Happy Face

Did you see it this week? Jesus. A woman who was brain damaged when she was ran over at 13 was giving birth now she's 40. She'd married a healthy intelligent bloke so I was giving him the skunk eye when it started, but was ashamed of myself by the end. It was one of the lovliest things I've ever seen on TV and she was a legend. Sit your mrs down tonight and watch it, she'll cry her eyes out, in a good way.

To be fair you'd probably enjoy your team bonding sessions a fair bit more if your company took you all to Tenerife. It's the people I hate more than the activities. If Nile Ranger was there I might Shearer him.

I fuckin hate team bonding sessions where I work. Makes me wonder how much players enjoy it.

Ten times the world population affected by a move affecting 1% of British benefit claimants? what a dooley

I reckon he's insured Cabaye's legs for 8 figures and is there to nobble him.

67000 households. Saving 290 million.

It's aimed at those claiming £26k benefits a year. The people that qualify for that amount are in the most extreme circumstances, the top 1% of claimants, who have been means tested and based on all the benefits available, each with a cap of it's own, still qualify for more assistance than the other 99%. Child Tax credits are people in work, so by definition, not lazy scroungers. 1 kid pulls in £20 a week Child benefit. that's the max. Which is £1040 a year. All subsequent kids get £13 a week child benefit, max, which is £676 a year. If it was aimed squarely at those knocking out too many sprogs you could simply cap this at, say, 5 kids. Nowt after that. As it is, it would be your 38th child that took you over the cap, if this was aimed squarely at those knocking out loads of kids to get the benefits. A ridiculous notion. Here's how the government paper said it broke down. Of all the families affected, percentages were... 5% - Single people with no kids 5% - Couples with up to 2 kids 5% - Singles with 3 kids 10% - Singles with up to 2 kids 10% - Singles with 4 kids 10% - Couples with 4 kids 10% - Couples with 5 or more kids 15% - Couples with 3 kids 35% - Singles with 5 or more kids So 40% of people affected have only 3 kids or less. 3,350 people without any kids at all would be affected. All water near a bridge now though. It got defeated :gerrin:

That's a phrase in farming, Chez. Reminds me of "Makin' Hay", the best episode of Tell 'em Steve Dave. When Walt says "hay" is another word for "money". ...that's not the funny bit, the funny bit is them ripping the piss out of weirdos at a flea market.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams Should have been a more4 doc. I watched in 2d like, so it might be better as intended in 3d, but it's an hour and a half of charcoal drawings in a cave. No matter how old they are, or how scientifically valuable, or how much I love Herzogs narration, it doesn't justify the big screen. Especially because they were so restricted in their movements in the cave and could only shoot handheld with technicians in the frame 90% of the time. Hardly condusive to framing of sweeping cinematic shots. As valid as the comparison might be, that this was the first form of cinema, it doesn't cut the mustard.

Jan 2010 Geremi May 2010 Fabrice Pancrate May 2010 Nicky Butt Jan 2011 Andy Carroll Jun 2011 Kevin Nolan Aug 2011 Wayne Routledge Aug 2011 Jose Enrique Aug 2011 Joey Barton

Wrong about what? Us moving in the right direction? Thats not an opinion anymore, its a fact. You may say that it wont last, thats fine but those two statements are independent. For now, we are moving in the right direction and the new Virgin money deal plus the purchase of Cissé suggests this will continue for at least a few more months. We will have to wait and see what happens at the end of this month. It will be much more difficult for a club with our resources (6/7th largest in the league) to achieve a top 4 finish than in previous decades, thats another fact. What you dont understand is that this current trajectory and sense of progression is only achievable within a certain framework. If the framework is to maximise income through player sales (the real financial expression of the notion of a 'selling club'), then the club would not have spent £10 on Cissé. The club could not have made the progress it has since relegation within the strategic and financial framework you believe exists. From a business perspective, its nonsense. Perhaps the fact that i've got a lot of experience in business means i was able to predict that trajectory and carefully explain why your conceived notions about the club are inconsistent with the way it operates. Most intelligent people have been able to clearly call the club's strategy for a while now, the rest of world has finally taken notice and there are a few who are still struggling to capture the finer details. You might be right in the future but that will only come about through stupidity of the ownership. That stupidity may mean some people agree that the current lot will fail but whats not up for debate is that they want to succeed. As i've pointed out before, i find the nuanced discussion of whether 6th to 8th place is the correct barometer of success as pointless for now, the facts are thats where we are and for now, where we should be. Complaining about what you think might happen does not make you right about anything. No credit whatsoever for CT, the man whose lead you've followed. Dunno why you have him in your gang CT.

Cabaye didn't manage it on Saturday though when HBA's lost posession led to their first goal, the 4 that followed and our utter humiliation

Someone change his name to Emo Mag will you.

Oh, fuck off man.

“It is normal to have a great team in Paris,” “It’s a great city and wasn’t logical that there was not a great club there. “Now we'll see, but I think there are many players who will not come because it’s the French championship - look at Tevez. “Even with the Champions League. There will need to be least two or three other clubs at the same level or I think the stars will struggle to come.” “For me, it's different, I am French so it’s not the same as it is the championship of France. It’s not the same relationship for Tevez. “It is as if, with all due respect, I was told to go to a big club in Switzerland, I would not go.” "You never know what will happen tomorrow, I do not know [PSG coach Carlo] Ancelotti too well.” Blatantly angling for a move.

If you can't accept any of the facts I've pointed out, when I probably agree with you more than 99% of posters, you've got no hope. You Shepherd obsessed WUMming loonpot. I pointed out the facts before most people, I pointed out they were wrong to let Souness go on his wild spending/sales spree, and the vast majority disagreed with me, insisting that he would emerge as the new Alex Ferguson for also weeding out the "bad eggs" etc etc blah blah. You simply can't say, however, that they would not have attempted to push on again, like they did after the few years of Bobby Robson, whereas Mike Ashley has not done this, and will not do it. I've said it for long enough, I'm sticking by it. He has no desire to push for the top places. All he wants is a premiership club to sit alongside Sports Direct. If he does not make an operational profit then he will sell a player instead,and he will never back his managers and adopt a build, retain and improve policy, which is the ONLY way to succeed in football. I think we've got that. There's no confusion over your position. You will be able to say how right you were next time we're relegated.

If you can't accept any of the facts I've pointed out, when I probably agree with you more than 99% of posters, you've got no hope. You Shepherd obsessed WUMming loonpot.

No-on'es poured any scorn on that mate. Do you know what sustained means though? We hadn't finished in the top 4 in 4 years when Ashley bought us, with bottom half finishes as regular as top half. nobody has said that it would last forever. Long term posters will recall I long advocated a more conservative approach to settle down and re-group again, as the first year or so of Bobby Robson. The difference is that, the old board DID re-group and push forward again, and it didn't need to sell its best players to do it and it came back and backed its managers again. Mike Ashley will not do this. Your last post is correct too by the way, the one supporting the statement that player sales should not be used in other areas of the club, for a club with the 14th biggest revenues in football. If this is now not the case, there is only one person to blame for falling revenues, and the need to sell our best players. This, incidentally, makes NUFC a selling club, that has gone backwards, in spite of a small run of results on the pitch, which as I predicted at the end of last season, would likely fool a lot of idiotic people who cannot see the big picture due to their blind spot and irrational hatred of the best directors we have had in over 50 years. There's no irrational hatred. Just you harking back to it like your first bit of fanny, it might be the sweetest piece of fanny you ever had, but let it go. Whatever you say about sustainability, we weren't sustaining what we needed to for what we were laying out. In a decade before Ashley arrived we finished in the bottom half 60% of the time and averaged 10th...and yes, that's still the best we've had in 50 years and it was brilliant we'd done even better under Shepherd/Hall. I also remain unconvinced by Ashley, but we're 6th in February. Don't be so bitter about that.

No-on'es poured any scorn on that mate. Do you know what sustained means though? We hadn't finished in the top 4 in 4 years when Ashley bought us, with bottom half finishes as regular as top half.

Leazes is spot on. After costs, profits from TV money, gate receipts, commercial deals, shirt sales and all that should be invested in the team on top of any money from other player sales, so that the total outlay on the pitch is greater than the income from it. That's how you get better quality, and achieve greater success. Simple. It shouldn't go the other way. Player sales should not be relied upon or used to subsidise losses in other areas. Losses Ashley has worsened himself due to stupid decisions that resulted in relegation. Similarly player purchases do need to be fully financed either by profits or affordable loans against assets. We as a club weren't showing the profits and didn't have the assetts to secure further loans for quite a while prior to Ashleys arrival. Anyone looking at our finances can see that the decisions taken over the last 3 years mean that this seasons and next will be the healthiest set of books either of our owners oversaw in almost a decade. It remains to be seen whether this financial clout will be used to retain our best players and add to that excellent core team, to build a squad and sustain our current position. Nothing so far this window suggests we won't. Just one more week to go before you have to say it's been a good one.

QFT

Sounds about the norm to me like. Solicitors are twats to a man. ( for those on here plying the trade...you twats). We were in court yesterday. Our fella told us "it starts at 9.45 so be there at 9". The clerk of the court arrives at 10.25 and says "we should be ok to start on time" "eh?" we says, "what time we meant to start like?" "10.30" Half an hour later, it's all done and dusted bar the costs awarded, and the judge berates our fella for claiming 5 hours for the day. It was all done and dusted in 30 minutes. Greedy ignorant overcharging fuckers. ( for those on here plying the trade...you twats).

What in christ is that 2 panel black and white monstrosity. Quite like the silver and blue.

Hangings too good for muggers. NAIL SOME SENSE INTO THEM!