Halo Stickman

I mistook a 'c' for a 'g' and ended up having an underwhelming evening with a cobbler

Ok, I'm gonna start a new word game to take our minds off tonight's defeat.

Careful what you wish for (although I do know what you mean)!

Make your mind up, Lou - I thought you said you didn't like threads on that sort of thing, a few days ago!

Yes, I agree with this. Even allowing for the mitigating circumstances – injuries, suspensions, low confidence after run of defeats etc – that was a woeful performance, and I think that fans, especially those that made the long trip to Sheffield, are entitled to express their anger and frustration. Doesn't mean they're bedwetters on this occasion, imo - with the odd exception, of course.

I thought he was hurting, along with the rest of us, at our abject performance; but I think recent results, especially tonight’s, will have done nothing to persuade him to stay – quite the opposite, sadly.

Totally pitiful performance with calamitous consequences. That ranks right up there with the very worst of our cup exits – and I’ve seen quite a few of those over the years, more's the fucking pity.

Twenty-seven telephone directories and a packet of peanuts, please, barman.

That reads like one of my early school reports.

A group ahead of its time. These guys were making Christmas hits – not to mention, saving the planet – years before the likes of Geldof and Bono (although I do credit the latter with making the best-ever New Year’s Day record). https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=DzAL9ELsFRw.

Being an erstwhile fan of Roxy Music, especially their earlier stuff, I feel duty-bound to give Phil Manzanera a mention – his guitar solo on this track starts at around 2.30 mins

Shame, because otherwise it’s a neat caption – sadly, I can’t vote for it because I haven’t got a facebook account.

There’s a typo in that caption, VFTT – you need to replace ‘and’ with ‘had’.

... not to mention, cutting out all that bloody washing-up.

[video=youtube;nfN1p-3_uiE] Apologies if already posted.

Generally, I’ve got one in the car already – she goes by the name of Mrs Stickman

Does anybody actually read anything that everybody else writes? is probably more apt, Whitey

Damn, I was planning to drive via Burley to Lymington - guess I’ll have to take the Lyndhurst road instead.

Now then Pap, sarcasm doesn’t suit you (perhaps it does, I’m not sure) But, slap wrist for Whitey for not studying thread in its entirety!

Was that the match when Duncan Ferguson caused us a lot of grief? I’ve got a feeling Gary Monk was playing as well. I remember sending a very angry letter to Rupert Lowe straight after one heavy defeat at Newcastle, and then I sent him a more sober and measured one a day later. To be fair to O’ Rupes, he answered both of them.

I sympathise with you, Jeff. As a young engineering apprentice I served part of my time in the company’s Works Engineers Department. On my first day, the Chief Engineer called me into his office and said: ‘we’ve got virtually nothing for you to do; nevertheless, important people visit this office at all times; therefore, it is imperative that you always LOOK busy.” Wtf! After a few days I turned batshit mental. Good luck.

Charlie, sacrificing the few for the greater good is a numbers-game moral-dilemma that has haunted people since the beginning of time; Churchill’s decision to sink the French fleet before it fell into German hands in WWII is just one example. I believe that sacrificing our values in a few instances for the sake of the greater good is a similar moral-dilemma that can be applied to the torture discussion. Each of us must come to our own conclusions as to how best to riddle this dilemma. In this instance, imo, the most pertinent point from the recently released report is torture’s lack of effectiveness. As for the issue of personalising hypothetical scenarios: yes, if my loved-ones lives depended on extracting information from a suspect – and all other techniques had failed – then I would probably administer the cattle probes myself. By the same token, even though I don’t believe in the death penalty, if someone murdered my loved-ones I would more-than-likely be prepared to wreak bloody retribution with my own bare hands. At times like this, reverting to primeval instincts, unfettered by social mores and values, I would be prepared to do whatever it takes. But, in the cold light of day, where does all this lead? Most likely, my victim’s loved-ones then exact their own bloody revenge on me; and so begins the slow spiral into the abyss that I referred to in a previous post. Credible governments and their agencies do not revert back to primeval instincts, unfettered by social mores and values. On the contrary, their role is to prevent people acting in this way; and, thus, prevent the inevitable slide into the tit-for-tat blood-filled pit. But I acknowledge it must sometimes be a difficult role to perform, especially when you’ve just had nearly 3,000 innocent civilians murdered on your territory.

Shearer’s an interesting one for me, Lou. He got his career of to a great start with that hat-trick against Arsenal; but, IIRC, after that, he actually struggled quite a bit to get on the score sheet; and for a period he was eclipsed by MLT, Rod Wallace and Rideout. But there was something about him that kinda marked him out as being something special, and he quickly became one of my favourite Saints’ players. Even when Shearer was still very young, I remember betting my brother-in-law £10 that he would one day play for England; and when he made his debut, I don’t think I could have been more nervous for him even if he’d been my own son! I was so pleased when his England career took off. Then all too soon he was gone from Saints. I still appreciated his performances for England, but I grew to dislike the arrogant (imo) figure he became for Blackburn and Newcastle. Great player, though, and not a bad pundit, imo.

Who needed Shearer, we were getting Dixon and Speedie! Seriously though, I think any ill-feeling towards Shearer at his leaving was diluted by all the animosity aimed at Branfoot.