Minty

It's nothing to do with high horses, and everything to do with the law. As I posted earlier, but seems to have been ignored, it doesn't matter if you're an individual or in a group, if someone perceives that they have been the subject of homphobic comments they are entitled to complain and the Police are obligated to investigate. brmbrm is spot on, there are a lot of assumptions on here about which comment the complaint(s) were received about, and I would imagine it is probably one of the specific comments about HIV or 'hating', but we simply don't know. And as for the comparisons between incidents, that is also a complete non-starter, it's bad enough trying to second guess one incident that we know no details about, let alone compare it with another incident that we know no details about in different place!

Both Daily Mail and BBC reports are about this: http://highpaycommission.co.uk/uncategorized/final-report-of-the-high-pay-commission-published/ if you want the original.

The Secret Millionaire on tv last night showcased perfectly what actually matters in life and what makes people genuinely happy, and it wasn't his money.

All Angles Covered and the full 90 minutes up on Saints Player now.

There's a difference between having an opinion about a specific practice, whilst respecting peoples choice to do so, and *hating* the practice and those who practice it. Quite naturally, I would expect most if not all heterosexual men to not like the idea of gay practices, but that doesn't mean I can't talk about it, or that I hate gays. To be honest, this forum is has always struggled with this general differentiation... disagreeing with something does not have to mean you have to criticise/disrespect/launch an abusive volley at the person you disagree with.

The thing to remember in all of this, whether you like it or not, is that by the letter of the law, a Homophobic incident is defined by ACPO to be: "Any incident which is perceived to be homophobic by the victim or any other person." It is this issue of perception which is central to it. I have gay friends who wouldn't be offended by some of the things chanted, and I have straight friends who would... When you're with friends, you know each other, you know what people find acceptable or not. In a stadium, you don't. And if the police receive complaints, they have a duty to investigate. I think Pancake has it right however and most people know where the rough boundaries are... 'holding hands' etc I would say was banter, but anything that uses specific language or words which would be classed as offensive when used in a direct capacity (i.e. calling someone a 'faggot' or 'HIV positive') I think you would have to be pretty stupid to use in a public arena like that and run the risk of someone complaining. I would wager it is one of these more specific homophobic chants that has led to the arrest.

That is one hell of a look on his face. lol. Nige is head and shoulders above Gus in every way. Tactically, mentally, how he goes about his business... everything. Gus would do well to go quietly, have a think about how he manages his team compared to our Nige, think about why we are where we are, and they are where they are, despite us having similar squad situations (i.e. mostly the same as last seasons League 1 squad with a few minor additions).

Good friend is a Coventry fan and came down yesterday - he told me about this texting idea and how fans are cringing at it... they can't believe anyone vaguely into football could seriously come up with such an idea and expect it to be taken seriously.

Erm... nope.

That's probably his level, IMO.

Yeah, probably, just thought I'd clarify for the benefit of those who wouldn't know any better. There is a growing element of budding 'togs who rely on post-processing to correct basic technical and compositional errors, because the technology is improving so much.

Just in case anyone else is wondering themselves, and to answer your own question: You're a Saints fan. End of.

It's all about the glass as Al said. Not much to add to that really. One minor point just to pick up on though: Shooting in RAW mode mean you have the raw data to edit from, with no compression applied at the time of shooting and no white balance applied. (Camera's that record jpeg's have compression and white balance encoded in them). So, whilst this gives more leeway for editing, and you can recover poor exposures more easily, and extract more detail from shadow areas for example, you CANNOT 'adjust' the focus, lighting or shadows directly. Once the exposure is made, that's it. That's probably what Hatch meant but thought it worth clarifying. (Of course, the new 1DX does allow true 'multiple exposures' but I'm guessing it's probably only Al and I and a handful of others who are interested in that body...!)

It's probably a wider point not really for a football forum, but I do find it interesting that people do this... it doesn't bother me as such, I just find it intriguing that someone feels the need to do so. IMO it is because of the fear of criticism from peers. I couldn't care less if someone thinks less of me for my reasons for not going, because I'm comfortable with them myself and I tend to think honesty is usually the best policy. But in this day and age peer pressure is a big deal.

Some good points and summaries since the OP. It is entirely a personal choice and the only person any of us have to justify our 'support' to, is ourselves, whatever the reason. I think it's also worth pointing out that priorities change, as well as finances and time availability. Years ago I used to go to most, if not all, home Youth team and reserve team games (recall some great banter with opposing managers at Staplewood alongside Daren W and his brother/mum (RIP) and others), as well as all home first team games and a handful away depending on shifts. Nowadays I get to barely a couple of home games a season and that's it, because of a combination of time/money and because there are other things in my life which are more important to me now. BUT - the key thing that remains is that no matter which division we are in, or how we are playing, if I DO get the time/money and can make a game because family commitments allow, then I will go irrespective of who we're playing and which division we're in. So in that respect, I do concur with Chapel End Charlie - my support is not dependent on division, opposition or league position. But ultimately, each to their own and the more fans at games the better.

One more for good measure:

And a few more...

Took me awhile, but I dug out my shots from the Saints v Pompey game, including the original of Beattie cupping his ear to the Skate fans:

Funniest post I've seen all day...

Couple of points: 1 - There have been, and no doubt will continue to be, very god articles about Saints in the media... Paul Fletcher has done a few on the BBC blog, Jeremy Wilson has done some good pieces for the Telegraph and I'm sure there have been and will be others. I have no idea how much they talk directly to the club about these, if at all, and how much assistance they get, but I would presume it depends on what they want to know. I would suggest any blanket suggestions of the club having poor PR, or not working with the media are a bit exaggerated, but if it's true there was no response at all then that would be unprofessional IMHO. As usual the truth is probably the uninteresting middle ground, and not the black or white extreme that many people encourage it to be. 2 - Twitter is just another platform for people to give their opinion - some of the comments about 'social media idiots' and things like that are ridiculous. It's the same when people criticise 'SaintsWeb Forum people' as though we're all one and the same. The journo is entitled to make the comment wherever and however he likes, as are the people that reply. They should be judged on what they write, not where they write it - there's crap posted on Twitter, crap posted on here, crap posted on SaintsList, crap posted everywhere, make your judgement on the substance not the medium. 3 - I'm guessing here, but I imagine most people would like the club to be fair but consistent in their approach, which probably means being professional and at least responding in the first instance and then replying according to whatever policy it decides to implement. That is up to the club, and no doubt some of us will agree with and some will disagree - however I think it would be good for the club to clarify it's policy to avoid these kinds of silly discussions and focus on the core business.

There are some people on here I'd love to have a good genuine debate with but I just know that the threads will go off on a tangent quicker than you can say 'Loony Leftie'...

I think most people know about it now (Latest story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-15623499) Clearly our thoughts are with the families of those who've lost their lives, and others affected by the crash, and whilst I recognise that the Police have a job to do to investigate the full extent of what happened, I can't help but be concerned by the increasing notion and portrayal that a smoke bank was in some way the *cause* of the crash. I have no doubt that it probably did contribute to the poor driving conditions and that, like fog, it will have impaired visibility. But with great respect to those who died and were injured, surely, ultimately, it is down to those driving past at the time to adjust their driving to the conditions they face - i.e. increase distance between vehicles, reduce speed, and take more care? The *cause* of the crash was probably one or several vehicles not doing this...

I can't see it mentioned yet, but have you looked at the level of insulation in the flat? Obviously what you can do depends on if you own or rent but even just thermal lined curtains can make a difference. If you're top floor and have a loft, make sure that is insulated well... the upfront costs will soon pay back in terms of lower heating bills.

Just out of interest, when does it stop being the 'start' of the season? When should we start the 'Best middle part of a season in 90 years?' thread