cambsaint

Frank Lampard -but we can all dream can't we. He'd have the same influence that Keegan and Ball had in the old days, but the wages-never going to happen nowadays.

In the sixties and seventies most players used to smoke. I think Paine smoked like a chimney, but he could skin any left back and keep going for 90 mins. Of course nowadays fitness levels are much higher and training more scientific, but there's no reason at all why smoking would prevent one being a goalie-even though you probably wouldn't get to be a very old goalie!

Totally agree, I've never seen a better header of the ball of any club, or country in the past 45 years. What does surprise me is that Davies and Channon would usually stand at the edge of the box, McGrath or Gabriel would be in the goalies face causing problems, Paine would take the corner and presumably they had a signal-he could put the ball in very precisely, they would run in and it often ended up in the net. I cannot understand why this tactic which allows the header so much power running in and was difficult to defend is never used in the current game. George O'Brien used to say that Paine was so accurate that all he had to do was be in the right place and pop it in, Paine did the rest.

I'm sure the first wasn't a dive, but a perfectly reasonable loss of balance, it wasn't a pen though. The second right at the end was definitely a penalty. If referees are going to accuse a player of cheating-which is what a yellow for diving is, then the logical corollary of that is that the referee can be accused of cheating if he get's it wrong. They must be absolutely certain before making such a serious accusation, just as I must be in order not to make a libellous comment and accuse a referee of cheating. While writing this I have just seen a blatant dive by Adebayor which resulted in a totally unfair yellow card to the City player. I believe that the one thing that ref's hate is being called a cheat-they don't mind being insulted but they would hat a chant of "Cheat", or "The Referee's a cheat, ditto, We all say the referee's a cheat." It might make them think a bit more. I know it's a very difficult job, and they only have a fraction of a second to decide from their view, but this season I've seen so many bad decisions already that something has to be done. Why can't the fourth official be a TV reviewer, and if and only if play has stopped review the slow-mo and other angles. Almost every sport has adopted this process, in cricket it has removed false LBW decisions, in tennis incorrect line-calls, and in rugby most of the really nasty dangerous fouls. The referees and umpires in these sports don't consider their authority is being undermined. It won't happen until Blatter goes, but I hope Platini may have a more logical open-minded approach.

The IoW 1970 to see Hendrix-all my mates went but I was in Oslo. Cream's Farewell Concert-I saw them at Man Uni but missed this one. The Stax tour in 67-68, to see Otis Redding and the rest. The Rolling Stones when they played Winchester Lido Ballroom in 1964.

Difficult- I'd buy from a dealer at the top end of their age- if a car doesn't move quickly then there are bargains to be had as I believe that BMW dealers can't keep a used car for more than 90 days then its off to the trade. My 57 ex demo 3 series has been a great buy £750 in servicing in 4.5 years. Run flats are expensive especially if you have fancy low profile tyres. For a workhorse I think any of the good manufacturers are good buys-just don't bother with fancy expensive tyres/wheels; and remember comfort and quietness, if you're in the car a lot. I think that the BMW 3touring is the best car on the roads-does all you could ask, unless you need a huge load bay. These days all speed gets you is fines and disqualifications, so you don't need a fancy spec. My daughters Golf GTI diesel is ten years old, 150K and still super to rive-only signs of age -rust on front wheelarches. Just be patient and remember there are plenty of good cars around at good prices.

I love my cruise control and silky smooth 6 speed auto gearbox. How I would love to plot in a GPRS code and just lay back in comfort and read while everything was done for me. I used to love driving but now I find it a chore. Unfortunately I doubt whether I'll be around when it comes, but just imagine- no more impatient twits up tail, no more idiots racing up my 30mph residential street, no more queue jumping, just orderly computer controlled smooth progress.

I thought they were awful, and never bought any. I remember that a 45 was 6/8d and i could just afford one a month out of pocket money. I still have the first decent one I ever bought-"The Wanderer" by Dion-much treasured, although perhaps I'm being harsh on my first ever purchase-"Wonderful Land" by The Shadows. The recent TV prog about Joe Meek and "Telstar" was very interesting to an old fart . Brings back memories of pestering the staff in Whitwams and the St Georges St shop in Winchester, and us crowding into the listening box to listen until we were chucked out as we obviously couldn't afford to buy one. We then played football on The Arbour and when we were knackered train spotted. Happy days?

If we send troops to Afghanistan to kill insurgents in an unjustifiable war, then why are we surprised if they kill? Kill or be killed, if in a combat area. The whole thing seems ludicrous to me unless it was downright murder such as happened in WW2 when the SS imprisoned captured BEF troops in a barn and machine gunned them all, near Dunkirk. So unless he had his hands up and was clearly surrendering and beyond reasonable doubt not concealing a suicide bomb then no way it should be murder

Define family club. Do you mean clubs owned by families for personal reasons, and not just owned for potential profit for the Shareholders, but also in a way in trust for the local community, like Ipswich used to be with the Cobbolds, and Blackburn Rovers, or do you mean family friendly for supporters. In ownership terms we may qualify as a family club.

Road noise from the back wheels is appalling. Had it asa asecond car and 'sold?' it to my son. Nice to drive and is a good car but reliabilty questions re flywheel-I've never heard of a petrol flywheel going in my life before! I'm driving a BMW318SE auto, best car I've ever owned for practicality,reliability and comfort by far. The six speed auto is peachy, fast and smooth. I'd love to try one of the new 8 spped ones! Nowhere the fastest or most exciting I've owned, but I'm now (just) an OAP and want comfort, quiet and reliability. If buying secondhand check the vacuum pump-they leak, and oil drips onto the exhaust and smells.

I for one would respect Crerand's views-he was the unsung hero of the great late 60s United team, that I watched as I was there at Uni. Although Best, Charlton and Law took all the plaudits, make no mistake it was Crerand who made them tick. If he was injured or had an off game so did Man U. So if he thinks we're doing OK at the moment then that's good enough for me. Lets hear no more Atkinson out rubbish for the rest of this year. In Jan he can be judged on his performance.

Unfortunately there is no place for sentiment in the Prem. If Saints want to stay up they will do what is necessary. I don't think that NA has had enough time yet, but in The New Year if we look like going down, I'm sure he will be replaced. Any rational chairman would have to seriously consider HR then, amongst any other applicants of course.

The main problem with our tax system is its complexity and the fact that it isn't fair. Why with computers are we still living in the pen and table era of having fixed tax bands? All the complex arrangements are a gift to the wealthy who can afford clever accountants and arrange their tax affairs. Th poor bloody infantry on PAYE are ripped off by the self-employed and wealthy (and I was self-employed, and couldn't believe how much a clever accountant could save you!) If Labour or the Liberals had the guts they'd tear up the system and start again, and really screw those trying to use artificial arrangements or offshore accounts. Everyboody should pay a fair rate of tax on income, and remember the burden of VAT and fuel duties falls disproportionately on the poor.

Well worth going for, a televised tie against one of the big clubs would bring in a few quid, even if we didn't win.

Of course the comments about Halsey were very unpleasant. However if you are a Prem Ref then you are going to get some nasty comments. What is stupid is to pursue such comments through the courts, only a few idiots would have heard of these comments if he had just ignored them. BTW I have recovered (hopefully) from cancer and a heart attack so I know what he has suffered, but I cannot imagine consider pursuing a bad-mouthed cretin through the courts.

VM is good but very expensive imo-about £120 a month for a full package. Their phone complaints service is abysmal-an Indian reading from a crib sheet who gets confused if you stray from it. The last technician advised me next time to ask the technician to put you through to cancellations if they drive you to distraction, and you will get to a call centre in England. I found Sky service better.

I see that we have Halsey as referee; who despite having given one of the worst refereeing performances I have seen on TV recently, has seen fit to complain to Police about insulting tweets. So we'd better be careful about what we say about his performance! PS The truth or reasonable comment/opinion isn't libellous.

For once everybody seems to agree-could this be a record! Nearly all thought he'd be awful and to their surprise has proved to be exceptional. He's certainly the one comentator worth listening to. He is also able to explain the art of defending very clearly. He was even able to joke about the grey shirts!

Shilton was universally regarded as one of the two best goalies in the world when he played for us. None of our other keepers have ever come near. As opposing forwards used to think-I've beaten the rest, now I've got Shilton to beat, and not many did, he was so imposing.

Edith Wolf the Swiss wheelchair gold medal winner is gorgeous! My admiration for these athletes knows no bounds.

With the benefit of hindsight Chaplow would have been the ideal player to try to nullify Scholes. As the "Backpage article " quoted by Eurosaint says, we have to wise up to Premiership tricks very quickly. We will have to see whether Adkins is tactically naive in this company, but we must remember we were only just beaten by one of the best club sides in the world. If we play like we did against all except the top six then hopefully we shall survive, but I think we need a quality deputy or replacement goalkeeper, and an experienced CB asap.

Although it may not have been intended as a backpass, in effect it was exactly that. The goalie had masses of time to kick it away, but thought he'd be (clever?) and pick it up. Chaplow showed very quick thinking in asking the ref if he could take it early while Stevenage were arguing, and an easy goal ensued. The reaction of the Saints players to the alleged backpass seemed to be of initial disbelief that the goalie had actually picked it up instead of hoofing it safely into touch, and the appeals were slightly delayed. If he had been under pressure or there was any danger of it going in then he may have been justified in using his hands.

Absolutely dreadful in the first half-I lost count of the corners we conceded, but we took control in the second, played well and won easily. What a cack-up by their goalie though. The most friendly ground I've ever been to. Stewards excellent. Less than fifteen minutes from my son's house in Letchworth.

I want Adkins to be given a chance to manage in the Prem. However events so far seem to suggest that the club is lacking expertise in successfully using the transfer market. It may have been a good idea to use Redknapp as a transfer consultant, but no more. Too late now though, but the Wigan disaster-and it is a six-point disaster without doubt, should concentrate minds.