shurlock

Top band - seen them live a couple of times- talk about vocals being out of tune, the whole band was off key but it all made strange, wonderful sense.

Joy Division - Curtis died young, so is untouchable and the stuff of legend; but the real genius IMO is Martin Hannett. Songs like decades couldn't have been written without him. Shaun Ryder - sh*t voice but more swagger and authenticity than Brown, Gallagher, Burgess, Ashcroft put together. Brown is sound - bumped into him in Beijing in 2005 of all places. Talking about 90s bands, surprised people leave out Primal Scream - a few good albums (fav is vanishing point (one of my fav full stop), follwed by xtrmntr and to a less extent screamadelica); but still unsure whether they were the real deal or fantastically clued up magpies. Agree with the post above about the National; same is true with Lambchop, Wilco etc. Lou Reed is vastly overrated -save a few classic, has just churned out lots of dull MOR rockers.

Done a bit of paid work for Labour and know some of the lot under Brown and in opposition; but definitely not a member. What I will say is that scratch under the surface of the leadership and you'll find more committed, down-to-earth people in the party -people who go to the football and like to banter than you'll ever find in the Tory party. Whatever you say about Labour -much of which is true, you're kidding yourselves if you think the Tories are the solution.

Bang on about Carol McGiffin - sour-faced old bint who positively froths at the gash at the thought of man meat. The total antithesis of what an older woman should be about. Like a hellish Mrs Robinson. Even that ginger tw&t Evans was repulsed by her. Thankfully, age has not been kind to her.

Thought he was poor last season; but he's looked much better this season - powerful and mobile, if slightly erratic with his distribution, though he's got a v.decent cross. One problem is that he doesn't always get the cover he deserves from midfield but that's a cost of the style we've been playing.

Better than the Soccer Am lot.

OB's reasoning for not ordering the closure of the North car park is pretty dubious. Is closing the car park an effective strategy or an ineffective one (it suggests the latter when it points out that it didn't prevent trouble -i.e. a bit of volleyball from the car lot- against the skates)? But this begs two questions: why would have it been similarly ineffective against Millwall which by the OB's own admission were not in the same risk category as the skates. And if its an ineffective strategy, why was it employed against Leeds without a hitch only two weeks before (and if I recall against Millwall in 09/10)? Similarly, the talk of not wanting to escalate the problem seems odd given the use of dogs who were indiscriminately biting people did precisely that. Likewise, the idea that its all peace and love between our fans is a bit odd - usually, when you go to the Den, you're let out pretty much after the game, albeit the design of the ground takes you straight to the station. Last time around, we were held back for a while - so obviously the OB thought there was some potential for trouble. Surely, this stuff gets documented and forms the basis of future risk assessments. The idea of a hold back, at least against Millwall over a bit of handbags, was always a nonstarter and a bit of a red herring. Focussing on it, as the letter did, allows the OB to do what it does best - and pontificate while sidestepping the real issue of why it didn't close the North car park which would have been the least intrusive and counterproductive solution. Sh*t happens and the OB have the difficult and uneviable task of juggling competing considerations; but it remains that it got wrong here.

Now wait for the letter from economists saying that the 50p tax rate has little or no impact or outweighed by other benefits - the idea that there are settled truths in economics is bollo*ks. In reality, its no different from a football forum. TBH, the evidence cited by the letter is patchy or nonexistent - like the banks crying wolf that higher taxes would lead to an exodus, a point demolished by the Independent Commision on Banking. The letter contains a few generic, emotive references to UK competitiveness; but competitiveness is a complex and fuzzy concept determined by lots of things in which income tax plays only a small role. Tax-wise, increases in corporation tax -not income tax- tend to be the most distortionary (and consumption taxes the least) -and the UK already provides all kinds of relief to entrepreneurs. Just as important, taxes are not the only reason that firms or entrepreneurs choose a location, especially not when locating real activity as opposed to income. Indeed, many of the things that make the UK competitive and an attractive place to do business -say a high quality research and skills base, modern public infrastructure etc- are provided from tax revenue. Finally, the letter would have been persuasive if it was signed by a wide cross-section of economists -not those who are generally seen as leaning to the right- and ones which have higher reputations. Its hardly a stellar who's who.

Telesales slow today?

http://www.skysports.com/interactive/top_tens_story/0,25722,12193_7155476,00.html Onuoha would be a good shout.

Straight from gordon the gopher's mouth, i hear.

Eamonn Holmes is a bigger c*ck

And you also know that it was a v.v. under-strength side - in other words, it is quite likely that under normal circumstances, he would not have been picked.

Question isn't whether we need a forward but what kind of forward. Our transfer targets have been quite confusing, at least on the surface. For all the talk about pace, we've been linked with players -Rodriguez, Sharp, Waghorn- who are more like Lambert than your nippy forward who plays on the shoulder of the last defender. Notwithstanding our links to Baldock (which seem legit), nobody knows whether we were ever seriously interested in Beckford, Ebanks-Blake, Maynard - players that would give us pace.

Nothing like him!

86 and 90 were the last true great WCs - Euro Championships have never come close.

Can't stand the England football team -can't stand the Sky-induced hype that trails every twitch of its bowels; can't stand the predictable jingoism, the plastics that crawl out of the woodwork during major tournaments that give the toffs on Henman Hill or Murray Mount a run for their money in the gimp stakes; can't stand the cynicism of players kissing the badge yet bottling a challenge in case it risks their club careers and next season's FIFA or ProEvo endorsement (at least, Scholes was honest). Amusing to watch the team with egg on its face and the exercise of collective self-flagellation which this country needlessly specialises in. Still the taffs are the taffs...

Would go along with that - basically turned a championship game on its head when he first appeared for us back in 2008. Buckets of potential if slightly erratic; needs regular football and to play alongside an experienced midfielder if he's going to deliver. Therefore its a shame if as you say he's not starting games - would have thought there would be room in your side with your damned 4-5-1. When's Clarky going to take off the gloves and throw a bit of caution to the wind? You don't win anything going unbeaten Good luck with the rest of your season and you get auto this time and hope we see that extra £125K.

http://downatthemac.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=60342

Fox looked good precisely because Harding had done a good job wearing Pantsil down. I haven't seen Fox enough to draw any firm conclusions; but he seems to have a better cross on him than Harding who tends to check back or come inside. Don't know if Fox is necessarily quicker than Harding though.

Was that the one we went 3 down in the first 15 mins or so but could have been 6 or 7 down? Pi $$ed down all day. Almost forgot the place was a sh*thole.

A truly noble cause. I can hear the wheels of the Enlightenment and Judeo-Christian civilisation screeching off course as we speak.

Agree, objectively, he's done a good job for them, though he's always been quite tight-fisted (and that's before his own personal empire took a battering). Still there is something about his attitude, something narcisstic and slightly aloof and disgruntled that grates with me.

Quinny is up there among decent chairmen, so is Randy Lerner and Dean Hoyle; and Bates simply because he's f**king up Leeds and an enemy of an enemy is a friend - you can also add Storey to that; Mandaric, Madejski, MacAnthony, Simon Jordan and the cockney porn barons - I don't need to say anymore.

Missing the Forest game on Sat, my first league game of the season coz of work commitments in the US; but have managed to get a ticket for the Ravens-Steelers game. Should be nice and competitive (alas nothing like December 18 ) and even this early on will have some bearing on who wins the division and possibly who goes all the way. Hope Ravens win.