dinger

Sorry Tokyo. A Ramble.

Ooh! It's Marcus off the Ramble. I like him. Not sure that Ian Wright ever adds much to any debate though, and so it proves here...

I got the impression that AC Milan type wages weren't quite what they once were..?

Considering how often it feels like this has happened to us this season, I was staggered to read in this article... * The Saints have not lost a game they have been winning at half-time this season Can this really be true? It feels like we've done it half a dozen times. Perhaps that's just my inner pessimist.

I think the disabled parking story was in the Mirror, to be fair. Nothing to do with the BBC.

Is that the same mercenary Pochettino who hung on at Espanyol, with no money, in the face of better offers, for years? They're all doing a job to get paid; Adkins, Pochettino, all of them. You can't tell me Adkins wasn't at some level using Saints as a stepping stone, same as he was Scunny, and it worked for him; his prospects and wealth are vastly improved, and well done to him, he deserves it.

All stories in pretty much any news outlet are turned to suit the agenda of maximising consumption of that news outlet. So this is sensationalist, because very few outside of the hardcore Saints fans would read a story about 'Keeper says things generally going quite well'. When we beat Chelsea, all the reports are about Chelsea playing badly because there are more potential readers who are Chelsea fans (or care about the battle at the top). It's not anything to do with hatred or anti-anything.

Mediawatch have picked him up on it as well...

"Reading and Southampton are similar clubs in terms of status" Harrumph!

That's a really good read, many thanks.

I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be given at least a run off the bench in the next couple of games. We've got a major tournament to qualify for and compete in, and he's the top scoring/creating Englishman. If his form tails off between now and the World Cup, just drop him. Nobody's saying England should build a team around him. Building a team for the future is great, but needs to be done on a rolling basis alongside a bit of nous for the here and now, otherwise you end up with the Arsenal syndrome of constantly being a couple of years away from actually achieving something. Looking at our striking options: Rooney seems undroppable (whatever you think about that) Sturridge looks like becoming the real deal in time Theo offers something different there and out wide. After that though, Defoe is utterly one-trick and the weak link in a smashing Spurs side (and certainly not the future) Welbeck is simply not good enough yet and who can tell if he will be (great energy and movement, no passing or finishing) Andy Carroll? Lambert deserves a place on the bench ahead of any of them IMO

Yeah, it was an interestingly nuanced look at that cultural difference. Fascism is, it's fair to say, a damaged brand in this country I don't think there are any tenets of fascism that I could agree with. However, it is worth noting that Mussolini's brand of fascism in the early days was not racist and certainly not anti-semitic; in fact his long-term mistress was Jewish and he was initially appalled by Hitler's stance. The fact that he got lured into supporting those beliefs and those monumentally awful crimes devastates his reputation as a man, but clearly in Italy they are able to separate these two phases of his career. In principle that's admirable, although as I say I can find nothing in fascism to admire. But as pap suggests earlier, and particularly in light of recent high profile incidents of racism (whether or not we should consider them symptomatic of a deeper problem), a vigilant press is entirely justified in scrutinising a man who allies himself to an ethos steeped in race hate and ethnic cleansing. If this scrutiny reached a pitch where a man was being hounded out of a job for his political beliefs then that would be out of order and, well, fascist. But if I were a Sunderland fan I'd want assurances that there wasn't a man at the helm who would allow racism to breed at the club, in its culture, in its recruitment policy, etc.

Can't find the rosemary? xx

Surely it would just be easier and it wouldn't occur to anyone that things might be otherwise. I'd be all in favour of that kind of set-up.

This is fun (although the music's ****ing terrible)

Most of them seem to have terrible skin, probably from wearing all that make-up.

I haven't seen the reports, so forgive me if this is obvious, but what evidence is there that any buying and selling has happened? Isn't this just a news story?

About this much older. Strewth, what a tremendous, hardcore mindfukc.

I've been listening to Boredoms. Loads and loads of Boredoms. It really is a journey into the heart of madness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoA5cqDSasM

Right then, inspired by the upcoming release of the new Endless Boogie album (check for previous work), I thought maybe a tribute thread to the elongated work out. So, a thread for tunes that stretch out, elongate or extemporise. I've always been a lover of the drone, the locked groove, the extrapolation, and thought this might be a place for anything that goes out beyond the normal reaches; so long songs, deep grooves, extended jams, remixes... Rules are these: - Must be longer than 6 mins - Must not be by Meatloaf - Must be loved by poster (no novelty crap please) Here, to illustrate, are a few tremendous tunes...

Yeah, not an obvious signing by any measure. So glad he's stuck around though; there was always a composure to his play that indicated he'd come good.

Wasn't he the one serious signing we made when Lowe came back and we didn't have a pot to **** in? If memory serves... Lambert is the obvious first choice, not just because of the goals he's subsequently scored in all three divisions, but also for the marker it laid down at the time to fans and rivals alike; we're not going to mess about in this division, we're going to assemble the best squad and get promoted. For second most important, I might go out on a bit of a limb and say Jaidi was exactly the right man for the job. When he came in we were desperate for that kind of experience, nous and commitment. He was instrumental in shifting the momentum of the club while younger players were finding their feet.

Just a club trying to exploit the rules for competitive advantage. That's sport. If the FA/UEFA think it's unfair they will change the rules, but in the meantime...