Which part of my post was "racist" ? I have re-read it again and I can't see anything "racist" at all.

The BBC also reports that "Arab sources" have told them it was a co-ordinated attack from Al-Qaeda, which looks to be by far the most likely cause of the attacks today. The bombs were synchronised to go off at a similar time and cause maximum terror. The same method has been used by al-Qaeda before. Professor Paul Wilkinson, a terrorism expert from St Andrews University, has said: "This was a major terrorist attack which bore all the trademarks of the al-Qaeda network." Unlike previous terrorist attacks by the IRA units, al-Qaeda has never issued a warning and their intent is to kill and injure as many people as possible, as happened to the rush hour commuters in London today. Scotland Yard have said that there are at least 33 fatalities so far and more than 100 people have been "seriously injured" in the attacks. More than 200 people were reportedly taken to Royal London hospital in Whitechapel. My sympathies are obviously with the families of those killed and the people who have been seriously injured in the attacks. A statement which has just been issued on behalf of the Vatican, said that the Pope was "deeply saddened by the terrorist attacks in central London." "The Holy Father offers his fervent prayers for the victims and for all those who mourn. While he deplores these barbaric acts against humanity, he asks you to convey to the families of the injured his spiritual closeness at this time of grief," said the statement. Prof Michael Clarke, a terrorism expert at King's College London, said that the bombs would mean at least 24 people had been involved in planting them in a targeted operation. "It will have been quite a big plot and months in the planning with at least 24 people involved" said Prof Clarke, who also warned that the London Olympics will "almost inevitably" be a target for terrorists. Prof Clarke says that the Olympic Games in 2012 will be a "pretty severe headache" for the Metropolitan police. "This will be the biggest international event ever seen in London, bringing in people from all over the world. The Olympics has global attention, so it is bound to attract the attention of groups that want to use it for their own purposes." "Terrorist groups will try to infiltrate construction firms and contract bodies. Al-Qaida related terrorists have learned to get on the inside so they can find out what is going on," said Prof Clarke. If Al-Qaida has decided to launch a long-term campaign in Britain it could be the start of a bloody conflict.... I would certainly not do that, as obviously the vast majority of muslims are not terrorists. However, it doesn't help when you get various Islamic clerics living in Britain like Omar Bakri Mohammed, who has openly called for muslims to carry out terrorism. Mr Bakri Mohammed came to Britain in 1985 after having been deported from Saudi Arabia because of his membership of a banned group. He has since been given leave by the Home Office to remain in Britain for the next five years. "People like to call it suicide bombing," Bakri says. "We call it self sacrifice. You must fight for the way of Allah - to kill first and be killed." Mr Bakri, pictured below, who supported the September 11 attacks in the USA, meets up with his devoted students on a regular basis in London to give speeches. Bakri has denounced America as "the head of Satan", and has attacked countries like Britain who he says have "sold themselves to Satan". I'm afraid that when you have this type of extremist preaching from clerics like Mr Bakri, terrorist attacks are likely to emerge. Indeed, last year the Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir John Stevens said that a major terrorist attack on London was "inevitable". In the bus attack, the whole of the top roof was blown apart in the bomb and there have been reports that at least 21 people died in the Kings Cross tube attack. On a tragic day like this, it is perhaps not appropriate to talk about immigration policy - my immediate thoughts are firmly with those killed and injured. However, like Sir John Stevens from the Met, I have feared in recent years that something like this would happen in the UK. My fears have sadly become a reality today. Or to quote the biblical prophetic warnings from Enoch Powell: "As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding; like the Roman, I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood."

While I would agree with that, I'm afraid I can't get that excited about the Olympic games being held in London. Firstly I've always felt that our football World Cup is the premier event in the sporting calendar, not the Olympics. Can other people honestly get that excited about clay pigeon shooting, synchronized swimming and a bunch of women shot-putters with hairy armpits...? I did use to like athletics a lot in the 1980's when we had Cram, Ovett and Coe competing against each other - but I've since become a bit disillusioned with the sport and the number of drug-taking cheats about. Every single middle-distance race these days seems to be dominated by Kenyans. Well I suppose many of them run all day barefoot in the heat over there - so they become more accustomed to running than those from western cultures.... Seb Coe of course has been the figurehead for the London bid and will be receiving a lot of the plaudits now. It probably won't be long before Lord Coe gets a knighthood. That's how politics tends to work these days. Have you experienced the tube system recently though? It's bloody awful to put it mildly. The last time I was on a tube, just a few weeks ago, we were squeezed in like cattle into a dirty packed carriage that smelled of vomit - and where there was barely enough room to stand let alone sit. In fact, if it was a live cattle truck, the EU would probably have outlawed it on the grounds of cruelty to animals. (I know there may well be some extra investment now over the next seven years into the tube system - but I strongly doubt it will be enough to reverse over 50 years of underinvestment.) I've had too many horrendous journeys over the years in London by tube. If that can be reversed by 2012, it will be a miracle. The Olympics will just mean more congestion, more foreign tourists pouring into London and having to experience our shambolic third world transport system - which is a disgrace to a country like Britain (the 4th richest country in the world.) People coming over for the 2012 Olymypics can expect to get squashed up against, shall we put it politely, some "overseas" types who tend to perspire a lot and don't seem to like using deodorant or changing their clothes that often. For too many years, public transport all over Britain has been starved of proper investement. The biggest problem for the South East is that it's one of the most densely populated areas in the world and the system can often just grind to a halt at times. Given the density of our population and our severely congested transport system, it was comforting (not) to read a recent Gov't estimate that suggested we may have up to 500,000 illegal immigrants in the UK. It seems that grinning Mr Blair can spend plenty of time promoting an Olympics bid, but personally I feel it would also be nice if he could spend a bit more time deporting some of the odd half a million illegals we've got running about in this country. It might make a little bit more room for the foreign visitors we'll have in 2012. Parts of London are undoubtedly wealthy, but there's a huge massive wealth gap in the city, so you have the "slum" areas - graffiti covered and urine-soaked tower blocks just down the road from expensive areas where you can't a decent 4 bedroom semi for less than a million quid. There are probably few cities on this earth which have a bigger wealth gap than London. Some parts of the city could certainly do with a bit of regenerating - but that obviously applies to the whole country, not just London....

Gerrard explains "agonising" U-Turn "It's been the hardest five or six weeks of my life," said Steven Gerrard as he revealed his dramatic U-turn. The England midfielder has decided to stay at Anfield just a day after announcing he wanted to leave. "At first I was convinced I could earn more money at Chelsea," he said. "It came as a real shock when I later heard I couldn't get more than 90 grand a week at the Bridge." "Me and the girlfriend were all set for the move to West London. We'd looked at properties down by the Thames and I was salivating at the mouth at the thought of Roman's millions going into me bank account. All that lovely cash coming my way was a dream come true. My agent fed a nice story to the press that I'd had a row with Rafa, which was untrue of course, but it was a good way of pinning the blame onto Liverpool." "But then, just as I was about to hand in a formal transfer request, my agent said that Kenyon had drawn up the contract at Chelsea for £90,000 a week - keeping me on the same terms as Lampard. I was shocked and gutted. My agent pleaded with Kenyon to raise the wages. I didn't sleep much last night, thinking about all the various scenarios. It was a very difficult time for me. I had an agonising decision to make, thinking of what would be best for me bank account in the long-term." "I thought maybe that if I could just squeeze some more money out of the Russian, then the deal could still go-ahead. To be honest I wasn't expecting such a good offer of £100,000 a week from Liverpool. I didn't think they'd go as high as that." "It became a bit of a cat and mouse game, but in the end I've got a nice increase in me basic wage packet which is always nice for a scouser. " "I got what I wanted - which is squeezing every last penny out of Liverpool. And I'm still the skipper up here at Anfield rather than just being a team player at Chelsea." "But there's no doubt I would have been on the first chauffeur-driven Bentley down to London if Roman had come up with a better salary package. I mean you've got to do what's best for your career in the long-term haven't you?" "I remember what it was like as a boy living in a council house in Merseyside and being so bloody poor we had to re-use the teabags. It's alright for the fans to moan and whinge about loyalty, but they don't realise it's just a short career for us players." "You can be retired at 33 with a mortgage still to pay on your mansion, and just a couple of Ferraris in your garage. It's not enough for a footballer these days is it? What's wrong with trying to earn as much as you can when you're still young?" Gerrard announced that he wouldn't be making any further U-Turns this summer. "I've got what I wanted for now. There'll be no more U-Turns for a while. Not unless me agent hears from Real Madrid that they're willing to go up to at least 120 grand a week," he said. "I wouldn't mind living in a nice villa in Spain with a big swimming pool, but the personal terms would obviously have to be right first," he said.

"I'm staying", mouthed Steven Gerrard to Liverpool fans as he patted the LFC badge on his chest after the epic Champions League comeback against Milan. Now it seems that despite being offered a reported £100,000 a week to stay at Anfield, Gerrard wants out. The cynical among us would suggest that throughout last season he was aware that he'd be leaving in the summer. While he was obviously delighted to lift aloft the Champions League trophy, this didn't change his mind about wanting to leave. His agent had no doubt been whispering in his ear for much of last season - telling him about the vast sums of money on offer from Chelski (both in terms of wages and a hefty signing-on fee.) Gerrard had reportedly been actively searching for a luxury penthouse by the River Thames ten minutes down the road from Stamford Bridge. Another in the long list of disloyal two-faced gits ? GERRARD SET TO LEAVE Edit: I should perhaps have posted this in the Premiership Transfer Topic - apologies.

Graeme Souness has been heavily backed by punters to be the first Premiership manager sacked next season - becoming the 5/1 favourite to go first. Souness' odds were first cut from 12/1 to 7/1 by William Hills, and have now been slashed for a second time to 5/1. LATEST WILLIAM HILLS "SACK RACE" ODDS 2005/06 5/1 Graeme Souness 8/1 Chris Coleman, Alan Pardew, Alain Perrin, Alan Curbishley 12/1 Paul Jewell, Mick McCarthy, Bryan Robson 14/1 Sir Alex Ferguson, David O'Leary 16/1 Raphael Benitez. 20/1 BAR Souness claimed in an interview today that he could have stayed with Blackburn for another four years if he had turned down Newcastle. "At Blackburn, the aspirations at the start of each season are just to stay in the Premiership. But at St James' Park there's always pressure to qualify for Europe and to be challenging for a trophy." Souey admitted in the interview that if he lasts another 12 months at St James' Park, he'll have done well. "It's a massive challenge for me. I would think that I've only got about 50/50 support with the Newcastle fans," he said. Souness says that the pivotal moment of last season was the Bowyer/Dyer punch-up. "Any chance we had of success was destroyed that day. The whole League season blew up there and then. I've never been so down as when Bowyer and Dyer fought each other," he said. Links below: SOUNESS BECOMES BOOKIES FAVOURITE TO GO FIRST "BOWYER FIGHT SICKENED ME" SAYS SOUNESS Looks as if poor old Souness needs all the support he can get these days.... Where's Tris when you need someone to defend him? Our biggest Souness supporter seems to have gone a bit quiet recently....

A poll in the current edition of Newcastle fanzine "The Mag", found that 71 per cent of fans believe Graeme Souness isn't the man to bring success to the club. The article below is in the anti-Rovers tabloid, the Mirror, but it's still a fairly interesting read. "SOUNESS IRON FIST SQUEEZING THE LIFE OUT OF NEWCASTLE"

A few questions that I'm interested in that might hopefully be answered in the future.... 1) Has Mr Williams' salary gone up now that he's chairman. If so, by how much? 2) Does Mr Coar's salary remain the same now that he's effectively been demoted from chairman to director? 3) The explanation given for the changes was that the trustees were keen to see a slimmed down more executive board. Did Coar himself offer to step down as chairman or was the decision made for him by the trustees? 4) Does the timing of the changes coincide with Bob Coar now having been successful at cosying up to the FA and joining their committee panel. In the future, how much time will 'Burnley Bob' devote to Rovers during the week as director? 5) Will Mr Williams still be the Blackburn "rent-a-quote" man in the local and national media - giving statements to the press - or will these duties now be delegated to managing director Tom Finn? As Blue Phil said a while back, there often seems to be quite a bit of fawning and sycophancy on this M/B towards John Williams. "Isn't he doing a wonderful job" seems to be the message from many fans. But if you examine his last eight years as chief executive, it's been a fairly mixed record. As Chief Executive, Mr Williams oversaw (and presumably approved of) the disastrous appointment of Brian Kidd as manager, which culminated in relegation. Also as Chief Exec, Williams (together with the rest of the board) gave Souness the go-ahead to lavish £7m on an Italian Serie B player that the manager had only seen on a video handed to him by a dodgy agent. Williams (and the board) later gave Souness the go-ahead to blow the £17m Duff money on Rangers players like Barry Ferguson and Amoruso. In recent years John Williams has presided over declining attendances at Ewood. Plus there was the embarrassing Tony Parkes fiasco last season. A man of Williams' experience should have thought more carefully about the way to handle Tony's departure. Having a board meeting on the Tuesday to decide to get rid of Tony, and then waiting for the Friday before anyone had the courtesy of telling him, was hardly the right way of going about things. On the plus side, Williams and the board look to have appointed the right man for the job in Mark Hughes and in the last few years, Rovers fans have witnessed a Worthington Cup final victory - as well as another trip to Cardiff for last season's FA Cup semi-final. Four seasons in the Premiership after promotion in 2001, has given the club a bit of stability and we've also seen European football (albeit not progressing far in the UEFA Cup.) Hopefully next season, Hughes can keep the strong defensive platform he built up, while at the same time playing with a bit more attacking verve and invention going forward. And if our smooth-talking moustachioed new chairman can manage to attract some new investment into the club without sacrificing our tradition or heritage, then most Rovers fans, including myself, will be happy....

Back to the Future - A look ahead to a match in the year 2025... A crowd of just over 4,000 at the Tesco Ewood stadium saw Blackburn 'Burger King' Rovers draw 1-1 against League Two rivals Hartlepool United. Burger King Rovers took a deserved lead eight minutes in the first half, when a fine header from Barclays Bank Brockhall academy teenager Stuart Robinson went into the bottom corner of the net. Burger King started off brightly in the opening exchanges. Robinson should have made it 2-0 just before half-time when Paul Brown's free-kick found him completely unmarked in acres of space but he sent his header over the bar. After the break, Hartlepool showed the resilience that has seen them climb into the top four of League Two. After 71 minutes, Jamie Wilson's cross fell to the feet of 'Pool striker Andy Kelly, who made no mistake from six yards out. Hartlepool pushed for a late winner, but couldn't find the breakthrough in the final third. Burger King Rovers, wearing their new bright orange kit with purple dots after a sponsorship deal with a local fancy dress shop in Blackburn, held firm for a point. A late Rovers penalty claim in front of the Pampers Baby Dry Nappies Stand (formerly known as the Blackburn End) was waved away by referee Matthew Cunningham. There were a few disgruntled boos towards the referee at the end of the match from the Shell Oil Stand, but Burger King Rovers will be happy with a point that keeps them in the top half of League Two. Speaking to Radio Lancashire after the match, an elderly pensioner named Gordon said that the point was well deserved, but they should have had all three points if the referee had given the penalty. "It was a good workmanlike performance from us. I'm just sick of all the moaning gits who want to live in the past and still harp on about the tradition of old Rovers being lost," said Gordon. "We had to move with the times in the 21st century. The changes were necessary, but didn't go far enough. We should have sold the Tesco Ewood stadium and merged with Preston, Wigan and Burnley to form a mighty Lancashire United," said Gordon. "We'd still be in the Premiership and would be fighting for trophies if the board had been bolder and gone one step further," he added.

Well I'm sure that council tax payers in Manchester are delighted to know Phil that their money is being spent on ferrying around the disgraced Glazer family in a special police escort. At the same time, Greater Manchester police have got the worst record in the country for tackling burglary crime among the 43 police forces in England and Wales. A report last year said of Greater Manchester police: "The detection rates for key crime categories remain low. The force has the worst record in the country at solving burglaries, with uniformed officers lacking basic investigating skills. Just 7.5 per cent of burglaries in the area were solved by police." A link to that report is below: http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/s/1...lice_force.html But while Greater Manchester Police are clearly too busy to be bothered solving 92.5% of burglaries - the worst record in the country - isn't it nice to know they are happy to act as chauffeur drivers for a loathed and discredited American family.... I was deeply disturbed watching the antics of the police on the ITV News. I saw what looked to be a peaceful protestor, a man in his 30's with no weapon in his hand and not acting aggressively, being dragged away by the throat by a thuggish-looking policeman who resembled a nightclub bouncer looking for a punch-up. For sure, there were probably a few idiots among the protesters, throwing bottles and acting like yobs, but I was appalled to see that knuckle-headed aggressive policeman acting like a thug towards what seemed to be a peaceful protester. I wonder if this is going to be a regular occurrence at OT in the future. Whenever the Glazers decide to drop by for a glass of champagne and prawn sandwiches at Old Trafford, Mr PC Plod and his friends will drop everything at the station to act as chauffeur drivers for this repulsive family.... I never thought I would be sympathising towards Red Scum fans - but they are fully entitled to protest against the Glazer family if they wish. The real thugs on Wednesday night seemed to be the police who were dragging people away by the throat, and allowing alsatian dogs to intimidate peaceful protesters. Greater Manchester Police can't be bothered to solve over 90% of their burglaries, but they are on hand to offer assistance and a special taxi service for a bunch of rich Jewish-American businessmen. Clearly the police force have got their priorites right then....

In May, Souness gave a bizarre interview to the Newcastle Evening Chronicle in which he said: "Who are all these players I'm supposed to have fallen out with?" "Andy Cole? I rest my case. David Dunn? I rest my case. Craig Bellamy? I rest my case. Andy Todd? I rest my case. Dwight Yorke? We only fell out once during a training session." "I've managed hundreds of players in my 19 years as a manager. So I have fallen out with five of them? I rest my case." Well, there's another one to add to the list now Graeme.... In fact, I don't think Souey was being entirely frank and honest when he mentioned only five names. At Liverpool, he reportedly fell out with senior players like John Barnes and Ian Rush. And if you go back to his days at Glasgow Rangers, I remember him having a huge bust-up with defender Graham Roberts - throwing him on the transfer list. But we'll give Souey the benefit of the doubt - and say that the five names he mentioned have now been increased to six this week. Laurent Robert said after his latest fine: "It's getting personal now. My argument is with Souness not with Newcastle." Robert claims that other players are unhappy with Souey's managerial style and that Jermaine Jenas will be the next player to leave St James' Park. The Frenchman said: "I've seen Jermaine growing up at Newcastle and he'll be a brilliant player in the future. But I know how badly he felt at being left on the bench by Souness last season. He's at a turning point in his career and I think he'll leave." Robert reiterated that Souness is wrecking Newcastle and that he deserves to get the sack next season.

Even though the criticism of Souness was delivered by an enigmatic and somewhat recalcitrant Frenchman, it was still another indictment of Souey's managerial style. According to Laurent Robert: "Souness lacks the respect from his squad that Sir Bobby Robson enjoyed. I knew from the first day under Souness that things were going to get worse - and I'm not the only player who thinks that." "Souness uses outdated methods. I can only see a lot more pain for the players, fans, and the chairman while he remains manager." "Souness is always moaning that he needs new players. But the Newcastle team should be doing a lot better with the players they already have. Souness will get nowhere by screaming at players and slamming doors," added the Frenchman. "What Newcastle did to Sir Bobby was bizarre. They just threw him out, when I believe that he would have got things going again. Sir Bobby may be older than Souness, but we saw more of him and the training was better under him." "We could have won the UEFA Cup last season if Souness had possessed the intelligence. If he keeps going like he has been he'll get fired. And he'll deserve it," said Robert.

I agree, but we've got an abysmal record at Upton Park over the last ten years. We haven't won away there in our last eight matches against them. 1994/95 West Ham 2 Rovers 0 (A hugely disappointing result coming a week before VE Day. This was our third last game of the season and a number of Rovers fans began to fear that we'd blown it.) 1995/96 West Ham 1 Rovers 1 (Another poor performance, with Shearer scoring a late equaliser we barely deserved.) 1996/97 West Ham 2 Rovers 1 1997/98 Premiership: West Ham 2 Rovers 1 1997/98 FA Cup: West Ham 2 Rovers 2 (Rovers lost the replay on penalties.) 1998/99 West Ham 2 Rovers 0 (Another woeful performance in our relegation season - with Ian Pearce scoring one of the goals against his old club.) 1999/2000 and 2000/01 - Rovers in 1st Division 2001/02 West Ham 2 Rovers 0 (Earlier in the season we had beaten them 7-1 at Ewood.) 2002/03 West Ham 2 Rovers 1 (The Hammers waited until late January before they managed to win a home match. Typically it was against us.) 2003/04 and 2004/05 West Ham in 1st Division The current capacity of Upton Park is just over 35,000. Plans to replace the East Stand and increase the capacity to 42,000 were put on hold after the Hammers were relegated two seasons ago. These plans might be revived if West Ham can avoid relegation next term. Two famous Hammers 'Old Boys' have been knighted in recent years - Sir Geoff Hurst and Sir Trevor Brooking. Many feel that Bobby Moore, as our only World Cup winning captain, should have been knighted before his sad death, or certainly at least given a more prominent role within the game as a footballing ambassador. Harry Redknapp once told the story of how shortly before Bobby was diagnosed with cancer, he saw a sad looking Moore sitting in the stands in the pouring rain at Grimsby, eating fish and chips out of a paper bag, and co-commentating on a goalless draw in a League Cup match for a local radio station who paid him about a hundred quid. A far cry from former Hammers defender Rio Ferdinand, who was once compared to Bobby Moore, and is currently demanding a £120,000 a week contract at United. The greedy barsteward. I'm sure if England win the World Cup in the future, the captain of the team won't have to travel up to Grimsby on a wet midweek night to earn himself a few quid when he retires. West Ham have (belatedly) tried to recognise the contribution that Moore made to the game. The South Stand at Upton Park has been renamed the Bobby Moore Stand. There's also a nice statue, which was unveiled a couple of years ago at the nearby 'Boleyn Road' junction - depicting Bobby being held aloft by his England team-mates, raising the '66 World Cup. West Ham currently hold the World Cup winners medals of Bobby Moore, Sir Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters in their museum for visitors to see. Unlike ourselves, the Hammers have never won the Championship in the top division. Their highest finish is 3rd in 1985/86 under John Lyall. For a brief while, it looked as if they might win the League that season. Frank McAvennie and Tony Cottee were scoring goals for fun. (They beat Newcastle 8-1 that year.) In April though, they suffered from fixture congestion and faltered in the closing stages, finishing behind Everton and League winners Liverpool. All the major honours that West Ham have won in their history have come in the last 41 years - the FA Cup in 1964, 1975 and 1980 and the European Cup Winners Cup in 1965. I was disappointed with the confrontational and arrogant attitude that Alan Pardew displayed in a Sky interview after winning the play-off final at Cardiff. I hope that after losing to Rovers on the opening day, the Hammers are relegated.

A gang of teenagers from an urban North London school raped an 11-year-old girl and filmed the attack on a mobile phone. The video of the rape was then circulated to hundreds of other children to watch and "enjoy" the attack. Girl's rape filmed on mobile phone Britain's inner cities have become chav-infested cesspits, where videos of violent attacks on kids are happily passed around among youngsters. Today's teenagers enjoy the vile lyrics of odious rappers like Eminem - who glorifies rape and violence - and Britain's high streets have become playgrounds for aggressive and loutish anti-social behaviour. The yob/gangster culture that has been allowed to flourish in the UK, is spiralling out of control. Parents - please warn your kids that our once great country is going down the pan....

Paul Stretford, the football agent of Scouse chav Wayne Rooney, has been charged with a series of offences by the FA. Among the string of offences that he's been charged with, Stretford has been accused by the FA of: 1) Making false and/or misleading witness statements to police, 2) Giving false and/or misleading testimony to Warrington Crown Court. Wayne, currently on holiday with chavette girlfriend Colleen, and pictured here reading about Merseyside brothels and the best granny prostitutes to sleep with, declined to comment when asked if he or Mr Stretford were good role models.... Link: Stretford charged over Rooney rights

Well it gives me something to moan about, but you're probably right.... With hindsight, my comments about Parker may have been more suited to the Premiership transfer thread. I was interested to see the "Sack Race" betting, Oscar. I was expecting Graeme Souness to be among the Top 3 favourites to get the boot first in the Premiership. I was rather surprised to learn that with William Hills, Souness is only the joint 6th favourite to get the sack first, at 12/1. I certainly think that Souey is more likely to get the push before Alan Curbishley at Charlton, for example, who is only 8/1. Curbishley is the third longest serving manager in Britain after Dario Gradi and Ferguson. Alan's been in charge at the Valley since 1991. He seems to have a supportive Chairman, he's on a long contract at the club, and generally has quite a good relationship with the supporters - who appreciate the job that he's done for them over the last 14 years. The only circumstances that I could see Curbishley getting the sack would be if Charlton got off to a horrendous start, being around the bottom of the table near Christmas, and the Charlton fans started to get on Curbishley's back - leading to the chairman panicking about their Premiership status. Otherwise, provided Charlton don't get off to a dreadful start, I think that Curbishley's job is reasonably safe. The three favourites to get the sack first are Chris Coleman (who came under pressure last season, admitting that his job might be under threat from Chairman Mo) , Alain Perrin (Some Portsmouth fans are not entirely sure about the Frenchman's credentials) and Alan Pardew (Despite promotion via the play-offs, Hammers fans may get on Pardew's back if the club doesn't get off to a decent start in the Premiership.) Here is the full list of betting odds. (Courtesy of William Hills.) First Premiership manager to leave: 7/1 Chris Coleman, Alain Perrin, Alan Pardew. 8/1 Alan Curbishley 9/1 Bryan Robson 12/1 Graeme Souness, Paul Jewell, Mick McCarthy. 14/1 Sir Alex Ferguson, Steve McClaren, David O'Leary. 16/1 Rafa Benitez,. 20/1 Mark Hughes, Steve Bruce, Martin Jol. 25/1 David Moyes, Stuart Pearce. 33/1 Sam Allardyce (On a very long contract at Bolton.) 66/1 Arsene Wenger 100/1 Jose Mourinho. 40/1 - No Premiership manager to go before the end of 2005/6 season.

I lost a bit of respect for Scott Parker in January 2004, after the way he treated Alan Curbishley and Charlton fans by demanding a move to Stamford Bridge - at a club where he was always likely to find regular first-team football hard to come by. I've got even less respect for him now after he joined the shower at St James' Park today and ludicrously told the press conference this afternoon: "I don't feel that Newcastle underachieved last season." In case he didn't realise, Newcastle United last season finished in their worst league position (14th) since they were promoted to the Premiership in 1993, they had their lowest points total (44 points) , with 57 goals conceded - after some humiliating defeats such as losing 4-1 at home to Fulham. If that isn't "underachieving" then I don't know what is.... Parker told the press conference today: "I was impressed with the manager Graeme Souness. He's a major factor behind my decision." Well I'm not impressed with your judgment Scott... And if you turned down the opportunity of Champions League football with Everton to join in with the Intertoto-Bob Cup at Newcastle, then I think you're a mug. Are you going to kiss the badge at Newcastle, like you did at Chelsea and Charlton, or will it be the shirt whipped off for the cameras ?

OSSYDAVE IS LUCKY HE DOESN'T HAVE TO DO THIS FOR A LOSING BET Pay up you tight git - or I'll come round with a pair of garden shears!

Mr OssyDave seems to have disappeared and hasn't posted since his "I think I can manage £50" comment on May 16th - nearly a month ago. If you have a bet with someone, you should be prepared to pay up. Raid the piggy bank, cash in the savings, sell the shares or whatever - but you should damn well come up with the money. Poor show from Dave.... I had a similar situation a few years ago, when a former "mate" of mine had a £50 football bet with me that Rovers wouldn't get automatic promotion in 2001. (He thought we'd only reach the play-offs.) The cheeky bugger didn't pay up when we finished 2nd. It used to be said that "An Englishman's word is his bond." Sadly that's no longer the case....

This might be one of those rare occasions where Scotty agrees with one of my posts... I'm certainly firmly in the category of "women's football sceptic". If others like Paul have enjoyed the spectacle today, then I'm pleased for them. But I'm afraid I can't join in myself with the gentle "touchy-feely party atmosphere" at women's games - I can't take the women's game seriously. The standard of fitness and speed of passing simply can't be compared to the men's game. The girls typically string together four or five decent passes and then lose the ball needlessly - there's a lack of consistency and imagination to their passing. Many of the goals come from horrendously bad defending, poor clearances and dreadful defensive positioning that would make Alan Hansen fume. The standard of women's goalkeeping is also woefully poor. I'd suggest that most decent under-16 schoolboy teams would have better keepers than the women on show in this tournament. Indeed I'd back the old school team I used to play for - to beat most of the women's teams on show. The women's marking at the back is often atrocious. I'd imagine that my old school team would have too much pace, speed of thought and aggression in the tackle for the women to be able to cope with. Our "shoot on sight" policy would have severely tested some of the weak female keepers. Another point worth making is that in terms of national TV viewing figures, the Euro 2004 match between England and Portugal attracted over 17 million more viewers than the England ladies 3-2 win over Finland in Manchester - which peaked at 2.9 million viewers. (2.5 million saw Arsenal play Charlton in the Women's FA Cup final.) Whereas 20.7m viewers watched the England/Portugal quarter-final at Euro 2004, and if you go back to England's group matches in Euro 2004, the England/Croatia match attracted 18.1 million viewers and the France/England match had 17.8 million viewers. This is a vastly bigger difference than the gap between men's and women's tennis. (The Wimbledon men's final had 7.7 million viewers last year, the women's final peaked at 6.3 million viewers.) Given the huge gap that exists in terms of national TV viewing figures between men's and women's football - this suggests to me that despite the gentle party atmosphere Paul enjoyed so much at Ewood today - women's football still has rather a long way to go to catch up with the men. Apologies to Roversmum.... I hope you'll be able to forgive me Mum and not send me to bed early tomorrow night without my cup of cocoa and motherly hug....

I had to smile watching the recent England/Columbia game on BBC1, where Owen scored a hat-trick. Michael was partnered up front by the lanky Peter Crouch. John Motson was commenting on Crouch's aerial ability, when he said to Graeme Le Saux: "You were with Peter at Southampton. What's he like down below?"

Ferdinand backs United fans over Glazer Man United defender Rio Ferdinand today came out in support of fans protesting against the Glazer takeover. "Football is a working man's game, the game of the people. If this heartless billionaire comes in and raises ticket prices beyond the grip of the ordinary working man it will be a sad day for football," commented the multi-millionaire, currently demanding a new £120,000 a week contract. "I'm completely on the side of the fans," said Ferdinand. "The ticket prices show a total lack of understanding for the average salaries of the working classes." "I was banned from football for eight months so I know what it's like to be unemployed. It was a real struggle for me to survive on 70 grand a week, so I know what it must be like for other supporters in that situation," he said. Ferdinand revealed that during his suspension, he used to drive past factories in his £135,000 Aston Martin on the way home to his £3m mansion and empathise with the lives of ordinary Mancunians. "I'm fully behind the fans who are against these price increases. Football is a working man's game and it's sad to see supporters being ripped off by greed," said Rio, before driving off to see a girlfriend in his new Ferrari Convertible. .............................................................................................. Thank you Philipl for your contributions and links on this thread. When Glazer was trying to take over the club last year, we had the usual PR stuff coming from his spokesman - claiming that Malcolm wouldn't be looking to hike up prices at Old Trafford. That's exactly what he plans to do. Ordinary supporters will be priced out, and more seats will be taken over by private boxes for the "prawn sandwich" brigade - the type of champagne-drinking corporate sponsors who pay big money and don't give a damn about the traditions of the game and who actually runs the club. Meanwhile, the team will be dragged to the USA every year to play friendlies in Florida, to bail out the Jewish-American tycoon who doesn't have the balls to set foot in Old Trafford. This was the guy who made his money from renting out trailer parks and ruthlessly upping rents for elderly residents, and now he wants to bleed United fans dry as well - from the comfort of his Florida mansion. The bearded American gnome represents the ugly face of capitalism. But I'll probably be accused by Scotty of talking moralistic crap....

Lyon fans are not happy bunnies. (or should I say froggies...) Paul Le Guen, who won the last two French titles in a row with Olympique Lyonnais, announced last month that he was leaving the club. Lyon fans were hoping for a decent appointment to replace him. (Names such as Giovanni Trappatoni and Didier Deschamps were mentioned as possibles.) Instead, the appointment of former school teacher Monsieur Houllier has not gone down well with most Lyon supporters. It's not just the fans who are upset. Last week, when rumours of Houllier's appointment first began, striker Sylvian Wiltord publicly declared that he hoped the next Lyon boss would be "anyone but Houllier." Frenchmen recall that when Houllier was in charge of the national team (he was the Gallic equivalent of Graham Taylor) - France needed just a point from their last two matches against Bulgaria and Israel to book a place in the 1994 World Cup. They lost both games and Houllier blamed everyone apart from himself. But that's long been the story with old Gerard. Houllier's feeble excuses - he'd rather blame the weather or the green grass for a defeat rather than accept responsibility himself - tends to alienate supporters. Last season, as well as winning the French title, Lyon reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, losing to PSV Eindhoven on penalties. Lyon fans were hoping to go even further in the Champions League next season - but are understandably not too happy with the appointment of a failed former French national coach. Houllier of course went on to blow over £100m quid at Liverpool on players like Igor Biscan, the spitting cheat El Hadji Diouf, Bernard Diomede, Emile Heskey, Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou (who Houllier ludicrously described as "the new Zidane".) It was ungrateful from Heskey - but is also probably illustrates just what a poor man-manager Houllier was at Anfield. I expected Liverpool to get stronger too Gord - but I don't think even the most optimistic of Reds fans last summer would have anticipated them winning the Champions League the season after Houllier left. Link: Why the hell did Lyon appoint this man?

Has the girl on the right placed that football between her legs to hide something. Where are her panties... ? This young lady who whipped her shirt off and knelt down in the middle of the pitch with just her bra and shorts on didn't get a booking! Maybe the ref was hoping she'd score again and remove a couple more items of clothing! btw, Do these Hammerettes sing "I'm forever blowing bubbles" or a different variation of the song...?

I watched the match at a friend's house over a glass of beer and I was disappointed by the arrogance of Alan Pardew immediately after the game He first pushed a cameraman away on the pitch and then when interviewed, Pardew had a pop at the interviewer, complaining that Sky were critical of West Ham's performance in their play-off final last season against Crystal Palace. I know that Pardew was under a lot of pressure going into this match - his job perhaps depended on it. But I was disappointed by his hostile and arrogant demeanour on the pitch afterwards. I strongly suspect that if Preston had been promoted today they would have gone straight back down. They fall well short of Premiership standard. West Ham may also struggle - unless their Chairman can dip his hand into his pocket for some new players. Looking at some of the thuggish-looking Neanderthals celebrating in the Cardiff stands after the game, I rather hope that the cocky 'Ammers are relegated next season....