um pahars

Methinks Coulson could be in hot water if the new probes by the Met uncover anything, particularly if they cross reference that with his evidence to the Select Committee. To be honest I'm not sure how he's managed to hold down that job for so long with the line that it was a "one off rogue reporter/investigator" slowly unravelling in recent months. Think Coulson has stitched up Cameron here by taking on the job in the first place with all this hanging over him (and obviously not being honest with Cameron about what really went on), but also think Cameron's judgement has been found wanting to appoint and then stick by someone who is embroiled in some very dodgy stuff, no matter how good he is.

The story I heard was that he was having an affair with a civil servant (and I assumed the naughty policeman bit was that he had leaked this). I also heard that people in the Labour Party themselves were happy for this story to come out as many were not happy with Johnson's recent performances (his NI gaffe just seemed to highlight that this was the wrong brief for him).

Im normally away over the summer, so memory a little bit hazy. Thought we also had on when Poortvliet was in charge?? I got dragged to one they did at Villa a few years back and thought it was a very good day for all involved. Watched some training, met the players and had a tour of Villa Park. It just seemed a really easy way of bringing the supporters and the club closer together for minimal cost. The younger generation certainly appeared to enjoy it.

I'd also have everyone in the building and open up SMS for a "Fun Day" before the start of the season. I'm sure we did that once (or twice??) in recent years didn't we???

You're quite right, Chaplow makes it three decent signings!!!! Would it be greedy to ask for one or two more????

The Lallana bit is good news as IMHO we look a tad ordinary/pedestrian without his flare and creativity. Give him a rest for a fortnight and grind out a result at Tranmere.

Lallana and now Guly are two of the best signings we could have wished for in this window. Was I worrying unnecessarily when some complications appeared to have crept in regarding visa issues??? He really seems to have settled in now (and nice to see Lambert commenting as such), so let's hope this contract spurs him on to even better performances as he really seems to have turned up the quality factor in recent games.

Have to say I agree. I think both have their merits. A larger forum open to all where the Club can connect with supporters, share some good news, answer some questions and where the Club can gain some positive PR from, and smaller ones where it can be more like a focus group. The smaller ones could even vary from season ticket holders, to members to casual fans with each one focussing on how the various groups feel about the Club (e.g. I would have thought one targeted at non STH's could try and find out why they are not STH and what could be done to win them over).

I was just thinking out loud (hence the question marks) about how we can reshuffle the pack if Lallana is out for quite a while. I agree Lallana is best suited out wide drifting in, and I also agree I'm not sure I think Guly is suited to that role (he looked lost out there on his debut at SMS). Therefore I was thinking we need to do something different to provide us with something other teams will find it hard to counter. Guly in the hole behind Barnard and Lambert??? Geeing Puncheon up to try and play consistently if he is to replace Lallana out wide??? Get someone else in???? Unearth another gem from the ressies/youth team??? A different formation??? Adkins has quite a bit to think about and to be fair to him he has delivered recently, so I'm certainly not having a pop at him.

Totally agree as we will now be seen as a team against whom a draw would be deemed a decent result. One of the problems yesterday was that recently we have had two creative/explosive outlets in Lallana and Oxo and clubs were finding it difficult to shut off both. Additionally Chaplow has provided us with that drive going forward and was bossing games. With two out of three not playing and the third tied up (Chaplow picked up his injury very early on), we just lacked any creativity or that special something to unlock their defence. Adkins and co need to crank up a Plan B if we are to maintain our push without Lallana for a few weeks.

Have to agree with you. In my player ratings I think I tried to point out that County came and did a very good job on us. It wasn't that we played overly bad, perhaps more that they didn't let us play how we wanted to and when we did they defended well. We didn't lose, so not downbeat, particularly after some fabulous performances recently. However, I do fear Lallana will be a massive miss. Barnard and Lambert upfront and Guly playing the Lallana role?????????

Not me, no way. Oxo was outmuscled, kicked, tugged, barged and double teamed today rendering him somewhat ineffective (the failing was with his peers not making use of the space this should have afforded them). That said, he still manaaged a few flashes of raw talent and quality. Lallana, like Oxo has always been a prodigious talent and I'm not sure I can ever remember anyone really criticising either of them. Gobern for me is one of the many youngsters who we have had at the Club in recent years, good, but nothing special and not in the same league as the two lads above. He may well develop in to a strapping midfielder, but for this promotion push we need someone right here, right now (FatBoySlim????) and IMHO he is not that man. If Hammond and Chaplow are missing he is not the player we should be relying on to drive this team forward. Long term, he may be a find, but IMHO he's not one who will play at the higher levels of the game (my credentials are that I thought Townsend was great and Shearer was iffy).

Football is all about opinions, but I have to honestly say I saw nothing from him today that gave me any confidence that he is someone we can rely on in this promotion drive. He still might flourish in to a very good player (then again he's no youth player anymore), but he is not what we need in the middle of the park as we stand here today. His Bambi on Ice impersonation at the end summed it up for me.

I'm speculating that his presence is massive for the team. Today showed how much we miss his creativity.

Not one of our best displays, but predicted a draw before kick off (albiet 2-2). With Lallana missing and Chaplow pulling up early on we seemed to lack that special something and did not rise to the giddy heights of recent matches. That said I think some credit has to go to Notts County who came and did a job on us (and didn't look like a team in the bottom half of the division). Certainly had the lions share of possession, but didn't create any real chances. Given our recent run I'll accept the odd bad day at the office although Huddersfield's late rally was a bit of a downer. Haven't seen attendance, but didn't look as bug as recent games (21,000 maybe). Davis - 6 - One good save, otherwise not really involved. Richardson - 4 - Both full backs were poor today and Richardson's distribution left a lot to be desired. Fonte - 7 - Solid at the back and provided soem impetus going forward at the end Jaidi - 6 - As Fonte, without the forward runs Dickson - 4 - Didn't give us anything going forward. Puncheon - 6 - A mixed bag. Got stuck in, did some hard stuff well and then did some easy stuff very badly. Chaplow - 6 - Started off well, but then seemed to pull up (not sure if a knock or a strain) Schneiderlin - 6 - After some good recent performances he seemed to retreat in to himself again. Some good cross field balls, but didn't commit himself enough. Oxo - 6 - When he could get away from being clogged and body checked he provided us with the only real spark of the game Guly - 6 - Put himself about it, some good touches, but over complicated things at times Lambert - 6 - Ledd the line well, linked up with others, bit lacking in support. Subs: Gobern - 3 - Even if he is 4th choice in the middle of the park, we need someone else to step in for him. Just not very good. Barnard - 5 - Not on long enough to say anything either way (although the cast/bandage was missing - not sure if I missed it lat time out).

I'd take that further and include people like my mate who has moved to London and is continually telling me how great it is (he's obviously convincing himself more than he is me!!!). But I also accept that if it wasn't for TT and others streaming in to the Dell in the 60's & 70's then I would have had no club to support. I think it's actually rather comforting in that despite travelling thousands of miles across the globe Saints still mean so much to the Ex Pats out there. My missus reckons she couldn't move abroad because sahe would hate to leave her mum, whereas my issue was leaving Saints!!!!!! Word.

You would indeed get on great with TT (after all you're both decent fellas), but I would say just one thing, his posts aren't supposed to be read in a serious, straight up manner. They are somewhat tongue in cheek and if you met him (over here or over there) then I'd think it would be easier to understand his posting style. Word up bruvver, after all he's representing the South Coast on the West Coast.

Gove has never visited a Further Education College (he admitted this in the Commons last week) and the School's Minister has visited 1 Primary School in 6 months. You may have a point there (but would not agree with "horrible little kids" quote LOL).

I think the issue will be what Lib Dem voters do. Typically, if you vote Conservative, then you obviously want them to form a Government, just as if you vote Labour. However, I imagine Lib Dem voters are in a quandary as their voters don't know what they will get in return for their votes. They know they won't get a LibDem Government, but have no idea if the leadership will sidle to the Right or to the Left. I don't think we've all got our head around coalitions and hung parliaments.

Would prefer Brighton to draw, but would not be upset if they won. Going up is my first priority and Posh are in the hunt. I'm looking downwards, not upwards until we have a decent gap between us and third spot.

I agree in that MFL ceratinly has a place in the curriculum and that for some it is a very worthwhile qualification. I also agree on looking forward and pursuing a language that has relevance in the globalised economy. That said, I don't see the relevance or to someone who is struggling with their own language (along with numeracy), nor do I see the relvance to many of our youngsters with regards taking up their positon in the workforce. It's the straightjacketing that I am against and the desire to build "a one size fits all" curriculum. Obvioulsy there is a large degree of truth there, but (a) not every teacher is going to be inspiring (sad, but true and totally unrealistic to expect IMHO), (b) whilst I believe there should be an acceptance that not everything at school will be enjoyable for all, I do think there has to be an opportunity for kids to do things they like and try subjects that might inspire and push them (even if that is for a minority of the time), after all it's not a Gulag and © my main thrust was about pursuing subjects that are relevant, rewarding and ones that provide them with skills and opportunities in their roles as future employees. I do have large(ish) eyebrows!!!!

Agree with all of that and with a Crown Court guilty/not guilty ratio of something like 60%/40%, I don't think anyone should be pre-judging the outcome. I have confidence in the English Legal System to come to the right decision. Whatever follows that is for another day.

But I think the problem is that Gove has effectively made Geography/History and French/German/Latin core subjects as schools and students will be shoehorned to include these on top of what I would deem core (English, Maths & Science). With schools being judged in league tables on the English Baccalaureate, there will most definitely be a push to put students through these extra subjects irrespective of their desire or ability. Year 9 Options will be a thing of the past!! Whilst this might appeal to "middle England" and those who believe the 3 r's should be backed up by "robust" academic subjects, I just can't help but think that we have restricted choice and are forcing a sterile/uninspiring and worst of all an "old fashioned" curriculum that does not take in to account the changing skills required by our future generations. There was some research that stated that many of the professions/jobs that our 5 year olds will be entering in to don't even exist at the moment, so we should be looking forward, not emulating a historical version of the curriculum that served Gove and his compatriots so well. Where is ICT or other forward looking subjects in his "core" list? I can see where Gove thinks he is coming from as ten years ago I might have agreed with him in that I believed students should have a "rounded education" taking in the main aspects of the curriculum e.g. English, Maths, Sciences, Humanities, Culture etc, and given them a rounded grounding in these areas. However, since being at the coalface I now realise that just like Gove, my ideas of a rounded education were solely based on my experience in school (generally successful, interested in these subjects, good experience, supportive family and peer group etc). Not all students are like Gove or myself (that's scary, comparing myself to Gove!!!) and whilst I believe certain subjects should be mandatory there needs to be greater flexibility to allow students to pursue subjects they enjoy, excel at, or that are more needed in the workplace. Forcing little Declan to do French and History when he would rather follow/be better suited to/be better served to follow a vocational route just does not sit well with me. I fully subscribe to Maths, English & Sciences being held up as core subjects and believe more should be done to improve the numeracy and literacy of our future generations (that said, schools can only do so much and responsibility has to be shared by parents, families and wider society). What makes it worse is the breakneck speed of these changes which seem to have been undertaken with minimal research and/or consultation (and that's before we get on to the concept of judging schools by a target that never existed when last years Year 11's started their GCSE's).

I do think there's a bit of a difference. The initial chant was just the usual tongue in cheek wind up you find at many football grounds. Nothing malicious and I'm sure most of those singing it (and witnessing it) realise that Blackpool are in the Premiership on merits. Nothing was really meant in it. However, his repsonse to the national media had a bit of vitriol, anger and petulance about it. He certainly meant that. I think he brings something different to the game and Blackpool have had my support this year (and not just because they wear the couours of The Font), but just felt he let himself down yesterday with that undeserved whinge.

Oh deary me Ian, you have gone from someone whose comments I used to appreciate to someone who comes across a tad bitter. I personally think the "taunting" songs from "You're not famous anymore", "Premiership, you f***ed it up", "You'll never play here again" to "Premiership/Championship, you're having a laugh" are a tad lame, but it's all just banter at the end of the day. Nothing is really meant except basking in your own success, so to get hot under the collar about a small chant is somewhat missing the point and merely showing a weakness in your won character. Of course it has done well to divert attention away from his own side3s poor performance and as others have said it was a tad disrespectful to put out a weakened side in the first place. I personally didn't think it was much of a giant killing, as we're not a bad side and that wasn't Blackpool's first team (but then again, neither was it ours). If Holloway really is that upset about such a chant, then I think he needs to rethink his priorities and grow a pair.