Grant(aka_eddy)

"There's only one way to find out.....................FIIIIIIIIGGGHHHTTT!!!!!!!"

(Mills would destroy Burrell in a fight though!)

Only by detaching her wooden leg and clubbing him with it, or perhaps she could have some sort of alternative attachment like a spike or a go go Gadget thing going on.

I wouldn't rule Burrell out though I bet he can scratch and pull hair with the best of them.

He looks like a biter to me!

resists obvious pillow-biter gag

"There's only one way to find out.....................FIIIIIIIIGGGHHHTTT!!!!!!!"

(Mills would destroy Burrell in a fight though!)

I blame the media for putting them in my face as much as i do them for being tools.

As much a Mills is clearly a complete clearing in the woods, i think there is something weird and creepy about Burrell, so i'd have to say i dislike him more.

Mind you Mills did close the gap a long way this morning when i read she claimed to have donated 80-90% of her earnings to charity and her tax receipts showed she'd made no donations whatsoever. clearing in the woods!

"Value" is an entirely human construct. Hence no. 1.

agree entirely Mike.

So do I. I think.

Is grass not valuable to cows then?

Either is true in some circumstances, both true in others.

Hi General, hope you're well and still enjoying things! I imagine by now you may be looking forward to a bit of a rest in the summer!

I am hoping you can provide us with a bit of an inight with regards to the players views on atmosphere. It is occassionally mentioned in match reports and so on that the players commented to one another about how good the atmosphere was. Now each player may have their own preferences, but what is it specifically that best helps them perform?

Breaking down the components of 'an excellent atmosphere' would give the following options;

1 - Chanting during pre-match build up.

2 - General noise levels pre-match.

3 - Particularly noisy reception as players enter onto the pitch.

4 - Individual player chants - Both warm up and during the game.

5 - Aggressive (within reason) attitude towards opponents.

6 - Cheering long passing moves.

7 - Constant chanting such as 'Martin O'Neill Claret and Blue Army (repeat)' to fill quieter moments.

8 - Anti-blues songs

9 - Contesting referee decisions.

10 - Songs aimed at opposition fans.

Please resist the temptation to say all of the above!

If I had to guess at a couple that would make the biggest difference it would be numbers 4 & 6. We obviously cant always 'force' a great atmosphere, often it just happens based on the game as much as the occassion, but if the most of the players loved having their own individual chants or us cheering passing moves ,then maybe that's something that could be worked upon.

Cheers.

Grant

I'd like to add another point of view regarding Blues staying up.

At present they are a struggling Premiership side, one of those that has the odd good result and gritty performance but remain relegation strugglers. They still arent close to competing with us. A couple of years ago they had momentum and alot of optimism just to be in the Premiership after so long out. That seems to have died, failing despite the boards efforts (and i will concede it really is quite a good board in the grand scheme of things, clearings in the woods though they may be) and quite alot of money. Their momentum has gone, the fans have started to go awol again and i think their belief of doing anything but survive is dissipating. Another season or two of really struggling followed by a drop to the Championship will hurt that club so very badly that they may not recover.

As a fanbase they will no longer be content to be in the Championship and no longer under the illusion getting promoted leads to good times.

So **** em.

Newcastle to go down, Blues to suffer for a few more years before dropping down 2 divisions in succession!

Newcastle.

It's far more interesting if they go down. Plus i enjoy the Derby games. Plus i rate Milner and a few of their other players so would be glad if we could get them in.

But if Blues go down then i will of course take joy from that, it's not as if i dont want them to.

Of course it could mean 43% of the site are middle aged hoursewives

Or married to them! :winkold:

Tony,

I can see that stiff upper lip from over here...

The fact you brought up a bar fight (although you did say it didn't compare, it was pretty clear you were intending it to be compared...) indicates you have no idea of the pure horror that was the western front in the First World War. Your touting of the glory of the Empire rings mighty hollow if you actually spend a few hours reading about the reality of Passchendaele, Amiens, Arras, Verdun and so many other locations soaked in the blood of a generation. Tony, the entire First World War was a completely insane waste of human potential. It should never have been fought, and the perpetrators, the Kings, politicians, generals and strategists ON BOTH SIDES should have been the ones shot against a wall, for the human catastrophe they created, for every teenage boy lost in muddy pits, bleeding and mad from the incessant din of the guns, for the countless thousands maimed forever, in body and mind. For the troubled old men who awake screaming in the middle of the night with nightmare visions that no man should ever experience, and mostly these evil men should have been punished for all the stinking lies, the odour of which would obscure the perfumes of heaven herself if it were possible, these mealy mouthed silk tongued theives, swindlers and peddlers in human misery, these ruiners of families, takers of youth and breakers of hearts, the smug arms merchants, wreathed in the smoke of the best cigars, the "public servants", incanting about the needs of state and the necessities of history, of territorial destiny and the balance of power. The broadsheet purveyors of spectacle and manufacturers of propaganda, the mouth of the beast itself.

War, Ahhhh isn't she magnificent? In all her armour plated, camouflaged, blood mired glory, shedding her obscuring cloud of acrid cordite smoke, trampling indiscriminately civilian and soldier, grinding the flesh and bone to grim ashen nothingness, deaths so numerous the numbers lose their meaning. Cities wasted, row upon row of beautifully bleach white crosses, so delightfully uniform in their sanctified rows....

But we won of course, yes, we won alright, gave the nasty boche bastard the beating he deserved didn't we? For the glory of the empire of course, God save the Queen and all that.. Shame about old Uncle Ted though, he's never been the same after that gas attack in Loos, lost all his mates he did, eight weeks at the front before he lost his eyes, never been the same after that..

Some f*ckin bar fight Tony.

Gary

nothing personal here mate, Great Grandad was in the first, grandad was in the second, no glory, just got home in one piece thanks. Never again, for no empire, for no flag, bugger 'em all.

Actually, what he said (with more paragraphs though ) Excellent post.

Was it just me who read Tony's post and 'Rule Britannia' started playing in their heads halfway through? And a strange mental image of a man draped in union jacks saluting nothing in particular whilst typing with the other hand...

Probably was just me. :?

One way or another he was a victim of the war so i'd say he deserves to be remembered on the memorial. (though definitely not on his own special plaque)

He probably wasnt a soldier, just an ordinary guy who was put into an extreme and prolonged flight or fight situation and at some point caved.

I dont really think any of us are in a position to make damming moral judgements over someone in these circumstances.

I like the derbies plus it'll be funny to see the best fans in the world blah blah all desert the club.

So Newcastle for me. Though a year or two more in the Prem and i'll probvly be bored of the noses again.

the reason for the window was a deal with Europe to stop the scrapping transfers all together

Europe stated transfers were against free movement of labour BUT this was meant as a compromise

am I not true in saying most other coutries had one

Surely Europe would have been better adopting our system then? :?

We only had a period between April and June when players couldnt move.

Maybe. Perhaps they should all drive on the left as well and use sterling.

Come again?

(i'll set em up, you...)

I'm not suggesting that the rest of Europe should have adopted ours. I'm responding to Ian's point that it was imposed as a compromise to allow greater freedom of movement. If UEFA or whoever wanted to meet that criteria, then surely faced with a system with 9 months of transfer window or 4 months, then you'd select the 9. Which happens to be the English one.

Frankly i don't care. i was happy with how it was and am quite happy for each country to do things differently if they also prefer it that way. I said earlier i couldnt think of any problems that having different systems actually posed, so go for it. Probably just a logistical nightmare for some office junior in Brussels who has to give authorisation to transfers or risk **** up multi million pound (yes that's right, pound sterling!) deals.

I can speak....

Blimey, you weren't kidding!

God, I feel bloody tired after typing all that.

I think i'm right there with you after reading it! You should take a leaf out of university student books and just opy and paste!

I agree with your general point i of view fwiw, i always did and apologies if my post made it sound like i wanted to impose 'our ways' upon them. I didnt. But you may already have known that.

Can we also get rid of loans?

No absolutely not (but its a different topic entirely - maybe start a new one for it)

Typical bloody mod, tells you not to go off topic but makes sure he gets his opinion in anyway!

the reason for the window was a deal with Europe to stop the scrapping transfers all together

Europe stated transfers were against free movement of labour BUT this was meant as a compromise

am I not true in saying most other coutries had one

Surely Europe would have been better adopting our system then? :?

We only had a period between April and June when players couldnt move.

I like it

it challenges all managers to get it right and does not allow for those with money to cherry pick throughout the season

That's a good point Ian and one that is often used to justify it. However it is an ideal and not a reality. The reality is that the successful English clubs are limited to just a couple and have been so much richer and more successful than the others that they can afford to build very large high quality squads anyway. This negates the intended benefit and actually ends up punishing the teams who cannot afford to match them, widening the gap further.

I would also say no manager should be allowed to be sacked during the season, allow for stability

I quite like that idea, though it may well be unworkable.

**** Europe

Fine, but if we unilaterally go against UEFA we don't play in European competition.

Was it imposed upon the FA they had to have this to play in European competition then? If so i missed that.

For quite a while we operated in different windows and off the top of my head i can't see any problems that it caused.

Even if it did, it shouldnt necessarily mean us changing to an inferior system. If of course you feel like i do that it is in fact, an inferior system.

I suspect i know which way this'll go after that window. But i wonder just how much it is hated or whether anyone can find justification for it.*

*Justification does not, and never has, include being in line with the rest of Europe.

If only buying a player was as straightforward as electing to stop at a petrol station then this would be a relevant analogy.

An analogy is used to describe something similar - not exactly the same! Otherwise it is not an analogy but purely talking about what you're talking about. I think this is extremely relevant analogy, whether you agree with its perspective or not...

I've read my post back and I didnt say it had to be the same did I? Only that i think the difference is sufficient enough for it to not be relevant. Sorry.

Fwiw i'm very disappointed by this window. (and quite impressed by the complexity of your analogy!)

edit - which is probably the only time i say that sentence this weekend!

If only buying a player was as straightforward as electing to stop at a petrol station then this would be a relevant analogy.

**** awful isnt it.

I'm a bit wary of answering in all honesty as I dont want my answer thrown in my face on February 1st. In addition I dont think it's fair to say 2 or 3 players or I wont be happy as it entirely depends upon the circumstances, who is available, who we have pursued, how uch we have to spend, where the manager needs to strengthen etc etc etc . So I'll just say I'll be happy if the manager's judgement has been backed once more.

Do you know Richard i thought exactly the same.

Though i've decided i dont care if it is thrown back in my face. I want 3 players RB, RM, ST.

I would like them all to be pretty much first teamers who will improve us. Players like Bosingwa, Milner, Bent.

I accept it may not pan out like that and if it did our squad would be expected to finish 4th-6th this year and probably next too. And the backing from the board would have been absolutely amazing!

Number 3 for me. Just prefer the look of it and there's certainly no harm in a bit of bragging...just like a big floppy trophy cabinet really.

I voted yes and my first thought was that they are pretty much all little bastards with ASBO's, hoods and knives!

Two years ago i worked at Blackwood Primary School over Streetly way to see if i fancied doing my PGCE. In the end i decided against it but it certainly wasnt to do with the kids. Even at 9, 10 and 11 they were superb. A couple were very slightly cheeky but only in a nice way. Ok so it's predominantly middle class but there you go, it was pretty much exactly the same as my own school experience and i could pretty much directly compare most of the individuals there with people in my own class.

So i do wonder how much of it is related to media exposure and mediums such as youtube showing us daily what always went unseen before.

One thing i do know is that there is a core of 'youth' today who i would not feel much remorse for if they were wiped out to be quite honest, their fault or not they are absolute scum. There probably was the same when i was 'youth' myself too.

Speaking as a laydee - I think tight pants (or fitted boxers) but absolutely NOT Y fronts are so much more sexy than loose boxers - loose boxers always me of the old comedy shows where mens' trousers would fall down and they would always be wearing loose fitted spotted or striped boxer shorts - sorry but I don't see anything sexy in loose fitted boxers - maybe that's just me!

Fitted boxers for me too.

Though i've quoted Hev as Y-fronts are actually very much in fashion now. They're usually multi-coloured ones and can be found in top shop an dthe like. Know a few girls who love them. I think it's a bit of an indie thing.