calvoboy

Today's the day - are we in administration yet?

That's right - they said that there will be a minute's silence in the market sqaure in the city centre on the 15th. I wasn't trying to knock Forest - just emphasising that I think it's even more impressive that he did it, given that no-one else was doing so and there wasn't a minute's silence at the game. It means it took some thought, understanding and respect, rather than just doing as he was told.

For those of you who can't remember him, he's the winger that we signed as a 16 year old who is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest. My in-laws have got season tickets at Forest, and have told me that there was no minute's silence today for Hillsborough, but that Paul Anderson had taken it upon himself to wear a black armband as a mark of respect, and was the only one on the pitch who had done so. I thought that was worth reporting and speaks volumes for his character. He's apparently been one of Forest's best players since he recovered from injury, and I hope he goes on to play well for us in the future. Well done lad!

Lots of pubs near me close because the breweries screw the tenants. As soon as they start making serious money through their own efforts, the brewery hikes up the rent. The brewery trebled the rent on the landlord of my in-law's local, after he'd invested money in a refurb and turned it into a great pub. It's now got a manager in and is going downhill fast. No other business would be allowed to control the price and distribution of their own product to this extent, as it is anti-competitive. The government should ban breweries from owning pubs, making every pub in the country a free house. You'd get much more competition amongst breweries, less barriers to entry for smaller independent breweries, better quality beer, better selections of drinks in each pub and cheaper prices. It would need to be announced and phased in over time, and there would have to be some provision to prevent housing development on pub sites, so that the pubs remain as pubs once they are sold, but it could really solve the problem of pub closures in rural areas.

I did mine a few years ago. Total blowout, tore my ACL, badly strained my medial ligaments, damaged my cartilage and tore my quadricep muscles in the process. From my experience I would definitely recommend having the operation to replace the ligament, as a few years on I am still playing 5-a-side and 11-a-side regularly, and have been able to do everything that I could before without any real problems. Mine was done by removing the middle third of my patellar tendon as a replacement, which has left a bit of a scar but doesn't look too bad. They can also do it using part of your hamstring or by using a donated (from a dead body) tendon. The surgeons on the NHS have developed a great deal of expertise in all of the latest techniques (keyhole surgery etc.) so unless you are a multi-millionaire you don't need to go and see Dr.Steadman in Chicago like all of our players did a few years back - you will get just as good service on the NHS. You may have to wait though, as orthopaedics is the one area where most trusts struggle to bring down waiting lists (too many old buggers needing hip replacements these days!). My advice would be to put in as much effort as you possibly can down the gym in the weeks running up to the operation. Your leg muscles will waste away in the immediate aftermath of the operation, so the more you can build them up in advance the better. I was the fittest I've ever been in my life just before I went in, and I did seem to be a few weeks ahead of others at the rehab sessions afterwards. When the operation is done, make sure that you listen to your physio and follow the instructions precisely. Don't skimp the physio, and put the effort in to building your strength and flexibility afterwards. All in all though, listen to the docs, put the effort in, and you'll be as good as new before you know it. Good luck!

Just in case it helps anyone - of these, the following are running today: Plum Pudding and Big Noise are both running in the 4:05 at Newarket (pick one or back both?) Sendani is in the 7:10 at Stratford and Seventh Cavalry is in the 3:30 at Newmarket Quite a few of the others are now running Bank Holiday Monday (Hula Ballew, Whiteoak Lady, Western Art, Sister Moonshine)

Degen Dossena Barry Eto'o I'd be OK with that for a summer window.

And a few years later: "I had said that many Liverpool fans were drunk and they killed their own. "That was my honest opinion at the time, but I now accept the investigations have made me realise I was misinformed. "I wasn't trying to be vindictive or unsympathetic, but my opinion has altered over the years. It was never my intention to hurt anyone." "I'm sure the grieving families don't need me to fan the flames again, but I would like to express my regret at the hurt I may have caused" Brian Clough - probably the only time in his life that he held up his hands, admitted he was wrong about something and apologised. Great book by the way, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in football. Really innovative in the way it blends biographical information with the storyline. Pretty much all of the events in the book happened, but the author invents dialogue and joins the dots to make a brilliant semi-fictional story.

So you are saying we are due a win then? :thumbsup:

I think the atmosphere is slightly worse this season, overall (though probably just continuing the downward trend over the last 8 years or so). It is obviously far better in that particular section, but when people who want to sing are scattered then there is more chance of a song being picked up by the whole kop, not just the one section. I sat in my Dad's seat in the centenary last week for a change, and it was really obvious that the noise was confined to the back of the stand. The weekly battle with the stewards does nothing to improve the atmosphere either. In a tight game, at home, in the second half, I don't think the team really needs a few minutes of "get the stewards off the Kop". It might just be me, but I despise songs such as "we don't carry bottles" and the other hooligan songs that have been revived by those standing at the back, and will never join in with them. And again, it's only a personal opinion, but I think that liverbird and every other saturday are great great songs, but they probably are best confined to the alehouses and coaches. They don't really build the atmosphere in the ground in the way that, for example, scouser tommy or campione do. Not enough people know the words, and they just sound like a slow dirge being sung by about 50 people. Truth day, and all the other flag/mosaic days are fantastic, and really do improve the atmosphere. Total credit to all those involved in arranging those. And I totally appreciate the fact that people are making the effort to try and improve the atmosphere by creating the section and making the effort every week. I just think that some of their efforts are misguided, and don't actually improve the atmosphere. In some ways, I actually think they inadvertently make it worse. As I say, total credit to those involved for making the effort, and doing something to try and halt the decline in atmosphere. I just hope that it eventually evolves into something that we can all be proud of, and that everyone supports, so that the whole Kop is singing the whole game like every match is a European tie. There's a long way to go yet though, and they need to be careful not to alienate other supporters. Slagging off anyone who disagrees with them as boring old bastards who don't sing probably isn't the best way to convince the doubters?

Yup - watch Tevez go off with a mysterious strain towards the end of the game (or limp off at the end if it's too tight). We whinge, while the Mancs just pull their players out. Rooney and Giggs have missed no end of friendlies only to play the next important game. It's one of the reasons a lot of Welsh fans couldn't stand Giggs.

He's spot on, everyone is finding it easier to excuse themselves by blaming each other. If Rafa's future is secure, then he and the squad need to get away for a few days. Clear the air, have a few open and honest exchanges about what is going wrong, and then come back motivated to make sure that things change At the moment, we seem to be staggering from one bad story or game to the next. And Rafa's "we must get our heads down and work harder" approach might not be helping. There's a lot of pent up anger in the squad about the way things have turned out on and off the pitch this season, and it's not being particularly well channelled at the moment.

Just a heads up that Gold Award (a non-runner from bobhorse's incredibly succesful picks on Friday) is running today in the 3:40 at Fakenham. It's expected to be evens favourite, but looks like a good one. I've included it in a lucky 15 again anyway...

Fantastic! I don't think I've ever had all four come in before. Thanks again, I wish I'd put more on now!

Get in! Thanks again for the tip - gives me some beer money for the weekend!