pulphack

oh slave i usually get sarcasm, but not with you. i think it's just because i don't like you or what you have to say very much. so let's leave it at that and i'll promise to ignore your posts if you do mine.

oh slave, you just don't get the joking about gay footballers, do you? what happened to justin fashanu was appalling - the man had the guts to be honest about who he was, and he was crucified by the press and by opposition fans. the reason he got it so badly was because of those cowards who hide behind 'beards'. those who go out of their way to deny who the are. those are the people deserving of ridicule. when questioned about the press accusations on ashley cole, the great arsene wenger replied that he didn't care what they did in private, as long as they performed on the pitch. well, sol blew that one, didn't he? and he's not the only one. those people who hide are an insult to every gay person in every walk of life who has fought so hard against predjudice. i will accept, however, that without the context of knowing someone's views on other matters, those jokes could be open to misinterpretation such as yours, and i'll bear that in mind. on a lighter note - portugal may have lost, but at least they showed there's a little more to them than gamesmanship. so i was one place out on the final... i still think france can win if it's in normal time, but the fitness and age would make a lot of difference come extra time. still, at least having got that wrong i can now face the coming season in peace, and not take up the promise of preofessional gambling. O's first home game of the season? millwall... oh dear...

i have a little information about mr t, but i can't substantiate it via a link. i have a friend who works at the house of commons, and he recently dated this little eastern european girl he met through someone working there, who turns out to be one of the carers employed by the thorpes. i asked him about mr t's health, and he says that she says (...) that he's actually failing. the parkinsons is taking a toll on other functions (if i remember rightly, this is how it finishes you off - was it john betjeman whose parkinsons affected his heart? that was certainly what happened with my uncle years back). thorpe is unable to do anything for himself now, and has 24-hour nursing/carers. he's suffering health problems from liver, heart and lungs related to the degeneration of parkinsons, and this is gradually finshing him. although it's not a rapid degenration, more medium-paced (if you like).

why is little-miss-six talking like a fwive year old about grumpy guts starcrossed? though he is a bit of a crosspatch, but that's why we like him in the nursery, isn't it? as to who's going to be around for a while - the one thing this site has shown me is that you can't trust any information about the famous or semi-famous. anyone you care to name as healthy will probably turn out to have seventeen terminal illnesses, be a medical phenomenon, and kick it three minutes after you've posted.

excellent, dr h - top man. though i would like to point out for all libel lawyers out there that uncle sol has had several (short-lived) girlfriends and also has a paternity-tested son. and did not leave spurs because they sold stefan freund while uncle sol and uncle stefan were majoring in greek studies. honest.

baddiel's diatribe (a rare disease) relates to the wings ads. it constituted a recurring joke throughout the stand-up set he did on tour with rob newman at that time, and is immortalised on one of their videos. without actually digging them out and watching them (last time i did i found they were, sadly, no longer as funny as they were fifteen-odd years back), it's on either 'from the mary whitehouse experience' or 'history today'. they were on the up back then, but what have they done of note in recent years? baddiel is skinner's stooge (though a decent novelist), and newman (NOT a decent novelist, sadly) did something on anti-globalisation for the bbc then seemed to drop off the map. what it does show is how pervasive those sanitary towel ads were in popular culture back then. partly because everyone hated clare rayner, and partly because, as you say, they wer in the vanguard of such advertising.

intentionally or through sheer obliviousness, that's the funniest thing i've seen for ages, considering what happened saturday. top man, josco. who's going to win? given the only thing wrong in my england prediction was who they'd lose to ('probably the germans'), i'll have a bash. portugal could reach the final with half a team out. france are relying on the splendid ribery to do the midfield's running, and he can't keep it up forever. germany are... well, the germans. and italy looked ok on friday, but aren't the best italian team i've ever seen. looks likely to be a germany/france final, and i think the germans may have the legs to win if it goes to extra time. however, zidane and the other french oldies (ha! all at least 8 years younger than me, so that's a weird one to type) may just have the determination to pull it out of the bag (yes! got the cliche in!) so, france... if that's right come next sunday night, i'm cancelling my orient season and spending every saturday in the bookies come next season!

martin o'neill - footballer and footy manager. played nottingham forest and norwhich, managed wycombe into the league, leicester city, then celtic. amassed lots of trophies as player and manager. at one time hot tip for england job (and newcastle, and anything else going), took time out from game because of sick wife. also ex-captain of northern ireland. and that seems to be the crux of this thread - as an NI player, would he get death-threats if he became england manager. well, obviously no, as he didn't. but then there's a suggestion that he has a dodgy past and dodgy mates. which i've not heard of before, an may affect this thread's relevance, so tell us more. incidentally, when he was at celtic, neil lennon had to quit playing for NI because of death threats against himself and his family when he became captain. something to do with him not being a prod... the IRA may at least pay lip service to a peace process, but no-one's told the UDA about this. so the original contention about o'neill was feasible. but who are these dodgy mates?

with you on that - has the potential to be the best football so far, and a very good test of how ready the young dutch team (according to our press, anyrate) might be. meanwhile, back in league one - watch out for martin allen if he does go to carlisle. a very good manager, but very ambitious, and prone to walking out if there's not enough transfer budget (in his opinion). only a madman would apoint hendry after the blackpool debacle. and i take your point about mervyn day, mary, but i'm still unconvinced. maybe you should go for gorman, if he's ready to come back? proven coach and lower level manager, a favoured son of the city, and gets his teams to play attractive football.

thanks for that, cap'n - at least i have an idea now what boyz was going on about. which doesn't seem much, actually...

actually, he's more conference in terms of talent, but he does have something going on. and if he has big ambitions, then he's not going to achieve them without effort - did van gogh have such visions, did coleridge? not that i'm aware - they believed in their art. doherty's ambitions, according to the geezer i was arguing with, go beyond that. does he really want to take society back to the fities, as our little friend claimed? i've not heard that one before. if so, that's going well beyond art. hence my point. surprised no-one's queued up to do 'has doherty got any ears? i've heard his records!' jokes as of yet, though. btw boyz, if you're still reading, i called you a tosser for slagging all of us off without reading through first. which you further proved by stating we have no opinions. if you can't read and understand, how the hell do you make sense of the albion concept, then? does someone read the nme out to you and explain it?

TF - i am still ambivalent about nationalism because i loathe its excesses, yet still have a small part of me that likes to see england win at footy because of my love of other things english (see earlier post). in the context of talking about football teams, which we were, i fail to see how i was using it incorrectly. if anything, you mis-interpreted what i was saying just so you could have a pop. it's not my fault you're a bad-tempered git, is it?

boys, if you bopthered to read the thread you'd find out that actually some of us quite like what he's done and find it irritating that he's content to piss his talent up against a wall. i know that's his choice, but by the same token if he REALLY wnats to achieve all that you say, then becoming a smackie and F*****g it up is a real dumb move. if you want to achieve anything, you have to have some focus. and a lot of us on here are 'creative'. i can't speak for anyone else, but i've made three albums, been on copmpilations, and written 19 books under lots of different names. i couldn't have done that if i spent all my days on crack & smack. neither could pete, or anyone else. he's the latest in a long line of W**nkers who think the world owes them a living. it doesn't, you really do have to wprk for it. of course talent and luck plays a huge part, but you still have to USE that. so read in future, before just ranting and slagging. tosser.

as it goes, as you're closest to the action it's extremely interesting to hear that things are going well and there's no balls from england fans. maybe godot's righ and the xenophobia is dying down a little. i'd like that to be true, even though i've been grumpy and thought it unlikely. on the subject of actual play: thank god for stevie g - second goal and a great goal line clearance before that. great goal from joe cole and a hard worked cross for stevie's header, too. wish he'd stop falling over so easily, though. a big concern for england fans per se must be a) their facility for crumbling when they concede, and their coach's lack of ideas about attacking. still ambivalent about nationalism, so not so bothered meself. peter crouch - missed easy chances. only goal in world cup from a header where he tugged the opposition playre down by his dreads. good club man, just not international class. it'll end in tears...

oooh, so that explains your name! i had wondered about it... and i like the phrase so much that i'm going to check him out tomorrow. by the way, i know you think i'm always taking the piss out of you, but i'm NOT this time, ok? he does sound really interesting.

come on then, what is his idea of albion? i've heard LOTS of ideas about albion,even have a few miself, and the whole point is that it's an abstract concept about an idea of a nation. but what is pete's? i've only heard a few songs, so tell me - and, by extension, all of us.

the carlisle problem is perplexing. will whoever goes in be keeping the seat warm for when simmo leaves preston after they fail to get promoted again? much as he was the seat warmer for steve parkin at rochdale. or will it be someone who can really drive them forward. in which case... mervyn day? c'mon, mary, i know the guy was a good keeper for you (though i can remember when he was going to be england's no.1 before a crisis of confidence forced him out at west ham - does this make him psychologically suspect under pressure?), but he's been a non-dynamic no.2 to alan curbishly who, despite his achievements, is the john major of football. that hardly bodes well, does it. mind, he must be out of a job, as iain dowie will want bob to join him - the dowies: footy's kray twins. i'd love some tabloid photographer to re-do the bailey krays shot with them!

bugger... just fallen off my high horse...

er, why has this appeared twice after the board told me that it was flooded and couldn't post anything? technology, eh?

i had heard of claude levi strauss, and i only read the sun and hello... no, seriously, anyone whos' done any work in the media, or as a teacher, has heard of him, like they have have roland barthes. even if you DON'T want to hear about them, you have. he's famous and belgian - get over it and leave poor ie alone!

i had heard of claude levi strauss, and i only read the sun and hello... no, seriously, anyone whos' done any work in the media, or as a teahcer, has heard of him, like they have have roland barthes. even if you DON'T want to hear about them, you have. he's famous and belgian - get over it and leave poor ie alone!

dear boy, we all know you were only repairing her guttering.

isn't his wonderful new appearance due to a gastric band and liposuction? that CAN'T be good (or esle i'd try it)

no, probably not, but it is accurate, i'll admit... however, i draw the line at having to admit liking tyldesley, however he's spelt. i think i may have have been drinking in the sun too much, slave,. and we all know what that does... next door to xenophobia and corporals with delusions of grandeur...

oi slave - any fule kno i can't spell when posting. and EXCUSE me... only those with the power to manipulate the masses cause wars? they'd be very small wars if they were the only ones taking part. perhaps i should have been more accurate and said that its xenophobic masses manipulated by the few who cause wars. happy now? get off that high horse and look at the big picture. (i'll have my metaphors mixed, shaken not stirred) and NEVER write my name with an upper case 'p'. very offensive.