oxfordshire_saint

Thanks to those that went for reporting back. Sounds like a bit of shame that there were so many time thieves asking the questions!

Let's make one thing clear, I have no interest in supporting the EDL, in my view they are just BNP in disguise. The one thing I don't get about people in this country, is that you can't have a negative view on immigration without being beaten with the xenephobe stick. I spend a lot of time in various large cities and perhaps seeing the very worst of the problem gives me a certain viewpoint. But, as stated previously, I am all for immigration to a certain degree, this country does indeed benefit from genuine, hard working, honest people who come here from all four corners of the globe. That said, there is a problem and there's too many people who ignore it or just shout down anyone who raises the issue as racist or xenephobic. I know this thread has deviated from the original subject somewhat, but the two subjects are closely linked. Is it not possible to see that there are people in the middle who are neither facist nor are they the sort of people who think we should let anyone into this country? Is it not possible to show concern on this issue without being all too easily dismissed as a BNP/EDL sympathiser?

I neither read the Mail nor the Express, thankyou very much. The points system is all good and well, but when people rock up at Dover, with no documentation, claiming to be an Iraqi or Afghan fleeing the war (when usually they are from somewhere nowhere near those two countries), will we turn them away because they have no points? No, they'll be sent to an immigration centre where they'll try as quickly as possible to have a child so they can't be deported. I'll await the inevitable responses labelling the above as xenophobic etc......... But ask yourself why people supposedly "fleeing a war" decide to travel all the way through Europe, bypassing plenty of perfectly inhabitable countries, just to come here? I'm all for immigration that benefits this country, if someone works, pays taxes, learns the language and become part of British society, there's nothing wrong with that. It's what I'd be expected to do if I ever decided to leave these shores. I hope the points system is enforced, as it works wonders for Australia, but I can see as soon as someone doesn't qualify for it, they'll bring the Human Rights Act into it and voila..............

As I've said on previous Papa threads, you do know he's spent most of his career in Northern Italy? Any idea what the weather is like there in winter? Despite what you may think, I can assure you he will know what it's like to play in driving rain and, believe it or not, he will have seen snow before. Also, he's spent most of his career in Serie B, full of horrible, crumbling, municipal stadiums. The main stumbling block will be the language.

Sad, but oh so true. Whilst the government offer no real solution to the problem of extremists or mass, unregulated, immigration to this country, more and more people will be swayed into voting/joining the likes of the BNP. If there was a practical, realistic solution offered by a mainstream party, it would stop this happening. I think the way people are starting to look at it is, "would I feel safer in my own country if it was ran by the neo-nazi nutters of the BNP or by the wishy-washy, talk a good game but actually offer no solution Labour/Conservative/Lib Dem governments?" There's no option out there at the moment offering a sensible middle-ground. In one corner you have the mainstream parties who, let's face it, don't have the balls to do anything, for fear of breaching the human rights act, then in the other corner you have the facists.

Sven

Should be a clear warning to anyone, going to Pompey will ruin your career.

Good call. I wanna see Mayweather vs Manny now!

Have you been reading Futebol : A Brazilian Way of Life by Alex Bellos?

Indeed, when I saw him in the ressies midweek, his goal came from him beating the offside trap, racing onto a through-ball and finishing low past the keeper. I'm sure Pardew sees this as the main threat he poses and will work on it on the training ground. Once the other players get used to the timing of his runs, it could pay off nicely. Who else have we got that can get in behind teams like that? I think it's unfair that people are expecting a wonder performance every game from him. We have not signed a Serie A player, we have a player loaned to us from a Serie A club because he couldn't cut the mustard there and only showed flashes of ability. So to those knocking him for not setting the world alight instantly, take a reality check, give him time and I'm sure he'll be a danger at this level.

So what if he gets caught offside a few times? Most of them were marginal. Pippo Inzaghi has spent his whole career being slated for this and he's not done too badly out of it!

Yeah, I saw some arty types spraying it on before the Colchester game, they were in the middle of doing the Christ the Redeemer statue when I walked past.

If he could be obtained on a low-risk contract based on appearances and goals, ala Michael Owen at Utd, he'd be worth having, as he is, for want of a better phrase, a "fox in the box" Seems to have been around forever now though, I thought he was older than 32!

I agree with the sentiment, but such a group will get hijacked as a vehicle for the bigots who come out of the woodwork in this country every time such a cause is mentioned. At the end of the day, this sort of thing has been happening for thousands of years. Who do you think originally inhabited North America? Did South America just start speaking Spanish and Portuguese for the fun of it? Have a look what the original inhabitants of the Carribean looked like, or the native Americans, or the Aboriginies. The world was a completely different place 1000 years ago, if you looked at the people who lived in certain countries then, it'd look a hell of a lot different to how it does now. In another 1000 years, it'll all be different again. One could argue the Crusades were the work of Christian extremists. For what it's worth, I think our border control is a shambles and our immigration system completely flawed but anyone who pays taxes and integrates into British society is fine by me. I'm sure MI6 are keeping an eye on the nutters who are intent on causing us harm. A few misguidedly patriotic groups aren't going to make the government change the way they approach the extremist subject, so what is the aim of this cause?

Indeed, the only one I can remember is his cross for BWP to head us infront at the Madejski

Because he's probably better than Chris Birchall

The German's have the right idea, cheap tickets, good stadiums and friendly atmosphere = good attendances! Although the quality of the football isn't on a par with the Premiership the matchday experience as a whole is more enjoyable, I went to Schalke vs Leverkusen last season and it was great. We paid a bit more because we bought through seatwave, but face value was 19 Euros on the ticket. Most of Europe is the same, I know tickets in Italy are cheap (although the stadiums and facilities are garbage) The question you have to ask with us is though, how better do you think the attendances would be if the prices were cheaper? I doubt it'd bring many more people through the gates. There's people who are prepared to watch Saints in League One and people who aren't, a few quid wouldn't make too much of a difference.

Sloppy journos! It made sense taking Melis off, he'd had a good game and is almost certain to be involved against Yeovil. Wouldn't be suprised if he starts.

Very true, the bloke there just seemed to have a longer face than Pulis, same moody scowl though. All the other coaches and managers in attendance were happily chatting to eachother though, whilst the man who was apparently Pulis just sat there sipping a plastic pint without saying a word to anyone!

Are you sure it was Pulis Senior? I saw a miserable looking guy in a baseball cap sipping a pint who looked a bit like him, but didn't look 100% like him and none of the other managers, coaches or scouts in attendance talked to him?

Ah, thanks for clearing that up! Was it Bart or Forecast in for the Salisbury game last week?

Let's hope for his sake that there were no prospective takers there last night, he was woeful! I don't like to criticise keepers, as I am one myself, but he just looks devoid of all confidence when he comes for the ball. As Bart is Kelvin's #2, I don't understand why he isn't playing the ressie fixtures, as surely we'd want him sharp if he ever needs to step in for the first team?

White did indeed play, he replaced Melis and went upfront, with Papa moving to the right wing. Preen replaced Jaidi.

Well, he wasn't a regular Serie A player, I'm fairly sure he's not even got 50 Serie A games under his belt. Also, has he ever even played in the Champs League? Saganowski has played in the Champs League for gods sake and Euro 2008, but he looks ordinary at League One level! Papa looked good enough last night, just lacking a bit of match fitness, but he worked hard, showed some nice touches and got himself a goal, what more did you want? The pitch was garbage, the wind was blowing a gale and the opposition mixed it up well, it was never going to be a night for sexy football!

Sadly not!