lifeintheslowlane

I'm not hankering for "the good old days"...I don't use the "N" word either, I'm reporting how it was and why occasionally people mis-judge the strength of feeling attached to reciting a kid's nursery rhyme, even when they mumble the offensive word. I moderate on a large US forum and you can't even type the word or even anything approaching it...it auto-corrects to read "attractive and successful african american". If that appears in a forum post everybody know's the writer will be banned immediately...as it should be.

It's also an old nursery rhyme. Not condoning, just understanding why it still appears in mumbled form from time to time.

I'm not talking about '50s society...what did I know about "society" as a small boy. Sure racism existed as it does today but OUR world in the '50 was distilled through The Daily Mirror and BBC Radio News and Pathe in the cinema. You're judging attitudes of the past with attitudes of today..."The Past is a Foreign Country." As "Jeff" says "it does'nt mean that by saying a word it's a racist gesture.

Racism is a serious business that should be stamped out wherever it occurs. This is just bashing some you don't like under the pretence they are racists. I was brought up in the 1950s singing "Enney Meeney Minney Mo"...I was a skinny kid and my mother called me a "Belsen Boy"...we had "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in the bookcase...my mum and dad watched "The Black and White Minstrel Show" on BBC TV. Were we closet racists/anti Semitists of course not...there were a very short list of things you weren't allowed to say when I was growing up. Today there's a political correctness that seems to set out to catch out the unwary, rather than the real offenders.

Great...loved it.

Trolls don't have opinions...they have the one definitive answer. Doesn't matter how well you argue you case there is not one single hope in hell they will change their stance or credit you for having a good point. Sound familiar?

This is true. I don't know why people get so wound up about this...it been all about circulation figures and website hits for a long time now. Performance pay for journalist based on page hits on the rag's website doesn't encourage factual reporting. When there's no news there's no pay so just make up a few nice little headlines and write some **** that flies in the face of what other papers are saying. It's no point repeating what others are writing...add a little competitive spice...was going to ManU, now Liverpool in the driving seat...that should do it. Throw in a few inaccuracies to get the punters slagging you off in the comments columns, arguing with others and there you have it...a nice little bonus in you pay packet.

It raises our profile both here and abroad. It makes us commercially an investible brand (or moreso than before) and as a credible option for attracting quality players.

Nope...too easy.

Too obvious....this won't carry any weight with the miserableists and the conspiracy theorists. You need to rethink this and come up with something a lot more fanciful.

It so peaceful and civilised on the forum this evening...none of those glaring... This message is hidden because "S**t for Brains" is on your ignore list. Anyway...I think I enjoyed that game more than any other this season. Couldn't pick a clear MotM, I thought there were at least half a dozen outstanding perfromances. Even big Vic distribution was immaculate.

I am not concerned Next.

It's an interesting point about players like Rooney. Do young kids aspire to be like Rooney anymore...OK he's on an obscene wage but when did you last see him smile in the normal run of things. Do kids want to be a wealthy, miserable footballer...or a happy grounded one? A drop in the crime figures today is supposedly related to the passing of the "booze culture" are kids really changing, is there hope for a more thoughtful society?

Yeah I think many on this forum have presented Luke Shaw's departure as a foregone conclusion...as a given. In the past I think that would have been a reasonable assumption but it's taking on a lot to think you can get inside the head of a young player who has been part of his team's recent successes and The Academy culture. Notice Les Reed's emphasis today on the importance in honouring contracts...I hope that's been a big part of the Academy kid's education.

Wouldn't it nice to think Saints are not only breeding a new generation of excellent footballers but also a breed of youngsters who aren't simply motivated by money, bright lights and instant gratification. A breed that are enjoying their lives as professional footballers with a group of closely bonded players working for each other in a common cause. The cynic will say players will always go where the big money is but what if those highly rated young players don't want to go while they can see rewards that don't just swell the bank balance. Wow wouldn't that upset the apple cart. Is it a pipe-dream; are The Academy working intently on such aspect as morality, loyalty and other aspect of life that have previously been though as unrelated to football.

Can't argue with someone who has all the answers.

The miserableists can only present truth on what has passed before...there are no variables...that's history. The trouble is their thinking is rooted in the past and although they will tell you as they have computed all the variables as they are today...the answer is always the same. Conjecture can never be truth...however you dress it up the truth is based on an infinite number of variables. Only when all the variables have been played out over the period of the season can the truth be written. If you think different, then you are supremely arrogant...as you no doubt think you have all the answers. Dress conjecture as truth and you rob everyone of hope/optimism/enjoyment...something to look forward to at the start of every season. I'm an optimist ("Happy Clappy") and proud of it...I will turn up to support my team just as I have for the last 60+ years and hope for better for the new season.

Why what did he say...something positive?

As we all know...what he said means nothing...it's what he didn't say that will keep this topic running for months.

I'd find it very tempting to find a place for Big Ron and Terry Paine...it would be fascinating to see how a modern defence would cope with that combination. I'm thinking a couple of penalties for us every game...Big Ron was unstoppable in his prime.

I mistook him for a doorstop.

Wow...like a breath of fresh air. A realistic, concise assessment without wild conjecture.

I am 93.7% certain MP will be here next season and 100% sure that all the negative WUM will still be on my Ignore List for the coming season. So all told season 2014/15 looks pretty rosy for me.

Sadly when they decided punishment wasn't the way forward...but rehabilitation was.

What I'd like to know is why an Aussie who doesn't like football want to know. IT'S NONE OF YOUR F***IN' BUSINESS YOU PATRONISING GIT!