The Kraken

What a rotter.

No, which ones of our RIVAL clubs. I don't think anyone in League 2 is going to be our rivals.

How many? And which ones?

Yeah, that's got nothing to do with my original point either. In any case, have fun, I'm off down the pub to watch Spain play Portugal.

I think you are getting throughly confused by what I was inferring in the first place, so we're best off moving on. The Cat 1 status will be a great thing for us; as it will for the other 19 or so clubs who are in line for it should they be successful.

I might be being a bit thick; but is the concept of "English pride" based on the fact that one kit is red and one is white?

I'm not debating that's what you said, I think you're getting a bit confused. You said in 2011 that we were one of only three in line to get Cat A status. Now it is announced that there will likely be many more than 3 clubs with Cat A status. You can argue it if you like but you'll be incorrect. Going from the notion of having 3 clubs (with the potential for more) with Cat A, to up to 20 clubs being awarded it, is clearly a dilution of the previous inferred "exclusivity" of Cat A.

I think it'll look decent with the whole kit, I wouldn't mind those socks at all (especially if we don't get stripes on the shirt). Just imagine; if we got similar style socks in red and white we'd look like a barber's post. What's not to like about that.....

I actually quite like that look

Well that's clearly not the point I was making is it? I said there was a previous rhetoric that we were one of three clubs in line for Cat A status. You said that, back whenever. Now, the reality is that there will be lots more clubs than 3 with Cat A status. Yes, it will benefit us. Yes, it's great to have. But are you saying that I'm incorrect in stating the previous rhetoric of "we're one of only 3 clubs in line to get Cat a" has since been diluted?

You made reference to it on the previous page.

Like a league table of universities? Interesting.....

Worth also noting that, when there, the aim of the owners was to return us to the PL within 5 years; that was their miniumum expectation. Great that it's all happened, of course.

Sounds to me like, give it 5 years or so and every club in the Premier League and perhaps half of those in the Championship will have Category A status. With no new benchmark obvious to the outside observer as to which is any better than the other. The previous positive rhetoric of "we're one of only three clubs lined up for Category A status" has been significantly diluted to "we're doing what almost all other Premier league clubs are doing".

So potentially 20 teams with Cat A status. Sounds like its a complete necessity to have in order to keep with our rivals, rather than something that will give us a massive advantage, as has previously been suggested.

Well we'll soon see. I'm certainly not ruling out the (perhaps unlikely) scenario that the kits that everyone has seen are a training kit of sorts, and have been "leaked" to create some distraction from the actual kit. The OS are certainly going out of their way to big up the fact that the design is a well kept secret. Having owned and worn all red and all white training tops myself in the past, its far from impossible. And being as the only person who seems to have actually seen the shirt in the flesh is the model bird, and she really didn't have a clue what she was looking at, I'm happt ot wait until the big reveal to confirm it one way or the other.

I think I'll laugh my arse off if the supposed ITKers in this thread have got it wrong.

Well if its based upon only signing current or former England U21 internationals we won't be signing Spearing; he's never actually played for them.

Seems like the usual array of crackpots and idiots have registered their discontent. "Hammond is better than him" is my favourite comment; although I confess it must be a wind-up, as surely no-one could be quite so ignorant as to think that. But I'm genuinely confused as to who our fans think we are able to sign, given that a young player for Liverpool who has received a decent amount of critical acclaim is deemed inadequate.

Who are you expecting us to buy, if Spearing is nowhere near good enough?

Unnecessary sarcasm in a football related thread. Infraction; 1 point.

Who is "you lot", you utter nonsense. Barely anyone has even seen it yet.

Yeah, I think we've got it that you don't like it and won't buy it.

I don't disagree its too much for a standard adult ticket. £17 last year was too much for the same type of competition and we only got 7,000 supporters through the door. That said, the family price isn't too bad (£50 for 2 adults and 2 kids under 11) for a whole afternoon. Also it would be interesting to compare like for like pre-season fixtures. I know that the Man City v Arsenal friendly being played in Beijing is going for £61 per ticket. I've not yet seen any prices for similar type matches to this being played in England for the other PL clubs to make a direct comparison.

As MLG said, we weren't discussing the Pannu quote. We (Ivan Katalinic's tash, MLG, fantheflames, me) were discussing the Mirror article; for which the previous link expired, hence I re-posted the new link that you've just quoted.