Hamilton Saint

Did you not title this thread "Cortese no mates"? There is no question mark after that phrase in your thread title, which would indicate that it is meant as a statement, right? I understand the reason for your uneasiness. I didn't like the way that Adkins was dismissed either. But we do not have the benefit of knowing anything about the inner workings of the club. Nearly all the negative comments about the Chairman are based on hearsay and conjecture - or "impressions" that fans have about his cool and disciplined manner. Most indications (both on and off the field) suggest that the rapid success of the club in the last few seasons has been built on a carefully planned vision and a no-nonsense approach at every level of the enterprise. Cortese is clearly not the personable type, but he is doing an excellent job. He may alienate people because of his blunt talk and single-minded pursuit of success, but he seems to be a principled and honest man. For no apparent reason (you supply none), you describe the Chairman sitting at the games "with a face like a smacked arse". How can you justify that comment? It's designed to ridicule and denigrate the man - and encourage others to feel the same. You may not care about rude and insulting posts on here (or do you?), but I do. It's just not right to defame someone publically because you don't like the way he looks, or you don't like his manner.

Why bother disguising your post as an opener to discussion by tagging on the question at the end of your post? You've clearly already made up your mind. You tell us that he has no mates. You tell us that his behaviour is unusual. "The evidence," you say, shows that "he really is quite unpleasant in his dealings with people." And then you make a statement in a follow-up post about rude and insulting comments. Let me ask you a question: aren't you being hypocritical?

"I'd love to change the world, But I don't know what to do."

Why would any sane person want to sell Lambert right now? Not just a proven goalscorer (and has he ever missed a penalty for us?), but a talisman for our club. And an honourable person - if that means anything to some of you people!

These kinds of smart alec, sarcastic, 'ironic' posts are becoming so tedious. The poster pretends to be sincere in order to make some clever point, and then, when someone takes it at face value (because they naturally assume the post to be sincere), they are often ridiculed by other smart alec, sarcastic posters for not being fast enough to detect the cynical sarcasm. Do us a favour and respect internet etiquette; use emoticons at the end of the post to indicate that you're being insincere and "ironic".

Yes, indeed. So a visit to Austen's cottage in Chawton (north-east Hampshire) would be impressive. And I agree with Lacock - an amazing place (some scenes from the early Harry Potter films were done in the Abbey there). And the village is incredibly picturesque.

Lulworth Cove - and walk from there to Durdle Door. The "Hovis Hill" (Gold Hill) in Shaftesbury. Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral. Beaulieu - the House and the Motor Museum. Winchester Cathedral.

Electric - the new CD from Richard Thompson. Another excellent album - even better than his last few! Gonna see him live in two weeks - he's on the same bill with Emmylou Harris. Wow!

Maybe in the '50s and early '60s. If an artist is putting out 12 crap numbers, they are not worth listening to or supporting. It was The Beatles who led the push to put out high-quality albums which were NOT padded with "crap numbers". After their first album, they even stopped putting their singles on the albums - which meant 14 new tracks. And they used the albums as a vehicle for creative innovation. The sign of a good band, or solo artist, was precisely that ability to put out a good, solid album - one that was not full of "crap numbers". During the early to mid-'60s, popular music was dominated by the single, the pop charts, and AM radio (the "Light" programme, which became Radio One). Starting in the late '60s, the shift was away from the single to the album; away from AM radio to FM radio. FM radio could broadcast in stereo and high-fidelity sound - and the shift was away from singles to predominantly album tracks. What we have now is a shift back to the era of the single. And that means inferior bands can thrive without the need to put out good-quality albums - collections of interesting and creative tracks. Me, I'm still an "album guy". I still buy my music on "albums" (CDs). I still prefer to listen to a band or and artist for an hour or so, rather than constantly shifting from one three-minute song by one artist to another three-minute song someone else, as it was back in the days of Top-20 radio. It's the way I prefer to listen to music, and the change in technology has not had an effect on that. Oh, and I still frequent "record stores", as well as buy CDs from Amazon.

I agree with you. A dozen or so posters on here who like to dominate and bully. They never know when to shut up.

Absolute disaster!

"Marquee Moon" by Television (1977)

Nah. Early '70s was singer-songwriters; mid-70s was disco sh*t; late 70s was punk

No, actually, I wouldn't. Lambert is a very talented player and also an admirable person - honest, optimistic, and modest. Rooney may be a great player, but as a person ... Lambert leads by example and he is inspiring.

Sorry for the delay in responding. The idea that the Pope's "infallibility" means that he can never be wrong in anything is a VERY common misunderstanding of the concept. It is a much more limited thing. The doctrine of infallibility was defined "dogmatically" by the First Vatican Council of 1869-1870. What it means, briefly, is that a Pope cannot be in error when he makes a declaration ex cathedra about key matters of faith and morals. Ex cathedra means literally "from the chair"; it signifies the Pope speaking as a shepherd, or teacher, of the whole Catholic flock - by virtue of his "supreme apostolic authority". These sorts of pronouncements are usually delivered in papal encyclicals (letters circulated to all the bishops of the Church, and through them, to all Catholic parishes in the world). An example would be Pope Paul VI's teaching about contraception in his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae. Since Benedict will no longer be Pope after his abdication, he will lose his apostolic authority, and lose his role as "infallible" teacher on matters of faith and morals. He was wrong a lot before he became Pope; he'll be wrong a lot after he leaves office. (And I'm glad to see him go, btw.) I hope that helps.

A new album by Eric Burdon - 'Til Your River Runs Dry. It's a really solid effort. Most of the songs co-written by Eric. Familiar themes, crack band, varied styles - but set in an electric blues-rock format dominated by guitar, piano and hammond organ.

So, I hope we never score again. Then we'll never lose?

Cheat, you mean? That's disgraceful. It's bad enough that some players dive; but to advocate that coaches should encourage that behaviour ...? Disgusting.

I don't think you quite understand the theory of papal infallibility!

Some posters never know when to shut up; they seem to think that dominating the conversation is equivalent to "winning" the argument.

The Third Man Dr. Strangelove if .... A Hard Day's Night Zorba the Greek Dr. Zhivago Bridge on the River Kwai Apocalypse Now The Graduate

... not to be confused with JJ Cale, of course! [Although I like his stuff, too.]

John Cale: The Island Years. This is a 2-CD collection of the three albums that Cale did for Island Records in 1974-1975 (plus a few out-takes and B sides). Along with Paris 1919, this is probably the peak of his solo career. Among those playing with him on this stuff: Eno, Phil Manzenara, Chris Spedding, Richard Thompson, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway, and Andy Mackay. Sometimes scary; sometimes funky, sometimes beautiful; sometimes straight-ahead rock 'n' roll. If you haven't heard this stuff before, check it out. The individual LPs, in order, were Fear, Slow Dazzle and Helen of Troy.

I do 'em the way my mother always did - crepes. Squeeze of fresh lemon and a sprinkle of sugar. Roll them up and serve while they are still warm. For variation, you can also use a squeeze of fresh orange juice -but I prefer lemon.

But the season ends in May.