pap

I tweeted something similar to this last night. The MOTD credits are slick, professional and a celebration of all things football. The theme tune to the Football League Show sounds like a recording of a farting competition. The credits feature weirdos jumping about. It's as if the Beeb considers lower league fans to be mentally deficient, and the lower league game to be a bit of a laugh and a joke. They experiment with all sorts of crap that no-one is really interested in, like the stupid phone-ins or starting the programme with Manish at the top of a flight of stairs. What's that all about?

Well, now we get to find out whether the objections are about the funding, or as I suspect, it's more about this.... Took our jobs

Glad you've got that off your chest? I do get what you mean. The media seems to be in love with Brighton at the moment, as they were last year. While it's a little grating to hear them mentioned so often, I'm not that worried about their incoming players. We've both got decent teams, decent managers and our own way of playing. We've just got to worry about our own results. That said, looking forward to playing them this year.

I have been watching Sons of Anarchy recently. Can't help myself. It's a ridiculous show, but curiously compelling. Anyways, Katey Segal ( of Peg Bundy fame and also the voice of Leela in Futurama ) is in this show. She wears tight jeans, is a biker matriarch, and to my 36-year old eyes, is pretty hot. Well, it turns out that she is number 50 in a chart that tracks "Sexiest Women Over 50". So, while I fully expect this thread to be limited to TMS members who remember the actual Muppet Show on its first airing, here's the 50 over 50 chart. The poll is pretty interesting. It tracks "when we first loved them" and the amount of "work" that they may have had. Full link here.

Wasn't there, so take this with a pinch of salt. Sounds like a few players had difficult games today. Regardless of what Saints fans think of Fox after his first full game, he was voted the league's best left-back last year. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing why.

Blimey. Who did you ask? Having lived in Liverpool for 16 years, I should be telling you that Manchester is a sh*thole, etc, etc. It's not. It's another big city, with all the fun and problems that entails. It's got a decent arena that is visited by world-class bands, an IMAX, some glorious architecture old and new ( Manchester Piccadilly looks positively futuristic ). Yes, there are plenty of toerags about, but really, you don't have to deal with that all the time. Half the problems Southerners encounter when they come up North are a result of stuff they bring with them. I've seen people move to Liverpool, go around taking the p*ss out of scousers and are then surprised when one of the less tolerant members of the city gives them a good hiding.

I liked Diane Abbott better when she wasn't trying to be a politician. She used to be quite candid on This Week.

Fair point - which I'd add to by pointing out that this is the first year that Wales have had Premier League representation.

A lot of has to do with the massive financial disparity between the clubs. When it comes down to it, there are very few winners in football - and too many people who think that winning is all that matters. This includes sponsors and fans. How else do you explain the depressingly high proportion of glory hunters in our midst? Sounds like that phenomenon is even worse over there. You might look at the recent winners of the EPL and think that we're heading the same way. Difference is, no one believes that Manchester United or Chelsea are unassailable. Clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City are spending shedloads on that premise, and there is every chance that the likes of United can be supplanted if the conditions are right. Another difference is that we have Premier League clubs dotted around the country, and plenty of local support for them. The departure of Deportivo means that three whole regions ( Castilla-y-Leon, Galicia and Extremadura - over 6m people combined ) have no La Liga representation. As for my initial comparison with Scottish football; yeah, might have been a bit harsh. Motherwell.

There is an interesting article by Guardian journo Sid Lowe. Full article here:- Barcelona and Real in La Liga of their own with the rest nowhere Sounds a lot like the situation in Scotland to me.

The problem with binary enthusiasts is that half of them are zeroes and the rest are only looking out for number one.

John Barrowman is pretty annoying. He wasn't so bad in Doctor Who, just another cog in the machinery of madness. In Torchwood he is cast as the lead, which unfortunately, means a lot more screen time. Cue posing, over-acting and wearing a sh*t-eating grin so large you'd think he'd been attached to a sewage pipe on Boxing Day. You almost forgive him because his character in those shows is from the 1940s. Maybe all men spent their time standing with their hands on their hips, allowing a trenchcoat to flap manfully in the wind. I suspect not though. Having also seen Barrowman present "The Kids are Alright" in BBC's glittering Saturday night alternative to the X-Factor, he's just as annoying when he plays himself.

Agree with the sentiments, chaps. Perhaps I'm guilty of being a little Englander here, but it sickens me to see a game that our fellow countrymen invented being turned into a corrupt cash cow for people who already have plenty of money in the first place. Recent events have been staggering. It is as if they are not even trying to hide it. Who honestly believes that either Russia or Qatar were handed the World Cups based on their suitability for the job? Russia has terrible problems with racism - wouldn't be surprised if there were monkey chants at every game. And apart from the plush enclaves that they've used effective slave labour to create, Qatar is just one big desert with a population that Merseyside can compete with in the population stakes. I would love to see a breakaway, but if it were to happen, I'd like to see them implement some of the tech that FIFA has been wringing its hands over. England seems to be the unluckiest side in the world at major tournaments. Referees who cannot see stocky Argies punch a ball through the air, or disallow goals for pushing, who'll send our players off for sneezing yet are seemingly incapable of detecting the antics of some of our opponents. Or goal-line technology. Now, I don't know whether I buy into this or not, but there are some that believe that FIFA knows who is going to win a major tournament before it begins. I know we all like to believe in the sanctity of the game, but look at who controls it. I wouldn't put it past them. If there is a breakaway, it has to be credible and fair - the very opposite of what FIFA are at the moment.

Well, it does depend on the sort of work you're doing. I'm an IT contractor - so my salary is quoted on an even more granular level ( per day, or per hour ). I think you've hit the nail on the head though - it's there to mask the true price we're paying because people can't be arsed to do the maths. I know this, because I'm staggered that it costs £4.2 million per year to have Joey Barton in your team - and he's not even one of the highest earners ( isn't Tevez on something like a quarter mil a week? ). Now I can understand the traditional reasons for the disparity in footballer income versus the rest of the world. Career is limited by age - so you compensate the footballer more because during the time he is playing for you, he is unlikely to be gaining other professional skills. It is an obscene amount of money now, though - pushed up by the massive Sky revenues and cross-financing from old money. It would be very interesting to see what the average Premiership salary would be if clubs had to live within their means. I know there are supposed financial fair play rules coming into force, but clubs are already getting around that ( 'loans' that will likely never be repaid, etc ).

You should have a great time, especially if you haven't been before. While the bus tours can be a good way to go, do a bit of research. Mileage varies on these guys, as the one-star interviews attest. Lot of people have had problems after paying with cards, so take cash. However, most people have missed the most obvious thing to do in NYC - which is walk around craning your neck marvelling at how tall everything is Hope you have a good time. I thought the place was truly amazing.

Good shout. Nigel is doing a great job; it has been a good time to be a Saints fan. Love some of the football we're playing at the moment - and think we made great signings over the summer. Only niggles I'd have with Nige is that 90% of his interview material is recycled pap, and he seems incapable of uttering the word "Southampton", preferring "this football club". It's a bit like when you've got two ladies on the go, and call them "babe" to avoid calling one the wrong name.

:sigh:

Isn't the PA only realised if you put them on the appropriate training regimes?

Well, I must be in the minority here then. Surely it comes down to vanity? For me, having a six-pack is like owning a nuke. Sure, it'd be impressive, but what am I going to do with it? I wear 32" jeans comfortably - am in decent general health. Tell me, why is having a six-pack worth my effort?

Dunno, there was some Pompey supporter on Twitter going on about being the "most successful club on the South Coast. FACT". I pointed out that they pull crowds of 14K, and that they've spent the last god knows how many years in some sort of shyte. I was quickly blocked Big loss

Unfortunately, my youngest is a LFC fan. She's never actually been to a LFC game ( she has been to two Saints games ) but I can hardly blame her for that. She was born in Liverpool, her mum is a Reds fan too. The eldest's allegiance, such that it is, lies with Saints.

Hehe

What do you reckon then, Crazy Diamond? Who would you nab from the world of the unattached?

I might try some of the "classes" they do there then. Honestly, I feel like a hamster on a wheel whenever I step into a gym.

Saint_Jonny - there is a lot to love about certain parts of Star Trek Enterprise. Season3, where they finally realised that people are unlikely to say "ooh, that's Star Trek Enterprise. I've never watched it before - but I think I might now" was a high point. Seriously, if you have the time, have a look through that entire RedLetterMedia review. I found it interesting because they didn't just say why the prequels were crap; they pretty much deconstructed what makes films good too. While I can lend some support for your love of ENT, I can't justify the prequels or many of the changes that Lucas made in the original.