Chez

I bet the 340 that voted for him instantly regretted it.

57% turnout in Sunderland, the same as 2010. Is that percentage the norm? Disgraceful.

**** me that's a terrible suit the Sunderland Tory candidate is wearing. I thought he might have been a candidate for one of the joke parties...

Does ten seats justify getting deputy leader?

Wycombe.

The Skate News really has hit a new high in terms newsworthiness and journalistic quality with this story: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/video-former-pompey-boss-tony-adams-dancing-1-6728493

If he signed the contract (and I'm not saying he should - I'd sit tight and wait if I was him) then of course that would prevent fans from being cynical about his comments. I think you are old enough to have seen it all before with players. What they say in an interview isn't always exactly what they are thinking or indeed the full picture. By the way I'm pretty sure if we could get him to sign the four or five year deal we would be more than happy to keep him here. I don't think the club is trying to get him on a new deal to maximise any transfer fee. They are trying to retain a talented player.

if we force him out the door (and now he has said he wants to stay, that's what it would be) he can, and will ask for a significant proportion of that £15m transfer fee before departing. The player holds all the cards here. After two decent seasons (and international recognition) he doesn't need to do anything except sit and wait for the mega bucks to come his way.

He is simply holding the position that he is happy to stay to firstly ensure he avoids flack from supporters and secondly to guarantee he gets any loyalty payment should we sell him. He can't lose here. He can sit tight and wait for United to come calling or he can wait for his contract to run out and watch the cash role in 12 months later. I wonder how big a contract we have offered? I wonder how big a contract kept Fabian Delph at villa? I would be surprised if he stayed, and his comments don't make me any more confident. Time will tell.

Dogem paying tax

Sinking pirate ship

Cork screw schools and charities

No need for sky or bt sports. Add total NFL coverage in there too.

Has mad dog been given the skate job?

you might be right, but what I meant was in the case of Shaw, MoPo and now Victor there isn't smoke without fire and I think that you can take it as red that Arsenal have been in discussion with Victors agent. Hopefully nothing will come of it.

which is exactly the reason why I won't be ignoring the recent paper talk about Victor. Direct quotes, followed by semi confirmation by the player and then a massive backtrack suggests to me that Arsenal have talked with his agent. I recall there was a `rogue/loose' tweet by Luke Shaw at the very start of the summer that indicated he was off to Man U. The tweet was removed, but obviously he went there. Incidences like thee should not be ignored as `paper' talk. There is a lot of that and its sometimes hard to see the wood for the trees, but when a manager is photographed at someone else's training ground with his sons in tow, that usually means he is off!

Ever since I remember I always wanted to be a gangster. I actually thought it was older than 25 years. Never gets old. Prefer it to godfather, but you're not allowed to say that are you.

If Pelle had maintained his excellent first half of the season form we'd of made champions league IMO. His lack of goals and no decent alternative (tried or not tried) have made all the difference.

From what I saw on Saturday the skates are a margionally better side now than they were this time last season, but that's not saying much as they were utter ****e last season. In their favour for next season, their `better' players are still under contract. The ****test players are out of contract. The new manager will have a relatively clean slate. The key is who that manager is and how is that money spent. There isn't a great deal of quality in the division. Bring in the right manager and the right kind of quality of player and they should be in the play offs, sadly. To be honest with their budget and those starting conditions I'd expect automatic promotion from the next manager. With a bit of luck they will **** it up.

When there is no one left in the ground to boo the team off you know you have problems. Those that did stay seemed to be long resigned to the fact this is one of the worst sides they have ever seen. Almost total apathy throughout, except for one old man coming close to a heart attack on the half way line due to bury time wasting. Just for a split second I almost felt sorry for them as yet another five yard pass went straight into the crowd. Having to witness your side being led out by a man in dog in drag mascot costume is surely punishment enough, but no, these chumps have to watch another season of Tubbs growing fatter before their very eyes. To be fair the skates huffed and puffed in the second half, no faulting their effort, but of course they created absolutely nothing as the team is full of talentless no marks. Wallace really is their only player, but his final ball still lets him down. Their famous 12th man seems to have been transferred. The new tesco is coming on nicely, and they have left just enough space between it and the beany baby stand to park a caravan or two.

The seven figure sum has been well spent, Nottarfkrap is like a totally new ground....nah, it's still as **** as ever.

I feel confident I will get an interview.

I think it's safe to assume that if you use the term `seven figure sum', the actual amount is less than £2m, and most likely less than £1.5m. I dare say the term `multi million' or `several million' would be used is it was close or more than £2m.

Mark Catlin: `We've had 150 applications for the managers job, and some are names you'll know'

The seven figure sum seems to have morphed into £3m in some skate circles.