That was shockingly poor. 'Origin of Symmetry' was a masterpiece. 'Absolution' was almost as good. Why did they have to sell out and start making music that aims to please as many people as possible, but music that, as was rightly pointed out above has lost all of its heart.

I used to be a big "indie/rock" fan but no bands out there are making good music anymore and somehow I've found myself listening to instrumental/experimental/progressive music. Bands like: Caspian, Morning After Girls, Kayo Dot, This Will Destroy You, Rosetta, Khoma, Red Sparowes, Mono, Isis, Evpatoria Report etc etc etc

When the new Muse album comes out and sells a few million copies (which it will) and the new Caspian album comes out and sells under 5,000 copies. I'll be crying. I just don't understand why so many people like s*!t music - which unfortunately it sounds like the new Muse album will be

As long as they make enough money to keep making records for you to listen to, do you really care how many they sell? Many people who say this kind of thing then moan at a band for selling out if they do manage to make it big as well (not saying you would though).

Noticed an article on BBC news - saying that the price of coke has gone up due to the number of police busts. Also it stated that most cocaine is actually less than 9% pure nowadays.

Also for anyone who takes it - it usually includes cockroach pesticide & animal worming tablets.

Do animal worming tablets also work on humans? I am hoping to kill two birds with one stone here.

I read it as prices staying the same on the street but for a kilo of raw price is up, therefore quality is down as its bashed more to squeeze profit margin. Either way it shows a lot of people are paying a lot of money to snort random chemicals up their nose.

"Former England cricketer smuggled £140,000 worth of cocaine in fruit and vegetable cans"

Chris Lewis, who was born in Guyana and claimed 93 wickets during his England Test career, allegedly smuggled cocaine worth more than £140,000 into the UK, hidden in cans of fruit and vegetable juice.

The man from Del Monte...

Just noticed the posts above with reference to opium in Afghanistan from February. If Opium crops were bought by the government it would be sourced into NHS for morphine, methadone etc. Apparently this would be a good cost saving exercise.

I think there's a lot of jealousy around regarding A. Cole. If it was your mate who got arrested for drunk and disorderly it would probably be no more than a laughing matter. And as for the Arsenal saga, while we're talking silly money and far more than we could ever hope for I'm sure we would all compare or wages to our team-mates and maybe feel under-appreciated. That said, he is a stupid manchild but we're not talking a Lee Hughes or Joey Barton here.

What would inevitably happen (as I've explained on numerous occasions on this thread) is that the harder stuff would go legal drip by drip and then the taxpayer would end up paying the bill for the hopeless addicts who use the stuff and are too incapable to work to pay for it .

This is already the case. I would like the tax money to go on a different approach, viewing drugs as a social problem to be fixed rather than a legal problem to be chased down by police and largely ignored in the social context.

Countries that have become softer law-wise on drugs, such as the Netherlands with cannabis, have found the numbers of users go down. Indeed the cannabis usage in the UK went down when it was re-classified. It's not inevitable that numbers of users will rise.

Carsley leaves Everton

I know he was a bit bobbins for us but he had some good years at Everton.

I thought he was one of very few decent players in a very poor period for us. The reaction he got when he decided to leave, boos and all, made me think others thought the same.

Someone should tell him there's a difference between bulimia, and just eating until you're sick.

I think a lot of the comments here overstate our importance - how or why would MOTD or the media in general be biased against us? I think generally we get the credit we deserve.

I could agree that teams like WHU and Spurs get a bigger focus, but the national TV and newspapers are based in London and their reporting teams seem to get distracted by what's going on locally to them. As for mainly featuring the "Big 4" on MOTD, like it or not they play the best football consistently and more people want to watch them than us.

On Garth Crooks' team of the week, why does anyone care whether he picks our players? It's pretty clear from his selections, and his every TV appearance, that he's an arrogant and often clueless plonker.

I have to laugh at posting articles from the Torygraph as information. You may as well just post www.conservatives.com as a source.

The part in AESF's post about 1 in 600 people in jail not being excessive given the level of violence etc, is just brilliant.

I thought my link in reference to AESF was rather self explanatory would you not agree.

The repulsive Mark Dixie apparently had a history of suspected sexual assaults vs women. It's a pity the Australian authorities did not appear to notify their UK of their suspicions when they deported him.

I doubt being a drug user turned him into a sexual predator but most likely increased the severity of his actions. Fortunately the law did not allow him to use his drug use as a defence in relation to the act of murder.

He was also drunk, alcohol is a drug too you know? The description of cocaine given in AESF's post could quite easily describe alcohol.

As I've said before, how many chemists are going to be happy stocking this stuff and having 20 smackheads queueing in their shop, probably helping themselves to various other items whilst they're there?

And is the resident junkie going to nip down to Boots and pay £5 for a fix (complete with £3 tax) or is he going to ring up Dodgy Dave and get it illegally for half the price?

They already do have this. Pharmacies provide methadone and other subsitute opium fixes to addicts "attempting" to kick the habit. And, the government would be able to provide drugs for quite a lot cheaper than illegal dealers can (and at higher quality) due to economies of scale and a more direct supply chain.

People who write off those who are for pro-legalisation as being hippies or drug-takers or not in touch with reality are being quite short sighted. Most of the arguments they give are also not based on facts. Governments are spending more and more money on tackling drugs (especially the US), while with each passing year the numbers of users and the problems associated with them are staying the same or getting worse. Whatever your viewpoint one must agree that this is not good value for our taxes. While anybody in a position of power is rejected out of hand and given the stigma of being "pro-drugs" for daring to speak about other options that we could take, there will never be a meaningful debate.

For the record though, people will always use drugs even though they all have risks (including the legal ones) especially when abused. The current situation puts dangerous substances and peoples health in the hands of the criminal underworld who only care about profits. In my opinion this is wrong and is not working.

1-0 Rovers with a goal from McCarthy.

Lawrenson has predicted us to win 2-0 on the BBC site. Its very strange how we were predicted to lose most games whilst finishing 6th last season and now he seems to be in love with us.

Vinjay does make the occasional good point but even a stopped clock is right twice a day. It is quite amusing to read his rants, but if moderators are going to be chasing around after threads being diverted down the Walker/Williams route again then its not worth it. You guys do a great job and Im sure your time is limited.

Graeme Souness has his critics when it comes to transfers (not least at Newcastle and Liverpool), but I have to say thanks to the man for buying Tugay. He oozes class, and there are probably still no better passers of the ball in Europe even considering his advancing age. Pace and strength are great attributes to have, but theres no substitute for a good footballing brain and Tugay has the best in the business.

United will be well up for this after last season, and given Chelsea`s recent stumble. Would be great to rain on Fergie`s 20 year parade though.

Us 1-3 Them

It is clear at the moment that our squad isnt big enough, so Mokoena is well worth keeping as he is versatile. For the same reason Tugay should be offered a new deal sharpish even if a replacement is found.

I reckon it would be easier to name an intelligent footballer.

Nigel Reo Coker seems a very articulate and considerate guy when being interviewed.

I have always thought that Darren Purse has one of the most gormless looking faces around, but Rio Ferdinand does look and come across as a real idiot.

As for McAteer, this is from an interview I found:

Your nickname is Trigger. Small Talk's always wondered whether the famous McAteer pizza story is urban myth or fact?

It is true mate, yeah. They asked if I wanted a whole pizza cut into four or eight and I said four because I'd never eat all of it.

You come across as pretty intelligent for a footballer, though...

In football, everyone gets an image and I always found that by having this slightly dim-witted one I could get away with murder. It also helped me play more matches.

Good point prestonwhite. If the revenue is higher due to increased ticket sales then the boards of clubs, who after all have a duty to the club to be financially motivated, may see the sense in reducing prices for all less attractive fixtures.

Nicolas Anelka has very funny ideas about things! Bolton play kick and rush? Tell us something we dont know, maybe he should do a little more research before he moves clubs again. I remember the look on Sam Allardyces face when at the press conference to announce his signing, Anelka said something along the lines that if Bolton get into the Champions League he might stay next year! Just what the gaffer wants to hear after shelling out millions for him. Why anyone would consider touching Anelka with his rotten attitude and big ego is beyond me.

Just bought the new Bob Dylan album ~ Modern Times. Haven't bought a Dylan album for maybe 15 years, it's a bit like being a lapsed catholic (I'm one of those as well).

Great album, a very different Dylan musically and some great lyrics. Looks like I may 15 years of catching up to do. Buy it.

Any old fogies know if he has plans to tour the UK with this band?

You cant go wrong with his previous two albums either; "Love and Theft" and "Time Out of Mind". He really has been in a creative purple patch the last 10 years, and is well worth seeing live.

Also, saw Ryan Adams last night. A very underrated writer and performer who is so much better than many more hyped singer songwriters of recent years.

Charlton probably passed on Nelsen because he can't do the 100m in 11 seconds and doesn't come out of defence with the ball pretenting to be Franz Beckenbauer. For some reason, whether a defender can actually defend seems to be last on peoples' lists nowadays. Luckily for us Hughesy is old-school in that respect.

If an Oasis greatest hits album was picked on how good the songs are rather than singles that were released it would be all of Definitely Maybe taking up one of the CDs!

Very happy with the signing of Roberts. His goal scoring record doesn't tell the full story of how influential he was at Wigan last season, often playing up front alone with little support from the midfield.

Hopefully more signings to come over the next few days.

It sounds like the ticket system has been a complete joke from start to finish.

1) You needed a mastercard (official credit card of the world cup, of course) to buy tickets in the first place.

2) The World Cup ticketing organisation made a load of cash on the interest from both successful and unsuccessful ticket applications for months until they announced who had tickets. Unsuccessful applications receieved their cash back minus an administration fee (essentially charging you to earn them interest).

3) Too few real fans in the stadium.

4) Too many corporate ticket holders making a personal profit on selling their 'comp' tickets to the genuine fans.

5) Difficulties such as those experienced by Waggy when you finally do arrive at the ground.

The fan loses out and other businesses and individuals profit at their expense. As per usual when it comes to the business of football, there are people queuing up to exploit the loyalty of those who finance the game through their love for the sport and their team.

Christiano Ronaldo has been a disagreeable little tosser for the last three seasons at United, but now he's a serious problem in the game only because his actions have affected us. The only people to blame for our 'early' exit are the England team and management and of course the good old FA. To pretend that a campaign against Christiano Ronaldo would stem from anything other than bitterness at another wasted tournament is a joke. Also, as has been said earlier in the thread, there are worse offenders in the Premiership.