Alex

Think it's fucking depressing how lacking in ambition we are but it must be soul-destroying for the mackems who don't define their lives by derby results (admittedly not that many of them ) how they regularly flirt with / just avoid relegation when they've actually showed some ambition in recent years.

Aye, exactly. Not saying it was a calculated risk (beyond the fact any transfer is), rather challenging the notion the club is always extremely diligent in how it proceeds with signings etc.

You're also entitled to rest players and you have can cite that the players who've replaced them are part of your declared Premier League squad and, therefore, able deputies. Even if it's bollocks, proving it is a different matter. The only people likely to get stung is a 'minnow' who basically plays a load of kids and throws a cup tie. The authorities are shit scared of upsetting Chelsea, Man City and so on.

They take calculated risks with the club all the time. E.g. appointing Carver until the end of the season/letting Pardew go, paying that money for Cabella, signing Ba. Why should De Jong any different?

What you need is some sort of royal commission on the subject, in order to ignore any recommendations based on its findings. Or something.

I think his time here was characterised by having a decent plan a when the players were fit and not really having a back-up when things went a bit tits up. He didn't really need to tinker with things a lot that season.

While I don't think Mbiwa was used correctly (and then when he was, and performed well, he was unfairly dropped) I think both players are better suited to playing in Italy.

If you go to places in Greece that are close to Turkey, like Rhodes for example, it's absolutely crawling with the military of various descriptions.

Stationery.

You have to put that 5th into context. Apart from the aforementioned things like Ba's then Cisse's incredible scoring runs, look at the league that year. Bar the top two, all the major players were pretty ordinary. Chelsea 6th, Liverpool's 8th being I think there worst (or joint worst finish) since Shankley got them promoted to the top flight. Even the top two, I mean that Man Utd side, albeit with the caveat they were managed by Alex Ferguson, were very ordinary by their standards. And they only lost the league on goal difference. Good achievement in the league that year for which Pardew quite rightly got credit but not that big a deal against that backdrop.

Given the intransigence of previous governments on this issue it's not really surprising a Labour government looking down the barrel of an election loss or a Tory party leading a coalition during a period of economic downturn haven't / didn't move on this in that period though, is it?

bet they fucking beat us down there though

Aye

Used to love a game of chess. Played for the school team Of the schools we played, I think we only ever had 1 match against another state school.

Nice one. Must've been back about 10 times since then.

fair comment. Don't disagree with previous post either.

Will have a listen later. Good to see Mark Broom still producing

It's 'funny' how the motive has become far more important than the act though. Like if something is deemed to be an act of 'terrorism' then it's suddenly much worse. Take that arson spree in Oxfordshire that was suddenly relegated from the main news nice the police said it wasn't 'terror related'. There's definitely an appetite for the hysteria surrounding terror attacks carried out by Muslims. Of course Muslims who've comitted certain acts are much the reason behind that. But aimaad is probably correct about the assumptions many would make were the roles reversed. Initially at least and it's those first sensationalist stories most people remember and that often perpetuate myths about incidents

Great tune that. RIP

Four if you count his.

More on the story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-31395467

Anyone else think of this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rspRD9JKBw

He does.