Joensuu

Isn't hindsight wonderful... Of course without the injection of Manc cash, we might well have avoided the 10 points, but found ourselves with Michael Fialka pulling the strings after his investor decided against pull out. We could even be closing in on the playoff places in League 2 if we were lucky...

Also stickies are easy to overlook on tapatalk... Meaning that I didn't find out about Adam's new contract until after the Blackpool game. As such making something sticky often has the opposite effect for mobile users...

Bob Crow plays five a side in his work team.

Strange. So it doesn't matter how much of a c*** you are, so long as you tell people that you are a c*** first? Is this your way of excusing Adolf? "At least he wasn't a hypocrite..."

Think the SIA being scrapped is a perfect example. The SIA is a self-funding quango, so scapping it won't save the government a penny. Without the SIA we won't have a licencing body for doormen or security guards. I understand politicians wanting to cut quangos to save money - but cutting one which is useful, and doesn't save them any money is crazy. I wish politics would stop pandering to the gutter press.

I partially agree with both of your responses to my post. Yes, Theo never took a game by the scruff of the neck like Bale did, but he wasn't just pace and nothing else. Theo had some of the best ball control in the team at that time. I remember seeing him and Dyer play together, and the difference in class was obvious. Both were exceptionally fast, but Dyer had little control over the ball, whereas Theo had skills to match his speed. In the Championship games Theo played for us he was easily the classiest player on the pitch, he was marked and feared by the opposition, but still found the net and made opportunities. All the top clubs wanted his signature. Theo might not have bossed games, but he was by far the most dynamic player on the pitch, and forced all our opponants to focus their efforts around preventing him from playing. In this way Theo took control of the games he was involved in for us (if he was substituted either on or off, the oppostion would completely change their line up). Theo's ball control, flair and other key skills, might have been masked by his raw pace, but they certainly weren't as weak as you seem to be suggesting. In fact, skillful as AOC is, I would argue he is only on a par with Theo for skill (at the same age), but lacks the blistering pace that set Theo apart. AOC is a superb talent, but I just can't see quite the same raw promise in him that I could see in both Bale and Walcott. I guess the difference is, every time Alex gets the ball St Mary's is hopeful, whereas every time Theo got the ball St Mary's was expectant.

IMO, good as AOC is, he is no Walcott or Bale. At 15 both Walcott and Bale were easily the best players on the pitch. They stood out as being head and shoulders above anyone else in the Championship. AOC is good, don't get me wrong, but he's not head and shoulders above the rest of our squad, he doesn't single handedly take control of games like Walcott and Bale both could. I might be wrong, but I can't see Alex playing regularly in the top-half of the premier league. He's good, but has a long way to go before he will be premier quality. Having said that, we won't easily be able to replace him. Money alone can't persuade players of his calibre to sign for a League one outfit. As such, while I think he's only worth say £5m, I think in our position we can afford to hold out for a lot more. I'd bite at £8m.

Has this thread got something to do with Carl Sagan?

Agree (unless a solid Championship quality player becomes avaliable at a bargain price) we have good enough players in every position IMO. I hope we don't spend too much this window.

I like Albion. Good team, good city. I dislike you though BHA, you certainly aren't doing Sussex any favours.

For the chilli lovers, Som Tam is possibly the best salad ever... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Som_tam

I've had a google, and as far as I can see, only the Mail reports the 'too soft' quote, and even the Mail only puts the quote in the title... my guess is that Field didn't actually say the words 'too soft'... The closest I can find from Field is: "positive but authoritative parenting"... which I think is trying to promote perfectly sensible, balanced parenting, not the iron fist approach the Mail has attempted to portray. Me thinks the Mail has spun this one... (quelle surprise...)

What are the odds that my flight out of Gatwick will take off on Saturday... I'm not getting my hopes up.

We can't stop climate change, but we can limit it's affects. Not acting is in effect adding to the scale of the problems we will face. As for spending more money on research, I agree, science could always do with more resources. I don't feel that this should be at the expense of developing renewables though, they are, afterall, the best proven solutions science has so far come up with (and each day they are used instead of a co2 emitting energy source, is helping to limit the total extent of problem).

Yes, that's what I see happening too, unfortunately, and unjustifiably.

I was more thinking about Bangladesh. Irrespective, Africa is likely to be adversly affected by a changing climate, whether governments are managing their farmland efficiently or not. BTW, I'm sure you can't have missed it, but Rhodesia seized to exist some 30 years ago, keep up Dune.

On this defeatist point you might be right, it is looking like change will happen. It also looks as if some of the poorest countries will suffer worst for the hesitance of the polluters. I do hope anyone who has every argued against science is reminded of their personal responsibility if/when the poorest suffer.

Not at all. If you notice, I didn't directly say that everything that is happening is due to climate change. In fact I even caveated what I said with 'It's too early to put this down to climate change yet'. Of course scientists don't know everything that will happen to the climate in the future. They don't claim to do so. Instead, they make educated predictions, based on the avaliable evidence. The UK could indeed get either a warmer or colder climate. At the moment, there are competing theories which suggest that either is a possibility - largely depending upon how the wind and water currents change direction. So, no, I haven't fallen into any traps.

Climate change is not going to affect all areas in a consistent manner. While most countries will warm, some will get colder, others wetter. Our environment is a complex model, and scientists are only really begining to understand it. So far, the UK's weather seems to be becoming more extreme, warmer overall, with wet late summers (August has been rained off the past few years), and sharp cold snaps in winter. It's too early to put this down to climate change yet, but if it is, I think the very fact you are currently freezing is reason enough to give a **** about climate change.

I've had my fill of nazi soundbites for today.

Think you missed the word 'credible'. (oh, and who is Lord Lowe of Withington? )

I did. Under the first section of their manifesto, they seem to want to tax the rich less, and tax the poor a lot more. They talk about axing a 'quango mountain' (one assumes, to a greater extent than it is currently being axed), but then in the same breath talk about exploying an extra 20,000 people in the UKBA (such is their fear of foreign-types, it must even overcome their hatred of the public sector!). Their solution to crime is to double prison places (sorry, let me re-read that to you, yes it does indeed still say 'double'!). In terms of the MoD, they want to increase spending by 40%, and massively ramp up the number in the services. For the NHS, allow people to get 'opt out' vouchers. So, let's get this right, UKIP, want to remove a large number of public services (aka 'quango mountain'), and instead spend loads of extra money on the miliatry, borders, and NHS opt outs. All funded of course by a massive tax hike for the less well off. Hey, but at least when the poorest take to the streets, there will be an increased armed services waiting to crush the rioters. This isn't a solution, it's a nightmare for anyone not in the elite few - a direct comparision might be Stalin's Russia, or Adolf's Third Reich. So, again, one has to assume, that the answer you provided, is no.

Is your answer a no then?

Don't forget, Trotsky wrote for the Express...