pap

What? On the basis that they are not delivering on the manifesto they promised? You'd have to unseat most of Parliament with that justification.

I agree with the OP that the current crop of Conservatives are not traditional Conservatives. There have been a couple of good debates on Radio 4 about where the traditional values of the left and right have gone. Most commentators conclude that all parties are in thrall to the tenets of neo-liberalism, and that we don't have any real left or right to speak of. That's a real problem. Wholesale reform of the market economy is off the table, as is the question of Europe. I think traditional Conservative voters would have loved to have had a referendum on the question of Europe. Cameron and his cohort were anti-EU in the run-up to the election, yet crapped their pants when forced to debate it in the Commons, betraying a large number of their voters into the bargain. I have a lot of respect for the 80-something rebels who called on Cameron to listen to the public's views. It'll be very interesting to see how many defect.

There is a post from me, somewhere in the bowels of the defunct S4E, arguing that losing our Premiership status would not be the end of the world. And so it wasn't. Nearly was, and things looked very dicey when we were in administration - but we're on the up and progressing nicely. I expect us to get up, but it's not the end of the world if we don't. It has been nice to win games and unlike in the past, where it was almost impossible to catch a glimpse of a team plying their trade in the lower leagues, we've got stuff like Saints Player which mitigates a lot for those who can't get to every game. So another season in the Championship wouldn't be terrible, particularly in the context of the five year plan, but in earnest, I'd be bitterly disappointed if we didn't make it up now.

You should have known it was a no-go when she failed to respond correctly to your hilarious jape.

Never pegged you as a married man.

Cards on the table, I am not married. As someone who went about life in completely the wrong way ( one child on the planet before the age of 21, kids ) it has always been a secondary concern to the actual raising of children. However, that's not to say the subject hasn't come up. Think the main thing is that you need to know the person you're asking is going to say yes. All other considerations are secondary really. Don't really agree with asking the Dad. I know it's traditional, but let's face it - some traditions suck. The idea of asking the father ( and indeed, the whole notion of giving the bride away ) dates back to a time when women were considered male property. Not something I am entirely onboard with. Plus, you're doing them a favour anyway. "Hallo. Would you mind awfully if I kept and fed your darling daughter forever?". The only person you should be asking is yourself and your prospective bride. Doing it in front of a group of friends is a recipe for disaster imo. The amount of stuff people don't know about their own relationships ( particularly if they are in some way deluded ) is staggering.

I'm a little bit gutted that my bet for Saints to be champions is looking dodgy, and a little bit gutted with last night's result - the scoreline wasn't a fair reflection of the game and I genuinely thought we were going to overhaul them after Rickie equalised. Wasn't our night. It happens, and although it is gutting, Reading took their chances well. Emphatic finishing from Le Fondre. We move on. Hopefully Nigel will look less rattled when we line up against Peterborough.

That is just scary. I can't find a single bad review of Peter and Katie's album on there. Imagine an American anglophile hitting this link, who doesn't necessarily know how utterly crap they both are. He'd be like:- "Hey man! This stuff is British. It's gotta be cool. It had amazingly positive reviews on Amazon. WHY AREN'T I GETTING IT?" They should post a disclaimer on British reviews, stating that they are likely to be highly sarcastic.

I'm inspired by this thread. I think I'm going to use the close season making my own customer reviews on Amazon instead of talking about whether Jay Rodriguez is coming to Saints.

Work is now over. Just under two hours. I am not going to the game. I shall be watching it in Liverpool with the missus and the youngest, who are both Reds but have a soft spot for Saints. We watched the reverse fixture earlier in the year. Reading made us look ordinary for a lot of that game. I'm confident we're going to give a better account of ourselves tonight. This team knows how to get promoted. Full credit to McDermott and the job he has done there. I was watching some analysis today that reckoned his schtick was really looking after the players and building team spirit, even having a couple live with him to get them settled in. They are a team that will play for each other, and I have a lot more respect for that than the assembled mercenaries of West Hoof trying to get under a high ball. I'm confident we'll do alright, but they're right behind us for a reason. Early goal could be crucial, imo.

The funniest thing about Alps anti-scouse stance is that he does exactly the same things as he accuses them of doing. "Wah. It's not fair! Why are Liverpool getting special treatment?" Now let's take your "main board form" into account, in which you wail like a banshee whenever we hit the tiniest bump in the road, bemoaning our chances and acting like each little mis-step is Southampton FC plunging a rusty black knife into your heart. That all looks like 'victim' behaviour to me. And wallowing? F*ck me mate, nobody does it better than you.

That is top class. I shall post it on Facebook to the delight of my friends. I am not, however, going to give you any props. As you yourself have said, there are different kinds of bears.

Nope. Tis a fine jape. I wonder if anyone is going to admit to taking Brian McDermott and Jimmy Kebe to the lav with them for entertainment purposes.

That is normally a boinking album. Have you been boinking?

Derby games are always weird. Look no further than the recent Merseyside derby. Everton in form, Liverpool not - Liverpool tonk them 3-0 and still falter afterward. We will be okay.

Is it just me, or does tonight feel like nPower Championship eve? Cannot wait for this one. Have been sort of obsessing over it all week. We've had Reading nipping at our heels for months - we need a performance in which we firmly say "down boy!"

Not guilty m'lud. Played Dungeons and Dragons with my pals at school, and soon had this "dice" nonsense drummed out of me.

Alright mate, alright.

Everton are doing remarkably well, as they always seem to do at the tail end of the season. Moyes has done a fantastic job at Everton, especially for a guy who had the following joke made about him on his appointment. Q: Why did Everton appoint Preston manager David Moyes? A: 'Cos he knows his way to all the first division grounds! From a transfer perspective the two clubs couldn't be further apart. Have to say, Evertonians are way less annoying than Liverpudlians. Any sense of expectation the blue half had disappeared a long time ago.

Apart from the bank balance, presumably. Just desserts, in my opinion. He militated against Hodgson, got all the money that Hodgson asked for (and more) and League Cup aside, has fecked it up. Looking forward to the Everton vs Liverpool derby this weekend. If he loses that, I think he'll walk.

Been to enough games over the past couple of years to see it even all out. However, only win I've seen this year was Brighton at St. Marys.

Blimey. He really is untouchable. Comolli sacked for poor transfer market activity. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/9199540/Liverpool-sack-Director-of-Football-Damien-Comolli-as-owners-react-to-failed-transfer-policy-and-desperate-run-of-results.html

On the contrary, my good man. dune has just discovered that words of the same spelling can have different meanings. Later on this week, he will discover that 'bird' is also a slang term for female, and much hilarity will ensue.

It has been added to the dictionary. ruler(n) 1. One, such as a monarch or dictator, that rules or governs. 2. A straightedged strip, as of wood or metal, for drawing straight lines and measuring lengths. Also called rule.

Yes, I am sure that you got a balanced opinion from Mancunians on scousers That'd be like someone living in Portsmouth and relying on them for an impartial opinion on Sotonians. Whatever, I'll raise your five years of your Manc-tinted encounters with scousers with my sixteen years of living here, working here and having family here. I think I come up trumps on the "who knows more about scousers" question. None, I was simply pointing out the folly of using fictional stories as a substitute for actual real life experience.