buctootim

Another bad law I disagree with

You haven't thought it through. Its extremely difficult to draft laws that deal with the baddies of the day without criminalising a wide group of other people who express views in a democracy. The people who object to this bill aren't necessarily liberals, its about maintaining freedoms and not having them removed in the name of security.

Its a bit more complicated than that - otherwise you'd have advocates of war in Afghanistan or Syria up on a charge. Libyan cruise missile launching submariners in court.

My problem with it is that the legislation will manage to combine being unecessarily intrusive whilst being ineffective. We will give up privacy for no benefit. Even I know that any half clued up terrorists buys untraceable used phones and uses regularly changes SIM cards brought for a couple of pounds from vending machines at airports so the security services never know what phone they are supposed to be tracking. They also don't actually send traceable emails which can be intercepted, they just save them in 'drafts' in hotmail / gmail accounts shared with fellow conspirators who then log in to read. Its far more effective to target the preachers, organisers and followers imo. Do what the security services did to the IRA - so thoroughly infiltrate them with agents nobody could fart or swear without the security services knowing about it.

Dunno. Probably not £3bn though given that patients are routinely dying for the want of drugs or procedures costing a few £000s. Maybe they could save £3bn or so and a lot more lives by not getting involved in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Syria, and spend the money on public services or deficit reduction instead. Just a thought .

Amazing how good proper acoustic glass double glazing is though. Spend £5,000 on doing the front and you'd transform living in that house.

I used to think that. I don't anymore.

Or maybe the brave woman who was there and talked them down saw more than you and has a knowledge of actual facts - not 'I know best because I cant see blood on the grainy pictures'. Just a thought.

Okay. Note to self, don't rely on the papers for info

RIP Mick. 93 though, that means he must have been 55 for that 1975 fight with Catweazle (who I always wanted to win). Saw them both on the Royal Pier once when I was about 14, among the fake palm trees with a coke. Heady days

One aspect (I don't know if there are others) is that if a civil partnership is ended then neither party has a financial claim on the other. Obviously in a marriage one can claim for maintenance and a share of the other persons assets. I wish I had had that with my unwilling to work, unwilling to housekeep, unwilling to look after kids ex....

You sure?

Same applies to transfers, tactics, beer & pies and who has got the best norks on the muppet show. Might as well close up Saintsweb then.

That Dell is a good spec laptop Bazza but you should read the reviews, not happy bunnies. The HP I pointed you to has a very similar speed processor (passmark), more RAM, better speakers, is lighter with better battery life and its also scored 10 out of 10 from the reviews of people who had bought it. The Dell has a bigger screen and resolution and a slightly better spec graphics card but is £130 more expensive. Personally if I was in the market for a laptop I'd buy the refurb whilst they still have some.

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I agree totally about the need to feel affinity and to have something you can feel proud of. The problem is of course that the higher up the food chain a club goes then the chances for the academy product tend to become fewer and fewer ala Chelsea and Man City.

I imagine he is referring to the c£30m (or £43m nett of Oxo) which was put in by the owner but now converted to equity.

Well Markus has been dead for three years, so I make that only ten years before we are floundering in the championship with the Venkeys, and we haven't won the league or qualified for the CL yet!

Your post exemplifies the views of many fans - spend the cash don't worry about when it runs out. Jack Walker blew most of the family fortune, even to the extent of his family taking him to court to stop him spending. Yes Blackburn had their day in the sun but where are they now? Could and should Walker have set up a much more sustainable model instead? As for the 2nd paragraph, Pompey show how that can work out.

Some fit that pattern - Boruc was clearly a great signing - free and much better than what we had. Gaston was the wrong signing for where we were and what we needed at the time - a young £13m speculative gamble unable to converse with team mates with a (allegedly) want away girlfriend.

No, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't God.

The point about learning their trade in the lower leagues is key for me. Many of our best players have been those who who appeared in the championship team of the season last year who came to Saints to improve their opportunities. Its generated a high energy, united team. Id much rather continue to do that, developing our own youth and buying in young quality that needs finishing for £2-8m than importing 'star' foreign players for £10-£20m who have a different motivation for being here.

We are, and that's great. I just think its going to be very hard to get them to stay if 1. they get a better offer from elsewhere and the club isn't demonstrating the loyalty to others that the club is demanding from them. 2. Their opportunities to play are restricted by parachuting in large amounts of external talent.

There are some assumptions, but not wild ones. Cortese has said he wants CL football and he talks in terms of relatively short time frames and there are repeated hints at large signings - so I think its a reasonable guess. Ive actually deleted my post and put it up as separate thread because the issue is less about Cortese per se and more about what kind of club fans want.

Imo fundamentally the debate is not really down to the personality and attributes of Cortese, its about what kind of club you want. Does it matter if you buy in success or are ruthless in the process. Is it a good thing to be in a hurry, or do you enjoy it more if you develop and nurture something good over time? Is success at any price a price worth paying or is the way you run the club important too? IMO Cortese wants CL football and he wants it fast. As we cant do it now with the players we have we'll need to spend very big to achieve that goal. We'll have to buy in success by throwing money at it, money the club isn't generating itself, but money given to it by a woman trying to honour a dead man's wishes. We'll buy in talent that is primarily motivated by money and perhaps sack a manager every time we go to the next stage of the 'project'. That is inconsistent with an ethos of developing talent through the academy and having them play long term for the team - why should they display any loyalty if Chelsea and Arsenal come in and offer more money, prestige and guaranteed CL football, not just the prospect of it? I don't really see much to admire in that model, in fact imo it epitomises all that has become wrong with top end football. Personally I'd much rather emulate Norwich and Swansea, but do it even better than them and aim to be an Everton. Success gained from strong team spirit and the team being stronger than the parts. Astute eye for a player and development. I like seeing players like Morgan develop over time, £1m Chelsea rejects like Jack Cork flourish when given the chance. I like seeing gradual incremental and above all sustainable progress made over time. And I like seeing interviews with players and managers who can convey their thoughts in English. Parachuting in big names without proper regard for how they will adapt and fit into the team, sacking managers regularly, relying on £30m injections of cash - meh. It may get success faster, it could even get a bit of CL football for a while but it wont get you it sustainably - what happens when the money runs out? Personally I'd be happier with the occasional FA cup win and maybe qualifying for the Europa cup once in while, as long as its done relying on the academy and smart buying, not big buying. Developing something from nothing and punching above your weight is what gives pride and gets respect. Being the fat old rich guy with the big breasted leased bimbo, not so much.