sadoldgit

Second most successful manager is a pretty low bar to be fair. Apart from Ramsey every other manager has failed to deliver. No one is saying that Southgate was a poor manager. The point is, with what he had at his disposal we could have done better if he had not been so cautious. Losing is not the issue. It is losing when you have the potential to win that is so frustrating. England failed to qualify under Ramsey against Poland, but anyone watching that game will know that England gave everything in that match and left everything on the pitch. I wish I could say the same about the two finals and the semi under Southgate.

Not sure that anyone thinks that he is a genius so far. We have looked below par in the competition up to now but hopefully that gutsy display last night has given the squad what it needed to build the fighting team spirit that has been lacking. You can’t rely on a couple of players digging you out every game. That win last night forged England into a fighting unit. Norway will be tough. Like us they have a few quality players along with some decent but not great players at this level. I would have preferred to be playing Brazil, but hey ho. Bring it on!

He loved sport and he understands it really well, apart from knowing what a red card in “soccer” means apparently. This sums up Trump and his presidency perfectly. He decides what is right and wrong even if he hasn’t got a clue what is going on. What Donald wants, Donald gets.

Southgate was risk averse. Instead of “who dares wins” his motto was “who plays safe might not lose.” Yep, fair play to him for getting that far in competitions, but it is all about winning and I don’t know of another country who would give a top honour to a serial runner up. Can you image how Trump would have treated him?

Michael Stipe of REM fame loved this phrase. He was initially told that it meant that you like the smell of your own farts. Hopefully someone put him right. I can confirm that it means being blown up by your own bomb (used to blow in doors or walls in medieval times).

So did Archer. I think Fellows was disappointing last season. If you think he wasn’t, fair enough but his finishing was dreadful and he has shown that he can score previously.* Eckhert has shown that he can coach but he is not the Messiah. Buying players in the hope that your coaching team can turn them into something else is not a wise strategy (unless you have bottomless resources) as we have seen to our cost before. We had a good squad that was underperforming. Eckhert got us playing as a team, which Still failed miserably at, but not every player improved under him and his coaching team, which is my point. To point out the obvious, you can’t just assume that because he has got the best out of some, it will work for all. If that is the case and he can turn any player around, let’s save some money and bring back Downs and BBD. *9 goals for WBA

Considering that several EPL clubs are supposed to be interested in him (Everton, Newcastle, Fulham) along with some Serie A clubs I’m not sure why we are discussing the likelihood of him coming here on loan anyway. The idea that Eckert can turn every cow’s ear into a silk purse needs to be put to bed too. Fellows had a disappointing season. Robinson went backwards after a promising start and if DD stays I doubt very much if Ekhert will turn him around.

I think that he is one of those players who fails to live up to the hype. He didn’t do anything when he (apparently) chose Stoke over us, and not at PNE either. Yes, scored some goals for Hull and had a good season at Ipswich but was awful for Chelsea and the fans want him gone. Most of the stuff I had read from Everton fans is that they don’t want him there. £30m to £40m??? He isn’t coming here on loan and will probably end up as a 2nd string striker for a bottom half Prem club so I can’t see any point in speculating about him anyway.

How many times have we been linked with Liam Delap over the years? How many times has he gone somewhere else and failed to make the grade?

Should add that we stayed in 5* hotels back then as the prices were very reasonable, (Peru close to being a third world country back then). We had a nice meal in Cusco in the hotel that John Peel died in a few weeks previously. Don’t worry, I don’t think it was as a result of the food. It’s quite high up there (oxygen cylinders on every floor in the hotels) so that is something else to factor in if altitude is a problem. I was 50 when I went but could struggle with some of the trips now I am in my 70’s. As well as Ollantaytambo, which I think is in the Sacred Valley, the Inca walls at Sacsayhuamān are worth a visit (near Cusco I think).

I went on a bespoke trip in 2004 and had a great time. Can’t remember many travel details other than we went via Amsterdam and Aruba. You can’t go wrong with the main tourist attractions although we included a flight to Iquitos and spent a few days in a lodge in the Amazon rainforest (maybe best avoid the Ayahuasca though!). Take plenty of Imodium. The food is interesting. I had alpaca (not a whole one) which was fine but passed on Guinea pig. We went on a lot of internal flights which were cheap (but that was over 20 years ago). A friend of mine who had contacts out there arranged the trip but I lost contact with her a while back so can’t help there. There are plenty of agencies who could help you put something bespoke together though. Have a great time!

There is a lot wrong with him. Go look up Mary Millington if you need more evidence. You don’t find many decent people making fortunes out of pimping and pornography.

I’m guessing but would assume that having interviewed the women and investigated it more than you or I, they think it worth pursuing. The bloke had a shit reputation as it is. He made his money through the sex trade.

It is like the hot girlfriend who delivers on all front but then lets herself go and you are glad to see the back of her but there is always that nagging doubt that she will turn into a hottie again with someone else down the line.