edprice1984

The 'Ings can only get better' song is my fave so far. But I would change the final line to..."Now he's come home" or "Now Danny's home" - just scans better

No doubt it will end up being 'He's one of our own etc', but normally the best chance of a decent chant emerging is at an away game. Hopefully we can come up with something at Goodison. (If only because I am going!).

To be fair he would have had to be going some to displace Salah, Mane and Firmino. Speaking to my Liverpool supporting mates they all rate him. Very unlucky with injuries but has been fit for a good few months. Good lad to have in the changing Room and as a local boy (and apparently a Saints fan) you would hope that he is going to give that little bit extra. Early suggestion for song for him: If you wanna come back, it’s alright, it’s alright It’s alright if you wanna come back Danny; Ings wants to come back, it’s alright, it’s alright It’s alright if you wanna come back Danny!

I would argue that the Crusades were pretty 'Islamophobic' as was the Spanish Inquisition (as well as being obviously Anti-semitic too) and the Reconquista. Again I am not defending Corbyn or Labour here, but to suggest that Islamophobia is a modern invention is not correct. I will admit that in the UK it has been a fairly recent phenomenon, mainly because the antipathy against people who were Muslim was mainly centered around them not being white - rather than their specific religion. (see the reaction to immigration in the 1960's/70's) Boris also didn't simply mention in passing either - this was written down as part of his Telegraph column. Plenty of people on my social media channels (Facebook, Twitter) agree with him though, highlighting the bind Corbyn is in. This will undoubtedly play for a bit in the media - but the Corbynista's won't be able to help themselves/the likes of Guido and the Conservative friendly press will make sure they find some more anti-semitic stuff.

Regarding the 'Whataboutism' that is often used by Corbyn supporters - especially about the Conservative party and Islamophobia, unfortunately, this is not seen as an equivalent problem at the moment. Certainly a decent proportion of the electorate, either openly (in the case of 'Tommy Robinson' supporters) or in private (like members of my own family; friends and colleagues) are hostile to Muslims and Islam in general. This crosses over Party political lines although I believe the Conservative party and UKIP have the most members who would espouse these beliefs and thoughts. However if you look at traditional working class areas of Northern England, where people have voted for Labour consistently - it wouldn't be hard to see these sentiments echoed. Personally I am disgusted at the levels of Islamophobia that I see, read and hear every day. I try to challenge it, particularly on Social media where it is virulent. Even on Saintsweb there are plenty of posters who are either racist or just too thick to know the difference. The difference with antisemitism is that, due to the obvious historical context - it isn't something that is currently widely shared among the general public. Rather concentrated in ultra left-wing groups, Muslim communities and in the traditional far-right organisations. All on the fringes of the political and social world. This means that Labour and Jeremy Corbyn are, due to the reluctance or unwillingness to address the issue - being dragged to the edge of political discourse and now seemingly unable to work their way back. Even if Corbyn accepted the traditional definition of antisemitism tomorrow with no caveats or considerations, he would probably be seen as paying 'lip service'. He has got himself so entangled with the loonies on this one, the only way out is to accept the mistakes, apologise, ride the storm and wait for the Government to f*ck up Brexit. (Likely only to find himself being criticised for not doing enough (anything) to try and help the situation. Fundamentally, what ever he does - currently he is unelectable as leader. Despite the dreadful job the PM is doing (and I say that as a Conservative party member), he has not once in 2018 polled above Theresa May in respect of: Who would be the better PM? In fact over the last two years, he has only polled above May on four occasions. Even adjusting for unfavorable media coverage (which Corbyn has certainly got) that is pretty dreadful! Even the most dogmatic of Corbyn supporters have to start to ask 'Maybe its him?'. Our democracy and our Government need a strong opposition - we don't have that and the worry is what fills the void.

https://www.footballfancast.com/premier-league/southampton/southampton-must-try-and-sign-lucas-moura-if-tottenham-buy-wilfried-zaha More of an opinion piece, but interesting nonetheless.

I am surprised that people find this 'surprising'. All of his political career has been on the fringes of the political debate. If sharing a platform with a Holocaust survivor who has some strong (and wrong, in my view) opinions of Israel is bad - take a look at who he met with in the 1980's. 3 weeks after IRA tried to blow up the Government in Brighton, he met with Jerry Adams, two convicted IRA volunteers and other members of Sinn Fein AT WESTMINSTER!

Reading the judgement and looking over the original court decision to imprison him, I get the feeling that it was the fact that he was live-streaming via Social media that was the problem, not necessarily who he was. The fact that he had already got a Contempt of Court conviction in place didn't help either. I agree he is in contempt of court and will probably go back to jail (if only for a few weeks). The bigger problem is that his release won't be seen by his supporters for what it is - allowing someone to get a fair trial, despite his d*ckish actions and general tw*tishness; rather as proof he was right in what he was doing.

I agree the Government, whether it was Cameron or May have tended to suggest slightly more realism that the likes of Rees-Mogg, Boris and Farage. In fact I am yet to see any suggestions or solutions from any of the leading Leave campaigners - rather they simply say "no, that isn't what the people voted for!". However let's be honest here, the whole situation is becoming more and more of a farce each day. Wait for the announcements regarding fuel stockpiles next.

I don't know about all of you but I am feeling very reassured that the Government are busy stockpiling food, medicine etc if we leave with no deal. In the space of two years we have gone from "£350million extra for the NHS" to "Don't worry we won't let you starve!". I look forward to the Ministry of Food pamphlets on the best Spam recipes.

Origi would be an excellent signing. Big, powerful lots of skill. Lost his way at Liverpool - mainly because Klopp doesn't want to play with a target man. Only 23 and knows the league, could be the player we lost when we sold Pelle. Looks like Newcastle are in pole position and I get the feeling we would have to sell before we could bring him in. Gallagher is 22 and is not in the same class as Origi.

Early part of the season he looked and was the best player on the pitch for us. Then confidence got knocked, suffered a few niggly injuries and he got dragged down with the rest of the squad. Was brilliant when I went to watch the WBA league game away; obviously talented - with a decent manager (Sparky) I think we will see the best of him next season. Next summer we might have a job to retain him.

Sven may have got us through last night, but we wouldn't have gotten anywhere near the Semi's with him in charge. 4-4-2 and his rigid style of play would have seen us struggle against the likes of Colombia and Tunisia. See Rio Ferdinand's comments about how he was told not to bring the ball out of the back, playing in straight lines. Ironically if Southgate had employed those tactics in the 2nd half we may have been able to counter their midfield, butI honestly prefer how we play at the moment. Just missing that one player who can unlock a defence - as many people pointed out before the tournament. The problem was that the players mentioned were either injured, injury prone or Jon Joe Shelvey! If you look back through the last 20 or so years, English football has been playing catch-up. First we didn't have any left footed players; then we lacked players comfortable on the ball; now we need a Pirlo; Modric; Iniesta type player. The latter is not far away, Phil Foden is going to be a special player provided he can keep free of injuries and gets his opportunity at City (with Pep, I think this will happen). The younger age groups the three key features are pace, ability on the ball and fitness. I agree with you, as long as we can provide these kids with the opportunities to play - whether that means dropping down to the Championship etc then we will continue to see improvement. Under Southgate we are now seeing an identity and style of play mirrored in every age group for England.

The spine of the team is there, we can add in some creative young players over the next two years and try and get a better balance in the midfield. Also need someone who can play alongside Kane up top. We should comfortably qualify for Euro's - I am interested to see how we treat the Nations League. I am going to the Croatia game in November with my 6 year old daughter. Nice opportunity for a little revenge. If I were Southgate, I would use those games as a way to blend in the young players like Foden, Sancho, Sessengnon - get them used to International football. My prediction for the final: Le Foot rentre a la maison.

Ever since the final whistle on Saturday, I have felt confident and calm. Until this morning. Woke up and immediately felt nerves and butterfly's. Almost exactly the same feeling as the Swansea game in May. How can football do this to someone!?

Depending on the fee, Ings is probably worth the gamble. I thought last year he just couldn't get a look in due to Salah's form. Think he was fit from December onwards.

David Cameron offered the referendum to shore up the right of his party. He didn't believe he would win an overall majority and therefore didn't expect to have to go through with it. The great miscalculation was the Conservatives saw UKIP taking their votes, not realising they were taking an equal if not greater share of Labour votes. A complex issue boiled down to a binary answer. Certainly some knew what they were voting for - many, many didn't. Apathy among those under 30, coupled with a disenchantment with main stream politics means we are now left with an almighty mess. Unsurprisingly the EU aren't keen to make it easy. Finally I really hope (although don't expect) that we can stop using the monikers 'Remoaners' or 'Jihadists' etc; it immediately closes down the debate if you start with name calling. As others have said, democracy is an ongoing process - not just a 'one-off' event.

Boris has gone too.

Henderson offers nothing? What game did you watch on Tuesday night? He broke up Colombian attacks, linked well between the defence and Sterling/Lingard. I agree that his final ball can be poor at times but we don't have a really creative player in the squad (Lallana was rightly left at home after having no game time this year and Wilshere would have broken something by now). His direct replacement is Dier or possibly Delph. Alli looked lacking in fitness, but he also was doing a number on Quintero. People forget that occasionally you have to deal with the opposition threats too. I would like to see Rose brought in ahead of Young, only because it gives a more natural balance to the side. We might see RLC in for Alli based on a possible injury, maybe starting Rashford ahead of Sterling (although I thought Sterling had a good game on Tuesday - we need to give him the ball in more space if possible). If you had told me that England needed to beat Sweden and then one of Croatia or Russia to reach a World Cup Final before this tournament I would have bitten your hand off. This is the best opportunity since 1966 and the good news is that the Swedes realise this too. Looking through the squad we have got plenty of players who have played in big Premier League and European games already - check out the Swedish squad. I am not underestimating them, they play to a structure and pattern which is difficult to break down - but so far this tournament no team has had a go at them (other than Germany in the last 20 minutes). Blitz them like Spurs, City, Liverpool do - play at a Premier League pace and see how they cope? I am probably being overly positive, but I do feel that if we play at or near our best tomorrow we will win comfortably.

England did create some chances last night, Colombia also made a number of last ditch tackles and blocks. It wasn't our best performance but when you are playing against that type of nonsense it is always going to be difficult. Felt that the switch for Dier was the right one at the time. I also thought Henderson and Sterling played well last night. I get the feeling that there are some players that fans will always see the 'bad' in. Sterling consistently ran back to collect and move the ball on, offered himself wide to try and stretch the Colombian back line etc. Yes his touch was frustrating but he kept trying and kept going. Henderson was everywhere in the first 75, breaking up play - linking between Kane and Maguire/Stones. I was a little disappointed by Alli going forward, but again he seemed to be keeping Quintero quiet (or that was his job anyway). The key for Saturday is getting an early goal. If England can get a lead, I think our pace and counter attacking style could rip the Swedes apart. They will probably sit in, be compact and organised and try and get something on set-pieces. Despite the penalties awarded to England in the competition so far, we do seem to be on the wrong end of a few VAR decisions still. No red card last night; the possibility of a second pen for tackle on Lingard. (it was a close one and I am not saying it should have been given; rather it could have). I am happy with what the lads have done this tournament, it would feel disappointing if it all ends on Saturday - mainly because I feel that we have enough to get to the final. Winning the thing would be incredible because Brazil, Belgium and France are all excellent teams. Of the three, I would actually fancy our chances against Brazil - they have got away with some very dodgy defending so far; Mexico opened them up countless times the other night but made the wrong choice; played a poor pass. France and Belgium seem to have threats all over and a flexibility which I think we would struggle with. On to Saturday - a win and this country will go into meltdown.

Normally reps who can’t afford an Audi or BMW

Let's be honest here. We all know that we aren't going to win it. But I would rather we win as many games as we can, rather than trying to 'tactically lose'. Pretty sure FIFA would have no qualms in throwing us or Belgium out of the competition if we did try anything anyway. It would amount to match fixing for starters. Any possible chance of hosting a World Cup in 2030 would be down the drain. FIFA could even ban England from entering the 2022 World Cup (see Chile in 1994 - one of the best football stories around by the way). If England get through to the Quarter Finals, that would be a success in my eyes. Any further and I would be ecstatic. I honestly think 2020 Euro's or even 2022 is where we will see the end product of the recent developments in the youth sides. I think we will win tonight, play either Senegal or Japan in the 2nd Round - hopefully win and then it's going to be a one off game against Brazil (likely). Even last night the Serbs had chances, if that had been Kane rather than Mitrovic it may have been a different result. Neymar doesn't look right, Coutinho is currently their key player. I just hope Southgate has got the lads practicing Penalties every training session. No stupid run ups, no Panenka's, just run up and smash the f*cker into the corner a la Kane. Make sure we have 7 or 8 players who want to take them (unlike Paul 'the Choker' Ince). Pickford and the GK team clearly do their homework - before the Tunisia penalty, Henderson had a word with the coaching staff and gave Pickford the info on which side the player was likely to go. On that occasion, to be fair to the Tunisian, it was an excellent pen but Pickford wasn't far away. For those old enough, I remember watching Shilton in 1990 and he never looked like saving a pen. Seaman always seemed to save at least one too. Just enjoy the ride. England has broken my heart too many times but this is the first time in 22 years where I am enjoying watching England in a tournament.

Looking like we could get our first 0-0. France and Denmark both through courtesy of Peru beating the Shackle draggers. The more I see of the french, the less I am worried about them. Disjointed, no shape, their big players either look out of form or knackered. No doubt they will improve, but should Messi manage to rescue the Argies tonight I doubt Deschamps would be looking forward to playing them in the next round.

The ref was poor, but the players need to take responsibility. Diving, play acting, running to the ref etc. Utter disgrace. Can’t decide who I want to lose more, Portugal or Uruguay

If England ever win a major tournament it would be an unofficial National Holiday. Not sure the government could sort it quickly enough to make it an official bank holiday. But it would be full on mental. Can’t honestly see it happening this time round but in two years time I genuinely think we will have a fantastic squad Tadic is having a blinder so far. Playing with confidence and freedom. Really hope we aren’t selling him