Troglodyte

Bob Marley died 29 years ago today. RIP to a legend!

What level are you guys playing at online then?

Anybody else having problems with Manager Mode? Mine freezes after most games, after the replays at the end. Very annoying, especially seeing as this is the first time I've really played FIFA extensively, and it first happened straight after winning the Champions League with Villa.

Was pencils in mine too, paddy, and I thought the same thing. I've never voted before (I'm 21) so didn't know if it was the norm. Besides, I had my own pen anyway and used that.

Can you please explain the BNP's fair immigration policy then? Are there any other policies which you're a fan of?

no dont agree with that im british im no immigrant. Go back a couple of generations and you'll find immigrants in your family, I'd stick money on it. ok fair enough but I care about now not years and years ago. Wow.

no dont agree with that im british im no immigrant. None of your ancestors were ever immigrants?

Exactly. Can anyone claim to be truly an indigenous English person?

good for you i support bnp and slowly they are getting more seats. Well that certainly told me, and you explained very clearly why you're voting for the BNP - and why they aren't racist - in the process. Thanks.

I'd certainly say you condone racism if you support the BNP, yes.

know your facts before accusing of racism. So it's factually inaccurate for me to refer to the BNP as a racist party?

But you don't mind voting for a racist party?

That's kind of my point though. I think the reason that I have always voted Labour is that I vote out of principle, not out of self-interest. I grew up in a family that never had a bank account or a car or had foreign holidays or ate in restaurants, and yet I was quite happy. And - thanks to the Labour-driven postwar welfare state - I've been immensely privileged. I've had free health care and free education, things my parents couldn't have when they were young. Nowadays, I'm unequivocally middle-class - I work in an office; I own a nice house and a car; I have some savings; I have travelled a bit; I eat out, if I want something I can generally afford it. But if I have to cut my cloth a bit - lose the car and have to travel on the bus, say. Or no more overseas travel. Or have to move to a smaller house.... I don't think I'd bleat about it too much. Because I'm still infinitely better off than my parents ever were. I'm well aware that there are people worse off than me. And what I have always hated about the Conservative philosophy is this whole "greed is good"/"no such thing thing as society", rampant free-enterprise, look after number one mentality. The planet is falling apart, people are starving to death, but in this country we get outraged over the price of petrol. Sorry, I'm rambling, but maybe somebody can see what I'm getting at. No, in fairness I do see what you're getting at and I understand. The only way I actually think I differ in thinking to you is in that I'd certainly not like to have to take the bus rather than have a car as a result of a change in government. Then again, I'm younger than you and have had a car since I turned 18, so I'm used to owning a vehicle and I suppose that's where your 'spoiled' argument comes in - and I can't really argue with that when you look at the bigger picture. That said, I'd still be very annoyed if I were forced to give up my car and obviously wouldn't vote for a party who I feel would force this to happen if they were in power. Similarly, I don't like the thought of not being able to travel when I've got a job, although that once again boils down to the same argument. I've been abroad a few times at a young age and am now, essentially, 'spoiled' in that respect. I'm thinking more of people like my mum though really, who has gone through a bad divorce and really is struggling now. She's a teaching assistant and doesn't own a car, nor could she afford one. If she were to lose her job as a result of budget cuts etc, she'd be hard pressed to find a new one and would potentially be in pretty serious financial trouble.

So you think that just because we're not as poor as those in third-world countries, we are spoiled? We shouldn't really care who gets into power? Some people may fear for their jobs, or friends and family members' jobs, depending on the result of this election. It may, in this respect and others, have a fairly significant effect on some people's financial situation.

So if sportsmen, athletes etc sweat, are they also working too hard?

Just got back from the polling station, voted Lib Dem.

Have you ever been over to see them play? If not, do you intend to?

I see Zoltán Stieber now plays for Koblenz. The place looks nice and the fans sound interesting, just not sure they're what I'm looking for really, seeing as I probably won't be able to catch their games online and I imagine there's not a great deal in terms of fan forums etc.

Hopefully Forest, as they're a relatively local team and family support them. I had a Forest jacket in fact when I was very young.

Cheers guys, I am very much leaning towards Dortmund now. Seeing as they have Europe's best average attendance though, is it difficult to get tickets? Did look at St. Pauli, read about their fanbase etc but also there seems to be worries about it becoming too commercialised. Other than that they just seem like a yo-yo team really. And what's with all the brown? And Rev, I actually have a Hertha shirt too; quite an old one with die Continentale on the front. Not too sure they're the team for me though.

Toughest as in hardest? Not really bothered about any kind of macho-fan image. Dortmund do appeal to me, but are they in financial trouble? And would it be considered an easy option, seeing as they're one of the bigger teams? Their stadium does look awesome though. What's Dortmund like as a city, anyone know? Just noticed that Hertha Berlin will finish bottom in the Bundesliga this season :shock:

Well I've been to Berlin and the stadium there and did like it, although the running track made me imagine the atmosphere wouldn't be all that great. I'm not sure if I want to support the capital city's biggest club though? I'm not interested in Bayern, they're the 'big' club and I don't want to be a glory-hunter type fan. Gladbach and Hamburg both had some level of appeal to me. They both seem fairly similar to Villa, would that be an accurate (if fairly vague) statement?

Basically, I was always good at German at school, but I never really used it after leaving. It's coming up to three years since I did my A-levels and last really studied the language, and I'd like to pick it back up before I forget everything in a haze of alcohol and schmokies. So, as well as looking for language learning stuff on the internet etc, I would like to start following a German football team and possibly read their messageboards etc (and post when I get the confidence). However, I'm finding it really difficult to choose 'my' team. It's not really a 'natural' way of choosing a team, but I'd like to support one with a good fanbase, and ideally a team I'd be able to pick up tickets for if I did go and see them play. It'd also be good if the town/city they play in were somewhere worth visiting. Preferably, the club would be fairly stable (I read that Dortmund have had quite a bit of financial difficulty) but not a massive team (...I don't want to follow Bayern). A nice kit would also be a bonus I suppose the best way would be to start watching the Bundesliga next year and see who I'm drawn to, but I'd like to get a sense of some clubs, their histories etc. So, any German VTers or German football fans have any suggestions for me?

Looks like they'll be getting Hart back, according to the Guardian.

Lib Dem for me too.