thenodrog

I wonder if any cameras picked up the nature and strength of the 'dig' that Thompson so obviously received just prior to his sending off as it clearly was enough to provoke an immediate reaction. I dont want footy to get allover sterile but the contact appeared deliberatly provocative so surely whats sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, especially in regard to the Reid / Gronkyaer incident. All round though its just another reminder (aka Tugay) of the folly of picking up the first booking so irresponsibly and cheaply.

Hardly a fair or realsitic comment. But I guess one simply borne out of the level of frustration that chucks all logic and rationale out of the window. Try to think things through more, use your memory and remember the financial support given to the last manager. The finances that have been available at our tiny footballing outpost is way out of kilter with the rest of pro football clubs. It is some way in excess of what the likes of Bolton, Soton, Charlton, Everton, Portsmouth, West Brom etc have had to manage on and probably similar to the funds 'proper' big clubs like Villa and Spuds have 'enjoyed'. In case you hadn't realised, the finacial rules have changed recently. There is little of no value held in players as the freedom of contract situation simply depreciates em as quick as a 3.0 litre petrol engined Renault. Be grateful that we have had a steady hand on the tiller and look around in the 1st div and see where financial irresponsibilty has left the likes of Coventry, Leicester, Forest, Leeds etc. In the Prem Man City owe zillions and Newcastle and Boro must be defying gravity.

Better ask the fans of about 80 other clubs for the answer to that one.

We have a bottom 5 squad neoizjan. We just have to make sure that it doesn't turn into a bottom 3 one.

I told you he was my boyhood hero Dave....... I loved the guy but I still stand by what I said. A place in the UEFA team of the year for Mike Harrison? Record transfer deal? Hardly.

Good player Harrison. My schoolboy hero cos I played left wing for the school in those days. He had tree-trunk thighs, a shot like a cannon, was seriously quick and a superb penalty taker. He represented England briefly at U21 (or U 23 not sure which). But he was not fit to lace Damien Duffs boots by a country mile........and you jolly well know it Jim.

He did start well but Jol had done his homework well and by bringing Gardner on to go 5 at the back stifled him. One thing I did notice was that Bothroyd makes very early runs as soon as he sees a team mate recieving a pass and by doing so frequently ends up turning back from an offside position. As soon as our midfielders cotton on to his game and begin to provide a few quick / early first time through balls without needing the obligatory 3 touches and a good look around the sooner we will see the best of him. I think his frustration with team mates was simply down to their tardy service. btw Just to cheer some of our more morose contributors, although I am probably clutching straws here ....... a win and a loss is 50% better than 2 draws.

Here endeth the longest sentence in messageboard history! anyone care to translate it for me?

Rovers 0 Spurs 1.........Well and truly kiboshed! All your fault then Simon!

If Gallaghers effort had gone in and we were left defending a 1-0 lead with 30 mins left to play subbing Tugay with Flitcroft would have made perfect sense. Or maybe you think that Jol would still have gone with 5 at the back in that instance? Try to think things through.

You criticise Dickovs performance Rev but the worst player on the park and by a considerable distance (much worse even than NEJ) was Gallagher. I may be proven wrong in the fullness of time but imo he is out of his depth in the Prem. Sure he pulled the save of the match out of Robinson but that apart he contributed next to FA. The thing that endears him to the fans can only be the fact that he lived in Shad. Which in itself provides a strange contradiction....... how does a lad from Shad manage to shirk and duck out of so many 50:50 situations? Dickov was finding it tough enough against the Tottenham 'Globetrotters' but the task became impossible once he had been booked. imo so many are bitterly criticising the Rovers but very few on this board appear willing to give Spurs any credit for what I thought was a very professional performance. I was very impressed with their work rate and commitment......... something that Spurs are not really known for. They set out to contain and frustrate us comfortable in the knowledge that they have 2 of the best strikers in the Prem and that sometime during the 90 mins those two would be likely to grab a goal against the worst defence in the Prem. And so it proved. As soon as they went 1-0 up on came Gardner and they played 5 at the back and stopped our attacks from the wing completely. Job done! I do feel that we would have had a better chance 3 weeks ago when they appeared to be playing to get Santini removed. Now Jols in like most new managers he's got em 'up for it'. I doubt that he'll make many fans from the Spurs traditionalists who like to see good football but he'll certainly get em closer to Arsenal in the Prem. We are a poor team, Spurs do have more talented players in important areas, we only got beat 1-0. Lets all try to keep things in context.

Nice one. You had me going then waggy.

buy Bucky? as in pay for outright? Anyway Jim'll be gunning for you if you get an Audi.

Seemed a bit excessive to me too, but here's the 'Independent' article by Stephen Castle that I got the figures from Bucky. (God only knows what 'Operation Black Vote' is though.) http://www.obv.org.uk/europe/eu20030702a.htm btw you seem a bit grumpy.......... is your new skoo' a bit tougher than you anticipated or are you due to start your period soon?

In America approx 90 people in every hundred (thats 90% Bucky ) own a gun whereas in the UK the figure is 10 people in every hundred.

Oh did he?

Now jest a cottonpickin minute BP.........They might not but I bet their great grandpappies sure would've.

Why such barely concealed contempt for our 'player of the season' to date waggy? btw how much taller than him are you?

Quite obviously not Bryan! Please think things through before posting. In considering that they have not been offered the soft option you have completely discounted all thoughts of Mrs Chard facing the rest of her life alone never mind piggin Christmas? How exactly do you describe her option? All this fine resolve about life meaning life will never survive through the european courts will it? Execute em. btw you talk about TV, well how ironic that it was cctv that caught em bang to rights enough for them to have to change their plea to guilty. I suggest clear enough eveidence to hang em too.

On the subject of native peoples , have the red indians been completely wiped out yet ? Maybe you should give them their land back The Red Indians still exist Phil. They have not been wiped out completely yet .........but their spirit has. They live in something called a reservation and are treated a bit like asylum seekers over here I think. I wonder how many would be living in the ludicrously named land of the free today if the settlers were the ones with bows and arrows whilst the injuns had Winchesters. Anyway never mind them injuns how did they re-imburse all those black fellas that they imported from Africa? God bless America eh?

From aol news........Two more who by their own actions have forfeited their right to draw breath on this planet. "Killers: Your Husband Won't Be Coming Home Joseph Mee and Christopher Smith Two sick thugs kicked a man to death and then sneered down the phone at his wife: "Your husband won't be coming home." Robin Chard, 47, was returning from a night out in Newcastle when he was attacked by Joseph Mee and Christopher Smith. Mee, 27, bragged to friends how he posed like rugby star Jonny Wilkinson, with bent knees and clasped hands, before he kicked his victim's head like a ball. He also told friends he had taunted Mrs Chard when she phoned her husband's mobile to find out where he was, telling her: "Your husband won't be coming home." The pair then went to Smith's house and listened to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, constantly replaying the line: "Mama, just killed a man." The killers are now facing life in jail after admitting to the murder. They changed their plea to guilty after being presented with evidence from CCTV pictures. Detective Superintendent Steve Wade, who led the investigation, said after the case was adjourned for reports: "These are evil and dangerous men for whom life sentences should mean life. They used a sickeningly excessive amount of violence against a stranger walking home after a night out. It could have been anyone. They targeted him because he was smartly dressed and using his mobile phone." Judge John Milford told the pair, who between them have 67 earlier convictions: "The only sentence I can pass and will pass is life imprisonment." Mee and Smith will be sentenced on December 22." and if Judge John Milford had the option of the death sentence available then these two would surely have qualified. There is absolutely no requirement for them to continue living imo and anyone who attempts to offer such in reply is an irresponsible, uncaring and hard-hearted fool.

And why should he rate him? Its obvious really to anybody impartial his second touch is usually a tackle and he continues to make the wrong decision in shooting from distance with colleagues better placed. Also he's not particularly pacy and not a threat in the air. He (and we) got lucky last year, every pundit said he would find it tough this year and they were right. Given freedom from injuries Stead should be given a lengthy spell in the reserves to learn his trade and regain his shattered confidence. If any player has a weakness playing in the Prem will certainly expose it. And to think that in the close season his agent had the temerity to ask for an improved contract.

Let's hope the authorities can catch and successfully rehabilitate the two little darlings who stabbed a fella to death in front of his nine year old daughter in Chelsea yesterday. Not wanting to be flippant but it could have been much worse. The poor chap could have disarmed and killed the intruders with their own knife. Then he'd really have been for it! No doubt it'll turn out that the poor bloke simply tripped and fell onto the knife that the youth was using to peel an apple at the time. It's not funny in the slightest but given hindsight what does the law permit this poor bugger to have done to protect himself and his family? Self defence / necessary force are the usual phrases trotted out in the courts, but in reality ferkin about trying to circumnavigate those two principles is impossible when the other bloke(s) is definitely not playing to the same rules. Put the lights on, plead for em to leave and say your prayers is about the only steps that anyone can take with impunity from the law! The Tony Martin / Fred Barrass case illustrates exactly how much the welfare of the guilty party takes precedence over that of the innocent one.

Oh good! No need to bother going any further with this preposterous suggestion then is there? But I'll bet the scheming beggers do! In Islamic law it appears that the two most important principles are...... 1. Give us an inch and we'll take a yard. 2. Much wants more. Maybe when countries like Saudia Arabia agree to the ludicrous suggestion of allowing a dual law legal system we will consider it too. Until then any muslim who feels the need to be judged under the Sharia Law can begger off and live where it is accepted. How muslims have the utter cheek to even suggest this is beyond me. They should know their place in this world and stick to it. Lots of people of different religious faiths live quite happily in this country but thats simply not enough for the followers of Islam is it? Some time ago our resident pinko's ripped into me when I reported a conversation with an Indopak in Nelson. The chap stated that he hoped that Nelson would become the first town in Britain to be controlled under Sharia Law. It's obvious now as we all knew it was then that he is not alone.

Sharia law indeed . This government doesn't have the will to resist attacks on our democracy . Hopefully future ones will . Only because they are morons, and gullible, easily led morons at that. If that seems like a sweeping generalisation, well it probably is, but if you vote for Sharia Law to be instigated in the UK you are a cretin of the highest order. Simple as. Good grief, I am becoming more pompous by the minute! Time for another Geoffrey Howe style pummelling (sp TDI) I fear.