revolution saint

No, the retirement age is rising because your generation is living longer NOW. Not when I get older....now, and anyone working at the moment foots the bill. When you think about it your generation will be the last to retire at 65 and still get to live longer - you get the best of both worlds mate. Medical science, environmental issues etc will probably mean I have a longer life expectancy - I'll also be working longer which is something your generation has got away with.

I can feel sorry for women in this position and sympathise with them but let's be honest - you got this concession via the backdoor and should be grateful you got it at all. I doubt your anger when first hearing this news was motivated by women forced into retirement - it was probably fuelled by the fact you'd lost a nice little perk of being almost but not quite retired. The thing that annoys me most though is the impression that most of you feel entitled to this concession, and that it was somehow your right. What's the difference between a 59 year old in work and one of 60 in work? Nothing except for the free bus pass and all the other concessions they get. Of course when I get older I may feel differently although there will be a crucial difference - I probably won't be able to retire early and will have to go till I'm 68. I imagine your lot will be moaning about concessions for centurions by then though......

And how many times have I agreed on this thread that people who fall into that bracket should have been told earlier? So I didn't disagree with you there at all. I disagree with the concession in the first place though - I think you were lucky to get it, and even you can't justify why a particular group of working age should receive it and other age groups shouldn't.

The club could also sell more tickets by reducing prices for morons as well. In favour of that? The club isn't abolishing age related concessions - it's abolishing an aberation that favoured the 60 - 65 age group and they're annoyed by it. Ah, bless 'em, no cheap tickets anymore and yet they try to accuse us of the "I'm alright Jack" attitude? They got away for a few seasons with cheap tickets and not one of them can either justify or defend why they got them. They sure as hell can moan when it's taken away though.

Firstly don't put words in my mouth. Your perceived "I'm alright Jack" attitude is nonsense because you now come under the same conditions as the rest of us. You can't justify why you are so special but moan about it constantly, so one more chance...why should you get cheaper tickets?

Women can still work up till 65 and receive a pension, seems like they have the best of both worlds to me. You can continue to bash your head against an argument you can't defend if you like though. I don't think your argument started as a feminist defence though did it? All saints together - yes, as long as they talk sense. By all means continue in your persecuted little bubble though - makes no difference to me.

To be fair me too so I stand to gain from this.....

Oh dear god, are we advocating prices based on life expectancy now? What an utterly moronic suggestion. Do people in their 50's get a slightly reduced price as well? Or maybe serious illnesses need to be taken into consideration?

It's only going round in circles because you refuse to admit that the 60-65 age group is no different from any other working age group. You can't defend or justify it despite many opportunities. What did you expect after sooooo many moaning posts? Honestly, really?

Perfectly entitled yet unable to justify...... The second point is irrelevant until you reach the age of 65.

The over 65's do get a concession - if you think it's too low then join the argument that prices are too high and not the one that seeks to justify a concession you weren't entitled to. No one moaned when you got it in the first place but it is objectionable when you moan about it being taken away. The government thing is a complete irrelevancy and has no bearing on this topic, personally I didn't vote for a government that privatised nationalised industries, subsidise them and then place that revenue in the hands of the few but that's a topic for the lounge and not here.

So the justification is marketing? Seriously? Fact is you are NOT a pensioner - you can still work, and if your job doesn't cover the cost of a ST then welcome to our world. In many ways you were luckier than us and are still luckier than us. I agree that you should have been informed earlier and that would have been fairer but that's all we agree on.

Which is of course what everyone else is doing right now...so again why should you be different?

I agree means testing would be a stupid idea so with no justification as to why the 60-65 year olds should receive a concession I think we can agree that they've got away with it for the last few years and should be grateful. That subset of fans has been lucky - there's pretty much no chance most people younger will get away with it in future. If you'd like to moan about generational differences then let's look at the fact that the age of retirement will rise to at least 67, or that getting on the housing ladder is virtually impossible (due in no small part to the baby boomer generation buying up second homes to make profit). No other generation will be as lucky as yours and yet you still moan....

You are of course absolutely correct that not everyone in the 60-65 bracket is well off or has retired - that puts those people in the same group as the rest of us. Why should the 60-65 aged people get cheaper tickets? I'm not sure I'd class you as elderly as you can still work so what's the justification? Are you advocating prices based on an ability to pay?

To be honest all concessions are inherently unfair - the very nature of them ensures that. The cost of a seat to the club is exactly the same regardless of the demographic you fall into. That said, I don't begrudge concessions per se and they can be a good thing when taken in the context that saints are a community club. The 60-65 group of people should have had the price increase communicated to them earlier to allow them to budget but I don't think bringing them in line with the rest of "normal" punters is unfair; they're still of working age and no different to a 30, 40 or 50 year old. Some of the baby boomer generation are incredibly well off - my Dad's neighbour is a successful small businessman who is moaning about the increases yet I'm willing to bet he has more disposable income than most of us. My Dad is spending money like there's no tomorrow because he's inherited my grandad's estate and can retire early. Why should these people get concessions? They're no different to the rest of us. If you've retired early because you can afford it then good luck to you but don't expect cheaper tickets if you are of working age.

Yes, on my keyboard it's where the Alt Gr key starts although other keyboards may be different.

Why does water contract as it gets colder, except when it get to 4C when it expands and then starts to contract again as it gets colder still?

That's why the 82 Brazil squad should have been great.

Lothar Matthius never seems to be mentioned as a great. I'd probably go for the '82 Brazil squad in the should have been great category as well

with a little help from agents as well

Puskas Platini Could also make a good case for Gullit and Van Basten, and Rummenigge

crap joke removed

I can remember being a student during the first gulf war and being passionately pro-war, even to the extent of wanting to sign up for it (I doubt they would have had me though). I remember going to a debate about it and we discussed the bombing of a baby milk factory which it was claimed by the allies to have been manufacturing weapons and everyone of us there believed it. Except for one bloke who was virtually laughed out of the hall. He was right though. It was only later that I realised that we'd been lied to about a lot of things. I'm not sure here in Britain we've ever had much of a student demonstration culture though. The US had Vietnam and the French had '68 but we've not had much to mirror that.

Fair enough, I only caught Greer's bit at the end. Surprising of a Mail journo but pleasing all the same.