CHAPEL END CHARLIE

Aye. 'Shambles' is exactly the right word to describe last summers comedy transfer activity, we'll be bloody lucky to get away with making mistakes of that magnitude. We know Adkins had precious little input into the key decisions, so the blame must lay at the chairmans door I suppose - not that it is likely to stay there long ...

Agree, it is rather a strange use of the English language. Yesterdays failure surely had nothing to do with a lack of courage or 'guts'. In a similiar vain I've never understood why so many otherwise sensible people insist on describing criminals as 'cowards' for some reason. Now many of them are utterly despicable individuals of course, but it must take real guts I would have thought to rob a bank, or become a hit man for instance.

I like midfielders who win more than their fair share of 50/50's and mop up loose balls - I saw Cork doing more of that than any of the others yesterday. Any discussion of our main problems just has to include Lambert being utterly in the pocket of that Samba bloke for all 90 minutes - and what a brick sh1thouse of a defender he is! Now that can happen to any striker - but it's a great shame however that neither the player, nor his manager, we able to come up with a plan to work around this problem. This failure cost us at least one point yesterday methinks.

I thought JRod did okay, Morgan was rather subdued (by his standards) and Boruc did nothing much worth mentioning. Agree Fonte had a decent game all things considered. However for my money Jack Cork was easily our best player yesterday. But it's all abouts opinions isn't it!

I don't think all that many SFC fans will wake up this morning thinking that we're 'too good to go down' - any that do think that need to take a reality check methinks. But as desperately mediocre as we certainly were yesterday, it is also manifestly true that we can - on our day - play some pretty good football too. I'm as bitterly disappointed as any on here that the truth is that we are just not consistently good enough to pull away from the relegation zone. However as long as we bring our 'A' game to the party, then we can still hope that we have a decent chance of survival - only time can tell of course. I think the true reason we're suffering now is not because of our current form, but rather because we were so disastrously unprepared for the demands of this division when the season commenced. We may, or may not, get away with it this time, but surely the next time we waste large amounts of money on players who fail to justify that level of expenditure, or even worse, retain too many lower league players while spending good money on signings who are not even considered good enough to force their way into the first team ... well we're bound to pay the ultimate price for those errors aren't we.

I've just seen 'Voyager: To the Final Frontier' (BBC4 Thursday) which has nothing to do with Star Trek and everything to do with the two outstandingly successful NASA space probes that did so much to expand humanity's knowledge of the outer solar system. We take missions of this sort for granted now, but there was a time not so long ago when it was considered a practicable impossibility to send a probe to the outer planets because it would have taken many decades for a conventional rocket propelled probe to transverse the vast distances involved. Then a brilliant young mathematician named Michael Minovitch (who was still studying for his PhD) conceived the 'slingshot' method of employing planetary gravitational force to accelerate the craft so that after reaching the first target it could 'slingshot' around it and then travel fast enough to reach the next planet in a reasonable timescale. The mathematical calculations require to calculate the complex trajectories involved were, as I'm sure you can imagine, quite formidable. Then a NASA engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Gary Flandro) suddenly realized that the orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune would all be in relatively close proximity to each other, on the same side of the Sun, during the 1975/76 period. This favorable planetary alignment will not recur for another 176 years. The rest as they say 'is history'. Today, 35 years and 11 billion miles later, the Voyager probes are becoming the first ever man made objects to leave our Solar System for the enormity of interstellar space. Incredibly these 1970's era machines are still sending back data, still functioning as designed. There are many candidates I suppose, but perhaps the Voyager probes can lay claim to being the greatest machines ever conceived by the mind of man. A smashing programe that really should be a 'must see' to anyone with even the slightest interest in space exploration I would have thought.

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I see that Film 4 are tonight showing another of those classic films you just never mind seeing again - 'Vanishing Point' starring Barry Newman, a hard driven 1970 Dodge Challenger, and not much else. Stay up late or set your televisual recording devices accordingly !

Silly thread. It's the leeway some on here give to under performing players that frequently surprises me. For instance Marek Saganowski delivered about 4 decent performances for this team during his entire time here - this didn't stop some calling for his constant selection at every available opportunity though. I can think of a certain player in the current squad who is much the same ...

Ha! It is kinda funny looking isn't it.

I'm currently reading this: Although the other Tudor monarchs are all popular subjects, the man who founded the Tudor dynasty - Henry VII - is perhaps less well known to the general public. So this book should be of interest to any serious student of British History. The backstory is all based in the long and complicated history of the 'Wars of the Roses' of course, but the main thing you need to remember about Henry is that he had no real right to ever be king. Henry had to wrench the crown off the mutilated skull of Richard III at Bosworth Field (himself a monarch of dubious legitimacy) and this problem of getting a viciously divided nation to accept him as their true king would dominate the rest of his life. But aside from the record of plots and political maneuvering what type of man was Henry Tudor? Rather unlikable in many respects, an ambitious and mean spirited king who because of his shaky claim to power was deeply suspicious of those around him and not in the least afraid to shed the blood of his (many) political enemies if he felt it advantageous to do so. But he was a man of his (violent) times, and had he been some sort of 'soft touch' he wouldn't have lasted ten minutes I suppose. So a hard man who is pretty hard to like, but the deeply traumatic - and very human - impact the disasters of 1502 had on him, a year in which his 15 year old son (Arthur Prince of Wales) and his beloved wife (Queen Elizabeth) would both die unexpectedly within months of each other, show to my way of thinking that for all his many faults Henry was at least still a recognizable human being, rather than the veritable monster his second son (Henry VIII) would become. The only criticism I have of the book is that I would have preferred much more attention to have been paid to Henry's early life and the climatic events surrounding the Battle of Bosworth - the author chooses instead to concentrate his story on subsequent events. For all that however this is a fascinating, and very readable 'modern style' history book that I can recommend wholeheartedly to all those who love studying the long and remarkable history of this old nation.

The Fairy Battle was a terrible old death trap for its unfortunate crews - how I admire them. As for the unique BV 141 - well at least I had the Airfix model!

Well done that man! I've obviously made this too easy - Now for something more obscure.

Pop quiz my fellow aviation enthusiasts, and how about this for 'nutty'. With aircraft in short supply and the nation fighting for its very survival in the dark days of WWII, the RAF still managed to order no less than 580 of these bloody useless things. A design so terrible hardly any of them saw active front line service. But what is it?

Morgan has been one of my favorite players for some time now, so I'll echo the universally warm welcome this news has revived on here. Slightly mystified as to why so many of our fans still think we're another impoverished 'selling club' though.

Is this going to be one of those seasons when 34/35 points is enough to secure 17th place?

I've just seen 'Looking for Lowry' (ITV Sunday) fronted by a life long fan of the great man - the noted actor Sir Ian McKellan. I too have long admired this artist so I found this programme most interesting. Along with the familiar (and immensely appealing) 'Matchstick Men' industrial landscape paintings that he will be forever remembered for, it turns out that L S Lowry could paint a diverse range of other subjects with equal skill. His lesser known (and rather disturbing) abstract style portraits and anatomical studies show a artist of some range and stature. On a personal note, Lowry was one of those men dominated by a cold and manipulative mother who had ideas far above the family's upper working class status. A lonely man, he never married and found forming relationships with other people very difficult. He obviously found solace in his art. For such an enduringly popular artist with the British public it is rather odd how the art establishment still look down on him for some reason. The Tate Gallery for instance have over 20 of his best works - all in storage! I understand this programme may have prompted a rethink of that misguided policy. PS - this programme also managed to avoid employing that bloody pop song - get that in your head and it's there for a week!

My latest foray into the strange world of vintage Doctor Who found me watching the William Hartnell serial 'The Aztecs' which was first broadcast way back in 1964. The TARDIS materializes in (pre Conquistador) 15th Century Mexico. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and the ever annoying Susan soon become separated from the Tardis. The rest of the story could be briefly summerised as their valiant attempts survive a vicious Aztec power struggle and to reunite themselves with the Doctors aforementioned time machine - which is entombed within a Aztec Pyramid. Typical early Who in the main. Cheaply made, studio based, and with the emphasis very much on plot, rather than non stop action. Viewers more familiar with the high production values and frantic pace of modern Who might find it dreadfully crude and slow I suppose. However watched purely as a interesting piece of Telly history then there is much to recommend it. The sets/props/costumes are surprising good all things considered, and although Hartnell continues to fluff his lines quite regularly, the rest of the cast are fine. It's noticeable that Barbara (mistaken for the reincarnation of a ancient Aztec High Priest 'Yetaxa') has a unusually strong leading role here - by no means the traditional 'scream and be rescued' fate of most female assistants. Other out of the ordinary aspects of this story are the fact that our heroes utterly fail to divert the doomed Aztec culture from its bloody human sacrifice habit, and that the chief villain of the piece 'Tlotoxl' (played superbly by John Ringham) both survives and triumphs at the conclusion of the story - few subsequent Who baddies would be so nearly so fortunate.

Yep, fair comment. I too love the Alec Guinness version - the very definition of 'Black Comedy' and what a wonderfully macabre old thing it still is to watch. However I wouldn't go so far as to describe the Coen Brothers 2004 remake as 'awful', however it's certainly not one of their better efforts. I must say that 'Intolerable Cruelty' didn't do all that much for me either in truth. But we must remember that precious few film director(s) - even the great ones - have a entirely unblemished record. Steven Spielberg made Jaws and Schindler's List, but he also made forgettable guff like 'Always' and a expensive mess out of '1941'. For that matter I bet ace director James Cameron probably still has nightmares over 'Piranha II'. Even the greatest film maker who ever lived - Sir Alfred Hitchcock - has serious disappointments such as 'Topaz' or 'Frenzy' among his otherwise distinguished filmography. So let's forgive the Coen's for the odd slip-up now and then. Because when they're at the top of their game ... well they're bloody brilliant in my opinion.

From all their varied and wonderful body of work, O Brother and Fargo are certainly my favorite Coen Bothers movies. If I could only take one of them to my own 'Desert Island' then god knows how I'd choose between them - steam would probably start to pour from my ears and I'd then explode muttering "does not compute" like one of those megalomaniac computers on Star Trek TOS. If you really love this marvelous movie then it follows, I would have thought, that you must also love the old music that is such a key element of the film. In which case I will take the liberty of directing you here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/O-Brother-Where-Art-Thou/dp/B002JDWIU6/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360953871&sr=301-1 If there is anybody out there who has never heard the Peasall Sisters sing 'In the Highways' then I reckon there is something very wrong with their musical education

EMBARRASSING REVELATION TIME: I found myself watching 'Any Which Way But Loose' yet again last night. Not Eastwood's greatest work by any means, but another movie that kinda sucks you in somehow!

Stuff I like: Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe - delightfully acerbic in-your-face television - not one for the easily offended The Wonders of Life - brilliant TV and a free holiday courtesy of the BBC for Professor Brain Cox - proper job! Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Year War - a smashing medieval history series, although Dr Janina Ramirez's sizable backside is becoming rather off putting Some stuff I'm not so keen on: Ripper Street - the period interests me greatly, but this mediocre series just doesn't The Gadget Show - that bald bloke needs a good slap, now where's the 'off' button? New Tricks - the same old sh1t

Not on our books anymore of course, but David Connolly is doing a fine job at his new club ...

Well I would hope that everyone could agree that Nuclear proliferation is a very bad thing, especially when these weapons are in the hands of unstable states. But you do have a point, how can we criticize the likes of N Korea and Iran while at the very same time pressing ahead with our own Trident replacement programme? A case of 'Do as we say rather than do as we do' I suppose.

Some pretty nasty stuff on that Rangers forum, but the idea that being paid of lot of money to play your football in the Premier League is some jock's idea of 'rotting' away your career is somewhat amusing.