moonraker

Can we achieve CL place, yes of course we can, will we, who knows. One thing is for certain anyone who says no we cant (Mr R Savage) is wrong. The pressure will mount however I believe that in Koeman we have the best manager outside of Chelsea and City to deal with the pressure, we have fans who do not have a sense of entitlement, our players are not overpaid pre-Madonna’s, and our team is as good as or better than the teams below us, for these reasons I am very hopeful we will be playing CL football next season.

the bright side is Spuds drop another place

3rd

Ah a poll that suggests the electorate in a great democracy does not agree with one of its governments policies. The issue is not whether the majority of Americans support it or not, it is whether it is morally and ethically right to do it. The world is kept at a reasonable level of control by a device called sovereign states. There is no universally accepted model for a sovereign state save that it has control of what goes on inside its own arbitrary borders. In the west we promote the democratically elected government model, where an elected parliament represents the will of the people. On top of this are a raft of international treaties, agreements and protocols (largely of western origin) with which signatories are supposed to comply. There are many example around the world of countries that pay lip service to, ignore or are not signed up to various international treaties, agreements and protocols. The common view is that these countries are undemocratic, where law and policy is made without any reference to the will of the people. However it is difficult to believe that there is single country that is not guilty of some lapses in their internationally agreed obligations. The US is a democracy and a signatory of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, this report demonstrates that it has failed in its obligations. If the polls are a true reflection of US citizens views on torture then should the US Government not repeal their signature to the convention and act on the will of the people (the will of those polled). Torture will of course no longer need to be limited to use by secret agencies on suspected terrorists, it will be available to the other law enforcement agencies to us on their own citizens and those of any other country who enter its jurisdiction and are suspected of criminal activity. We have spent a very long time trying to improve the lot of the humane race and our treatment of each other , condoning torture is a retrograde step and its legitimacy can not be left to the views of the mob.

Oh dear, it is the ruling class who are inbred, best illustrated by our Royal Family.

There never can be an excuse for torture. Using hypothetical scenarios about ones family and saving them seem to me a pathetic attempt to justify something that has consistently throughout history produced poor results and demonised those who practice it: The Gestapo, The Inquisition. We in England for most of the middle ages resisted the use of torture it gained in 'popularity' due to the Church in Rome feeling threatened by the growing move towards Protestantism. It is ironic that the societies that most easily accept torture as a legitimate tool of the state are often the most devout and fundamental religious societies, and tend towards the right of politics where fear, greed, and self-interest proliferate.

Using a phone whilst driving a car fitted with Bluetooth should incur a punishment tens times higher than one without. Everyday I see 'mums' in Chelsea tractors taking their little darlings to school while making essential calls to: their personal trainer, beautician etc. The other group that have not yet heard of hands free are van drivers, but then many of them are ignorant of all driving regulations.

His record elsewhere does not support your hypothesis,. This season he had to construct a team capable of recovering from the "fire sale", he's achived that, bringing in 4 british players in the process.

Like all pundits The Man of Bronze comes out with some ill informed statements but in general I like him. In our case he has been pretty straight in acknowledging he got it wrong and he is far more entertaining than most. I enjoyed the article, but then fans always enjoy positive articles about their club.

I always enjoy a peek at our oppositions forums and reading Bluemoon only serves to illustrate how little knowledge your average football fan actually has of other teams, its not a City thing it is universal. It is a shame that fans of a club like city who truly have suffered hard are now so arrogant. It will be a very tough game and if I had to bet I would tip Saints to shade it.

A tradgedy and my thoughts are with all who were close to Phil, RIP.

Not pretty and not what we have come to expect, but all teams have days like this. A point away on a Monday Night is acceptable, the performance was not.

Wessex or the land of The West Saxons was essentially Hampshire, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire parts of Gloucester and most of Devon. What is today Cornwall was by 1040 the main Celtic stronghold in Southern England. Essentially the Celts had been pushed to the fringes, Cornwall, Wales and Ireland by the successive invasions of the Angles and the Saxons in the South and West and the Vikings in the North and East. So the New Forest would have been Anglo Saxon, the predominance of blonde hair is a red herring when it comes to Angles and Saxons.

They have a history of loosing to Lower League oppostion, http://www.thegiantkillers.co.uk/1949leicester.htm, the commentary is great.

Yes, if we dont get one then you can treat yourself to something nice as compensation.

This, Chelski and City both have key first choice players for whom they do not have a comparable replacement and the long term loss of them would cause problems. I do not think we will loose any key players in January, as alluded to in the article it is a united squad with a common purpose and CL football mid season may not be as attractive as a LC Win and a top 4 spot (not a dream but a real prospect) with saints.

But they still have their club, which they own don't you know!

???

If Garcia is claimimg his findings have been improperly represented or worse then in the long run this may be a good thing. Blatter and his minnions have tried to dress up a PR stunt as a credible investigation, it seems that Garcia will not stay quiet and be abused in this way.

I dont buy the small squad argument as much this season as in previous seasons. As has often been demonstrated on here we have better cover for many postions than hitherto. I dont see a great deal of strength in depth for Arsenal or Liverpool espeicially in defence. My biggets concern is strikers, whilst JROD is still to return he will need to get going quickly.

Are they also to far from Manchester?

I think Liverpool are in terminal decline. They overachieved last season mainly due to one player, now gone. Their talisman is finished but doesn’t know it or wont admit it. They overpay for players and then cant fit them in the team. Pundits continue to make excuses but the reality is they are not a top 4 club anymore and increasingly will find it difficult to be top 6. The defectors are getting their just desserts.

The attitude to Saints by Journos was summed up on Sunday Supplement when the guy form the express said, with sincere apologies, that when he looks at the table he looks straight past Saints to Citeh. I have no problem with this, let them carry on ignoring us the only thing that matters is what the players and fans of SFC see and feel.

There is no doubt that many of our players will attract great interest from the 'big boys'. However if we finish top 4 or more likely top 6 then the footballing lure to leave will be less and in Koeman I believe we have a manager who is more grounded than the previous incumbent and will stay and that is key.We cannot compete on the salary front and agents will not do us any favours. We have seen that we have an executive and back room staff that are determined and made of steel so if some are determined to leave we will get very good deals.

We have nothing to fear but fear itself