norton65ca

I'm really looking forward to this one, obviously I want The Villa to thrash them, but Fiorentina is the club in Serie A that I keep an eye out for, this will be interesting. You never know, depending on how things go in European competition this season, this could end up being a prelude to an encounter later on in the Europa League! UTV

Greater global appeal"???? what the frick kind of basis is that for choosing a manager to get your team out of the championship? Oh my, you simply have to laugh, it's a circus alright... greater global appeal LMAO!!! Too much

Honestly? I'd have to give a slight edge to Newcastle, the knuckledraggers aren't gonna change, they are what they are ,but the wake up call coming to the Geordies will, in my opinion, unless a miracle happens up there, be in the middle of a collapse not seen before in English football. One thing is it will be entertaining to see. G

Y'know, I know some will say, "Well, it's only a meaningless friendly" but when a side like Newcastle get done like that, by a team like Orient, there is something wrong there... 2-1? ok, even 3-1, but 6-1? they have big trouble coming.

Is it my imagination, or did I just read somewhere that championship side Newcastle United was thrashed by the European giants Leyton Orient 6-1 in a friendly??? wow. Soooooo happy I am not a barcodes fan. My word, what a mess up there...

Jas is spot on, you should check out the Burnley forums, a bunch of cheery happy fans who expect little beyond having some great away days at grounds they haven't seen in yonks. Not a whole lot of expectancy beyond cheering the boys and hoping for the odd good result, a far, far cheerier lot than on here, the contrast is dramatic. cheers, G

This thread is the best thread I have ever seen on VT in the three years I have been hanging around, some absolute gems on here. Totally silly, but lmao... cheers, Gary

good god you're kidding right? Saw them live in 1979 or so at the Montreal Forum, great show, highly entertaining, I wasn't a huge fan but they made some excellent music. Yes Freddie was a primadonna but that's what being a rock star id about isn't it. Brighton Rock, Tie yer Mother Down etc, great stuff. cheers, Gary

I met Geddy Lee, lead singer of Rush, shortly prior to being ejected from the arena for a dubious backsatge pass... I had the joy of heckling Brian Mulroney, the much loathed former Canadian Prime Minister, shortly prior to being bookended by two very burly gentlemen with tight suits, earpieces and suspicious bulges under their arms... I went to high school in Ottawa with Steve Yzerman, fromer Detroit Red Wings captain, hall of fame member and winner of a number of Stanley Cups... We didn't get along.

and for those who are complaining about a UEFA Cup spot, we did have a good chance, and lost to Leicester in the Carling Cup...

Barnsley, for beating Liverpool and Chelsea. cheers, Gary

by the way, I was a neutral in those days....

Foreign fan here, I'm absolutely loving it, Barnsley for the cup, yes, some overseas "consumers" of the Prmeier League "Product line" are unsophisticated glory hunters but far from all, the variety, heritage and colour of all 92 (plus the odd non league minnow like Havant & Waterlooville, for example) is part of what makes the English football scene so appealing, so unlike the corporate franchise system in N America (don't get me wrong, I do like hockey...). The idea that a complete underdog can have their moment of pure glory is very attractive indeed, and the FA Cup is practically unique in that regard. Even the league itself, with the promotion and relegation is a distinct contrast to the prevailing N American way. I was fortunate enough to see the old Wimbledon play when they were in the old first division. once at Highbury against the Arse and once at their own ground against Millwall, and when I heard much later they were to be franchised I was very disappointed indeed. I was heartened, then, when I heard that fans had created a new club and that it was doing quite well. The idea that a fan created club like AFC Wimbledon can be promoted to the league and challenge MK Dons for example is completely alien to N American practice but to my mind fantastic. The idea of a WBA Barnsley final or Pompey Cardiff sounds great, My only bitch now is that I have to find someone who has satellite and is willing to have me over at 7am! cheers, Gary

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.

with the above post, I am not saying cowardice in action is fine, but unless you personally have been through the nightmare of Verdun, Ypres or the Somme, you have no right to make much of a judgement. None of you can conceive of living rough in the worst weather for months at a time surrounded by the rotting remains of your friends and being shelled morning noon and night for weeks on end, watching your mates being blown into tiny meaty bits day after day, there is no way we can condemn. Insanity would be a welcome relief. War is hell, war is a racket, and the biggest money maker on the planet. A special place in hell awaits the war mongers. Gary

one of the most poignant and sad stories to come out of that horror was the tale of the stretcher party in No mans Land who came across two bodies, both no more than seventeen years old, one German, one British, two boys embracing each other in death, bewildered, lost and in terror before they died, their badges and uniforms meaning nothing, their humanity and brotherhood meaning everything. Says it all really, put the boy on the memorial, what the hell does it matter anyways so long ago, they were lads most of them,, no shame in being afraid at that age, the whole thing was a colossal waste of human life anyway. RIP cheers, Gary

I am ancient...44 years so far... cheers, Gary