sidthesquid

I wish I thought you were joking. It doesn't surprise me in the least that Stanley votes that way - that mentality pervades everything he writes on here, but I'd hoped he was the sum total of the bigoted minority on this forum. If you're interested, I normally vote Labour, but this time I voted Green

But why are skates called skates - & if it's the answer I've always told, is it printable on a family forum?

Glad he's gone. Never in Walcott's class - I just hope we don't spend the money from the sell-on clause yet - next transfer will be to League One at best

Have you ever prophesied anything good that has come true, or do you just call tails every time and boast that you are right 50% of the time

We've been declining for years. I was hoping things might improve

Fair value - he might do okay, but if they start to struggle he seems to be the kind of character that you wouldn't want around. With McLaggon & Thompson both likely to feature strongly I'd rather have the money to spend on someone who wants to play for us than Dyer, I'm afraid

Local farmer looking for some cheap grazing?

I would just like to point out that you missed off the full stop at the end of your sentences.

Could we start a HC'ntDAJFU thread - (and the ' is not a U!) for players who really should leave and never return - & could I nominate BWP & Euell in that category after last season.

It wasn't effort and commitment that was Euell's problem - it was ability. And BWP could double Gillett's effort and still be sh1te if you don't understand the rules of football. They are most definitely both part of the problem, not part of the solution imo. Wotte has gone down in my estimation

I am grateful to Leon Crouch if what we hear is true and I'm happy to say thank you. But I still don't want him anywhere near the place next season.....

Football isn't yet broken, but the first little hairline fractures are showing. Setanta are stuffed. Sky is surely suffering a dramatic reduction in income. And like everything else in our world, the internet will finish it off. Footballers are the new popstars. And remember what happened to them. There was a guy on tv a few weeks back, pushing a free download of his reasonably well known (but not so much so that I can remember its name!) band's single. He said nobody goes into music to get rich any more - those days are gone. He could make a living, have a good time, but the megabucks had gone. And a free single might encourage people to see them on tour. Football will go the same way. Anyone tried JustinTV? Quality is not great, but give it a few years & how the hell will Sky stop people like that in faraway countries, just like the record companies can't stop the pirate file-sharers. And when it does, I will be pleased. Money has corrupted the game I love. How can a thug like Joey Barton be worth twice the average annual wage per WEEK? If a wage bill league table is drawn up for the Prem, with the odd incompetent North-Easterly exception, it will entirely reflect the league placings. How can it be right that clubs going up have to gamble it all and hope, or accept relegation as an inevitable price to pay for balancing the books? How can it be right that the finances are so skewed by wealthy egomaniacs and those keen to churn some money in exchange for respectability that success can be bought rather than achieved? And how can it be right that clubs like our own or Charlton, run for many years on (reasonably) sane lines face ruin when they slide out of the promised land? How much money on Middlesborough in League One within 3 years? And how can it be right that talented young lads, nurtured by their club's academies, here and in the rest of the world, have them whisked away for a fraction of their later woth at sixteen or seventeen? Am I alone in feeling cheated by never seeing Walcott or Bale develop in our team over a few years rather than half a season? I don't blame the players - who wouldn't want £100k a week - but it can't go on forever. And when Sky realise their monopoly is worth a quarter of what they paid out last time, & no-one wants to take them on for it, the money going to the Prem will stop, the glamour will stop, the oligarchs will get back on their yachts and sail away to somewhere warmer & the whole money-laundered, over-leveraged edifice will come tumbling down. And maybe we will get our game back. Maybe all the games will be played on a Saturday afternoon, and if you want live football, you will have to put your coat on and go and watch your local team rather than merely change channels. Maybe a provincial team, with a British manager will mould a team (rather than just buy it) to challenge for the title or the cup. And maybe a local lad will come through the ranks again and get to play for England whilst still a Saint. Football needs to be broken and rebuilt and as far as I concerned, the sooner the better.

I'm actually reassured by this quote - the natural order of the universe is maintained. The day that Alps comes over all optimistic is the day that temperature probes start returning funny readings from Hell, FlyPig opens up at Southampton Airport & it's time to bend over and kiss your Rse goodbye

It's a rare day when I find myself agreeing with Stanley, but I'm with him on this one. Bring it on!

True love is a wonderful thing - but your hero only gave him two brief goes as a substitute

Totally agree with you. I'm afraid old Um is struggling to accept that his idol had feet of clay

It was only ever a snipe at Lowe & Wilde. He knew it would never get accepted, but he knew most people wouldn't read the small print, continue thinking of him as Leon the hero & blaming Lowe for refusing it. He always was a populist & a bit of a fantasist imo. Let's just hope we've seen the last of him

I heard as a young boy on a family holiday to Dallas he was seen heading for a grassy knoll with one of Daddy's deer-shooting rifles.... Only a rumour, mind

Actually they were all signed by Burley at the start of last season as we tried to move forward after the play-off season. That was my point

You mean like when we signed up Euell & John & Safri & Thomas last season? Speculation isn't a guarantee of success - that is why it is called speculation. If it works great, if it fails you go bust.... Ring any bells?

Not much appreciation from me Euell - effort but no ability BWP - a little ability but no effort Both hugely overpaid & have hugely underperformed for us (Nice one George) Euell tried quite hard but really wasn't up to it last year, never mind this, and for all his effort 2 goals in 20 odd games at centre forward is cr+p BWP not only has no brain, but no heart, either. I don't think I have ever seen one player caught offside so often, he always shoots when he should pass & vice versa & he hates it when the big lads get a bit rough. Living off his name & I hope someone else if fooled by it and takes him away.

With 2 goals in twenty odd games as centre forward?! There are better, fitter, younger cheaper alternatives out there

He clearly does have some ability (though not world class - put that down to a Dutchman talking English) - but he also clearly has a serious attitude problem & that is going to finish his career

James, Gillett & McGoldrick have clearly benefitted from a long run in the first team, but most of the other youngsters were very young - 17,18,19 - and were clearly not quite ready. Next season, a year older and already with a few first team runouts under their belts, they will also progress quickly. One of my many gripes with Burley was that the above, plus Lallana, never got a whiff of the first team & had they had a dozen games last season would have found it easier to step up this season. Lads like Paterson, McLaggon, Thompson, White & Mills will do very well next season

About 30 years ago at the old Goldstone Ground somebody threw a (smallish) plank of wood out of the ground as we walked past the stands at the end of the game & it struck my father on the back of the head. He thought the bloke behind had hit him and rounded on him, and an unseemly fracas was only avoided when somebody else picked up the piece of wood and convinced him that that was what hit him