Crazy Diamond

Is that right? I recall Norwich signing a fair few. I'm just taken back to Adkins talking about keeping a squad together, which usually means no drastic improvements. Obviously I think we'll improve - indeed we already have.

Hmm. I'd be quite surprised if we signed as many players as that. Assuming the Buttner deal does go through, that would make eight signings. A lot.

I said a while ago that Bompey supporters ought to be aware of where all their new found wealth was coming from. Well, they're aware now. http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/sport/9801672.Cherries__Chairman_defends_club_s_need_for_a___6m_loan/ The Bucket Rattlers (registered trademark to Crab Lungs) have taken out a £6 million loan in order to pay for ground improvements, player transfers and player wages. This is just three years after being in administration and very nearly going to the wall, exiting the Football League. I'm a former (voluntary) employee of the club and left before Mitchell began spending like there was no tomorrow, and it struck me that it didn't seem right. No one listened of course...

If you seriously want to look at that tournament in isolation then that's up to you. Rickie had some torrid times in the early part of his career, look at those in isolation and he's clueless. Lawrie Mac bombed at Sunderland, in isolation he's clueless. Interesting way of looking at things you have there.

Biggest mistake was playing van Bommel. But you cannot say van Marwijk is clueless. That's just completely wrong.

The man who led the Dutch to a World Cup final and through amazing qualification campaigns? Yeah. He's REALLY up there with Graham Taylor in terms of incompetence in international management.

Ammar Jemal anyone?

It amazes me to be honest the amount of people saying 'done deal' - despite all media sources saying 'subject to medical and personal terms'. So it's not a done deal then, is it?

I was criticised the other week for mentioning the activities of Saints fans on Twitter. Unfortunately I feel compelled to write about it again, seeing as things have taken another turn, and not a good one. It wasn't so long ago that people who claimed to be 'in the know' came on forums like this and posted the odd thing that was 99% of the time absolute ********. Now, with Facebook and Twitter, the idea of pretending to know something has taken a bit of a twist. There are people who start Twitter accounts pretending to know all about transfer rumours and go around making up wild stories in order to get attention. There are even people who pretend to be agents, who talk about exact details of deals, and it turns out to be nothing but rubbish. They're harmless if you take it at face value, just as posters on here who say they know something are harmless, or those stupid 'club name here-rumours.com' websites are. It is however, very sad, and one wonders what on earth possesses people to do such a thing. Then there are numerous people who are bothering journalists from various different broadcasters and newspapers. That's fairly harmless, although I must say it does look a bit sad when one journalist, just doing their job, tweets about an article they have just written and is suddenly bombarded several times by a handful of people who want to know more. If there was more to tell, or at least more that could be said, it would be in the article. As I say, it's a bit sad in my opinion, but ultimately it's harmless. One journalist even started taking the ****, such was the number of tweets he'd had to put up with. You might argue though that he should expect questions if he posts such information, I suppose. Unfortunately, it stops being harmless when a player gets bombarded on their personal Facebook account - not a Facebook page or group, their personal account - which they use for keeping in contact with their friends and family. Alexander Buttner who we're apparently interested in - and that's a point worth mentioning, at this stage it's apparent interest - has been receiving messages from Saints fans who want to know more and want to get in contact with him. I looked at his Facebook profile to see if it was an open page where anyone with a Facebook account could see what people have written on his wall etc. It's not an open profile, which kind of gives it away. He probably doesn't want to be contacted by anyone other than who he is friends with. Glancing at the left hand side of the page there aren't even any signs of friends, it's all his relatives that he's trying to keep in contact with. If Alexander Buttner wanted an open forum to talk to supporters of any club, or anyone at all for that matter, I would suspect he'd have a Twitter account. Which brings up the next point. Someone has actually pretended to be Alexander Buttner on Twitter. The real Alexander Buttner does not have a Twitter account as far as I can make out - which tells me he doesn't want one, and perhaps doesn't want to be bothered by people. Ammar Jemal was subject to people getting in touch with him on Facebook last year - at the very least, his profile was an open one, and he replied to most people. In the end he didn't even sign. The majority of what I see as a little bit sad and in some cases stupid on Facebook and Twitter is harmless. I don't particularly care what other people think about the supporters of the same club as me, but I'm not alone anymore in thinking that it's getting a bit embarrassing. Pretending to be an agent is pathetic. Making up transfer rumours then claiming to be an authoritative voice is very sad. Bothering players on Facebook or pretending to be them, even if it's someone's idea of a joke, is just not right. I'm interested to know your thoughts on this one. I'm not 'getting worked up' by it, as some have suggested, and I'm not some sort of wannabe-dictator who says what you can and can't do, nor am I against freedom of speech. I just think what's going on at the moment, particularly with the Buttner developments, is wrong. Next week I start a job where I'm responsible for a sporting body's communications and social media as it happens, and all of it has got me thinking.

I was planning on posting this exact statement.

I don't know an awful lot about it, but from what I gather, they want to return to O level style, is that correct? I don't know what that would be like, but from personal experience I can say that GCSEs are not the way forward. My mathematics skills are absolutely awful, even the very basic stuff goes straight over my head. This was recognised, and rather than receive extra tuition I was put with the thick all boys set, which was home to the most disruptive little ****s in my year group. My failings in mathematics you could say were in the eyes of others, a sign that I was a troublemaker. Far from it. I then got assigned to the 'lower' mathematics papers for my GCSE exams and I came away thinking I had failed. I hadn't, I had passed with a C. To this day I don't think I'm worthy of that C, or any qualification involving mathematics. I think that goes for a lot of students at that age across all exams. GCSE exams are too easy, as has been said for a very long time now, they reward failure and are not fit for purpose. On that basis I believe change has to be made. To what system, I've no idea. I can only go on experience which for me is the best indicator.

I don't like saying I told you so. Okay maybe I like it a little bit.

If it's on Football Rumours, the only guarantee is that it's completely fake.

Thank you. I thoroughly hope so too!

I think the whole Butland deal - if it involves that kind of money - is absurd, and I wouldn't like to see us pay it. Especially when there's still a few more years in Davis and Butland himself wants first team football. Sadly we've made a rod for our own back by paying £7 million for Jay Rodriguez - again, is he even going to be fist choice? People know all about our desire to have talented young English players, and the fact we have money to spend, and they'll want every penny they can get out of us. With Buttner, I think we've made a decent offer. I see so many people questioning us over the fact we've only signed one player so far, as if they truly believe we're not working on bringing other players in. It emerged this week that a major motivation for Danny Guthrie joining Reading was the fact the drive to the training ground would be a lot less for him. Great reason to sign isn't it? Sounds as if he's got his heart set on us, that being the case it might bode well.

Well I'm off to kill myself, such a mistake after reading through that article - in broken English in under 60 seconds - is unforgivable. Still a decent sum of money for someone who has made just about 100 appearances at that level and is out of contract in 12 months.

Steven Caulker, highly rated by Spurs and who has just signed a new long term contract, looked pretty good at Swansea. Loan maybe? Just a thought off the top of my head.

£4 million for a player that's out of contract in 12 months? If that's true then those accusing us of playing hard ball are wrong, quite frankly. I think that's more than fair, given he's only ever been an Eredivise player. Remember Afonso Alves? Scored seven in one game once, averaged a goal a game. Came to these shores and couldn't have looked more out of place.

Well it's all over now and it's not a terrorist incident. Whoever called it in must be feeling a bit stupid.

May I interject on the whole educating debate? I have just spent a year looking for work. On Tuesday I went for probably getting on for my 20th job interview and finally secured a three month contract with an organisation, for which I will earn next to nothing and spend three hours each day commuting to with a further three hours back. I've got a good degree from a top university for my subject, and I even took a year out of my life to do my exams again to get the grades to go to that university. Due to woefully bad teaching, and I have an acknowledgement from my college that they failed in their duty to teach, I didn't get the three B's I needed. Now. If the amount of people going to university is to be reduced, it can only be a good thing. When Tony Blair's Labour government took charge, they watered down the requirements needed to say you had achieved something after years in the education system. You could get a GCSE or an A level by doing very, very little. Then there was the promise that anyone could go to university, which was a big, big mistake. We have a limited number of universities in this country, and a limited number of places on courses. So when suddenly several thousand more students are provided the chance to go to university, and with them all promised higher education, panic. Very quickly new courses are set up. Football Studies, Surf Studies, you name it, it became a course. My father was the first of my family to attend university, he worked to put himself through it. It was a privilege for him, the result of years of hard work. Now it's an expectation and very little hard work is involved. Doss courses are established and students do nothing but drink for three years and still walk away with a 2:1 in most cases. Having graduated there are suddenly far too many graduates looking for works and not enough jobs, so mass unemployment for young people and graduates comes as a result. In my own case, with a degree from the best course for my profession, I was left to wait for a year for work. You tell me if promising people degrees but no job is fair. You tell me if GCSE and A levels are fair. I will tell you otherwise - from personal experience and two years of my life essentially wasted. If Michael Gove prevents the system from going bad to catastrophic, as would have happened under a Labour government then it's only a good thing.

Maybe they just don't like Birmingham, which I think is quite possible.

Is he? He's the new Stig apparently and he's doing much better than that Ben Collins fellow.

Well, either that or we get someone start a thread with 'Lay off Guly' and rant on about being a proper supporter, blind to the obvious that a player has just quite simply had a bad game. I call those people 'the Guly Defence League' or GDL. Ha. It was an occasion where Guly appeared to be in the thick of it, coping quite well. I mentioned it and Tiff agreed, saying it was one of his 'better games' so you're probably right.

I'm just about to discover the joys of travelling to London having got a new job. A season ticket bought through National Rail will set me back around £440. I don't think you can get huge differences by shopping around, it's all about how in advance you do that. I'm sure you knew that of course, what with being an airline customer.

He once agreed with me about Guly having a good game.