Meenzer

It is still a shockingly weak group. We just didn't appreciate that we were part of that.

The only positive was winning money on Carragher getting booked. That's gone straight on a "Slovenia to win or draw" for the next match. It's already old news but Rooney's hissy fit was just pitiful - he was even worse than Heskey, and that's saying something.

The market needs to crash at some point for the sake of the future economy, but successive governments seem pretty determined to prop it up artificially because the consequences of a crash would be pretty horrendous for actual regular people (though it's hard to feel sympathy for anyone who bought an overpriced property at the peak of the market using a 125% mortgage from Northern Rock, say, but there you go). Either way, I tend to agree that there won't be much price movement over the next few years really - not unless interest rates go up, and they won't for the aforementioned reason unless there are wider-reaching considerations for doing so. Can't see any government wanting the resulting carnage and social unrest on their hands to be honest.

I died Too much ?

Stevie, the odds for a Serbia win against Deutschalnd might be worth a look. Visionaries, both of us, I swear. I took 7/2 on Germany not qualifying from their group before the tournament began and was cursing them after the Australia game, but now... that's looking a bit more tasty.

Glad it was no more than a nibble now.

I've tried that too. It works.

I've had a little nibble at the draw in this one too, aye, but separately from the other two games today.

Exactly what I just did too. We're doomed.

Ivory Coast were pretty lethargic and unmagical themselves, though, like they invariably are at a World Cup or African Nations level. Then again, to most observers, this has always been the group of "meh" rather than the group of death - the North Koreans were inevitably going to be the only antidote to the overrated gush of exaggerated build-up play and little end product of the other three teams, and long may they continue to throw Dear Leader's spanner into the works.

If they start with "Swing Low Sweet Chariot", do the right thing. Tactical vomit on the nearest singer. It'll be my pleasure.

Tell me where you want it to go and I'll make it so. See, this is why it's all so complicated. On Gaydar you'd just tick the box marked "versatile" and Bob's your uncle (or daddy, or Special Bear). And Fanny's your aunt? Now that's just perverse.

Tell me where you want it to go and I'll make it so. See, this is why it's all so complicated. On Gaydar you'd just tick the box marked "versatile" and Bob's your uncle (or daddy, or Special Bear).

I can't work out whether this conversation is going - argument, shagfest, or both.

"Genuinely bloke"? Fucking hell.

Aye, and the reaction to Keith Alexander's death a few months ago underlined the point - a genuinely bloke who knew his limitations and ploughed out a respectable lower-league management career without ever playing the race card, and nobody had a bad word to say about him. There's still plenty of kneejerk prejudice within the game, but most chairmen would hire a skittle-juggling transvestite nun as their manager if they delivered the results.

Apparently I'm going to bloody Twickenham to watch this one. I'm already dreading the experience. Either way, if we don't win it convincingly (performance-wise, if not scoreline-wise), then the game's probably up. Suspect we'll give them a darned good thrashing though. Which makes watching it in a public school-feeding, rugger-supporting environment seem somehow infinitely more appropriate.

Always thought he had an incredibly annoying face. RIP.

Why... wouldn't it? Those results are legendary to any student of obscure qualifying groups. ....just me then?

Jetlagged and sunburnt, but happy. And congrats Mr. Fist.

I'm still waiting for Rob's contribution to the gay thread myself. "Well of course when I served in back-to-back campaigns in North Africa, the camel herders practically forced their firstborn sons onto you - it would have been dishonourable not to............"

Window table at the Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich. (This may not be entirely practical for you.)

I like the main thrust of your point. ....this isn't helping, right? In all honesty, I find that sort of thing pretty tedious and tend not to spend time with gays of the "oo, get her!" variety, so I suppose it's hard for me to judge. The fact that people are generally surprised to discover I'm gay suggests the camp 'n' screaming stereotype is fairly ingrained even in the most open-minded of people (myself included, frankly!), but whether that's just the way it is or it's perpetuated by überfags being überfaggy? Difficult to say. Either way, for all I play up that kind of thing for laughs on here sometimes, I'd hate to think I was defined by my sexuality. There's more to life. Eurovision and lovely pink cocktails, for a start! (Still not helping, right?)

Tell that to Alan Ball.

I suppose that'd be pretty conclusive evidence of a shotgun wound to the face...