Big Onion

That would be a huge relief. Imagine ending up relegated because Hull beat a Manu reserve team, fuck me I'd weep.

Shelagh take a Shelagh take a bow... Terrific stuff like.

Me too. Never actually seen that though. Well worth a look like. Typically great Osborne script, also Tony Richardson-directed, and a brilliant cast - Roger Livesey's performance is worth it alone. He's not everyone's cup of tea but I think Olivier does it really well here. The whole thing is full of interest anyway, and I make it one of the very best of the genre.

I gave The Entertainer a run-out last week, also class. I'm a sucker for that period.

Look Back In Anger (Burton and the lovely Mary Ure).

Did you ever join btw? Aye I registered for a neb. Entertained me for a good two minutes it did

That's what I said innit

It was a sort of retirement pasture for the wider forumming world's broken men.

The top teams buying up the best players is a given. The issue here is should something to be done to try to ensure more English (or British) players are playing in the English league. I think it should, although these proposals are so diluted they barely merit the term 'tokenism'. English teams regularly fielding almost entirely foreign sides is an absurdity. As for a 'smaller pool of talent', one of the main by-products of this issue being seriously addressed would be to encourage a much greater effort on the part of clubs to develop home-grown talent. That's partly the point. The very cream of these players most likely will end up at the bigger clubs. So what? That's got to be better for the English game than Manu spending £40mil on two Portuguese kids. The reason the 'big four' aren't going to like it is dead simple: The Champions League, and the feeling English clubs will become less competitive. It's the flip-side of the same reason Platini and co. are seeking to encourage it. While I think UEFA are utter hypocrites on this, on balance I still think it would benefit our game. And Liverpool, Aston Villa and Notts Forest in the '70s & '80s proved that teams made up of homegrown players can win European cups.

Mike Ashley reflects upon his appointment of Dennis Wise:

Quite agree. Chuck a packet of Skittles down the bog, flush, watch them go round. Hardly any discernible difference at all. Edited for wrong ket

How Could You Leave This Man Out?

No Irving Nattrass but Venison gets in Fuck off Caulkin

He does seem to have developed a permanent careworn look like. Still, give me that over the perma-grinners all day long.

Was watching that game; there was a moment when the camera was on Coppell and he just shrank back into the dugout, hunched up and grim-faced - you could see it was all up with him. One of football's good guys for me and I also really liked him as a player. Take a year out and go dip your toes in a warm sea somewhere Mr Coppell.

I was near the front, Gallowgate corner area for a game v Liverpool years ago. They were tonking us and it was quiet. Jamie Redknapp sets the ball down for a corner and this bloke shouts 'How's Louise?' clear and loud. Big grin from Redknapp, 'fine' he says. 'How's the puppies? comes straight back - even bigger grin from Redknapp and he looked like he was going to answer but thought better of it and just took the corner in the end Had to be there I suppose

Aye

Spuds don't seem to know what they've got in Darren Bent. He's quick, powerful and a natural finisher and if he gets a couple of seasons as a first-choice striker he'll show that that fee wasn't as daft as some people seem to think. They've wasted him so far.

Not in the seat I'm in now but a few years back I annoyed a Robert-loving lass so much for calling him a fucking heartless lazy French cunt or something that she made a complaint about me (racism and bad language ) and I got warned by a steward. What she didn't know was I knew that steward canny well and we had a good laugh about it afterwards

I just came across this horror. Now I'm an old soul fan who's never bought into the 'Amy Winehouse is a good singer' bollocks, but I hadn't realised how genuinely fucking shite she'd got until...

Nothing wrong with a blood-and-guts defender in my book. Incidentally, Tayls is the only Newcastle player in the Actim top 100 premier league players

Bassong, Enrique, Guthrie, S. Taylor, Beye

'Struggle nugget'

I'm absolutely certain football managers up and down the country will be aware of Bassong's quality by now, and he's already put off contract talks and hinted he'd be off if a big club comes in

I'm going to have a fair bet on Viduka to score at any time v Fulham at 11/5. He's bound to score soon.