chrisp65

view from Sheppey back to Kent might not be the longest, but it's a doozy

one man team of minnows diluting the quality of the tournament

Why did I just watch the BBC commentary? I'll never learn. Lineker thinks the tournament has just come to life because england have drawn iceland. He's so bad at his job. Awful team of depressed england fans as a tv presentation team for a tournament where Wales and Northern Ireland are having the time of their lives. If he doesn't like football why doesn't he **** off and do something else with his chuckle buddies Shearer, Ferdinand and Lawrenson. I don't expect Sky levels of jubilation at every mid season nil nil. But bloody hell, it's like they've all got depression.

apparently they've got spunky the penis whale up at Fleetwood, might be worth a look

Leeds is one of the grounds I've had to get creative wanting an away ticket. A few times I've reverted to buying a home ticket, then marching up to a cluster of police and stewards outside and announcing I've been bought a ticket but my mum has bought it in the wrong end and how do I swap. Leeds, no questions, steward just marched me through a side gate and pushed me in the away end with a 'wrong' home ticket. Drove to Glasgow without a ticket once, Celtic, the police said you'll be fine in with the home fans. Ten minutes in to the game when two of us stood and shouted for the other team with our little flag the stewards came in and tried to grab us. Celtic fans around us basically fought them off and said we were with them! Police came around later, waved us over to them and politely asked us to go in the away section, which we did. Been in the home fans end at Cardiff to watch the Villa, horrible experience, proper 1970's and 80's coin throwing. Been in the Holte End for Cardiff and Swansea games, all fine. Been in with the Villa away at Swansea and thought I was going to get battered by psychos convinced I was some sort of spy (!?!).

Personally, I'm against seeding of groups and knockouts. Balls in a hat and take your chances. So much better. Just beat the team in front of you, not try and protect the rankings of the ones at the top. I say this as a supporter of a team that topped their group. So there is no self interest here.

I was considered quite the master debater in college. I'm sure that's what they said.

They're bastards the lot of them. People that play the system. There's this one guy that's a benefits cheat, he employed 11,000 people on wages so low that the government had to top up many of their wages by taxing me some more. Then he took out £580 million in 'benefits'. Then he hid the money overseas in someone else's name. Then it turns out the workers pension fund is £570 million in deficit. Then he sold the company to a serial bankrupt with no experience. Then he bought a £46 million private jet so he could get back and fore to supervise the build of his £100 million yacht. He lives in Monaco now. One man, in one hit, £580 million. Apparently annual UK benefits fraud is £350 million. We need to clamp down on the cheats. All of them. Biggest cheats first looks obvious to me.

Didn't watch the debate. We're all decided already and just selecting the half facts that endorse our personal prejudices.

Knock out games. Just play the team in front of you and enjoy it. Albania or Croatia? Not really bothered as long as their fans are loud and friendly and their players repeatedly trip up ours just outside their penalty box.

Don't know about Hartson, I was showing off and watching it on S4C for the fully emersive cultural experience. In a room full of people that have seen football before and know the basics, commentary is so often just crap. I don't like ITV at all and I don't like commentary teams and pundits on BBC football, they all sound so generally fed up with life. S4C have either got their own microphones around the ground, or have turned up the sound available far more than the other channels. Last night, the crowd noise was just a joy for 90 minutes. A quick watch of MOTD highlights later in the evening and it didn't sound like anyone was there by comparison. Apparently on ITV the game ended and instantly on the whistle cut away to gambling adverts.

Even Hal Robson, HalRobsonKANU has scored more goals than Ronaldo and Zlatan combined and he doesn't even have a club at the moment!

So is your ideal result that once we've left the EU they will reform without us? Or are you hoping a leave vote will result in rapid concessions and then we can have another referendum that will result in us staying? Or have I utterly misunderstood?

Four different scorers and some immense defending in a one man team is what's doing it for me. We've had scuffed shin shots gone in, two chances fall to the same guy that hasn't scored previously, Ramsey putting in performances. Joe Ledley playing 28 days after being diagnosed with a fractured tibia. Reserve goalkeeper getting his first full cap at minutes notice. Not doing takings in the clubhouse any harm either. Dreamland.

red sky, red moon

Neither of those explanations are anywhere near clear and definitive! Why the merry **** would they express 4 to 1 ON as having the numbers 1 then 4? How is that remotely sensible? But, taking the whole of the message, I reckon this means bookies think we are very likely to vote remain.... I watched 5 minutes of some roullette programme on ITV the other evening and the woman on that explained that at 2 to 1 you'd win 3. I just announced that she was making no sense and went back over to Adult Preview.

It's a great weakness of mine that I have no idea what this means. I know it is 'odds', and I know in a two horse race having a 4 or a 7 in the equation is probably a big thing. But 'one to four', does that mean very likely or very unlikely? I have Hungary in the office sweep and somebody has written on it 250/1 which meant unlikely to win, so my highly educated guess is 1/4 means likely to win? In my defence, I'm shit hot at percentages.

Agreed, it's not that simple and yes, I agree we do tend to move in self selecting circles. As a clumsy clunky tool, it works. Add a little geography, income, health etc., and it soon breaks up. I was at a 'thing' recently and it was absolutely reverting to type. A table of about 11 pensioners absolutely did not want to hear any 'facts', they were concerned for the local kids getting local jobs because of european immigrants 'getting everything on a plate'. When faced with the 'fact' that the local JobCentre director has publicly stated this week that the job situation is 'vibrant' with jobs available right now in the Vale of Glamorgan for anyone that wants them, one of the pensioners simply shook his head and said 'no'. The Vale has a total population of over 120,000 and the current number of registered unemployed between the ages of 18 and 24 is 300. As of last week there were more than 300 jobs available. A walk along the High Street or the coffee shops of the prom will show any number of signs in windows 'staff wanted'. Admittedly not jobs as racing drivers or backing singers, but something not nothing. 'No'. When told that the top three first generation immigrant groups in the Vale were India, The Phillippines and Republic of Ireland, that same table of pensioners again said 'no'. Statistics direct from the Director of the job centres and direct from ONS via a political researcher with a doctorate. 'No'. You can't argue with that.

dogs can't look up If you need me to recall and describe the pain of a kidney infection back in 1990, I have a pretty good recollection of that. Still makes me wince thinking about it. I actually thought for a second, as I hit the pavement, that I'd been stabbed.

People have preconceived ideas of how the world is and people have their own fears and prejudices. Most minds, in reality, were made up a long time ago. The last few horrible weeks have simply been about selecting the facts, half truths, arguments and figureheads that endorse your personal prejudices. Many people that want to leave are likely not the sort of people to sit down and digest a message from John Oliver. I'm not sure he's got great traction with the over 70's, they'll be down the polling station at 7:30am. The students like him, unfortunately, large numbers of them will forget to get out of bed on the 23rd. By the same token, when I see Nigel Farage, I get a feeling he is trying to sell someone some snake oil, whilst slipping his hand up their shorts.

I fear that somewhere deep in the back of some Welsh players minds Russia are a bogey team. This is the first match I'm nervous. Slovakia I was just happy we were there and the win was just me creaming all over my cake. England game was always going to be horrible because too many non football people I know were making it a big deal. Commuting between an office of Welsh rugby fans, Redditch non-sports fans and an office of Kentish cricket fans I'm usually left alone. Russia game I'm going up the club house to shout at a big telly with a whole bunch of other like minded idiots. Might even try a bit of skype from the stadium but that might be a bit too technical. The permutations are mind boggling, but have started well with Albania getting a one goal win. If we limp through to the next round as lucky losers 16th out of 16 then I will be ecstatic. But already, we've had a win, scored three goals and seen lots n lots of flags representin' the club. All good for issue 1 of next season's matchday programme. As a bit of perspective, this time three years ago the club was kicked out of the league and Wales were Wales. So this is all happy gravy.

Bryn ‏@BrynLaw 9 hours ago Good atmosphere in Toulouse, so hopefully the @BBCNews crew who were sitting waiting for 'action' had a quiet night #TogetherStronger

No. It's actually quite a dangerous thing to do if you go too far up too quickly. It's the speed of ascent and the total distance from the earth's fragile yet beautiful outer skin that you have to be wary of. Space time schizz innit. I jumped for joy when Villa won the Champions League in 2021. Now I'm back here.

if you weren't paying attention, or didn't feel the need for experts, it could look like Boris knows what he's doing...