Drunx2002

Soooo, this being the boycott thread and all.... Is there a plan for phase 2? I've had a quick look through here and the protest ideas and none the wiser?

The boycott has gained reasonable media attention. If we end up with a crowd that isn't that much smaller than normal, it undermines having a boycott at all, and easily allows a "nothing to see here" narrative to be peddled. There is no choice here.

I know they were tired, but Travis, Tronstadt, Dolan and Can't well were far better than all their replacements. We were playing well and after that, our forward play was awful. Sheff Utd missed several sitters tho.

I've been done for a while. I moved back up north and attend a few games games a season. I used to attend home and away and in Europe (remember that?! Krakow was excellent!). The Burnley game was a glimpse of how it used to be with a full Ewood and a passionate and engaged crowd. It can be like that again if we manage somehow to rid ourselves of these owners. It sounded pretty toxic in the stands in the first half. Good. But will it make a difference?

I had a flat tyre on the way to the game that day. Arrived 5 minutes after kick off. Stood behind the people that unfurled the big "Kean Out" flag, and left at half time. Didn't return for a year.

The King's speech was superb. Geoffrey Rush stole the show for me as Lionel Logue, he missed out on the golden globe to Christian Bale which is scandalous. Like you Paul, the first thing I did when I got back what look up what happened to Edward (turns out he was a bit bonkers, but living in the Bahamas in near exile isn't too bad!), and of course to what extent the storyline of the film was true. I normally can't bear Helena Bonham Carter but found her quite endearing in this movie. A must see.

I think the chances of us two liking the same films are remote at best. Surely the subject matter of the film is the most important thing not how many washed up appalling actors you can cram into it?

I too have been to the cinema lots - must be the orange Wednesdays! Milk is superb (think this has finished now), one of the best films I have seen. Frost/Nixon - ditto above. Michael Sheen is a fantastic actor. I enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire but it has been massively overhyped. Very entertaining though Valkyrie was good but not great. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans - unneccessary prequel but mildly entertaining. Where are the decent horrors at the moment? Vicky Cristina Barcelona - a typical Woody Allen flick and very funny in places. Enjoyed it much more than I thought I would plus there is lesbian action between Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson ( a guy actually clapped in the cinema!) BUT - I didn't like the Wrestler. And I think it is scandalous that Mickey Rourke got a BAFTA for best actor for it over Sean Penn in Milk. If you are a washed up actor and ex-boxer, it doesnt take acting skill to play a washed up wrestler. It wasn't a bad film, but I can't understand how people are raving about it. Thoroughly depressing and I never did like wrestling!

How can I be lapsing into stereotypical England Football Fan chauvinism rover6 when I already stated that I the tournament doesn't bother me at all. My point wasn't to the detriment of the Czech and Serbian youngsters but was pointing out that if DB is playing against people Like Ashley Cole, Riise, Heinze every week he isn't going to learn anything new about himself playing against a 22yr old left back from OFK Beograd.

Rover6, we will wait to se on Milner but he's had several years to show his worth and has failed so far. The decision may belittle the U21 team, but does it really matter? Even if they go on to win the tournament (with SP in charge there is virtually no chance anyway) will we be celebrating in the streets? No. The senior side's success has nothing to do with the U21 side's success at all. The only use for the U21 team in my opinion is giving players experience of european football and Bentley is getting that already at rovers. Now that Bentley is on the verge of the national squad, playing UEFA Cup football and top premiership sides every week, what exactly is he going to gain from group games against Czech Republic and Serbian teenagers? The only reason this is hitting the headlines is that it happened when there is little or no other football news. If this was a World Cup summer so you think anyone would give a toss? No. Agree with Tris, it is VERY alarming that the impetus for all this criticism is from within the England camp. That is much more detrimental to the chances of the senior side winning anything than Bentley missing a kids tournament.

I think he's entitled to a rest like the rest of us. Many people's opinions on footballers lifestyles are fuelled by the media and the whopping pay packets they get. I could quite easily see a 23 year old lad being drained after the season he has had (pretty much the first whole season he has played), plus the extended England duties recently. I couldn't really care less about the England U-21's. Yes they are an important introduction to International football for youngsters but Bentley plays against world class players every week so he's not learning much new.......especially from Stuart Pearce! It's great news bearing in mind we have an early start this season and it sounds lik he's committed to the cause.

That's not really the point, they presumably know each other from the international set-up and speak the same language (French) whereas apart from possibly Henchoz and Berner who both sound like German-speaking Swiss, there aren't any other francophiles in the squad.

Its a tricky one. I must admit I haven't seen much of him play apart from the away UEFA games, a few in London, and the extended highlights on SKY. I can't remember him standing out as the best player in a game but his scoring record is pretty decent. We've had many strikers in the past (and debatably currently Roberts) who work their socks off without troubling the scoring charts. Fans often prefer hard workers as they appear to care more for the club than the lazier goal poachers. If there aren't any dressing room issues (maybe better now his fellow Congolese player Samba has joined), the transfer fee isn't over £2m and his wages are consistent with the rest of the squad I'd rather we kept him and offloaded Jeffers. He does have a VERY annoying habit of missing sitters (I could have ripped his head off at Watford) but scoring from exceptionally odd angles though!

Ah if only I could say that phrase and mean it!

Yeah that's not nearly what he said! It rhymed with "duck 'em"