Tyrone Shoelaces

Yeah, look at Berkovic and Bohinen. Neither of those were much bigger than Buckley but they could ride a tackle. Berkovic especially would never stop looking to receive the ball no matter how tightly he was marked.

There were some praising them before they'd actually kicked a ball for us. As far as I'm concerned reputations count for nothing. I learnt that in the Hodgson and Kidd era.

Proper planning and preparation is the key to success in DIY. I spent a lot of time on that as an apprentice at college and night school. Another thing I used to tell the kids at school - " Don't just see the job being a success story in your head, try and see what can go wrong before it does ".

I'm the tidy one in our house. I'm not quite at the OCD stage but I like to be able to find things when I need them.

Souey was great for those seasons but we would have gone down if he had have stayed. Same with Bowyer.

I've done that to myself but I had screwdriver with me that fitted into the square hole in the lock so I could get out !

When I was on the maintenance at one place I got called up to the drawing office on the morning of the first day back after a really cold Xmas. There were drips of water coming through the ceiling. When I got up into the loft I found a couple of copper water pipes had been pushed apart by the ice forming inside the pipes. The ice was slowly melting. There were small pools of water forming on the top of the ceiling panels . As I was carefully making my along a joist in the dark I lost my footing and one leg went right though the ceiling panel. That wouldn't have been so bad but all the dusty water in the loft followed my leg down the hole. Even that wouldn't have been too bad but the stream of dirty water went all over a drawing the Chief draughtsman was just putting the finishing touches to ! Probably about 3 weeks work ruined ! He wasn't too happy and he stormed into the Managing Directors office saying I'd done it on purpose ! No consideration for my crushed nuts when I landed crotch first on the joist !

I agree that real speed over 10 yards can be critical if you're playing out wide. If it gets you into a crossing or shooting situation it's enough. I like the lads attitude. Just what you don't want face as a full back when you've already been playing 70 minutes.

Apart from the usual hammering a loose floorboard down and putting the nail through a water pipe I haven't had any DIY disasters. However in my working life ? I could write a book. My wife once knocked a full bucket of wallpaper paste over a brand new carpet that had been laid the day before.

Torn achilles is what we were told. Not good.

I'm not a medical expert but although it's a different injury it's probably as bad as Dack's. I agree it's real shame, I was delighted when he looked to have nailed a place down. He appeared to be the " no nonsense " type of centre half we needed so badly.

Yes but of those three the only one I would have signed is Armstrong. If I was looking for a conventional centre forward to " lead the line " in a Mike Newall, Yakubu style I wouldn't be expecting Armstrong to fulfil that role.

I think Holtby's playing from memory.

We've already got three in Armstrong, Brererton and Gallagher.

From what little I've seen Whiteman is what Holtby could be if he could manage more than 1 good game in 6. Ditto Rothwell. Both of those two blow very hot and cold. One week they look top class, the next week you don't know they're playing. The pre injury Travis is another story but I don't see him as competing for the same place in the team. Downing is another one who Whiteman could have been preferred to.

That's because we've signed a lot of very average midfield players. None of whom seem to do enough to hold down a place for long. We've gone for quantity over quality. With the exception of Travis I'd gladly swap any of our other midfield players for Whiteman. In some cases I'd swap two ! Of course you need to come up with a way of playing that would suit Whiteman's skill set. You'd have to build a team around him. I wouldn't trust Mowbray to be able to do that.

Looks like Preston have signed Whiteman.

Stoke are trying to sign another left back called Norrington- Davis ( I think that name is correct ) on loan from Sheff Utd. He was at Rochdale on loan and their fans rate him according to a Dale following pal of mine. I don't think I've ever seen him play.

I like the lad, he tries to do things all the time. He just needs to learn when to stick and when to twist. Like there are things you can do in your opponents half that you can't in your own half. Or like when your full back goes past you outside on an overlap on no account must you now lose the ball.

Step overs are meaningless if you watch the ball like " an hungry dog watching it's food bowl arriving ". Don't look at the feet concentrate, 110% on what the ball is doing.

Any update won't make easy writing, or reading ! I hope I live long enough to read it, and I hope it doesn't pull any punches.

I'd have still sent Douglas back. We have Bell and Downing for the moment.

I'm past being judgemental about it because it's pretty mainstream, especially in the under 45 age group now. I wouldn't reject someone for a job etc if they had tattoos. I've had some pretty un-inspiring youths dropped on me as apprentices and it's always a pleasant surprise to see them thrive as they gained experience. Working in a school taught me the younger generation has loads to offer and they are certainly no worse than my generation at a similar age. They're just different.

My point of view is that tattoos are a fashion statement. Like all fashion statements it will die the usual death. When I was a kid lots of blokes were walking around in drape jackets, boot lace ties, drainpipes and beetle crusher shoes. Later on we all had shoulder length hair etc. Look at some of the old interviews of footballers in the 1970's, ties were about 5 inches wide as were the lapels on the suits. They all look ridiculous now. The thing about those fashions is when they went past their sell by date we ditched them. With Tattoos it won't be so easy. It's no skin off my nose as long as I'm not expected to get one. Just as an aside- when I used to go to Rovers in the early 1960's stepping off the bus at the Boulevard was like going back about 18 months in terms of fashion. That's how far Blackburn was behind Manchester in terms of style. The kids in Blackburn only caught up when national TV music shows like " Top Of The Pops " and " Ready, Steady, Go " etc brought mass styles to the youth market.

My latest edition is the 2009 Edition.