trousers

It's not that he's "scared" of debating with Ed Miliband, per se, he's "scared" of the inevitable effect that these superficial debates have on the relative popularity of 'incumbent' vs 'opposition'. They summed it up quite nicely on the Daily Politics show today: because Miliband's popularity rating is significantly less than Cameron's (not talking about the party ratings here, but the leader ratings) the levels of public expectation for Miliband performing well are much lower than they are for Cameron. As such, an 'average' performance for Miliband would actually be a ratings boost for him because people would expect him to be worse than Cameron, in terms of his oratory skills, whereas an 'average' performance by Cameron would be neutral or even negative in terms of his rating because he's starting from a higher position. So, because Cameron's is rated as a substantially better orator than Miliband, Cameron would have to outperform Miliband by several factors to come out of the debate with less impact to his popularity rating than Miliband would have to. So, he's not "scared" of the debate as such, he simply knows that Miliband's low starting point in the ratings will actually work in Miliband's favour when it comes to the public judging their respective performances. It's a bit like Southampton getting more plaudits than, say, Man City this season....not because we're better than them but because we've exceeded expectations whereas City haven't. (although I'm sure there are plenty of holes in that analogy!) Any PM would do the same as Cameron is doing regardless of which party they came from. That's politics. p.s. FWIW, I was against the TV debates last time around so this isn't just me waving the Tory flag (for once )

I can't think why they took that photograph from waist height looking up. Surely it was a great opportunity to show off their super dooper fan funded training facilities to the world at large....

As long as there's someone on here to keep pointing out the bleedin' obvious I'll carry on doing it. Wouldn't want to see the forum whataboutery police made redundant given the valuable public service they provide

If we get into Europe (either CL or EL) then I'd expect Koeman to get the accolade

I'll take that as a 'no' then

It's human nature that people will turn Cameron's "reluctance" into a personal attack but, as you say, the opposition will always come across better in these presidential-esque debates because it's always easier to sell change than it is to defend the status quo (hence why Nick "promise the world" Clegg came out top last time). Take the Scottish separation referendum for example...."Yes, let's create utopia" is always going to have a more positive vibe to it than "No, lets stay the same, it's worked OK for 300 years" regardless of the merits of each sides's policies. Blair didn't want the debates (and succeeded in avoiding them) and neither did Brown (who didn't). And you can bet your bottom dollar that Miliband won't be clamouring for them in 5 years time, should he get into number 10 on 7th May (*shudders*)

Can you rustle me up a retrospective one of those for Tony Blair and Gordon Brown too? Cheers

Yep, vs Palace in the FA Cup and Swansea in the PL. Obviously an unlucky mascot....

It is now...

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Easy one.... Fonte

I thought Gazza looked very self-assured in goal. Looks like this stint in the U21s is doing his confidence levels a world of good. That said, it's still a massive step up from the U21s to the first team from a goalkeeping perspective.

Portsmouth Football Club

@paulbelvers Unusual & entertaining preparations for @ChelseaFC away - Florin Gardos scores for @SouthamptonFC in Switzerland. http://t.co/8G5NQ76A8n

They seem to be upping the ante now....

Dear Mr.Grant, Any chance you could add a vine bb code to t' forum? i.e. http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=300215 Yours, Lord Trousers

It does have the potential to be a somewhat misjudged activity

Posted by JWP yesterday...