Kitman

It's a shame that we threw away wickets, especially Flintoff and Prior in the last 4 overs. At 337-5 it would clearly have been our day. As it is, if we can manage 400+, it's a good start. The strategy seems to be the wicket will deteriorate as the match wears on making it tough for the Aussies batting last against 2 spinners.

see above

Root crops ftw. I bet you've nothing more than a pot of basil dying on the windowsill Mr P

The devil does car repairs. I abandon hope and my wallet whenever I take the car to the garage. Christians? Pah!

......unless they've got bottomless pockets and don't mind throwing their money about? [/irrational optimism]

Best wishes etc

CT - not been doing it very long but my advice would be to think in advance about how you use the space and how big stuff grows. Sprouts and broccoli for instance need quite a bit of room and your veg won't do well if it's too cramped in. We grow our veg in raised beds and we started off growing loads of stuff but it was too much for the space really. You live and learn. Next time around we'll probaby just focus on the stuff we use a lot like carrots, leeks, onions etc.

I assume he didn't ask the lass to guess his age.......

one thing's for sure, ashley will do what's best for ashley. The implication the buyers are being vetted to see who's most suitable for the club is hilarious.

Wow! That'll rock English football all right!

It's hard to trust a rumour from someone who can't spell relative.

I think this is a bit harsh tbh. Cook has recently started getting big scores again and whether or not he gets centuries, he always scores runs. I'm not convinced yet over Bopara being a number three but three straight centuries albeit against far weaker opponents shows he can get big runs and is in great form - how come you're mentioning his debut now? I agree Pietersen's out of form but the Ashes should bring his desire back into test cricket. Collingwood may be a Mackem but he's still a good batsman - seems to have turned it around after potentially playing his last test last summer. He's looked very good since then. Prior is averaging near 50 with the bat in test cricket, which is comfortably more than Australia's keeper (keeping is an issue though). As for the Aussies, I don't think they have enough quality in their side to thrash us, even if they get their shizzle together. Hauritz is a shocking spinner, whereas Swann is class. Apparently their new guy Hughes is being found out and his early great form will end at some point. Ponting and Hussey look very much out of form. On paper I'd say the Aussies are a better side, but I think especially with this being at home, it will be a tight series. Well it's OK looking good against weaker opposition like the Windies. My point about Cook is that he has serious flaws in his technique driving the ball which well organised opponents will exploit. Maybe he will move his feet and line the ball up properly this summer but you can bet the Aussies will be all over it. My point about Bopara's debut was that when faced with a pressure situation against decent opposition he folded like a pack of cards. Now that was some time ago and on tour abroad but a nice little run against weaker opposition doesn't really count. Both Bopara and Cook were the beneficiaries of lax fielding and iirc were both dropped by the Windies on their way to centuries. The Aussies won't be as generous. My comment about Collingwood was tongue in cheek. I do like him as a player - tough and determined - but he lacks consistency. His record against the Aussies, a couple of innings aside, isn't very good. His best days might be behind him. Prior is a decent enough middle order batsman but he hasn't proven himself against the top test teams. We collapsed against he Windies on tour and I can easily see us collapsing again if the Aussies are tight and focussed. Having said that, the reverse is equally true but I'm not as confident as you, let's say. A shite start and we might never recover in the series.

Presumably match fixing by the players would constitute gross misconduct and could lead to annulment of contracts. Maybe the club could also sue the player for compensation? Ashley will be praying this 'event' involved Joey Barton!

Maybe it's Sir Alex and Ronaldo in gay love tryst shocker: - they agree to a suicide pact following the Champions League defeat! - Ronaldo reneges on lover's pact and storms out of Whalley Range love nest! - Sir Alex goes as purple as a beetroot! Demands Ronaldo is sold! - Sir Alex finds consolation in Michael Owen's arms! - Man Utd order cover up! Or maybe not....

Sounds interesting if not a little far fetched. Anyone like to guess? It's so vague, it's useless. Off the top of my head, the only thing I can think of which would really rock football is match fixing.

Squad player surely? Unless they shuffle around on zimmer frames in the CCC?

Good news if true. Kinnear's a proper manager, who would never have got us relegated if he hadn't been ill, oh dear me no. It'll be one in the eye for all the deluded fans if Kinnear comes back in instead of the upstart Shearer. A 62 year old with a serious heart complaint and a track record of failure is definitely the man to take us forward. [/Liddle]

It's pointless offering you advice, your libido will pull the plug on your brain anyway and it's only your sense of decency which will hold you back. I fear with your neck and hair fetish, you're doomed.

Ron Piddle more like. It's now totally acceptable to cane us, so if you're short of copy, just whizz out a load of old bollocks about deluded fans and stupid Geordies. Then you can stay in the pub all afternoon, with your silly haircut for company. Other clubs have done much worse than we have over the last 20 years. Every club has hopelessly over-optimistic fans. Every club wastes money on useless players. We've been spectacularly mismanaged and worse than many but it's the fans that have suffered for it. Liddle would do well not to bite the hand that feeds. Whilst he's falling over himself to point the finger and hoot at real football fans, attendances will continue to fall and the disillusionment will grow. My sense from what I read and hear from a distance is that people are drifting away from top flight football all over the country. Rather than being deluded, I expect people are realising what a rip off it is and how little they matter to the clubs, administrators and pundits. And gits like Liddle will be lamenting the lack of atmosphere and loyalty from the fans that people like him, Sky and the premier league did so much to alienate, as the whole damned party collapses in on itself.

I'm not confident at all. I look at that England batting line up and it could easily fail where the bowling is well thought out and disciplined. Strauss has to carry the captaincy. Cook is Gower-esque in wafting outside the off stump at any time between 0 and 60 runs. I don't think Bopara's had enough matches and his debut was a disaster. Pietersen looks out of form and like he needs a break to me. Collingwood is a mackem. Prior is more of a one day batsman imo. Flintoff lacks match practice. The one good thing is we can bat all the way down to Anderson. I'm not sure about the bowling either and I'd rather have Sidebottom ahead of Onions who's looked average to me in the few matches I've seen him in. Broad is decent, Anderson is inconsistent, Flintoff is returning from injury. However I think we'll lack penetration if Broad and Anderson are off colour and I wonder how much Flintoff can bowl. Could easily turn to custard if Aussie have their shizzle together.

Best wishes

Thats probably because United fans* dont see him as a big player in fairness. And why should they? 4 years with us and he has the aura of a has been.

Pitifully poor

I'm sure we could let Man Utd have Nicky Butt too if they asked us nicely

Be interesting to see how many games his fragile body can manage next season