bazza

I suppose it will depend on who we bring in during the remainder of the transfer window. It's not looking great at the minute.

^ Yep. Hopefully both the lads signed this week turn out to be gems. Time will tell

Good to get him in, he's a promising player, but the Eredivisie isn't the strongest league in the world so I'll not get carried away just yet.

Marshall would be a great buy. It would need a shed load of money to prise him away though.

Oi, Roy Walker's a legend!

There's plenty of money available and most of the transfer window to go so, although we look weaker, I'll not panic just yet.

I like it and more importantly my wee lad likes it so that's a birthday present sorted!

Fonte. Davis' form dipped alarmingly for NI when he was made captain.

Since the early 80's NI's Saints contingent has consisted off: Chris Nicholl, Colin Clarke, Jim Magilton, Iain Dowie, Chris Baird (who played international football before playing a game for Saints' first team) and Steven Davis. The two goalkeepers Maik Taylor & Alan Blayney were capped just after leaving Southampton (one a tad more successful than the other) and Davis has been joined in recent squads by ex-Saint Ben Reeves.

He's gone to a Champions League side with no doubt a massive salary increase so I can't blame him for wanting the move. £25m in my opinion is over the odds for him so it's a decent deal for the club too. Life will go on. As for the Titanic - Built in Belfast, sunk by the English! ;o)

Not England but Chris Nicholl played for NI in Espana 82.

Yes we still use it for the football but, as the photo earlier in the thread clearly showed (with nationalist players with bowed heads and bent knees), it has its problems. I've never had a problem with it as it's my national anthem but its the UK anthem and many would prefer that the Irish FA go with a NI specific anthem. Unlike you boys with Jerusalem or Land of Hope and Glory etc we've no ready made alternative. Londonderry Air/Danny Boy is simply awful!

Just on the quotas issue, hypothetically, if the UK was to withdraw from the EU could a quota system be enforced?

You boys think you've got problems - spot the nationalists in the NI team during GSTQ! There is a train of thought that a new Sporting Anthem is required and that if England were to ditch GSTQ it might make it easier for us to do so. It's the one major contentious issue we've got. (Aside from the beggars down south stealing our players of course.)

Don't panic, there's not much in this. I'm confident you can still win it. Uruguay aren't great.

I hope you're not taking the ****, I love big Iain!

Good luck to him, only time will tell if he's a successful appointment.

Hernandez coming the other way?

Hodgson should go with a front four of: Sterling------Rooney------*Ox-Chamberlain ------------Sturridge------------ *Lallana if he's still unfit to start.

From a 'neutral's' point of view England played really well but were edged out by a better team. As we know only too well the full-backs can be exposed in a 4-2-3-1 and Italy took full advantage down the England left. Rooney's the conundrum for the Uruguay game. Despite the cross for the goal Hodgson has to utilise him up the middle or leave him on the bench. Rooney with Chamberlain (or Lallana if he's unfit) & Sterling on either side and Sturridge up top is the obvious choice for me.

Great pass from Sterling at the heart of that move too.

I can't see England losing it, score draw for me.

For a bit of fun predictions for: 1) Tournament Winners 2) Surprise team of the tournament 3) How far will England get For me: - Brazil - France - Group Stage (I'd give anything for NI to qualify for one of these tournaments. I love the World Cup.)

There's a new film out called 'Road' looking at road racing and the Dunlop family. It looks magic...

Pretty much my thoughts too.