Whitey Grandad

Not if I had a choice.

Ah! That would explain the smell.

This business about tackling with excessive force has crept in over the last few years, it didn't exist in my days as a player or a referee. From where I sit in the central Kingsland it appeared that Clyne had slid past the other player's feet and not through the ball and then his feet but Clattenburg had a view from a completely different angle. A fellow regular who sits behind me asked me if I thought it was a foul and I said that I couldn't see whether Clyne had caught the man before the ball. Having seen the replay I would say that it was the strength of the tackle and the fact that the studs were showing and that Clyne's leg was locked in a straight position that counted against him. It was an inexperienced tackle that may have been unnecessary and he will learn from it, but what if the player had had a clear shot and scored from that? I think there is a definite difference in tolerance threshold between inside and outside the box. Nothing disguises the fact though that the kick should have been saved. Usually careless is just a foul, reckless is a yellow card, reckless with excessive force is a red card. Edit: I must add that Shaw was brilliant.

It would appear so: [h=1]LAW 12 - FOULS AND MISCONDUCT[/h] [h=3]Direct free kick[/h]A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following seven offences in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force: kicks or attempts to kick an opponent trips or attempts to trip an opponent jumps at an opponent charges an opponent strikes or attempts to strike an opponent pushes an opponent tackles an opponent

Oh yes, I agree completely. It was a bit of a dolly-drop of a shot as well.

Are you sure it wasn't 'thank you for leaving'? I went to Cambridge to do engineering in 1968 but things were different then. The colleges were in different groups and Christ's only needed A-levels and an interview. Around that time you also needed 'Use of English' and a Latin O-level. I had 3 or 4 'A's in Pure Maths, Applied Maths, Further Maths, Physics with Physics Special and 9 various O-levels. That was 42 years ago so not much use to you now, I suppose. What subject and college are you interested in? I could always make some enquiries for you.

I don't suppose that Punch waving his leg at the shot helped either.

Very evenly matched teams. Disappointed after we had gone ahead, but I suppose that if Norwich had scored first we would have been pleased to get a draw out of it.

Oops.

The lady did protest too much, methinks (apologies to Hamlet, Act 3, scene 2)

They often do it when they're not under pressure. Is it because footballers are thick and can only remember one way of playing? (Genuine question with a hint of whimsy in it. I can't do emoticons on my ipad thingy)

I've never understood why the defender passes back to the keeper if all he is going to do is hoof it upfield. Why can't he do that himself, he's nearer the action?

Went in 1969 for 9 nights with my (now) wife. We stayed near the Leidseplein and did most of the sights. The trams are good but you can walk everywhere, it's not too big. On our last day we did a morning visit to the Amstel brewery and both of us got tanked up - for free - very educational. I don't know if they still do them. One regular said that the Heineken tour was better.I guess you won't be too interested in the art galleries and museums?

Shouldn't these be on the fish-fiddlers' thread?

That reminds me of some of the teachings of Epictetus. Basically, instead of constantly wanting more, learn to be happy with less.

You don't know who to believe these days. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/25/antarctic_ice_not_melting/

I booked all mine through http://www.newzealandsky.co.uk/ but I don't know if they are the cheapest. We had a 13-night self drive on South Island and 2 nights on North. Not long enough of course.Waikiki was great fun, can thoroughly recommend it.

Hi SIP, how's it going down under and a bit to the right? This came a bit too close to comfort for me earlier this year. The operation I had has a 1.6% mortality rate and whilst waiting for it my main thought was that I had a lot of unfinished business left and had not had time to enjoy the benefit of my lifetime's efforts. It's easy enough to say that you should work less and play more but the problem is getting the balance right. I now look at life differently.

Because the Antarctic snow had increased? Aren't the onland icesheets also thicker?

We did Air New Zealand last February. Heathrow - Hong Kong - Sydney - Christchurch - Auckland - Honolulu - Los Angeles - Heathrow. 30 nights away from home, 31 night trip. My accountant lives in Dunedin and I have a big customer in Sydney so we went business class. The Air NZ website will let you plan your own schedule but after about 4 flights it gives up so I had to download all the daily schedules and work out the dates myself. There are specialist websites: http://www.roundtheworldflights.com/ amongst others. It was a childhood dream of mine to go round the world.

According to the modern interpretation he was not interfering with an opponent or gaining and advantage. (He looks onside to me )

What, even if he's right? I certainly didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition.

Well that brings me on to my next point... What can we do to improve our wayward finishing? Hitting the post and bar is probably a good sign because it means we're getting closer to hitting the target. At least the shots are not flying into the crowd.

What is certainty? Is anything 100%? The politician in me would say that it doesn't matter what I think. The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on... and all that stuff. He was off.

I will say that it is a pleasure to be debating such trivial matters after a very satisfying 2-0 win for a change.