FloridaMarlin

The funniest thing in that video is that lad's haircut.

When even Graeme Souness says - with all the classic understatement of all of an ex-pro pundit not wanting to upset his fellow professionals - "Only Jamie Vardy will know for certain if he meant to do that", you know it was deliberate. Vardy has got previous form for spiteful late challenges.

What I found interesting was the way MOTD 2 covered it last night. The edit just showed him going down just off camera, the commentator saying "it looks as though he fell awkwardly", and then footage of him limping off. There was absolutely no mention at all of him being done by a nasty, spiteful late raking of his Achilles by that despicable little germ, Vardy.

Let's remember what happened to the man who invented the Wall of Sound (tenuous link alert).

Probably the same way as Cal Ripken played 2,632 consecutive baseball games. They play around 152 games a season from April to October, and he never missed a game for 17 years! And don't dare call it men's rounders. It's at least as strenuous as cricket.

Some interesting faces in that line-up. Colin Clarke, who played for us (and could be the only player to appear for all three Hampshire south coast clubs, us, Bompey and p****y), Steve Wigley who would coach and then manage us for a short- ill-fated time, and John Beresford, one of our better left-backs of recent times. That might also be Jon Gittens on the right of the middle row and next to Colin Clarke is Andy Gosney, who came from Millbrook, while Lee Russell haled from Hedge End. Slap bang in the middle of the picture is Graeme Hogg, former Manchester United defender, who features in one of the best Thick Footballers stories. The big Scottish Ned was detailed to nip across to the Isle of Wight to give out some prizes at a supporters' function, and he had never crossed the Solent before. His team-mates managed to convince him he needed his passport and several of them gilded the con by giving him money and asking him to get them some duty-frees. He duly boarded the ferry for Ryde and was if he wasn't disappointed when the eye-rolling staff refused to check his passport, he was when he found the car ferry for the 20-minute trip did not feature a duty-free shop.

He had a loan spell there. In fact - and I could be wrong - Bournemouth might have given him his senior league debut.

Absolutely spot on. My kids (now 29 and 27) are the best thing that has happened to me in my life. They will frustrate you, worry you, scare you and cause you consternation and anxiety. But if you are cut out to be a parent (and it sounds as though you are) you will love them for ever. Despite their ages, I never cease to tell my kids how much I love them - and they are now hardened, mature adults. My daughter, 29, works in the scientific field in London and earns shed loads of cash - more than I will ever earn - and my son has recently passed his Doctorate at Oxford in Genetics and will soon emigrate to the States to live. While I am proud of them, the point of that piece of information is not to brag, but to ensure you do all you can to make sure they are set up when they are ready to fly the nest. Although they are your children, you don't own them. They are only on loan to you for a few years - and that's how it should be. One thing you will realise is that up to the age of 13, you are the most important thing in their lives. At 13, you cease to be that, as their world revolves around their circle of friends, and their contemporaries take over as the most important things in their lives. At the risk of sounding a bit Attenborough, prepare them - and especially yourself - for the day when they are ready to fly the next. Love them, but don't suffocate them. Put your arms around them and embrace them, but don't strangle them. And be aware, that once you have kids, the years will fly by!

Having just seen it again on Sky, the first goal was arguably better. Bertrand actually started the move off down by our own left corner flag. the ball was worked neatly out of a tight spot, a long ball found J-Rod who held it up, the ball was worked over to the right and then back to Bertrand who had made ground down the left flank to appear on the left of their penalty area. It really was a flowing move from one end of the pitch to the other, and I think it was 11 passes before it arrived at Bertie who finished in style.

There is a very good reason any alleged offender cannot be named, and it is because it would be defamatory to do so. A person was cleared of charges back in the 1990s, and until such time as that person is charged again, he is an innocent man. I am not defending him, but that is how he stands in the eyes of the law. Anybody naming him and linking him with these current allegations until such time as he is found guilty would risk libelling him. That's why even Jamie Webb and Dean Radford have avoided naming anybody in public. As I mentioned previously, part of the reason a person was acquitted in the first place was because the lack of anonymity afforded to victims meant only one person was prepared to stand up in court and give evidence, and as it was effectively one person's word against another's it was not enough for a jury to convict. This is absolutely no criticism of those who would not give surrender their anonymity and evidence in court at the time because none of us would know what they went through. But had they been prepared to do so at the time instead of coming forward now - bravely, despite the change of climate since those days - there would have been more chance of a conviction. I am not sure about the double jeopardy rules about facing a charge for which a person has already been acquitted. It might be new charges can arise from their allegations. Although this has nothing to do with the current regime at the club, my fear is that some pretty famous names will be implicated in this whole scandal.

Just mention Graeme Rix. They knowingly employed as manager a convicted sex offender who had done time and was still on the Sex Offenders' register.

It's a bit dangerous bandying people's name around on Twitter. Some people are under the completely false impress that you have to be a professional journalist or member of the media to be sued for libel. No you don't. The information about this person's acquittal is in the public domain and there is nothing to prevent you publishing this fact. However, the problem arises if you link it in any way with current claims or allegations which have not been tested in a court of law. As was posted above, the problem with many of these cases in the past is that while the police would have acted on written statements and in those pre-CPS days brought charges, there was no anonymity for victims, who would have been required to stand up in a court of law to give evidence, which many of them, being prominent players, they were not prepared to do. In one case only one victim was prepared to stand up in court and testify, but being the only victim to do so, it became a case of his sole word against the accused and that was not enough for a jury to convict. I know some of those who gave written evidence, but who would not testify in court and their names would, believe me, shock you.

Ray Barnes was the former secretary of Hants FA who was convicted in 2010 of five counts of abusing young boys. He was bailed and due to be sentenced when he took stock of the facts he would be going to prison and that his status as a nonce, a former magistrate and a special constable would ensure a pretty rough time for him inside, and at 72, he would only be coming out of chokey in a pine box in in any case. Hence. he went head-first off West Quay carpark. There had always been rumours about him and I remember one prominent Wessex League club official who was previously a referee, made specific allegations about him but would not go on record as back then victims did not have anonymity. Barnes was eventually brought down by a past victim who had moved to Australia and after his treatment and abuse at his hands, gnawed way at him for years, tendered a formal complaint to Hampshire Police, and a a result of their inquiries, several other victims came forward. He got another kick in the teeth after he was in the ground when a directive from the Wessex League (of which he was a prime mover and shaker) to observe a minute's silence before games in his memory received a firm two fingers from clubs who threatened to boycott any such move, as they did not feel it was right to honour the memory of a convicted paedophile. As for the other person some posters have been comment on, be careful that he was not convicted and that one of the main tenets of a successful libel claim is whether he can be identified. While members of the general public may not know him, he could argue that those with specialist knowledge would be able to identify him by piecing together things said about him (known legally as jigsaw identification) and could sue. The sad and worrying thing, which is perhaps indicative of the problems and issues involved, is that there quite a few people in the Hampshire football community who still hold fond memories of Barnes, and only prefer to remember the positive things he did for the game at a local level, completely choosing to ignore what a vile, reprehensible human being he was. By the way, the dead cannot be libelled, so feel free to fill your boots on comments and stories on him.

The club are now mounting an internal inquiry into the half-time dust-up. It appears it was a little more than the usual difference of opinion that often punctuates half-time intervals. Possibly facial injuries to one of the parties. When first asked about the decision to make two substitutions at half-time Cook said it was tactical, unaware that by full-time word had filtered up to the media there had been an 'incident.' When pressed about the incident he initially denied it and tried to sweep it under the carpet and move on, but eventually, he fessed up. I would not be surprised if the internal inquiry gives them the excuse they might need to jettison Cook. They can't afford to terminate the contract of the best-paid manager in League Two, but might contrive to find a way to try and get him on gross misconduct in allowing this sort of disgraceful incident which has no place in a lovely, family-friendly and fan-run club, to occur.

No. It wasn't.

At the end of any loan deal, Liverpool would probably offer him and £5m for van Dyke.

"I think many on here are aware that it isn't the gospel truth until the Liverpool Echo start running the story, they have been pretty clued up when it comes to the transfer dealings between the two clubs." That's because the club shamelessly use the paper to do their dirty work for them; plant stories, muddy pools, create interest where there isn't any, unsettle players. If they are part of, and party to, the process then it is going to be clued up. These days, papers and other media are kept at arm's length by clubs, so if the club suddenly want to use the paper and it gives the Liverpool Echo a chance to be brought closer to the action, it is not going to say 'no'. But why oh f**king why does it always have to be f**king Liverpool!? Their chief scout must have the easiest job in the world. It is a bit of a back-handed compliment that they always consider our players good enough for them (not that that is any consolation), but it's football's equivalent of lazy journalism. Liverpool once had a good production line that down the years that ensured a good percentage of the team were Scouse-born, from the likes of Gerry Byrne, Chris Lawler and Tommy Smith, through Phil Thompson, Jimmy Case, Sammy Lee and Terry McDermott, up to the likes of Fowler, McManaman and Gerrard. But last year was the first time since 1986 that the Liverpool team did not contain a single Scouser for a Merseyside derby and like a lot of Premier League clubs, they simply find it easier and expedient to buy in success, rather than breed their own. Even the Liverpool Echo was concerned enough about it to compile a piece about the club losing its Scouse heart, although that typical Merseyside bleating and crying of crocodile tears will soon be forgotten if they contrive to win something this year. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/analysis-liverpool-fc-danger-losing-8432699 It's not so much Liverpool's chief scout who has the easiest job in football, but academy director Alex Inglethorpe who has the most thankless.

Liverpool's rape and pillage set to continue, according to the Daily Star. http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/563872/Liverpool-News-Jurgen-Klopp-Virgil-van-Dijk-Sam-McQueen Not too difficult a story to write. Add two and two together, don't bother finding any quotes, Bob's your uncle.

As soon as I see the word 'Bilic' I remember back to the 1998 World Cup semi-final where his despicable histrionics and play-acting got Laurent Blanc sent off and caused him to miss the biggest game that any player could play in, the World Cup final. And Bilic is supposedly an intelligent man, a qualified lawyer. His actions that day were of a low-life cheat and I will never forget it.

Not for the first time, officials of Portsmouth FC were guilty of over-exaggeration, fibbing and garnishing the facts and this time it failed to impress the female natives on Grab A Granny Night

Despite the absence of the Cowboy and the Construction Worker, the grand finale performance of 'YMCA' went down well on The Village People's farewell tour.

Of course they can and I never said they couldn't. Years ago, because they did not earn as much and were not financially secure, the main options for retired players was either to move into management or to run a pub. Running a pub is hardly a viable option for anybody these days, let alone a former professional sportsman. Not every player wants to go into management and I'm sure we can all think of players we thought would make good managers who haven't taken up the option. Players invariably take stick if take what appears to be the easy option and work in the media as pundits. It's not a red herring at all. While players can easily find an alternative career when they finish playing, it's unlikely to be as lucrative as when they were playing, a career that lasts around 15 years. I don't think you could expect to see the CEO of Tesco or Sainsbury's stacking baked bean cans on shelves when they retire and while us mere mortals would find it easier to do something more menial to supplement our income when we retire {I'll have no problems stacking shelves, if I need to) I don't think footballers can do that. I'm not saying it's right and I don't feel hugely sorry for somebody who pulls in a week more than I do in a year, but while most of us can expect to have a working life of 40-plus years, a sportsman's maximum earning power is around 15 years.

For all the stick that many agents rightly get as venal, greedy sharks, a good agent will be more to his client than somebody who just takes his percentage. A footballer's career is relatively short and while a small minority of professionals (compare the PL's top earners with what those in the Football League earn) pull in extraordinary sums of money, their earning power lasts around 15 years. A good, responsible agent will ensure his client doesn't become one of the examples we all know of those who either ****ed or gamble their money away or shoved it up their noses. A good agent will set up a good investment portfolio for his client, so that he has a good income when he is retired. Matt Oakley told me years ago that he would be able to retire at 35 if he wanted as his agent had set things up, and that was before the really huge money came into the top flight. He's still playing or involved because he loves it, he doesn't need the money. You could not say that Long is among the PL's top earners, although to put things into perspective, he earns the sort of money the vast majority of those who watch him could not even dream about. It looks as though he is enjoying the trappings that go with being a PL player, but while you could argue that having a fleet of top of the range cars is a bit ostentatious to say the least, he looks to be a good family man, with his feet on the ground and his head screwed on. I don't begrudge him it, and didn't put the OP up to be judgemental. I just thought it was an interesting insight.

The trappings of a successful Premier League footballer. Video tour of the house just below the top. https://www.balls.ie/football/11-things-learned-shane-long-house-tour/346854

That might just backfire on him a little more. It was Bill who committed those acts with Monica Lewinsky, not Hilary. He might need to be careful he doesn't hand her the opportunity to play the injured wife, something that pretty much all women will empathise with. As has been said by others above, this won't hurt him much among those who will already vote for him. As said, they will see it as him proving what a man he is. Trump said himself of his voters that he could shoot somebody in broad daylight in Fifth Avenue and they would still vote for him. In many ways, that is just as a disgusting remark as it shows the utter contempt he has, even for those who support him.