Happy Face

You're always going to get individual errors though. Didn't Bolton concede more than us last year (and Blackburn, Tottenham and Reading after a double check) and finish higher? Why is defense his top priority. Our main problem was scoring and i thought once Owen got back we'd be pushing to supply him rather than worrying about defensive frailties that are overblown by clownish errors that the BBC loved to entertain the nation with.

How else could you take it? If he was talking after we'd played Arsenal I'd understand it. It's already been pointed out that we have a squad of Internationals, and Allardyce is basically saying to them "you aren't good enough to match Reading in a game, so don't worry about going at them, just try and stop them plying their magic out there"If I were an experienced international player I imagine that would dishearten me. You see, I don't agree with that being the only interpretation either. I find your downer on Allardyce almost as perplexing as I did your support for Roeder though. I was reiterating the same interpretation. How do you take it? "We need to become more determined to stop the opposition playing." You can 'stop the opposition' by imposing your game on their's. Plus, whenever you go away from home in the Premier League, stopping the opposition from playing is the priority imo, because no matter who plays who the home team nearly always has a go. I think he wants to start with a solid backline and midfield and then take it from there. It's not a view I necessarily subscribe to against teams like Reading as I pointed out the other day, we don't look like keeping clean sheets so we might as well have a go. I'm guessing that long-term though Allardyce wants us to be more solid and concede less which is what is needed. I think it was a general comment too. I didn't really read that much into it though, I just thought you took one line out of context and put a very (and unnecessarily) negative spin on it. So you're saying no matter who plays who you've got to stop the home team playing....though you yourself don't subscribe to it against Reading. I think we agree completely, which is why I said I'd understand it if we'd just played Arsenal.

How else could you take it? If he was talking after we'd played Arsenal I'd understand it. It's already been pointed out that we have a squad of Internationals, and Allardyce is basically saying to them "you aren't good enough to match Reading in a game, so don't worry about going at them, just try and stop them plying their magic out there"If I were an experienced international player I imagine that would dishearten me. You see, I don't agree with that being the only interpretation either. I find your downer on Allardyce almost as perplexing as I did your support for Roeder though. I was reiterating the same interpretation. How do you take it?

How else could you take it? If he was talking after we'd played Arsenal I'd understand it. It's already been pointed out that we have a squad of Internationals, and Allardyce is basically saying to them "you aren't good enough to match Reading in a game, so don't worry about going at them, just try and stop them plying their magic out there" If I were an experienced international player I imagine that would dishearten me.

Seems like Saturdays game has entrenched his view that we need even more stifling football to ensure draws, rather than a move towards creativity to make chances.

The Smiths cover was shite. The sound in the arena (as ever) was shite. Still awesome though.

He's only had eleven competetive games so of course it's a knee jerk....but for me it's not just to this game. I didn't want to come on here and write the bloke off previously because people here know i wasn't keen in the first place, you've got to give the bloke a chance. I thought there was a shift in opinion this weekend though, people who normally grumbled under their breath in hope that it would be sorted were shouting with exasperation. The Geordie lack of patience rearing its ugly head again. Apart from half an hour against Bolton we've not been given any signs that we should feel more confident than at any time under Roeder? Fingers crossed something can be done to placate the impatients among us.

BSA is all over the papers bragging about the best start to a season in 10 years. I think it's a valid argument in tempering his own optimistic appraisal of the situation based on a tenuous comparison.

I'm all for a bit of stability from a long term manager who keeps us mid-table with an odd foray upwards if we're lucky, but always has us out of danger. Allardyce said he'd be retired by 2010 though, and as a manager who's expressed a desire for the England job, i don't think he's planning to be as patient as you or me.

Meet Ricky Gervais. I'm paraphrasing but... "When I got a show they asked who I wanted to appear on it, I said "people like me" to that end will you please welcome the fat, arrogant, prick...Michael Winner"

There could be an almight run of nightmare results. There could. I Was just checking. Roeder got 19 points from his first ten games (a run which included Liverpool, Man U and Sam Allardyces Bolton). Big Sam has only managed 17 points in his first 10 games which only included 1 of the top 7. That said, long term I have far more confidence in Allardyce grinding out average results to keep us mid-table with the backing of his players because he talks a far better game.

Well this isn't very nice. Happy Birthday Jimmy. You're beautiful, it's true.

Or "which uk cities currently use the 118118 service least?"

But their album got to number one, how can they be shit?

Where did you hear about it like?

Then again, we only got 12 points from the same games last year.

I don't think anyone did. I got some flak on here for saying Allardyce was little improvement over Roeder though. To have only won half of the games after the start we were gifted is disappointing to say the least. Over a quarter of the way through the season and we've yet to play every team above us (bar City - who've already trounced us) twice.

Shouldn't you be putting the dinner on about now?

Hostel 2 I loved the first Hostel. It was a simple premise executed well, unlike that shitty Saw film that was a hugely contrived premise executed poorly. But I still wasn't that keen to see Hostel 2. Even people that liked the first one said it was poor, and I agree to a certain extent. The first half hour sort of drags along because we know where these girls are headed, the same place as the lads in the first film. There's no tension in their travels until they actually arrive at the hostel and what tension is then evoked is simply from guessing who's going to survive and anticipating the carnage. The main problem though, I think, is introducing the torturers/murderers as characters. We don't want or need to know anything about them. They should be inpenetrable monsters, this is a problem with horror sequels, they always try and study the baddie more, what made Hannibal Lector into what he is? Does Jaws have a family? The more you know about the mechanics of the hostel, the less scary it is. On the plus side some of the torture had me squirming in my seat like I've not done in a long while. When the lass had the bloke in the palm of her hand (literally) I was doubled over in sympathy for him. It still has some of the bite of the first one in terms of both social and international politics (SPOILER****New Orleans and Iraq are both covered as well as the standard horror trope of cock teases and whores coming to a grizzly end while virginal innocents win the day***END SPOILER) but it's all a bit more ham fisted in this episode and tacked on to what is basically a carbon copy of part one. What is especially confused is that unlike part one, the girls in this episode do nothing wrong whatsoever, they're simply prey, so any idea of action and consequence outside of giving up the poon is limited only to the killers. The fact that part 3 is confirmed is worrying, I really hope Roth takes a completely different approach because the holidaying Americans being killed after getting in over their heads was enough for one film only. Part 2 passed 90 entertaining minutes but he needs to raise the bar to make it a worthwhile trilogy rather than one quality film turned cash cow.

Stop being so peurile. "Poo"

Fnarr Fnarr. I knew that was coming.

Really? I love mine. Best camera in a non flipping phone*, with a nice cover. Lush screen. Quality layout. Full internet. And I can play Worms Golf on it. It does hang occasionally. Maybe once a month. But that's not a big problem. My biggest qualm is that you have to use the nokia earphones with the nasty adaptor, so I get very little use from the FM radio. Do other phones take a normal headphone jack? Mind you, there is also the problem of it being shit at synchronising up with the PC too. Total Pot Luck as to whether it's recognised. *At least it was when it came out.

The Besnard Lakes - For Agent 13 I love a long deep throbbing organ note. Makes me want to scratch my spleen.

Don't you sync it with iTunes? Nope. Doesn't that automatically move any music onto your ipod once it's in itunes? There's twice as much on Itunes as will fit on the ipod, so I need to be selective.

Well found Sammy. Paul Kemsley, aye.