Good grief - vicar is still being paid by the church after being jailed for sex offences The Church of England says: "We have to follow the law" - in that case surely the law needs to be changed so that money doesn't continue to be paid once a man is jailed for these type of offences.

43 years later and it was the same under Mr Souness.... I notice that Dean Saunders has been appointed assistant manager of Wales this week. If I was Welsh I'd be having nightmares at the thought of the Toshack and Saunders "dream partnership", which doesn't bode well for the future of Wales. Perhaps Ryan Giggs is better off out of it.... Thank you btw for your posts on this thread rover_groo, which has given people a different insight into Dougan.

What a wicked sick evil barsteward. I wonder if, in 20 years time, this lowlife scumbag will be able to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights and say that it's an "infringement of his human rights" to be jailed for 35 years. On a slightly different note, does anyone really want to legalise drugs after reading THIS

A year before it all went wrong.... That photo of Dougan was taken in 1959, the year before he handed in a transfer request on the day of the FA Cup final. It was a disgraceful act, but now that he's dead I don't want to speak ill of him. He leaves behind a family who will be grieving - and his family of course are not in any way to blame for the transfer request. So from that point of view I am sorry that he has died at the relatively young age of 69. After his playing career ended, Dougan did a lot of work raising money for various charities. So perhaps God will forgive him for his treacherous act in 1960. Dougan is the only Wolves player so far to have scored a hat-trick in a European competition, which he did in the UEFA Cup in 1971-72 against a Portugese side. (Wolves lost in the UEFA Cup final that year to Spurs - the first all-English European final.) Somewhere up in my loft is a book that Dougan co-wrote with Radio 5 broadcaster Pat Murphy in the mid 1980s, called "Matches of the Day 1958-83: a Footballing History" - which is actually a very good read. I'll have to bring it down from the loft sometime. It describes in good detail some of the best matches of that period. Times Obituary of Dougan

Surely not another lying footballer....? Link: Thierry Henry: "I'm staying at Arsenal for life. I will never leave the club." A pity for the young kids who bought Arsenal shirts with 'Henry' on the back, safe in the knowledge that Thierry had promised them: "I am not going to leave Arsenal. Never. I am staying here for life. I have no intention of walking out on this club, whatever the situation is." Those comments were made just three months ago in March. So Arsenal fans (both adults and kids) were able to buy their 'Henry' merchandise and save their money up for season tickets the following season, safe in the knowledge that Henry had promised them he was staying at Arsenal "for life". In an article in the Guardian HERE, Thierry Henry reiterated that he would not be joining Barcelona and that he was at Arsenal "for life". Thierry Henry is a fantastic footballer. But he's not a fantastic bloke. I lost respect for him during last year's World Cup in Germany when he was diving around in the penalty box trying to get penalties just a few weeks after he had criticised Barcelona for doing the same thing in the Champions League final. There was one disgraceful incident during France's match against Spain where Henry went down clutching his face after he hadn't been touched by Spanish defender Puyol. (Unless you count Puyol's long curly hair lightly brushing the side of Henry's face.) So the conclusion I draw, following Henry's criticisms last year of Barcelona's diving, is that actually Monsieur Henry is a hypocrite. He also gave a false promise to Arsenal fans that he'd be staying at the club for life and wouldn't be joining Barcelona. Just like Craig Bellamy gave a false promise last year when he assured Rovers fans that there was no clause in his contract and that even if he'd wanted one, "Mark Hughes would never have allowed me to have a clause. He's not into that." Similar to Andy Cole's "hands on hips" routine while at Rovers, I personally dislike the way that Henry tends to play with an air of arrogance and a scowl - with his joyless (almost angry) reactions to scoring a goal when he lowers his head, scowls and raises a finger to his lips. It's almost as if Henry is angered by having to play football. Dear God, the sheer hardship of having to play for £110,000 a week! What absolute torture it must be for him. A friend of mine put it in perhaps rather politically incorrect terms when he explained to me: "Henry is just displaying the typical 'bad ass' attitude of a lot of people of his type who grow up in the rougher suburbs of Paris." I dislike the way that Henry gave a false promise to Arsenal fans about "staying for life" just three months before now deciding to walk out on the club. Does Thierry not care about the kids who have bought Arsenal shirts with 'Henry' on the back. Why do footballers lie ? Don't they care about the fans who pay their vast wages ?

"Newcastle footballers supplied with cocaine" Newcastle have had their fair share of problems in recent years - with allegations of gang rape, players sent home from a training camp in Spain for getting drunk, punch-ups on the field involving Dyer and Bowyer, Craig Bellamy throwing a chair at assistant manager John Carver and being convicted of assaulting a female student in Newcastle city centre. It wouldn't be the biggest surprise in the world if one or two Newcastle players were indeed supplied with cocaine.

13-year-old boy raped in a Blackburn multi-storey car park Thankfully this odious man is now behind bars. But if he hadn't been unmasked after giving a DNA sample for a drink-drive offence, he'd probably still be free today to prey on other vulnerable young boys in Blackburn.

"Mourinho's outrageous suggestion at Graham Poll" Jose Mourinho allegedly suggested that Graham Poll performs sexual acts on Alex Ferguson. The outrageous remarks allegedly came in a confrontation with Poll during Chelsea's 0-0 Premiership draw with Man United at Stamford Bridge in May. In an interview with BBC's Inside Sport, Poll accused Mourinho of "an unrepeatable and disgraceful personal comment" about him and Sir Alex Ferguson. Poll added: "He knows what he said to me and it was just absolutely disgraceful. I was so shocked to hear it and he knew he had gone too far." One professional lip-reader who has viewed a tape of the alleged incident says that Mourinho's suggestion to Poll was that he performs a lewd sexual act on the Man United manager. This wouldn't be the first time that Mourinho has apparently made comments of a personal or offensive nature towards a referee. The Chelsea manager escaped a fine last season after making insults towards Mike Riley's mother during an FA Cup quarter-final tie against Spurs. Mourinho was caught by television cameras at half-time telling Riley that he was a "filho da puta" (Portugese for the "son of a whore"). "I say these kind of words all the time," said Mourinho afterwards. "If you had a microphone on the dug-out you would hear them all the time. It hasn't been easy in matches with Mr Riley. Against Liverpool, Sissoko should have been sent off and then, five minutes later, Michael Ballack is sent off. Against Reading we lost two goalkeepers and no opponent got even a yellow card." "Mourinho's disgraceful and unrepeatable remarks"

"Lying Dowie deliberately deceived Crystal Palace" Palace Chairman Simon Jordan today won his court case against Iain Dowie. A High Court judge ruled that Dowie lied when he negotiated out of his Crystal Palace contract last year. Mr Justice Tugendhat said that Dowie was freed from his contract on the basis of "fraudulent misrepresentations" which led Palace to waive a £1m penalty if he joined a rival club. Dowie left Palace last summer saying he wanted to be closer to his family in Bolton. But days later he turned up at Charlton, a club just a few miles east of Crystal Palace. The judge said that Dowie made "representations of fact which were knowingly false" and that the £1m clause would not have been waived if the club knew he was planning to join a rival London club. Simon Jordan told Sky Sports today: "I think it's a good day for football because contracts and what people do and say in football, are very important. I think that having the courage of your convictions to take it to the High Court and bring an action to prove fraudulent misrepresentation - and be successful in proving it, is a good thing. So I'm pleased from that perspective." Dowie of course isn't the first person within football, and he certainly won't be the last, to tell lies. Although Craig Bellamy didn't lie to get himself out of a contract, he certainly did lie to Rovers fans in an interview with the Lancashire Evening Telegraph when he insisted that there was no clause in his Rovers' contract and that Mark Hughes wouldn't have allowed him to have one. Players and managers tell so many porkie pies these days that it's nice to hear that in Iain Dowie's case he's been proven to be a liar at the High Court. As Jim Royle might say: "Closer to the family in Bolton, my arse..."

I meant to post this link last month, but didn't get round to it.... "Cannabis cash funds Islamic extremism" Certain board members (no names mentioned) who like to indulge in a spot of marijuana, may unwittingly be helping to fund extremists responsible for appalling terror attacks across Spain, Morocco and Algeria. That's quite a sobering thought for those of you who like to roll the odd spliff or two - next time you could be helping to put money into the coffers of people who want to bomb our children and create carnage on the streets. A sobering thought indeed. I think I'll have a vodka before bedtime...

"Chemical castration plan for child sex offenders" This sounds like a good idea in principle, but the drugs would only be dished out to offenders who have volunteered for them and we don't yet know what effect, if any, they would have on offenders' behaviour. I suspect that it won't "cure" the problem and indeed many of the worst type of offenders might not volunteer for the drugs. John Reid says that the drug treatments would "not be a substitute for punishment or prison", but figures emerged this week that 8,000 sex offenders have been cautioned in England in the past five years, rather than being charged by the police. These offences include 1,600 involving children and 230 rapes. "Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime" promised Tony Blair - but the reality doesn't seem to match up to his words. It's bad enough when muggers and burglars are let off with cautions, but it's more disturbing to read that in a number of cases of serious sexual assault and rape involving children, many offenders have been let off with cautions. Link: "8,000 cautions dished out to sex offenders"

Well even if it hasn't been completely 100% proved that the abhorrent Lee Hughes drank alcohol before killing a passenger in his car - the prosecution during his trial said that he deliberately fled the scene in order to dodge being breathalysed - what has nevertheless been completely proved beyond all doubt is that Lee Hughes caused death by dangerous driving and then disgracefully left the scene of the incident. Hughes told the police that he had been drinking Jack Daniels before the incident. As the prosecution said during the trial: "Had he been drinking? The answer to that is, yes, because when interviewed, he said to the police that he had." The judge said that Hughes had a "callous disregard" for the four passengers in the Renault car that he crashed into. I hope you're not trying to suggest that Hughes is a little sweetie who had been drinking orange juice in the pub before getting into his car ? Douglas Graham died from the injuries he received in the crash, while his wife Maureen was severely injured. She died a year later after never recovering from internal injuries. Albert Frisby spent three months in hospital after the crash and was confined to a wheelchair for several months afterwards. (He now struggles to walk with the aid of a stick.) Albert told the court how he saw Hughes's Mercedes car approaching on the wrong side of the road. "I saw the headlights coming towards me. I said to my friend in the front: 'Look at this mad b******, he must be doing 60mph' and the next thing I knew he had got me." Do you think that Hughes would have been driving at 60 mph on the wrong side of the road if he had been drinking orange juice ? Personally I feel that Oldham's deal to sign Hughes is deeply insulting to the victims of this terrible incident. How would other board members personally feel if one of your family members had been killed or confined to a wheelchair through the actions of a footballer driving like a madman - somebody who then left the scene of the incident, showing a "callous disregard" for the passengers in the car. Would you be happy for Lee Hughes to be welcomed with open arms by a professional League One football club ? As Albert Frisby told the Birmingham Mail last week: "Is that really justice when he left us for dead? My life is ruined as I can't get about much now. I used to raise cash for various charities but I can't do that now. I am stuck in the house and my wife has to do everything for me. What happened is a living nightmare." The despicable and loathsome Lee Hughes is set to be released from jail three years early. He's still able to earn very good wages and live in a nice big luxury house playing professional football. Douglas and Maureen Graham are now dead thanks to Hughes's behaviour. Do you think that is justice for the Graham family ? Oldham Football Club say that Hughes "deserves a second chance". But the Graham family don't get a second chance do they ?

I haven't always been the biggest fan of Graham 'Publicity' Poll, with his theatrical gestures, nods and winks in front of the camera, but I found myself agreeing with him today when he said that the FA failed to protect him in the row he had with Chelsea. In Chelsea's Premiership match against Spurs at White Hart Lane last November, Poll dismissed John Terry for two yellow cards. After the match Terry said that Poll had changed his story over why he had been sent off. Frank Lampard and Jose Mourinho also waded into the row, suggesting that Poll had sent Terry off to teach Chelsea a lesson. Poll felt that the FA failed to back him in the wake of Chelsea's criticisms. Poll indicated today that John Terry's position as England captain had unduly influenced the FA. As Poll said: "So they're left with the confrontation of England captain versus English referee. It shouldn't be that. It should be that whoever the player is, if he has done something wrong, he should be dealt with properly." I agree with Poll that nobody should get special treatment from the FA, irrespective of whether they are England captain or not. Poll said "The FA are inherently weak. If you lie about a referee you should get punished. The Chelsea case, which ran from 5 November to 12 January, curtailed my career by one season. My credibility was stripped not by Chelsea trying it on but by the FA letting them try it on. My anger is at the FA not at Chelsea." Poll claimed that FA chief executive Brian Barwick did nothing more than "huff and puff" when he dodged the issue of John Terry accusing the referee of telling lies. Graham Poll's interview with "Inside Sport" will be shown on BBC One at 11.05pm this coming Monday, 4th June. When I heard that 'Publicity' Poll was about to retire, I didn't think that it would be the last time we'd see him on camera....

I can't promise to do one every week American, but here's a short simple one for you today.... Five clues from the grid below: Across 1. Newcastle boss falls on deaf ears here (3), even if Motty does politely do this (3). 2. There was one less of these in the Premiership when the Blades went down (6). 3. He could rival George Bush Snr in the "Read My Lips" stakes (7). Down 4. A midfielder with a well-known sexual prowess performed here in 1992. (4) 5. Not quite home of the Nou Camp, but perhaps home of the Blue Camp (10).

I searched for the "Ian Huntley" thread, but couldn't find it, so I'm using this thread instead.... Police: "We let rapists and sex offenders go free" "Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime," said Tony Blair before the 1997 election. Wouldn't it have been more honest if Blair had told voters in '97: "If New Labour come to power you can expect crime to go up and police constabularies to let off hundreds of sex offenders with cautions - including rapists." To take just one police force in the country - West Mercia - between April 2001 and March 2006, 41 people were given cautions for indecent assault, 17 for sexual assault and one for gross indecency with a child. (Apparently only six per cent of sex offenders are convicted.) Meanwhile... Prisoners complaining that they only get NINE TV channels For the six per cent of offenders who go to court and are actually convicted, they can sit in their cells and enjoy BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV2, Film Four, The Music Factory Channel and Sky Sports News - and they don't have to pay a licence fee for the privelege. Thank you Mr Blair.

McClaren: "I'm a better coach after losing." "I'm definitely a better coach now than when I took the job," says McClaren. So what's he learnt then? What pearls of wisdom has he gained from losing to Spain and Croatia and only drawing 0-0 draw at home to Macedonia ? Has McClaren learnt that it's actually quite a good idea to pass well, create chances and have shots on goal? FA chief executive Brian Barwick says that even if England lose Saturday's vital European qualifier against Israel, Steve McClaren will not be sacked. Barwick insists McClaren will be in charge for all of England's qualification matches until the end of November. But if England do lose against Israel on Saturday, surely the clowns at the FA have to start asking themselves if they appointed the right man to take over from Sven? England have only played Israel twice before - both matches were away in Tel Aviv. In 1986, England came back from a goal down to win the game 2-1, with Bryan Robson scoring twice. In 1988, a disappointing friendly match between the two sides ended 0-0. The latest FIFA rankings show England are currently 6th in the world, with Israel ranked 38th in the world. The Israelis have only qualified for the World Cup once before in their history - in 1970 they were eliminated after the first group stage. In more recent years, when the mercurial Eyal Berkovic was in the Israeli midfield, they came close to qualifying for major tournaments, but fell at the final hurdle. Israel made it to the playoffs of Euro 2000, but were beaten over two legs by Denmark.

"Warnock is talking absolute garbage" says Boro's assistant manager.

Video link: I bet Warnock was furious with West Ham's second goal on Saturday. Warnock will be conscious that West Ham looked dead and buried before Saturday, but the Hammers' win over Rovers has given West Ham a bit of hope now that they can overtake Sheffield United in the battle for the drop. Warnock has branded Gareth Southgate "a disgrace" after the 'Boro boss fielded a weakened line-up in their match against Man City on Saturday. Southgate rested striker Mark Viduka and Jonathan Woodgate with one eye on Monday's FA Cup quarter-final with Man United. "It's a disgrace and it's scandalous," fumed Warnock. "I know Gareth's a friend of Stuart's, but I don't think a club like Boro should disrespect Sheffield United and it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Middlesbrough play West Ham next and Alan Curbishley is another mate of Gareth's. He'll probably not bother there, either." Effectively, Warnock seems to be accusing Southgate of deliberately not trying to win games for 'Boro against teams with managers he's friendly with. Yet it was Warnock himself, who prior to Sheffield United's match against Arsenal on 30 December, with a fixture against Middlesbrough coming up two days later, said: "Squad rotation may come into it. I will have to be careful who I select against Arsenal and may even play a second XI." Warnock is the man who fielded a reserve team when Sheffield United crashed out of the FA Cup at home to Swansea City - and now he says he's against teams putting out anything less than their strongest XI. Some might suggest that Warnock was being disrespectful towards the FA Cup and indeed disrespectful towards the teams who are challenging Arsenal for the 4th Champions League spot.

Mark Bright was bloody awful as a co-commentator with Motson last night for the Spurs/Chelsea match. I can't quite understand why Mark Bright and Ian Wright have been employed by the BBC. Well maybe there's one possible reason - but I better not say it.... Some of the Irish football pundits on RTE make a refreshing change from the Beeb. Despite Liverpool beating Barcelona over two legs in the Champions League a couple of weeks ago, Liverpool were slated by Eamon Dunphy after the 2nd leg match at Anfield. Check out the video link below. I don't entirely agree with Dunphy - but you couldn't accuse him of being dour or sitting on the fence.

Massimo Maccarone is reported to have said about Steve McClaren: "Only in England can somebody with such evident limitations become the head of the national team." The Italian striker is also reported to have slated McClaren's training methods as being "a quarter of a century out of date." Maccarone's agent is now playing down the words of the Italian, which were quoted on La Gazzetta dello Sport's official website. I don't know if Maccarone has been quoted accurately or not, but I suspect that his reported comments about McClaren's training methods do have a ring of truth in them. After all, McClaren was partly responsible for the coaching of the players during the World Cup shambles in Germany last year. And after the tournament, a number of the England players in their autobiographies acknowledged that they were unfit and under-prepared for the biggest tournament in the world. Frank Lampard said that he wanted to do more running in training to get fit, but the England management preferred to concentrate on set pieces rather than doing fitness work. Seb Coe (admittedly not a football expert, but he does know a thing or two about fitness) said after the World Cup that he believed England were clearly one of the most unfit and under-prepared teams in the competition. Has Steve McClaren learnt anything from the shambles of Germany?

Rather different to the "No chance of signing for West Ham," which Lucas apparently told Brownie.... No Lucas, you are insulting me and insulting other people's intelligence with the feeble excuses you've given for your avaricious greed. Why not tell the truth Lucas? You're moving to West Ham, not for footballing reasons, but to earn yourself a fatter pay packet. You epitomise the culture of greed within football which is turning decent people away from the game. You are spitting in the face of the supporters who fork out money for tickets to help pay for your vast wages.

No chance at all Brownie ? Did you ask him: "What about if you were offered more than a thousand of these a week at West Ham ? But it surely can't be about money. Good God, no. Neill is leaving for footballing reasons and for a new challenge. When he told you Brownie that there was "No chance" of him moving to West Ham, that must have been because he didn't realise what a great club the Hammers are and what a fantastic footballing challenge a relegation battle at Upton Park represents. Why would he want to stay at a club in the top half of the table, competing in Europe, when he can move to a side in the relegation zone and have the fantastic footballing challenge of keeping them up? Apparently, in between sorting out the finer points of the West Ham deal, Lucas's agent Peter Harrison managed to find the time to pop into an East London pub this evening to sing a bit of ABBA during a karaoke set. Money, money, money Must be funny In the rich man's world Money, money, money Always sunny In the rich man's world Aha-ahaaa All the things I can do Now I have a little money It's a rich man's world A man like that is hard to find but I can't get Lucas off my mind Ain't I glad And if Lucas happens to be free he'll stuff the Rovers just for me That's too bad So he must leave, he has to go To West Ham or Monaco And get a fortune in a game, our lives will never be the same... Money, money, money Must be funny In the rich man's world Money, money, money Always sunny In the rich man's world Aha-ahaaa All the things I could do If I had a little money It's a rich man's world A man like that is hard to find but now our pockets are really lined Aint I glad And if Lucas happens to be free I knew he'd move just for me That's too bad So he must leave, he has to go To West Ham or Monaco And get a fortune in a game, our lives will never be the same... Money, money, money Must be funny In the rich man's world Money, money, money Always sunny In the rich man's world Aha-ahaaa All the things I can do Now I have a little money It's a rich man's world

Three drug users die this week from "bad heroin" in Hackney The father of murdered prostitute Gemma Adams in Ipswich said yesterday: "She was offered drugs and it went from there. If she hadn't become addicted to heroin she wouldn't have had to resort to working on the streets. Drugs are at the heart of this tragedy." Gemma came from a middle-class background. As a youngster she enjoyed horse-riding, Brownies and piano lessons. Her father said that Gemma later "fell in with a bad crowd" and became addicted to heroin, losing her job in an insurance company because of her chaotic drug use. Despite the recent serial killings in Ipswich, one prostitute named "Lou" was interviewed on the ITV news last week to say that she will still continue to work on the streets to pay for her drugs. "I need the cash," she said. "If I wasn't doing this I would be shoplifting." What a sad state she has got herself in. She's such a prisoner to drugs that she's prepared to run the risk of being murdered by a psychopath in order to get her fix of heroin. The Ipswich killer is evil and needs to be caught. But those who condone drug abuse should recognise the devastating effects that drugs have had on the lives of many families.

I completely agree mate. I thought Rovers were absolute tripe last night and it was embarrassing to watch. It has started to seriously concern me the fact that Mark Hughes then praises the team after the side has performed abysmally. I know that a lot of managers tend to "talk up their team" and put a positive slant on things. But personally I prefer honesty and I don't like it when managers try to pull the wool over the fans eyes and treat them like fools. A blind man on a galloping horse could see that we were garbage last night - constantly giving the ball away ridiculously cheaply and having a painful lack of creativity or ideas going forward. Perhaps Hughes is publicly praising the team and privately criticising them. I sincerely hope that is the case. Because if Hughes is actually seriously impressed with that shambles of a performance against Nancy, all I can say is that his standards are a lot lower than mine and I fear for the future of our team if he believes that it was an impressive display last night. We are near the bottom of the Premiership because we have been pants this season. Somehow (extremely fortuitously) we have got away with it in Europe against decidedly average opposition. We have won just one of our last eight Premiership matches (against a woeful Fulham side). Things drastically need to improve for us in the Premiership and frankly I'm getting more than a little irritated with Hughes praising the team after some abject displays.

I'm not quite sure what your problem is Colin. I described the Ipswich serial killings as dreadful and then merely repeated what's been widely reported in the media over the last few days - that the girls who were killed became prostitutes in order to feed their heroin addictions. In my view heroin is a big problem in society and tends to lead to an increase in crime. Please feel free to argue differently Colin. Perhaps you could give us all a very sensitive and tasteful post in reply. Have you had a personal experience with drugs which has made you particularly sensitive on this subject? I hope that the link below from the BBC doesn't come across as being outrageously insensitive to you Colin. "Street prostitutes all need drugs" When a little while ago (on a different thread) I referred to one of the Moors Murderers as being "Glaswegian Ian Brady" was that a racist comment against Glaswegians or Scottish people ? What relevance on various different threads does all your Aussie-bashing have - except to reinforce your own particular prejudice and loathing of Australians ? I bet you love Aborigines though....