda the other day,' with fans wasting no time snapping them up. There's also a bit of friendly debate among long-time Pot Noodle lovers. Darren Ellison weighed in saying: 'But nothing beats Chicken and Mushroom.' And some shoppers, like Summer Santilli, are sticking to the classics. 'It's getting a bit silly now, these new flavours. I'm still in the 80s with Beef & Tomato lol,' she wrote. Asda appears to be the first major retailer to roll out the new snack, but it may well pop up in other supermarkets soon. At just 68p, it's a bargain snack that's easy to grab on the go or chuck in the cupboard for a quick meal. The excitement comes just a couple of months after Tesco added Pot Noodles to its £3.60 meal deal, letting customers pick one up as part of their lunch combo. But with a price this low at Asda, shoppers might not wait until lunchtime. It's not the first time Pot Noodle has sent snack fans wild. Previous limited edition flavours have come and gone – often leaving customers begging for them to return. Whether Flame Grilled Steak becomes a new classic remains to be seen, but early signs suggest it's off to a sizzling start. 2
Scottish Sun
24-04-2025
- General
- Scottish Sun
I tried all the supermarket Pot Noodles – £1 winner looks VERY bland but is tasty, filling and impressive for the price
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WE have been warned to stock up on Pot Noodles due to fears Russia could hit our power grid with attacks and cyber threats. Security expert Paul Beaver has called for people to buy in food 'like Pot Noodles', and make sure they have camping stoves on standby in case the worst happens. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 11 Thea Jacobs has tested all the supermarket Pot Noodles dupes Credit: Gary Stone But as the price of Pot Noodles doubled last year, is it worth opting to have one of the many dupes in your cupboard instead? Thea Jacobs rates them. Batchelors Super Noodles Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Sainsbury's, £1, 75g, 352 cals 11 Batchelors Super Noodles look bland but are 5/5 Credit: Gary Stone IT all looks very bland apart from some red flakes, and there's not much broth. read more on money BLOCK I tested cheap supermarket drain unblockers - a £2 buy beat Mr Muscle But it's actually tasty. There's a little kick of chilli, then the saltiness. This doesn't taste of chicken, more like salt and pepper chips, but there is no chemical after-taste either. It's filling – and I'm impressed for the price. Rating: 5/5 You've been making a pot noodle all wrong and this is why it's lacking flavour Newgate Express Speedy Noodle Chicken and Mushroom Lidl, 69p, 80g, 373 cals 11 Newgate's version looks and tastes cheap Credit: Gary Stone I CAN clearly see bits of mushroom and sweetcorn – but the noodles have been cut small, so don't drape off your fork. The sauce has gone quite thick, which makes it feel a bit like sludge and the only real taste is the soy sauce packet I've added. Not filling either. It's certainly cheap – and you can tell. Rating: 1/5 Naked Noodles Teriyaki Flavour Tesco, £1.25, 78g, 290 cals 11 Naked's offering has little flavour other than bland breadiness Credit: Gary Stone FOR teriyaki, it doesn't smell quite right and the noodles are much thicker and way too soft. I see bits of carrot and red pepper in the dark broth but there's little flavour other than bland breadiness. Not the cheapest and while it has a decent amount of calories, it's not worth the energy to eat it. Rating: 2/5 Just Essentials Chicken and Mushroom Flavour Cup Noodle Asda, 54p, 70g, 328 cals 11 Asda's noodles weren't bad but unmemorable Credit: Gary Stone THE sauce is as yellow as the bright packaging. It smells vaguely chicken-like and I can see some sad-looking sweetcorn. Rather bland, but you do feel you are getting a proper meal. That said, the noodles are still a bit crunchy, which isn't ideal. Not bad, but unmemorable. Rating: 2/5 Bramwells Express Snack Noodles Chicken & Mushroom Aldi, 69p, 90g, 417 cals 11 These look very similar to a Pot Noodle and are impressive for the price Credit: Gary Stone IN classic Aldi style, this looks very similar to a Pot Noodle but seems to have more sweetcorn and proper mushroom chunks. It's not bad, but the flavouring has a slight chemical after-taste. The noodles are cooked well and aren't chopped up. Given the price, I'm impressed. Rating: 4/5 Itsu Chick-n Ramen Rice Noodles Tesco, £1.85, 64g, 217 cals 11 Itsu's offering is pricey but lacklustre Credit: Gary Stone TASTES similar to the ramen I've had at an Itsu restaurant, which I'm not a fan of either. Not a lot of broth, and I can see little pools of oil in it. There are bits of spring onion, but no other veg. There is a faint chicken smell and a hint of chilli but the taste is lacklustre. It's also pricey. I'd leave it on the shelf. Rating: 3/5 Pot Noodle Chicken and Mushroom Sainsbury's, £1.10, 90g, 411 cals 11 The real thing isn't the best option for the price Credit: Gary Stone MY university-diet staple. It's as quick to make as I remember but smells less appetising than it used to. There's sweetcorn and some flaccid chunks that I hope are mushroom. The noodles are neither too hard or soft and the flavour is improved by adding the soy sauce. But not the best for the price. Rating: 3/5 Bramwells Express Soba Noodles Yakitori Flavour Aldi, £1.19, 90g, 286 cals 11 This Bramwells version smells better than it tastes Credit: Gary Stone ONCE mixed and left for a bit, it smells quite good. Then you are hit with a chemical undertone, which ruins it, and oil from the flavouring sitting on top is unappealing. All I can taste is onions. The broth is a mix of water and oil. It's not bad value and is low in calories, but I wouldn't buy this again. Rating: 2/5 Nissin Cup Noodles Instant Ramen Chicken Teriyaki Tesco, £1.80, 70g, 301 cals 11 The Nissin Cup Noodles taste good but are pricey Credit: Gary Stone CLAIMS to be the most popular cup noodle in Japan. I can see bits of carrot, peas and mushroom. It smells a lot like teriyaki but there's not a huge amount of broth, yet bursts into flavour the second you eat it. First sweet, then it melds into a tangy and salty finish. Good, but it is pricey. Rating: 3/5 Kabuto Noodles Chicken Ramen Sainsbury's, £1.65, 65g, 242 cals 11 Kabuto's version is lacklustre and a waste of money Credit: Gary Stone WHEN made up with boiling water, the broth looks a bit pale – and it doesn't taste great. There is a slight kick to the sauce, but that's all I can get. The noodles feel a bit overcooked and disintegrate in your mouth. I expected more. Lacklustre all round. Don't waste your money. Rating: 1/5 Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
The Sun
24-04-2025
- General
- The Sun
I tried all the supermarket Pot Noodles – £1 winner looks VERY bland but is tasty, filling and impressive for the price
Thea Jacobs, Feature writer Published: Invalid Date, WE have been warned to stock up on Pot Noodles due to fears Russia could hit our power grid with attacks and cyber threats. Security expert Paul Beaver has called for people to buy in food 'like Pot Noodles ', and make sure they have camping stoves on standby in case the worst happens. But as the price of Pot Noodles doubled last year, is it worth opting to have one of the many dupes in your cupboard instead? Thea Jacobs rates them. Batchelors Super Noodles Chinese Salt & Pepper Chicken Sainsbury's, £1, 75g, 352 cals IT all looks very bland apart from some red flakes, and there's not much broth. But it's actually tasty. There's a little kick of chilli, then the saltiness. This doesn't taste of chicken, more like salt and pepper chips, but there is no chemical after-taste either. It's filling – and I'm impressed for the price. Rating: 5/5 You've been making a pot noodle all wrong and this is why it's lacking flavour Newgate Express Speedy Noodle Chicken and Mushroom Lidl, 69p, 80g, 373 cals I CAN clearly see bits of mushroom and sweetcorn – but the noodles have been cut small, so don't drape off your fork. The sauce has gone quite thick, which makes it feel a bit like sludge and the only real taste is the soy sauce packet I've added. Not filling either. It's certainly cheap – and you can tell. Rating: 1/5 Naked Noodles Teriyaki Flavour Tesco, £1.25, 78g, 290 cals FOR teriyaki, it doesn't smell quite right and the noodles are much thicker and way too soft. I see bits of carrot and red pepper in the dark broth but there's little flavour other than bland breadiness. Not the cheapest and while it has a decent amount of calories, it's not worth the energy to eat it. Rating: 2/5 Just Essentials Chicken and Mushroom Flavour Cup Noodle Asda, 54p, 70g, 328 cals THE sauce is as yellow as the bright packaging. It smells vaguely chicken-like and I can see some sad-looking sweetcorn. Rather bland, but you do feel you are getting a proper meal. That said, the noodles are still a bit crunchy, which isn't ideal. Not bad, but unmemorable. Rating: 2/5 Aldi, 69p, 90g, 417 cals IN classic Aldi style, this looks very similar to a Pot Noodle but seems to have more sweetcorn and proper mushroom chunks. It's not bad, but the flavouring has a slight chemical after-taste. The noodles are cooked well and aren't chopped up. Given the price, I'm impressed. Rating: 4/5 Itsu Chick-n Ramen Rice Noodles Tesco, £1.85, 64g, 217 cals TASTES similar to the ramen I've had at an Itsu restaurant, which I'm not a fan of either. Not a lot of broth, and I can see little pools of oil in it. There are bits of spring onion, but no other veg. There is a faint chicken smell and a hint of chilli but the taste is lacklustre. It's also pricey. I'd leave it on the shelf. Rating: 3/5 Pot Noodle Chicken and Mushroom Sainsbury's, £1.10, 90g, 411 cals MY university-diet staple. It's as quick to make as I remember but smells less appetising than it used to. There's sweetcorn and some flaccid chunks that I hope are mushroom. The noodles are neither too hard or soft and the flavour is improved by adding the soy sauce. But not the best for the price. Rating: 3/5 Bramwells Express Soba Noodles Yakitori Flavour Aldi, £1.19, 90g, 286 cals ONCE mixed and left for a bit, it smells quite good. Then you are hit with a chemical undertone, which ruins it, and oil from the flavouring sitting on top is unappealing. All I can taste is onions. The broth is a mix of water and oil. It's not bad value and is low in calories, but I wouldn't buy this again. Rating: 2/5 Nissin Cup Noodles Instant Ramen Chicken Teriyaki Tesco, £1.80, 70g, 301 cals CLAIMS to be the most popular cup noodle in Japan. I can see bits of carrot, peas and mushroom. It smells a lot like teriyaki but there's not a huge amount of broth, yet bursts into flavour the second you eat it. First sweet, then it melds into a tangy and salty finish. Good, but it is pricey. Rating: 3/5 Kabuto Noodles Chicken Ramen Sainsbury's, £1.65, 65g, 242 cals WHEN made up with boiling water, the broth looks a bit pale – and it doesn't taste great. There is a slight kick to the sauce, but that's all I can get. The noodles feel a bit overcooked and disintegrate in your mouth. I expected more. Lacklustre all round. Don't waste your money.
