shurlock

Cork is a better player than Danns and has more room to improve. I would rather a Schneiderlin/Cork than a Schneiderlin/Danns CM partnership especially with all the attacking options around them.

If there were any legs in this story, the first thing NC would have done would have been to tell this div in no uncertain terms to keep his mouth shut.

Regards the 60+ changes, there are two aspects to seperate: (i) the rights and wrongs of charging under-65s the normal adult fee (ii) the transition to any new arrangment. I don't see why 60-65s should be treated any differently: major state benefits and entitlements don't kick in till 65 for men and if anything the trend is upwards - retirement age could be rising to 70 before too long. If the argument is that some aren't in work, why shouldn't STs be means-tested across the board. Admittedly, any change creates disruption and the more it is eased in, the better. But grafting on exception and exception creates undue complexity and ultimately the destination is the same. I would have understood, perhaps, a year's grace for renewals for 60-65s then a switch to the new prices for everyone. But where does it stop? By the same logic, shouldn't prices be eased in for all renewals? When does an existing 60-65 ST become more deserving than a new 60-65 ST who may have also been saving up in anticipation of the same pricing arrangements?

And lets you wave it around at others for free...

Jake Sinclair is tipped to be better than his older brother.

To be clear, debt and the deficit aren't the same thing. Labour had a small structural deficit; the real damage to the public finaces was done by the collapse in tax revenues. Labour's major failure was in confusing a banking miracle for mirage and assuming revenues from the City (as well as other bubble-driven activities) would indefinitely fill Treasury coffers. The Conservatives made exactly the same mistake, declaring that they would also share the proceeds of growth and match Labour's spending plans.

£328 to £465 at around 41% increase. What can you do. Not as bad as some on here. Now if the club or clubs could do something about the f**king trains for fans, that would be something...

this

definitely £595 for the wrist-slashers...

A bit of summer reading perhaps

I assume you took advantage of the March Madness, albeit with the distinct possibility of L1 football.

Would be v.reluctant to generalise from these, as the Leeds prices show. Show all the clubs (renewals + new purchases) or nothing.

And need to bear in mind prices were much steeper for those -whether renewing or purchasing new STs- who missed the March 31 cutoff, perhaps because they wanted to see which division we would be in. Or just didn't have the cashflow.

Anyone know the prices for the 2008/2009 season i.e. the last time time we were in the championship? Obviously three years on means it apples and pears but interesting nonetheless.

Thanks didnt know - not an issue with a ST.

Sounds like you qualify with a NUS card; likewise they wouldn't have had a seperate category for young adults 17-20 under concessions if 'students' didnt cover a larger group.

Admin fees for instalment plans a bit tasty...

The £2 matchday 'to reduce queues' surcharge- no doubt will become another 'worthy' cause that the internet warriors will martyr themselves for

And a reasonable instalment plan that aims to balance the benefits and risks on both sides....

That's what a few Burnley boys say (though most think he along with mccann is their best midfielder). Certainly, the flakiness of the rest of our 08/09 team probably flattered him. Mind you he was only 19 at the time and I don't think 'lightweight' per se is necessarily a bar to doing a holding job in the modern game. Clattering in at 100+mph is less important than having a good motor to cover every blade of glass and being able to close down without diving in along with a tidy passing game.

Written by a dumb yank - hardly a sartorial seal of approval. probably likes it because it looks some vacant, oversized ralph lauren or hilfiger shirt.

Agree Burnley was an odd one - they had nothing to play for and an atrocious away record; but some credit has to go to NP for the subsequent results - not only Sheff U result but also WBA. We definitely rode our luck but its slightly ungenerous to write it off as just that - both teams had something to play off and we could have easily crumbled. While Burnley was a shocker, it was nothing like the Bristol Rovers game that foregrounded NP's appointment and was a barometer of the state of the club. That performance ranks as the worst in recent memory - and far worse than anything experienced under the Dutch Duo.

Wonder where Cork would play for us - if he slots into midfield (recall he's played CB and RB for us), his preferred position is as a holding CM. You wonder who out of him and Schneiderlin would get forward and make runs into the box. Cork is certainly more mobile than Hammond but you wonder if he could be a box-to-box player on a sustained basis. Or maybe it wouldn't be necessary with attacking midfielders like AL, Oxo as well as our strikers around him.

If there were any legs in this story, the first thing NC would have done would have been to tell this div in no uncertain terms to keep his mouth shut.

Let the kid go - potential yes but he's got a long way to go and nothing's for certain. In terms of what he currently offers, he's not a player I instinctively miss when he's out of the team. I could name five+ players who are more important to the present squad than Oxo and he certainly doesn't have the same wow factor Bale had when he exploded onto the scene. Of course, he should and hopefully will get better over the coming years; but if its only a matter of time before he leaves -sooner rather than later- I just can't see him developing so quickly that he becomes a real influence while still playing for us. Pocket the money, reinvest and take heart from the fact we're selling from a position of strength.