Kingsland Codger

I am also puzzled by the way Brexiteers assume the funds that will no longer be sent to Brussels every week (£350m or £152m or something else) will then be available for politicians of whatever hue to spend on whatever project they fancy. Here's a novel idea; give it back to the people from whom it came. Will this be in the form of a cut in the tax rate or an increase in the threshold?

Brother Erwin?

Has anyone any ideas about the international rules on shipping? If a ship from, say, South Korea spots a dinghy in distress in mid-Channel is it duty bound to help? If so, does that mean those in the dinghy are the responsibility of South Korea? And if the SK ship ignores the distressed dinghy is it liable for any neglect? I say 'mid-Channel' but does the same question apply should the spotting happen in French or UK waters?

If it's 100% accuracy you're after then you must be all in favour of doing away with referees and linos. We have an imperfect system at present and I would like to see if improvements can be made. One use of video technology which wouldn't interfere with play is the use of retroactive checks for things the ref simply didn't see. Marcelo's antics in the Real v Wolfsburg match is one clear example.

I was asking a question of Whitey Grandad as his comment on the use of video technology was 'no, no and thrice no'. This seemed fairly emphatic. But is the difference between 'interpretation' and 'fact' as distinct as you suggest? Lee Mason believed he saw Sadio Mane foul Eric Pieters and showed a red card. On review the authorities decided the referee was wrong, and cancelled the red card. I have no idea what was 'fact' and what was 'interpretation' but I am certain the use of video technology in this case was completely correct.

Are you in favour of scrapping goal line technology?

I agree the Huth incident is more of one of interpretation. As The Professor says in post 490, the view the referee has of the Mane incident (much the same as one of the video cameras) shows the ball hitting the arm. However, the view from the side angle shows the defender deflecting the ball - look at the follow-through to remove any doubt. Hence the call for video technology.

Yet more evidence for the desperate need for a Television Match Official. Quite why football is so hopelessly behind the times continues to be a complete bewilderment. Refs cannot see everything and they need more help than they get from the (frankly useless) linesmen/referee's assistants. One day an incorrect decision will relegate a team and the financial implications of that won't bear thinking about.

Look at some of the videos from 11 months ago when he got his speedy hat-trick against Villa. Whilst not grumpy, he didn't look overly joyous.

The penalty claim ... I think back to the 8-0 rout of Sunderland last season and the 'penalty' that wasn't awarded to Sunderland when Steven Fletcher was upended by FF when we were 2-0 up. It looked like we got lucky back then and unlucky yesterday.

The Man of the Match was Vito Mannone by a country mile. He made three vital saves in the first-half and another couple on the second. Yes, it is frustrating we weren't smashing another eight goals past them but we were mostly thwarted by their goalkeeper.

I agree with much of Winnersaint says. By-and-large, life is pretty good in the UK in 2016. Whilst we are still recovering from the financial crises, there is economic growth (of a sort), inflation is low, unemployment is low and various other economic indicators, although not fantastic, are generally favourable. A year ago I was very much in favour of remaining in the EU. However over the last twelve months my enthusiasm has been diluted and I am open to persuasion BUT I am not hearing any reasoned arguments from the 'Leave' campaign as to why they are so keen to upset the generally good life we are currently enjoying. They offer plenty of heat but very little light. All I need are three good economic reasons for leaving. I am not hearing any and I suspect I shall vote to remain in but there is plenty of time still to go.

On the BBC 5 Live commentary, Steve Claridge was purring about how great we were.

For all the frustration of not taking our chances and dropping points, I thoroughly enjoy an exciting and hugely entertaining match.

+ another 1

Many thanks for these responses - very helpful and it would seem there is no rush to get this done; handy when dry, daylight hours are few and far between for the next few months.

A new wooden fence has been installed at the front of my house and it needs protecting from the weather. It isn't very big - around four metres long and one metre high and is south facing. I am a bit lazy and so something that would last several years before re-coating would be preferred. I am of an age where my first thought would be 'creosote' but I suspect newer, more environmentally friendly products are available. There's that stuff that does exactly what it says on the tin, as but one example. Any recommendations for which paint or stain product I should use? (Yes, I appreciate the job would have been made easier had the fence been panted before installion but that option is no longer available).

Fifty plus years ago, my teacher of French (Mr Rodgers - wonder what happened to him?) taught my school class the Marseilles and we had to stand up and sing it at the start of each French lesson. I still remember the words and I shall belt it out with vigour tomorrow. Sadly, I'm no great singer, but if you see and/or hear a grey-haired 60 year old singing flat and with an Isle of Wight accent, that'll be me.

Following up on my earlier comment, the attendance on Sunday was 31,229 - even fewer than the Manchester United game and 1000 fewer than our record (32,363). Roger, did you manage to ask Mr Kreuger how sell-outs are defined?

Good question. A couple of weeks ago I tried to buy an additional ticket for the Bournemouth game for a family member. I telephoned the ticket line and got through to Ticket Zone (I think that was the name - certainly a designated agency rather than the Club). I was told the match was a Category A game and all such fixtures are expected to be a sell-out. The Club had therefore not given them a date when the tickets would be on General Sale and as I was a season ticket holder (and therefore already had a ticket) I was not eligible to purchase another ticket. Our last Category A match (Manchester United) only sold 31,588 and therefore around 700ish seats must have been unoccupied. This suggests not all Category A games 'sell-out'.

What was the free-kick we tried in the first half about? Tadic, Ward-Prowse and someone else making a complete pig's ear of it? It reminded me of the Wise-and Quashie-comedy-corner-capers of The Bad Old Days.

Here you go ...http://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/suspensions

I contactd Red Funnel to ask about return ferries on the evening of 26 December and received the following reply ... STARTS Thank you for your email. I can confirm that we have scheduled additional Red Jet services to allow supporters to travel home after the Southampton vs. Arsenal fixture on 26th December 2015. We will shortly be releasing this news across all of our communications channels. Best regards, Jit Desai Head of Customer Services ENDS

I may not have answered correctly above, for although Liverpool went on to become Champions that season but they weren't the Champions at the time (that was Villa). So let's try Leeds away back in March 1970. They won the league in the 1968 -1969 season and we won 3-1 at Elland Road in March 1970. That works ... I think.

Maybe a win at Liverpool in 1981? They won the League in 1981-1982 and we won at Anfield in November 1981. To add a cherry to the icing on the cake, Liverpool were also European Champions having won the European Cup in May that year. Wikipedia can be helpful. And for those who don't remember Steve Moran's late winner ... It is possible we may have achieved this since then but the above tells us it has happened at least once before yesterday evening's emphatic victory.