Ken Tone

Don't think it is that recent. Of course it has got more common but I can remember my father when I was a kid remarking on the roads being busier in term time than in school holidays -- and I'm 57! I remember this vividly because it really surprised me at the time ... especially since I went to school on the bus! My kids are now aged 25 upwards and there was congestion and bad parking around their primary schools (when I walked them to school!)

There is indeed some appalling, inexcusable, driving and parking near schools, but at the same time anyone who buys a house near a school must realise what it is going to be like surely? It will be reflected in the price of the house. On the plus side it wil be quieter and easier to park in the holidays, than if there were houses there instead of a school. As for anyone who buys a house next to an alleyway near a secondary school .. certifiable behaviour!

Yeah I read that, but has he actually paid for it as a gift, orhas he formally lent the money, as Abramovitch did at Chelsea? Makes a big difference if he loses interest later. Putting aside all the recent nonsense about a largely non-existent and manufactured rivalry, and Adkins's perfectly normal managerial comments, I am genuinely pleased for Brighton fans. They've had a really tough deal for years. What is it -- 7 years in a local municipal ahtletics stadium after god knows how many years travelling to Gillingham for 'home' games? Brighton is a solid second division football club town. They should do fine in the championship. It's just a shame that they've spent such a huge sum on a fancy-looking stadium but still ended up with such a low capacity --even if they have a good run and manage a further promotion, they will never be able to support premier league long term on 22,500 max crowds.

I presume that was a joke --difficult to be sure with no smileys and some of the crap posted on here at times -- but Peterboro' claim they actually turned down £3 million, not a mere £2 million, from a premier league club, so presumably we wold have had to pay quite a bit more than £3 million, not £2,125,000. Can anyone confirm what is says in the article on 'thisisdevon' linked above ...could he play for us this season even though the transfer window is shut?

What on earth possesses you to post such obvious drivel? Indeed what on earth makes you trawl other clubs' chat sites to find such drivel? I am hereby starting a rumour that Man U are going bust next week. Please will any lurking plastics on here put that on their site?

I've had pillocks standing on the seats, right in front of my kids at away games ...admittedly some years ago now, but I have a suspicion that things have not changed much since.. and no way could they have gone to the front, out of my sight, in that sort of crowd.

Or maybe 'Roch' ?

Oldham's own website player profile has his dob as 12/12/87,so I'm not sure how their press release could get his age wrong, let alone Sibley. http://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10337~39236,00.html Anyway, never mind his age, what is that tattoo on his arm? It looks suspiciously like he's got a club tattoo. Surely no professional player is that daft?! He's not tall is he?

Google "football hooliganism 2010" http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=football+hooliganism+2010&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=&redir_esc=&ei=CGCLTaHcA5GbhQf2hdm4Dg There is a long list of media stories about hooliganism only last year. I've been to going to football regularly since the early 70's. I know things have changed dramatically since then, but like I said media and facts are not the same. The non-fan public's perception of football is what is shown on those links. And they are the majority of the voters in any election.

To clarify, the BBC site says (my underlining) Transfers - March 2011 The transfer window is now closed for permanent signings for the remainder of the season. Premier League and Scottish Premier League clubs cannot sign any players, on loan or full transfers, until the transfer window ahead of the 2011/12 season opens on 1 July. Clubs in the Football League can sign players on loan outside of the transfer window following a seven-day period after the transfer window closed on 31 January until 1700 GMT on Thursday, 24 March. Outside of the transfer window, any club may still sign players on an emergency basis (such as if they have no goalkeepers available) with the permission of their competition's governing body, for example the Premier League. Players who are out of contract and do not have a club can be signed outside of the transfer window if they are unattached free agents when the window closes. The transfer window does not apply to clubs below Blue Square Bet Premier level.

Surely we can borrow from anywhere. The restriction is on the borrowing club, ie we cannot get anyone after 5pm today if we want them to play this season ...no restriction on where they come from.

You appear to be confusing fact with politics and the media, and with all due respect you have not really taken in what I said. I did not say that there would be any more chance of trouble in a 'safe' standing area than in a 'safe' seated area, which is how you seem to have interpreted my post. What I'm saying is that at the first bit of trouble or the first injury in a standing area (or actually even anywhere in a ground that has standing) the media would have a field day. No individual minister, nor government collectively, will take that risk of political suicide. Why should they? There is no incentive for them to do so. There are no votes in this. However many people sign such a petition, and it won't be all that many IMO, they will be hugely outnumbered by the vast majority of voters who haven't ever even been to a game and see all football fans as thugs, and many of whom would cheerfully vote to ban all professional matches, or to prevent all away fans from attending .... something we came perilously close to in Margaret Thatcher's day.

No minister or indeed government will do this. If they did, the first injury or the first bit of trouble and it would be political suicide for them. The media would crucify them.

Have you never heard of the Adkins diet?

a) This just won't happen b) No, I very much doubt that the majority wants to stand. Personally although I used to stand back in the day I would not want to be on a terrace now. I would be quite happy for an area of the ground to be terracing for what I'm pretty sure is the minority who do want to stand. What is crazy is standing in seated areas, which will be why some supprters were injured falling off seats. The last away league game I went to I found that not only was everyone standing throughout but they were standing on the seats. My son couldn't see a thing and it was neither safe nor comfortable. I haven't been to an 'ordinary' away game since.(Have managed a few special occasions!) I would go regularly again however if I knew that the standers were separate and I could buy a seat knowing I'd see the game from a seat. But see (a) again. Politically it just won't happen.

What I listedened to was the commentators stirring up a flood of texts, in much the same way as they did over the Dean Richards issue. They'd get a lot of texts if they kept suggesting murdering babies too. Merrington was at his most irritating as I desperately hung on after the game had finished, forced to listen to crap, as I naively and forlornly hoped for some actual information about Lallana's injury.

Err.... They do mate. Every BBC local radio station has commmentary on local games. It's just that you can't pick Radio Solent up out of the area and the BBC does not have a licence to broadcast football on the internet. This is supposedly to protect the copyright for clubs' own "radios" , such as saintsplayer.

Talking of radio coverage, is anyone else struck by the prominence of portsmouth and lack of southampton on the Solent logo? Are they giving us a hint?

He's developed avoidance techniques in interviews, such as "that's a good question young man", which give him time to decide how to actually answer. (Think he must model himself on Clough fpr that one) In fact many of his cliches are ways of appearing to answer questions without actually doing so. It works quite well -- he appears pleasant and polite to the interviewer but gives very little away.

Well because we didn't get someone straight away, things have moved on. Today's game is the second of Gobern's 3 suspended, so we've only got to get through one more without another injury or suspension then he's back. Also, anyone got any news on Schneidelin's injury? Any chance he might be back before the end of the season? Or maybe the whole thing is bluff, to avoid sounding desperate as we negotiate with a club/player we want! ;-)

Not just you mate. Initially I just assumed saintscott had misspelled 'sneaky'. The whole thread has been like visiting an alien planet for me.

The only issue is whether you think (or care!) that Plymougth have pulled a fast one because they already knew that maybe 2 of these players were not likely to be fit, so 'fixed' the postponement so that they would have time to recover to play against us later. Financially they gain too, as they've already got the money for the tickets they've sold for the orignal date, and will add to that the extra for a bumper bank holiday crowd. Many people would rather we had the points now than a game in hand at the end of the season.

Snap. I sit in the Kingsland and although I could hear a 'wonderland' song I couldn't tell whose wonderland it was, so I fear the Liebherrs in the Itchen wil not have picked up on it either unless someone 'translated' for them. Enunciate people!

Is that him sat next to Elton John then?

Ex-footballer in "can't spell and is a bit thick shock" ?