NJS

I'd play him in the 4-5-1 we played away earlier in the season but otherwise you're spot on.

Looks like a good player but simply isn't.

Despite my recent negativity, I thought the first half performance was excellent. The second half was shite. I still think we need creative midfielders more than anything else.

I know he had plenty company but I think it's worth pointing out how shit Guttierez was. Now against Sheff Utd and Preston I think he did a good job when we were leading of holding onto the ball and counter-attacking but yesterday there was nowt. It was also worrying how shit Pancrate was - you could say it was a poor time/situation to come on but I can't help thinking his initial promise might have been a con.

Lots of Boxing day memories in the list - good and bad - but these two stand out for me: 1979 Burnley (a) 2-3 (1-1) Division Two Shoulder, Barton Hamilton, Smith, Dobson(pen) 16,433 - My first away game - missing a boring boxing day seemed like a good idea at the time but this was the drug dealers sample that got me hooked - I probably would have started going anyway around that time but this was a classic example of its time - mass invasion complete with loads of bother and a performance from the fans which outshone that of the players. 1984 West Bromwich Albion (a) 1-2 (0-1) Division One Baird Hunt, Thompson 20,248 The Coldest day I've ever experienced at a football match - there was no snow or anything but it was bastard freezing.

2 abysmal teams draw a game which was painful to watch - becoming far too regular.

My understanding was that it was more than just a name change - even if West End went bust they did contribute the ground so I still see it as a merger forming a new club moving forward.

On a slightly serious note, one of the things I really can't forgive the Halls for was the completely underwhelming "celebration" of the club's centenary - it shows that when it comes to an appreciation of the club's history and tradition they were no different to Ashley.

I hate it when they whinge about people in South Durham supporting us calling them Keegan Mags or whatever - I started going by train everywhere in 1982 and there were always loads of lads from Darlo/Bishop Aukland etc who followed us.

Being honest you have to take some cultural differences into account - I think in Yorkshire and Lancashire there are a lot of people who could be football fans who watch Rugby League instead - Bradford for example is a city which is almost as big as Leeds and bigger than Newcastle but has never really had a football fan base. People do use the "one club city" to try and excuse our crowds to an extend so in the interests of fairness but not reality you could count Tyne & Wear as the "city" and say there are two clubs (bear with me for a minute Stevie) - this then gets over the way South Tyneside has fans of both and also the pockets of Mackems in in the Northumberland old mining towns. In that context I think it shows that both clubs piss all over the rest of the country even if that does include some praise for them lot. I still think within that context we're better fans than Mackems though.

It's about upbringing and attitude imo - I don't like it when people think they've been "promoted" just because they get a good job/earn a decent wage/buy a semi-detached house. I think mobility is possible in the sense that peoples kids could grow up middle class without them really noticing it but that's about it.

Those figures do show (I think) that last year aside, this years top 2 sales were "excessive" compared to other years. I'd also say they completely destroy the industry bullshit that illegal downloads are affecting sales.

The way I read it from The Guardian was that they showed the funds were available in order to enter due diligence but once that had finished, they couldn't then produce the funds - sounds like the usual shite to me.

I don't necessarily support high taxes - I just support fair ones. By that I mean no engineered evasion and no excessive inherited wealth.

I was thinking last night that the contest has probably meant that the the X factor one sold more than previous ones so from a purely financial pov, Cowell will probably be happy. Being a cynic I recognise the counter arguments about Rage and the Charts etc but I'm still happy from a childish fun angle.

Another 3 points but 90 minutes with one moment of football (Guthrie's cross) makes me despair for the future.

As I said I get the already paid argument but I just think theres a difference between "obvious" tax evasion - for example when I was a contractor taking dividends instead of salary which reduced the tax - versus taking it "seriously" as the rich and people like Wogan do. I know it sounds like I'm splitting hairs but I think its about levels. Again he already has more than enough to live on so I just feel its taking the piss for the sake of it. I'm a hypocrite I know (seriously) - I've mainly worked in two industries which from a political/intellectual pov I despise but wanting to make a decent living has always won - no offence taken. Of course I don't think what I call wanting a decent living compares with the mega-riches we're on about here - as I said its about levels. Absolutely - the top of my hate pyramid is the aristocracy (and the churches) especially as you say because of the undoubted theft in history. However I would argue that going forward it will be the descendants of people like Beckham, Cowell etc who will be the "aristocracy" of the future. I accept that money now is earned within the system/society but the kids should make their own money imo.

Looking back that was too general - I mean the rich who bend over backwards and plan their get-outs for years using the parasites in the Financial Services and Legal industries to do so.

Terminator Salvation I was sort of enjoying it but there was an nagging feeling something was wrong. Then when I checked out the IMDb entry and clicked on a link where James Cameron gave his opinion I realised what it was - there were too many nods to the first two films and not enough fresh ideas. The nods seemed initially welcome but just kept coming to the point of excess. The final scene also reminded me of the season 1 finale of Dark Angel - maybe I've got to the stage where I've seen so much cult/action/Sci-fi that its all jaded unless it's truly original. That pilot woman was fucking sexy though.

My whole point is that the tax laws are a conspiracy between the establishment, the upper classes and the rich. They are deliberately defined year after year to keep the rich sweet.

Of course there are individual stories which are exceptions and there are decent people like you who think the "right way" - My Man spent the last years of her life worrying about having her house taken off her to pay for home care (cancer got there first) to the point where she signed it over to my brother but these stories only apply to the "little people". They don't apply to people like Wogan who get paid far too much (of my fucking money which I also resent) and squirrel it away in all sorts of hidey-holes to stop the government getting at it. They have more than enough money to lead a decent life (and indulge their kids for that matter) but get so wrapped up in the status symbol of how much money they have that they go too far. I know only 6% of people pay IHT (which kills the argument of how it affects everyone) and I also know the real rich avoid it anyway (see the deal the Queen did to avoid it for her mother) but I still feel its a fair contribution to society. Of course I'd also point out that it isn't "all" of the persons estate by a long way.

It's not the dead person who pays IHT - its the person who gets the "unexpected" windfall. I accept that tax may have been paid on it (but then again not always as non-paye people have other fiddles) but its still unearned income imo for the person who gets it. As I've also said before the arguments over IHT always include too many people who seem to be eagerly anticipating their parents death (whether unspoken or not) as a convenient and modern route into much sought after wealth which I find distasteful. I have a PAYE job at a bank in the city - I don't see what's that got to do with it.

Inherited wealth is what fucks up this country more than anything else imo. I think parents should be able to do as much as they like to raise their kids and prepare them for life as best they can but the wholesale underwriting of childrens lives makes a mockery of a supposed meritocracy. I've said this before and I know it makes me sound like a miserable, family hating idealist (which I don't think I am) but I just think people should have to pay their fair share in taxes according to the laws of the land but without all of the deliberate get-out clauses only invented for those who don't actually need any help. I was reading something about an interview with Cherie Blair where she said she lies awake at night worrying whether they've got "enough" money despite being multi-millionaires. That's the kind of unashamed avarice that I despise and that's what leads to tax fiddle laws.

tbh how is that his fault? The government of the time introduced the scheme - the only thing Wogan can be blamed for is taking advantage of what he had available to him. I think you'll find that given the same situation, most of the people posting on this forum would have done the same. If your vitriol should be aimed at anyone, it should be at the government. Of course its aimed at the government - but tax fiddles are setup by the establishment by and for the rich - and I don't care who it is who "takes advantage" of such things - they're all fucking scum. And before you say he's earned his money by being such a cherished entertainer it's his kids who benefit who've done fuck all.

I used to work for a company that wrote software for Financial Advisers and I used to have a good knowledge of the IFA industry as a result. In the late 80s the Tories introduced a classic deliberate tax evasion fiddle involving inheritance tax which was for people to invest in "sustainable forests" (just to make it sound green and wholesome) which would mean that the investment could be passed on tax free. The first high profile person to take advantage of this fiddle was Wogan - I've hated the twat ever since.