dubai_phil

Ooops, what happened there? Just found out I have 2-1 to LUTON in the prediction league. memo to self, do not use internet on New Year's Morning

Lambert you beauty

:mad: Well was just a remix of the old weather reports/beating the wife's parrot/woots/muffins that used to lead to an occassional goal last season. Anyway it obviously worked, Coventry have scored

Well HURRY UP and sort it OUT FFS! Don't rush back, a chilly 24C but dropping to a freezing 15C at night, may have to try and reverse the A/C to heat mode if it keeps like this Looks like they had storms and gales here, had a feckin tree down in my back garden and floods again everywhere. Spent an age last night watching a thunderstorm from 8,000 feet. That is REALLY not what you need while still suffering from NYE Antonio getting a lot of the ball but not doing anything sensible with it. Is he Chicken George reincarnated?

Not personally, there's too many of them, but I think I know the 3 down at Nottarf Krap

Meanwhile, where's that bstd EoA gone? I want some words with him. 45 fecking minutes flying round in cricles last night waiting to land on a plane with what seemed more people on it than seats Call yourselves an AT Control? Harumph Still think our MF is a bit lightweight for this game with that defence behind them

Papa Waigo, Lallana AND Antonio in the same team. Well this will be a mullering either by us or for them with that MF out there 6-5 anyone?

Jeez, HOW MUCH did you have to drink on NYE? I thought me & the GF were pretty splattered and pretty grim yesterday but strewth.... But wow the second scary thought of the day.

Lots of time on planes of late so lots of 8" LCD screens to watch. District 9 I think I mentioned before, is an indisguised dig at systemic racism in SA that if you know a lot of Yarpies hits the spot really well. Moon - someone else mentioned this, a really odd film in many ways but gripping and leaves you.. well, it just does. Cloudy with Meatballs Later. Stupid nonsense, but I have to say I laughed & the cartoon Mr T was well, Mr T. But of course while away went to see the whole 3D Avatar thing. (Never like watching movies here because the cinemas are always full of those oh so self important a**holes who cannot be apart from their friends on their mobiles for more than 10 minutes) Hell Hello, yes I at cinema, yes now the man he is blue, I no understand, why he have tail? What, hello? Halas. Habbla habbla yadda AVATAR they want me wear glasses I say no they not Gucci I say not possible film crap is not even in focus how they make such cr*p) Yeah, so flew away to watch it with Thai subtitles. May not be the greatest or most original movie story or script in history, but by heck what a great experience watching the whole thing was. Am I the only person who kept getting attacks of vertigo during that film and feeling quite wobbly? Spent a happy hour at the dodgy DVD stall while there, have something like 60 new DVD's at about a quid each, not just movies but also managed to get some new series we don't get down here, Fringe S2, Half of House S6 and 1st 3 seasons of Allo Allo in case Skates stabilise & I cannot get my daily laugh from that thread

Feck me I hope not, would mean me & Eric could be in the UK long enough to have to start paying tax back there again. Heck, what's more, I know I USED to fly a lot on business, but that would need more airmiles than the average Test Playing cricketer earns these days. But a nice dream though

Oh no. It may mean they'll find enough money to scrape by and then slowly slide into the depths rather than any sunset. There's a big difference behind being a doormat where everything is brushed under you and a sitting at the top table with your dirty laundry showing. It ain't anything gossip-wise Nick, just analysing how they have been allowed to hang on so long

Interesting that the old farts seem to think the same. I don't think it is an ageist thing, more down to events and attitudes. I remember when I went to Poly back in the late 70's, I was genuinely shocked at how hostile they were. I had mates in my year who were skates and they would be fine, but if for example we were out with them, if they mentioned I was a "scummer" to others who didn't know me, then they nearly all reacted with aggression. I found it odd. It wasn't rivalry, it wasn't fellow football fan banter, it was genuine nastiness. As they came up the leagues, more Skates came out the closet in and around Salisbury, but maybe because they were more used to being with "other fans" there was just unease in them, never genuine "mateness" '84 was a real eye opener, staying overnight with a mate who lived in North End, seeing the whole almost feral packs roaming the streets, not one or two but dozens, all the way home on the bus, just seemed odd, the stories of cars at trafiic lights with stickers showing they were BOUGHT in Southampton being smashed up. It was MORE than rivalry. Then in recent years that hatred has spread, now many of our "younger generation" are giving them back what so many down there seemed to give in the late 70's. Again, karma, they gave it out for those years, and now it gets shoved back at them. Do I want them destroyed becauseof tribal rivalries? No. Do I feel that buying success without doing the work or having the money is cheating? Yes. Should they be destroyed for cheating? Now, that IS a tough call, but on balance? No If they get destroyed for cheating, it won't stop others doing it, they'll simply be more careful, so making an example won't change the world. Let them rot and suffer admin and relegation, they brought it onto themselves in so many ways. Send them the Leeds way.

Why thanks for the wishes SL. As you noted and for clarification, I haven't even remotely speculated that the Grauniad article has any relevance to "football in general", but the whole story behind that Jain guy shows up how immense that "business sector" is, $8mil a day being cleaned through a Dubai company according to some reports. Was Sultan Bin Trump naively thinking he could tap into some kind of greyworld to fund his deal? While this place has a lot of sound and solid businessmen, it does also have an "undercard", of which this alleged Jain bloke & his "White House are but a small part. I've watched that story for a while, just itching to find any possible link to "arms" but so far nothing..... But in a different direction, did I see a very tenuous comment in one article about Al Faraj "being supposedly linked to the Saudi Ministry of Defence" somewhere back around page 94 or so.......... Oh now THAT would be a story too big to be allowed to come out. Yikes, no way I'm typing the next step in THAT train of thought... Anyway, RAPIDLY changing the subject before my internet gets cut off, & I take an "unplanned" vacation, Coventry losing today in the light of all that has happened this week would probably go down as one of the Big FA Cup shocks of recent times

Oi YOU, yes YOU, that tall bloke sitting behind the goal with the bobble hat on, don't just sit there drinking from your thermos, you're playing in goal second half. I don't care HOW old you are, you're the last one left at that end Manwhile the realisation dawns on the fan behind the railing as to how lucky he was to have worn his best Ben Sherman shirt today or he could have been CB

Happy New Year one and all. Just spent a great couple of hours catching up from page 93. This thread really does need to be moved to another level, it has it's repetitions but it also charts the story so well :-) A charity book says FF, nah, maybe should be published for Skates as a Stephen King style horror story - could end up being long enough for a sequel to The Dome or The Stand. Had a great week in Thailand, but had some strange "karma" moments. The immigration guy at the airport - "Oh you from Dubai, Thaksin, very good he come back making one day he big like football you football fan?" Talking football in one of the late lamented UP's favourite bars, Long Gun, "Thaksin he good he want football." Then all those strange allegations before I went away, secretive visits to Industrial estates and centres of Thai excellence. Al Fahim - a one trick pony who believed his own hype, but in fact when he had his so called moment of glory with Man City he was really just a broker. I wonder whether this all went down the tubes because he was fronting for one of Dubai's more well known exiles who got knocked back when his fronts didn't fit. Separately, I wonder if this whole strange (and unrelated to anyone named anywhere on here) entourage of supposed money laundering types dotted around the world would have become short of cash in early December. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/08/india-arrests-naresh-kumar-jain I really think that while we are laughing our socks off and making snide jokes, I wonder whether somewhere, somehow there is a lot more troublesome and worrying depth to this whole sorry mess? Perhaps some of that depth could be why this whole scenario will continue to run. This really could become one of those things that could be WAY to dangerous for ANYBODY to allow to fail. (Oh and is it just me that had a smirk when I notice that it's The Mail that seems to enjoy keeping sticking a knife in, wonder if Old Rupe's mate Charles Sale is enjoying all this) Perhaps we should re-word one of the Noughties more annoying "salutations" just for the Blue Few, instead of Onwards & Upwards, we can greet them wth Backwards & Downwards

3-1 c-mon Exeter get a last minute to get me my Prediction Lge score. I'm off Happy New Year one and all

Like the grecian tater, he gets proper excited, good help while rushing to pack and get to the airport Good work by Perry there

Phew rushing cooking packing got to get out to airport at 9, looks like I go downstairs and we score

That's true. Which is of course why, this year my real Christmas Present was the final piece of paper on Tuesday that meant there is no longer a Mrs DP and just the GF instead which is a return to the days when Christmas comes at least once a week. It also means that I no longer have to wait until next Christmas to be told "I'm too tired after all that cooking" let's do it next year, I promise :mad: Best wishes to your Cousin Stevo

Bad Santa. Just perfect for the post Christmas Dinner anything other than The Great Escape movie moment. Is what I was told.... hmm had it's moments but.... hmmm

Many many years ago at the Dell v Newcastle. Malcom McDonald (when he was still a legend) - the ball in to his feet on the volley just about on the penalty spot at the Milton end, nobody near him. He shoots.............. And it goes out for a throw in to us under the west stand. The throw was taken from in line with the penalty spot. We had songs about that for a long long time in our small mad group

So, it's been and gone, all those weeks of build up what were your Christmas Present successes/failures? Failure - had a mate & his GF come round, I bought them a 3 quid bottle of Vodka, they brought me an Austin Powers Astral Lamp & a Berretta 9mm that is re-engineered as a cigarette lighter. Just what I always wanted NOT, but felt like a tw*t as they must have cost 30 quid. Mind you the success was my GF who bought me one of those new Midi karaoke systems with over 2000 songs. What a hoot, first Xmas ever that I've had a real party must have had about 20 people, mates and mates of mates who came round to have a go long into the night. AND they all left their booze behind. Had to run out for new batteries for the mikes twice! Strangely, even the nice woolly jumpers & Fleeces from mum and aunties fitted. Now if ONLY I could get them to understand I live in a fecking Desert where the LAST thing I need is a nice Fleece from Matalan. Any other Hits/misses?

Just heard that the Kids from Alderhey Childrens Hospital are going to visit the Liverpool players to cheer them up this Christmas.

Merry Christmas to one and all. It's sometimes a lousy job you guys do, but then someone's gotta do it, and you do it damned well. May your Christmas Stockings be stuffed and your Turkey full of presents you don't have to go and exchange on Boxing Day.

Thanks for that. As long as it doesn't clash with something important like the Desert Classic Golf or our monthly night out at The Seaview will take a wander out there. Not been yet but by all reports the new stadium is an impressive place to watch cricket. Must be great being a cricketer, all those airmiles and Duty Frees, SA back to Blighty off to Bangladesh back to Dubai off to Blighty off to West Indies