brommy

There is a fine line between showman and conman. He conned so many for many years and when he became 'old news', he made more money by revealing his secrets (slight of hand for spoon bending, movement of stopped watches will cause a few to re-start for a short while, etceteras). Then, a few years later, he comes back under his original guise, as if he'd never revealed it was all a sham, and people lap it all up AGAIN! Astonishing.

If you've lost all yours CED, you can use some of mine - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

This made me reconsider my 'like' for Tony's original post. Whilst I agree with his sentiment of simply avoiding what you don't like, the politics/ConDem threads tells me Tony's World would be horrific!

Yeah I think Corden has to be alright. But then Patrick Stewart seems to hate him, but does that mean Picard is an arsehole? I think Patrick Stewart came off worse after his petty rant. James Corden has made a name for himself as "the fat guy off the TV" though Corden's about as funny as a kick in the nuts. A one trick pony who got lucky with criminally overrated Gavin and Stacey. That sketch show he did with the equally unfunny Mathew Horne was an absolute abomination, as was those repulsive skits he did with the England football squad. For those reasons alone he should never be seen on TV again. I didn't enjoy his sketch material but I did enjoy Gavin and Stacey and the refreshingly different The Wrong Mans; each to their own. Whether he should never be seen on TV again, I'll leave to others. I'll give most things a go, trying to avoid preconception. I also don't begrudge those who may or may not have 'got lucky'.

Yeah I think Corden has to be alright. But then Patrick Stewart seems to hate him, but does that mean Picard is an arsehole? I think Patrick Stewart came off worse after his petty rant. James Corden has made a name for himself as "the fat guy off the TV" though JC is hardly the thespian PS is but I think he has written some decent stuff. In any case, I think JC is way behind dozens of others if 'talentless' is the accusation. It seems common for people to almost hate so-called celebrities they don't enjoy. I'm not sure they are worth such a strong emotion; best to ignore said celebrity and get on with life.

Yeah I think Corden has to be alright. But then Patrick Stewart seems to hate him, but does that mean Picard is an arsehole? I think Patrick Stewart came off worse after his petty rant.

I suspect there are a few who many think are great but they are actually not that nice at all, but more who many think are tw@ts who are actually decent people. In the latter catergory I'm going to guess at James Corden and Ricky Gervais.

It's not about not discussing a player, just that saying a player is terrible, will never make it, is one of the worst they have ever seen (or conversely 'world class'), based on way less than a half season, is premature and serves little purpose. If they guessed right - well bully for them but we are worse for having a poor player. If they guessed wrong (Benteke for some!) - they face ridicule. It is easy to comment on a players performance without needing to extrapolate it almost instantly to an extreme. Unfortunately many football forum users come across as wannabe football managers or game console addicts; all with added hindsight, of course. good answer I understand people give extreme opinions prematurely. however, using myself as an example, I stated that he hadn't shown anything to suggest that he would become a decent player for us after 3 sub games. that is because he hadn't. I wasn't writing him off, he just hadn't impressed me at all at the time. I think part of the issue is people read opinions wrong You are right. It is easy for some to be defensive over a player being criticised when they have genuinely been in poor recent form. I guess that's them extrapolating a perhaps valid criticism into totally panning a player. I forgive some of that though as it can be like someone slating 'family'!

It's not about not discussing a player, just that saying a player is terrible, will never make it, is one of the worst they have ever seen (or conversely 'world class'), based on way less than a half season, is premature and serves little purpose. If they guessed right - well bully for them but we are worse for having a poor player. If they guessed wrong (Benteke for some!) - they face ridicule. It is easy to comment on a players performance without needing to extrapolate it almost instantly to an extreme. Unfortunately many football forum users come across as wannabe football managers or game console addicts; all with added hindsight, of course.

Sat fairly central in the Holte End I heard a bit of booing. I say 'a bit' because I could have made as much noise on my own. Putting aside the slightly dissatisfied mutterers (I don't class them as booers), I'd be surprised if there were more than a couple of dozen actually booing. When I turned to looked back up the Holte, I could see hundreds of faces, none of them booing. I guess it's a sound that caries well. At less than 0.1% of the attendence, it is annoying that such a low proportion of the crowd can grab some headlines as it feels like focusing on the number of Monster Raving Loony Party votes after a general election result.

I'm sure plenty of fans wish our club had more money to spend. That they continue to go to matches and don't mention much concern on internet forums doesn't necessarily reflect they don't 'have any problems'. If there is no alternative currently available, perhaps they see little point in voicing concern.

When you use your card, you will also get 10% (5% on tickets) of any money spent credited to your card to spend on tickets or merchandise in the future.

....of course you do - that's your "thing" isn't it? your telling me our squad is brilliant and we have more than 4/5 quality players then are you?? Why does something that isn't dreadful become brilliant? I can see a huge gulf between the two definitions. A gulf big enough to accommodate our squad.

A 20-year-old from Small Heath, Birmingham handed himself in on Tuesday and was given a police caution which will remain on his record, West Midlands Police said. Police spoke to all parties involved in the assault and neither victim wanted to make an official complaint." Seriously, what was the point in publishing a video appeal to catch someone for a crime that apparently only deserved a caution?

Really? Whilst avoiding others calling for physical revenge or time inside, I'd give him a few weeks community service doing something boring for him, dressed in the lamest uniform and make sure he's been seen by his mates.

I guessed it meant being secondary to an alpha (male). I might be way off though as I'm still not fully sure wtf vines are. I know I enjoy their fermented fruit juice but that can't be the current fad.

Rob can teach you.

'THIS IS ASTON VILLA', which some thought odd, has been removed. The new 'VILLA PARK HOME OF ASTON VILLA FOOTBALL CLUB' seems fitting to me. 'THIS IS VILLA PARK' is nearest the pitch. Nothing wrong with that statement, IMO. Either way, I'm not one to get too hung up on these things but I do think the new tunnel looks good and is an improvement on the old. I'd like to see it for myself but now the General's gone I'll have to pay for the next tour.

Defoe and Carroll have both been called up relatively recently and neither of them are better than Gabby. And you say that his choice has been "proven right" but that doesn't mean the England manager shouldn't strive for more improvement. I have no idea how Cleverley for example gets called up over Delph. By stating 'that doesn't mean the England manager shouldn't strive for more improvement' you are stating that Gabby is better than Defoe and Carroll and Delph is better than Cleverley? If that is so it really doesn't matter that i disagree with you on that. What matters is that the England manager disagree's with you and you'll excuse me if i prefer his opinion to yours. On that basis, why should we take any notice of your opinion on Lambert's decisions? After all, unless you can prove you're better qualified (hindsight doesn't count ), you'll excuse many of us if we prefer his opinion to yours.

Exactly. It is like giving Guzan special praise for being positioned between the sticks. Unlike Hart.

Chokin' on my own rage here Given the circumstances, it wouldn't be on your chicken.

Until we stop 12 year olds playing on full size pitches in leagues where only the biggest kids get picked so they can hoof it forward to increase the chance of scoring in a win at all costs mentality, England will never play great football. A warm climate also helps so I'm off to burn some tyres.

Was it ever explained how it reduces fraud? I can't remember but I think it was to do with people being unable to cover their arses during an extended break. It would be interesting to know if that actually worked. I can't but help think there would be have been plenty of fraudsters over the years who enjoyed taking long expensive holidays without worrying about being caught. Similarly, I can't imagine many potential fraudsters thinking "if only I could take holidays of 9 days or less, I could make some serious money". It may have been one of the FSA's hair-brained ideas. The rule was brought in after Nick Leeson brought down Barings bank (as portrayed by Ewan McGregor in the film 'Rogue Trader') back in the 90s. All banking staff dealing with trading have to have 2 consecutive weeks off with another employee taking over your trades. That way, hopefully your replacement will notice any dodgy trades going south during those 2 weeks and can put a stop to it before it gets out of hand. With the emphasis on 'hopefully'! I still suspect there have been those not caught out by a long holiday and those who have been caught out whilst off for a day, so I'm calling it unnecessary. It also appears to have unnecessarily expanded beyond those with genuine trading responsibilty.

Portillo?

Was it ever explained how it reduces fraud? I can't remember but I think it was to do with people being unable to cover their arses during an extended break. It would be interesting to know if that actually worked. I can't but help think there would be have been plenty of fraudsters over the years who enjoyed taking long expensive holidays without worrying about being caught. Similarly, I can't imagine many potential fraudsters thinking "if only I could take holidays of 9 days or less, I could make some serious money".