FloridaMarlin

"Yet the bombshell was yesterday dropped on Appleton that the Blues do not have the finance to employ him." Really? Who would have imagined that? So a couple of days after they bring in a head of recruitment, they decide they can't afford an assistant for un-Appy. This again demonstrates the complete insouciance of 'football people' who think that somebody else will always pick up the tab and that they can just rack up the bills regardless. I also liked this: ‘In fact, he has played at every level of the game, including non-league.' Planning for the future?

It's an insult to King Edward's School to describe the (former) training ground as "shabby." It's actually very nicely kept up together. And, of course, throughout that piece there's a name missing. Who was the manager who 'chased the dream' and brought all those highly-paid players in, laying the foundations for their current mess? Once again, Saggy Chops' media buddies keep his name out and try and ensure distance between him and any unpalatable stories.

How, and indeed why, have they appointed a head of recruitment at a time when they are supposed to be cutting to the bone? How has Birch sanctioned this? How do creditors feel when they see another addition to the litter to suck at the teat, when they are being told they can expect the square root of bugger all of what they are owed? Typical p****y, but also symptomatic of the game where all 'Football people' (ie: managers, players, ex-players) deride outsiders (ie, those who have never played the game professionally) as having no appreciation of the game. When, in fact, they have no appreciation of reality as throughout their careers they have only ever been concerned about being left alone to concentrate on their football, and there has always been somebody there to pick up the tab. As for: "I turned down European scouting roles at two Premier League clubs to come to Pompey because this is such a great club." This is either complete and utter drivel spouted for the moronic masses to sop up, or he turned down Premier League clubs not because p****y is such a great club, but because they offered him more money. I think I know which one my money is on.

Lawrence really doesn't come out of this piece at all well. I love the way he has a pop at the owners who: "tried to do things their way and left the club in a mess." Doing things their way presumably included outbidding other clubs in terms of fee and wages to sign Liam Lawrence. However, the owners can't have done everything their way because Lawrence was: "Then-manager Steve Cotterill’s confidante, his sounding board to debate more player recruits. So what role did Lawrence play in Quality Over Quantity? As for: "I’ll be going to training on Monday but will probably have to drive down there in my socks and boots and check in a hotel for a while." Let's hope he doesn't get stopped by the Feds. "Can you explain why you're driving with no clothes on sir? And can you control the pedals in your car properly with those studs on the bottom of your boots, sir" The hotel? I'm guessing it won't be a B&B along Southsea front or up in the wilds of North End.

And Pompey will counter that with: "If you want us to be competitive and not undermine the integrity of League One, you'll have to let us sign Premier League players on loan, at salaries we can't afford."

In Italian cities watch out for scooter drivers at traffic lights. You'll stop at a red light in your car and be on your own. But before the light turns red the scooters will be all around you like a swarm of bees' in front of you, up the inside of you, latching on to your wing mirrors, behind you, everywhere. At the very least it's a nightmare to drive as you have to try and avoid hitting them. More seriously, make sure your windows are up as you're likely to find hands reaching in to snatch bags and anything else that isn't nailed down. Although I've driven in several Italian cities, Genoa was the worst for this. But no Italian city - not even Naples - is as bad to drive in as Tel-Aviv. It has the second highest accident rate in the world after Tehran.

Is it just me who thinks that somehow they might start the season with TBH, Kitson, Mokoena and the other high earners in their ranks. They would form the bassis of a very good team in League One?

I'm not quite sure what this obseesion with pace is all about. Yes, you need quick players in certain areas of the field - up front and wide in attack, and in defence to combat opposition players with pace. Pirlo proved that you don't need to be fast to control a game, but what you do need is the courage to build a team around somebody like him. You get other players to do the donkey work, and to provide him with the ball. Didier Deschamps was a great player, but he was effectively Zidane's "water carrier2 as Cantona dubbed him. The English football mentality which demands that all players work like dogs labels such a player as a luxury, a tag that MLT had to endure for years. Pirlo and Le Tis both embodied the art of findng space not by using searing pace, but through intelligence. I'm not convinced that Lallana should form the bedrock of England's midfield from the next match onwards, but if England aspire to have creative playmakers like continental teams, then somebody has to be able to demonstrate the willingness to undergo a compete re-think in the way we want England teams to play, and give players who can spot and pick a pass the chance to be the fulcrum of a team, not just a luxurious strolling mummer.

I liked this bit in the Norris article: "Norris went on to score eight goals in 42 games for the Blues last season, including the dramatic St Mary’s equaliser which established him in Pompey folklore." Established in Pompey folklore? It was a goal that neither kept Pompey up, nor prevented Saints from being promoted, so in the greater context of things it meant nothing. Apart, of course, from the fact that it prevented them getting beaten at St Marys and in the end, that is all they care about. Doesn't matter that we are disappearing over the horizon or that they might not even exist next season. As long as they didn't lose. Pathetic. Let's hope the memory of Norris's goal keeps them warm on those cold winter nights at Moneyfields.

Sorry, can't agree with that. The Sports Desk is not petty or biased. Time was the tables were not updated until the fixture lists came out (which the BBC officially recognised as the day the divisions were formed). In fact not only is BBC Sport not biased against Saints, you would be amazed at the number of Saints fans who work for BBC Sport, even after the move north to Salford. And as for the time taken to update material, I'll try and explain the modus operandus of BBC Sport website. The BBC gets live video feeds from all Premier League matches, so reporters are able to maintain match reports in the office while watching the feed. That also applies to televised Championship matches. Outside of Premier League games or live televised Football League matches the BBC is entirely dependent on the speed of its supplying agency, the Press Association. The Press Association uses local stringers to supply their match reports, or if you are talking about the live text updates, these are provided by a network of correspondents - normally former players - who dictate their commentary down a telephone line to PA copy takers. The BBC (and Sky who use the same service) are at the mercy of the speed of PA. BBC Sport would love to have its own reporter at every game, providing text updates, but then people would complain (quite rightly) about the waste of BBC resources. Complaints about the BBC's services are likely to be given more credence from those who pay for a television licence, which gives them something of a right to complain.

Alan Nixon is a shareholder in Proactive Management, set up by Wayne Rooney's agent Paul Stretford (Stretford has since left Proactive to form another agency). Because he is a shareholder in a football agency and thus could be said to have a vested interest in planting stories, a lot of papers don't trust or use him. It would be interesting to know who Rodriguez's agent is.

"Supporters renewing their seat can avoid long queues by filling in their form in the Chimes Lounge on Wednesday, June 6, Thursday, June 7 or Friday, June 8 (9am-5pm) and then hand it in with a cheque or credit/debit card details" Presumably thick wax crayons will be available to help them do this. You know, the ones that make them stick their tongues out of the corner of their mouths when they use them.

It's not the team doing anything about it. He's been charged under the law. I'm pretty sure the FA would much rather the whole thing could have been brushed under the carpet.

Which team is going to the Euros with one of their key players charged with racist offences?

I presume The Snooze can produce from their extensive and cavernous archives stretching back in the misits of time, a picture of AOC in a p****y shirt. Any p*****y shirt, really. Even one he might have got for Xmas as a kid from his old man. Because before he joined Arsenal, the only pics I have ever seen of p****y ace Chamberlain in any sort of football playing capacity was in a Saints shirt. Knowing how generous of spirit the orc-folk from Portsea Island are, I'm sure they're happy with that; P****y ace in a Saints shirt.

They haven't been kicked out yet, but reading between the lines, I think Birch is indulging in the classic football face-saving device of getting your retaliation in first. In other words, we're looking for somewhere else as KES are getting shirty at being shafted twice, and if we can find somewhere we can say we moved there of our own choice, and deny we were kicked off. It would be interesting to get a sight of the lease agreement and see what clauses cover non-payment. The sweetest timing woud be for KES to kick them off the day before pre-season training starts. Love some of the comments on The Snooze website. I'm not sure pampered former PL £50,000 a week earning TBH would be too happy training on a public park, where they have to clear the dog muck off first. But perhaps that's part of a cunning plan. Make the conditions and training facilities so bad that he'll want to go.

It's one of those where the referee could argue either way, either for the spirit of the law, or the letter. He could say that the original free-kick was not given as he waited for an advantage and once that advantage ended - by the second foul - the advantage ceased, so he had to pull it back and award the original free-kick. That would be following the letter of the law. But the key word here, I think, is 'advantage'. By not awarding the original free-kick he thought an advantage might accrue and let play continue. That advantage was ended by a second foul inside the penalty area. By allowing the advantage he had effectively opens up a new passage of play, which itself is ended by a foul. The whole idea of applying the advantage is the that team sinned against should not suffer a disadvantage (if that doesn't sound like a strange double negative) and should not be penalised by the award of a free-kick. In this instance, if he wanted to apply the advantage, he should have awarded the penalty as the team have been disadvantaged.

Have you ever tried to post a coconut?

Pshaw! I bet you say that to all the girls, you old flatterer. If I was a journo I would have corrected "you're talent," or was that deliberate, cunning trap?

They used Collingwood before they moved to Wide Lane. If my memory serves me correctly, they went to Collingwood from Wellington (which at the time was owned by Soouthampton University) on a wave of popular support that their training operation was moving back to a PO postcode. However it didn't last long. The pitches were rutted and bumpy, and Redknapp blamed them for a string of (mostly muscle-related) injuries. Plus, the medical and treatment facilities were, um, basic, to say the least. The club physio had to treat the pampered stars in one of those brown Services tents that someone always used to find for the local church fete to house the tea urn and serve the jamless Victoria Sponge cakes from. Not surprisingly, they upped sticks and went to King Edward School who had done a swap with Soton Uni, and offered them all sorts of money to hire their new ground at Wide Lane. It looks as though KES have finally had enough of being shafted. Either that, or they have been inundated from angry parents asking why their child's education fees are so high when the school is owed a substantial sum of money which might see them reduced. They'll love it back at Collingwood. Somebody might correct me here, but I'm sure the RN's best physical training facilities are at HMS Temeraire in Bunraby Road. Unless things have changed, the facilities at Collingwood are still pretty basic, but would be commensurate with p****y's status. You also wonder what the MOD's stance would be if they were stiffed on payment for hire. They might not be as accommodating as KES. UPDATE: Having sent a couple of emails out, it might be that my memory may not be 100%. The move to Collingwood might have been temporary while work was being carried out at Wide Lane. The move to Collingwood was still hailed by the phew who hated the thought of their heroes training in an SO postcode, but I think I'm pretty certain that Dewflaps hated the grotty conditions at Collingwood and blamed the bumpy pitches for one of his "bare bones" moments.

Capello wants to have a crack at managing a Premier League club. He could conceivably at up at one of three Premier League clubs. Two, if you discount Villa.

I would think that Birch is shoo-ing Appy out the door to get his hands on the compo. As Appy is reported to be on around £100,000 a year, the three years left on his contract will just about cover TBH's wages for ten weeks.

Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate, in York.

I would have no objection to women tennis players getting the same money as men providing they played the same number of sets.

Ace of Wands! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqeFp-ChxTs