Ken

No sick days here, or the ghastly flu. Mind you it is a bit nippy for this time of year. Still warm enough though to enjoy the summer breeze, the delightful tastes of the summer season, and to bask in a warm glow that permeates throughout your body sensing those smells and colour that this sensational season brings about.

Fucking hell man, I know you were on your honeymoon and all, but on what exactly did you spend all your hard earned dollars?

to be honest mate, if the mcg is another featherbed like the first two tests i fancy us to retain the urn as our bowling attack is better than yours. if it's a lively pitch (unlikely but they're bound to try to prepare one with a lot of grass on it after perth) then you guys are in with a shout as the occasion could still get to the frail minds of our side. at the end of the day they're english and they're playing under pressure to do something that hasn't been achieved for a generation. with that in mind, it's very likely it could still go tits up for us. looking it on paper though, i still fancy our chances, especially if we go for bresnan over colly and promote bell to number 5. prior is a more than capable number 6 and bresnan can sling his willow at number 7 while sharing the workload with the other seamers and taking the pressure off swann to tie up an end. Well, a lot will obviously depend on what happens on day one. Expecting a crowd of 100,000 and with momentum towards the Aussies, the English will have done well to overcome that. The pitch will be nothing like Perth's but it'll be green as there has been a lot of rain and moisture on the eastern seaboard of this continent the last few weeks, plus of course the groundsmen will make sure it is moist come boxing day. Not too sure I agree with you about England having a superior bowling attack. Ryan Harris will prosper on that wicket, as will Siddle and if Johnson can come near to replicating his accuracy he showed in Perth, and that's even before you take into consideration Finn will be rested and Anderson has a few aches and pains, well, I don't see any kind of superiority, if anything England are inferior. We'll have to wait and see there. As you mention also, England traditionally have a propensity to choke under pressure. Fascinating stuff, it being all up in the air, I'll be sat on my sofa with prawns and blue-swimmer crabs to devour and Coopers and a few glasses of cab-sav's to wash it all down with.

Well, well, 1-1 now, eh? I hope Pieterson's arrogant comments don't come back to bite him and the unwashed after Melbourne. Shame I couldn't share this joy with you lot during proceedings. What a belter of an Ashes series this is turning out to be though!

Good lad by all accounts. Had an unhealthy obsession with internet poker though didn't he? Some suggestions he was a ginge, but that may have only been heresay. His tit-for-tats with Leazes will be sadly missed. RIP, friend.

I had never heard of Beer until he was named in the 12. All I know about him is that he is a Western Australian left-handed off-spinner, otherwise, apart from a catchy name... Smith is a wrist-spinning all-rounder and is tipped to be a mainstay in all forms of cricket long-term. Probably a better batsman than a bowler at the moment, his delivers are more arm-ball style like Anil Kumble's were rather than Warne's massive leg breaks. He's an excellent fieldsman. At least the selectors are trying something different albeit even if one selection was forced due to injury. The groundsmen are making sure there's a bit of grass on the pitch, or so I've read. It's going to be the fastest WACA wicket in years and they reckon the game will only last 3 or 4 days.

And so ends a wonderful week that will last with me forever.

Do they still have to pay for their own suits? You know, the one with the emblem on the jacket?

Or Tremlett who did well in the lead-in game. No, the loss of Katich is critical. The middle order are shaky at best as you say, so if we don't have proven openers that can set up a foundation it will go pear-shaped. I know it's stating the obvious but you need Ponting to start making big scores. I wonder if his head's in the right place though, the pressure must be immense Ponting should drop himself further down the batting order. He's not a number three anymore in my view. But this lot are too scared of changes, as evidenced with the continual faith in North, Johnson (until he was dropped but will probably be re-instated) and even Clarke. We've found ourselves back to where we were in the 80's (only vague memories as I was a child), but back then we didn't have much of a talent pool to choose from but we had a hard arse captain (Alan Border) who kept it together and kept us competitive. Ponting isn't that sort of captain, and the next in line is Michael Clarke. His nickname is 'Pup'. Interesting idea, maybe put Hussey in at no. 3? Personally I wouldn't write off Australia just yet in this series, but some serious improvement is needed with both bat and ball. The team needs some inspiration and some luck, plus England to drop their performance level too. Yup, I'd do that. In a perfect world I'd have Watson coming in at six as well, but that would leave two spaces open up top and nobody of real substance to replace them. Oh, and we haven't a spinner that causes proper drama against the opposition. Oh, and we haven't a dominating paceman etc etc etc.

Despicable, seedy characters many of them who have issues with body odour and bad breath, and who talk out of their arse from my experiences anyway. This CT person does not help that kind of stereotyping.

Or Tremlett who did well in the lead-in game. No, the loss of Katich is critical. The middle order are shaky at best as you say, so if we don't have proven openers that can set up a foundation it will go pear-shaped. I know it's stating the obvious but you need Ponting to start making big scores. I wonder if his head's in the right place though, the pressure must be immense Ponting should drop himself further down the batting order. He's not a number three anymore in my view. But this lot are too scared of changes, as evidenced with the continual faith in North, Johnson (until he was dropped but will probably be re-instated) and even Clarke. We've found ourselves back to where we were in the 80's (only vague memories as I was a child), but back then we didn't have much of a talent pool to choose from but we had a hard arse captain (Alan Border) who kept it together and kept us competitive. Ponting isn't that sort of captain, and the next in line is Michael Clarke. His nickname is 'Pup'.

Or Tremlett who did well in the lead-in game. No, the loss of Katich is critical. The middle order are shaky at best as you say, so if we don't have proven openers that can set up a foundation it will go pear-shaped.

Don't think players will be sold in January, but none will be bought either, a few loan deals if we're lucky. Still won't be enough though and relegation beckons. After the season's over the majority of those names that have been listed there will go.

Phil Hughes or Shaun Marsh. Neither stands out over the other though tbh. Phil Hughes has technical flaws which on a hard WACA wicket will only be exacerbated. He has only averaged 20 in the domestic comp this season. Shaun Marsh is used to the WACA as that is his home ground and will be used to the swing that the Fremantle Doctor will provide there. Unfortunately his domestic average is 30 odd, less than impressive. Toss-of-a-coin job really. The GABBA (Brisbane) pitch now has the reputation as being the hardest wicket in Australia. The WACA while still fast, has lost its aura a bit, but we'll see what the groundsmen conjure up...

I must have missed that. Got a credible source? Was an Australian guy on BBC Radio 5 this morning who has set up a website and has already had several donations. Warne hasn't completely ruled himself out and claims to be 'flattered' apparently. Warne offered his services 2 years ago but was abruptly turned down by the Australian hierarchy. Warne is talking the talk and taking the piss, like Robbie Fowler trying to tell the Aussie media Wayne Rooney was interested in signing with Perth Glory. As for this Aussie guy on BBC, well I haven't heard him, maybe he's just a good bloke playing it up for you and trying to score free drinks while he's over there. I don't think it'll happen for one second. I was just repeating what I'd heard and where, since you asked. No problem, thanks for doing so btw.

It's neither black nor white, but a shade of grey.

I must have missed that. Got a credible source? Was an Australian guy on BBC Radio 5 this morning who has set up a website and has already had several donations. Warne hasn't completely ruled himself out and claims to be 'flattered' apparently. Warne offered his services 2 years ago but was abruptly turned down by the Australian hierarchy. Warne is talking the talk and taking the piss, like Robbie Fowler trying to tell the Aussie media Wayne Rooney was interested in signing with Perth Glory. As for this Aussie guy on BBC, well I haven't heard him, maybe he's just a good bloke playing it up for you and trying to score free drinks while he's over there.

Be fair now. The capacity of your grounds are smallish. Some, less than 20,000. Scandalous is it? On a side note I'll add that Aussie fans are used to a winning culture. So sitting in 35 degree heat watching your team getting bashed from pillar to post is not a turn-on. So to clarify, when all is going well you'll turn up, but as soon as they need some support, fuck 'em. To clarify, Australian summers are more taxing to oneself than England's, Australian grounds are bigger and have a much larger capacity than the little miniature, but scenic grounds of England (and Cardiff) and... people would rather save a sickie for another event. Scandalous is a bit harsh is it not?

I think they're obsessed with money, or more specifically, the amount of money that's going into their back pockets. I agree with your sentiment about pulling out, it's a great big pig's trough and the FA and other mugs are paying for the whole damn party. It stinks basically. Great act to pursue on principle but what effect will the FA's removal of itself from FIFA have? Nothing, mate. Wouldn't make the slightest difference to anybody. Time for the FA and other clean associations to play dirty.

I think asking people to walk out during play would be like asking the average bloke to pull out during sex The supporters trust can't organise and unify, so my thoughts are this is a pipe dream. There's only one hope; now the books are balanced it may be a more attractive proposition to a foreign consortium. Fat chance of even that!

I'd like to know what his life experiences are though, even in broad terms so that we could take him more seriously in future.

I must have missed that. Got a credible source?

We've done this to death. Absolutely fucking pointless having a thread about it - Leazes is certainly one of a kind. I get your point, my intention was to remove this banter from the 'Hughton gone' thread as didn't want to derail it with semantics. Plus it gives Leazes an avenue with which to converse with, you know, with normal people. It will die a quick death, as it deserves.

Be fair now. The capacity of your grounds are smallish. Some, less than 20,000. Scandalous is it? On a side note I'll add that Aussie fans are used to a winning culture. So sitting in 35 degree heat watching your team getting bashed from pillar to post is not a turn-on.

Made a post without the use of a thesaurus, eh?