Everything was going fine until that Rooney poster was published . I blame the gutter tabloid press ... :ph34r:

Excellent point . We aren't Barcelona and our main priority is to get enough points to escape relegation .....and then take it from there . Crouch would undoubtedly get us goals - he's done it at all levels plus he can play football on the ground if the manager is strong enough to insist that we don't always play route one . I believe we have such a manager . I'd be very pleased if he came here ....

Voices in the head now , Theno ; that's a bad sign .... But you're right about Walcott I reckon - and Sven . Going back to the formation of the team , I'm quite hopeful that it will work today . Hargreaves and Carrick should do alright in their respective positions ; this should give the Roonster enough support fom the midfield not to have to play with his back to the goal too much . In theory

Only by those snobs who seem to think that they're on a different intellectual plane to a working class lad like Rooney . To$$ers .

I've been wondering that , Modi .....

Personally I think Mexico can count themselves unlucky - many teams other than the Argies might have found themselves down to 10 men . Surprised by how good the Mexicans are but nevertheless the Germans will take heart from this game . With home advantage they have a fair chance .

3-0 to England . This system Erikson's stumbled upon might just work ....

Nonsense . I expect Holland to comfortably beat Portugal who haven't looked a good team at all . Neither will beat England by more than a goal . In fact we would more likely be the winners . (Now watch Ecuador paste us !! )

Just as well they have them things called season tickets .....and new fangled ideas like monthly direct debits Still , it'll give a lot of people a good excuse to watch it all in the pub ..

Strange business about Walcott . I'm of the opinion , I'm afraid , that SGE has realised now that he's made a big mistake - otherwise he'd have played him by now . What I can't understand is Wenger's role in all this . He must know more than anyone what Walcott is or isn't capable of . I'd have loved to have heard the conversation between the two at the time .

I have been very impressed by Ghana and am glad they're through on balance but it does make you wonder when such a bad decision is made - from a ref ideally placed to see the incident . The next World Cup is in Africa isn't it ....?

A 2-0 win for France would see them through if the other game ends in a draw . That would be a shame for the Koreans whose fans were tremendous last night .

What did you expect the average bloke on the street to do about it , Flops ? Organise a demo ? Stand for public office and try and change the system that way (as you constantly say ad nauseum) ? What would you have done ?

.....or even parts of this isle ? (Maybe we should stick to the footy .... )

It's a conspiracy I tell you .....look at the video closely

You still don't get it do you , Col ? Hughes has been publicly vilified not for his homosexuality but for his hypocrisy in helping to destroy the character of someone else for also being homosexual ! He's been "clobbered" quite rightly for being a liar and a hypocrite for decades . He deserves all he gets . There are other homosexuals in parliament who have either refused to comment on the subject or been open about the fact about their sexuality - both of which categories show Hughes up to be the fraud he is .

Oh dear ; we'll have to be extra respectful next time he comes to Ewood ....

Well I must differ from most voters in that the character of the politician is more important to me than his "policies" . Yes there are decent , honest politicians - I could perhaps name Mathew Parris (now an ex polician) who as most people are aware is gay. But is he the kind of bloke who would , like Simon Hughes , slag an opponent off for being gay while keeping his own sexuality a secret ? I somehow doubt it . Therefore most people wouldn't give a fig about his private life - the fact that he's not a hypocrite is enough . Other decent politicians I can think of off hand are Frank Fields , Dale Campbell Savours , Boris Johnson and Anne Widdecombe - two Tories and two Labour (I can't think of a single Liberal !) . Perhaps people should start voting entirely on the character of their representatives rather than the policies they espouse like so many sheep . Individuality is far more important than following the party line . That is the best way of improving standards in politics . Unfortunately , it's a sad fact of life that those most attracted to politics and gaining power are those most unworthy of it . It's a bit paradoxical to expect those unhappy with the current pool of career politicians to themselves join the game . Most are too busy trying to earn a living and pay the mortgage .

Nah . I told 'em I was a scouser so they wrote it off .

I'm tempted to start a thread on this one ...

Not sure ....but Tony Blair's compiling a report

OOOOOHHHH.........Bitchy Have the chill pills not kicked in this early , Col

No I don't think he is , Colin . Well spotted , Sir . What he is suggesting (if you concentrate really , really hard) is that the element of hypocrisy involved makes these liars unfit for office . Unless , of course , your standards are so low that you don't consider such characteristics to be any bar from standing for parliament . Probably the case with yourself I'm afraid

I'll happily be annoyed right up to July 9th

Well that's it for me . I'm now going to take a leaf out of McGarry's book and will be supporting Paraguay , Sweden and Trinidad ..........on ITV