outoftheblue

Ok, read that bit again and then ask yourself why people aren't too happy that we've just blown our only real hope of bringing in the kind of money that could avoid administration or the sale of assets. It would take huge improvement to even scrape through promotion via the playoffs, and then we'd need to find a lorry load of cash to cement a position in the Championship. Cup runs are vital to survival.

It's one of many adjectives that could be accurately used, yes. I also said Rubes was clumsy and thoughtless, which the whole defence can often be accused of, but the other word I used was 'inconsistent', which applies more to Hazell than anyone, because as you rightly point out, he is capable of MOM performances, yet so often blots his copybook with unnecessary mistakes. Steve Redmond had a similar problem, choosing occasionally to duck out of a clearance header at the last second to allow the ball through to the keeper, which looked great unless attackers had done their homework and anticipated a potential loose ball between Reds and the keeper that they could latch onto.

He regularly fails to play the simple ball, preferring to turn the attacker, which gets a cheer when it goes right, but can cost us points when it goes wrong. He also believes his timing is good enough to be able to lull a forward into taking an extra touch before sliding him, which is a nice trick if you can pull it off, but unfortunately seems to result in us giving too many dangerous free kicks away. Gregan used to do the same thing, but had a little more success with his timing - I reckon RH has picked it up from Greegs. There's no answer to what you can do when the whole defence are crap, other than get them to look at where they went wrong collectively and individually, my problem with Hazell is that either nobody is taking him through his game post-match, or he's not listening to the people that are.

Hazell is no different today than he's ever been. He's always been a decent League two defender who is prone to the odd few thoughtless gaffs. Unfortunately we need him to be a good league one defender who learns from his rare mistakes, and that isn't Reuben I'm afraid. Gregan's ability to read a situation got Hazell out of many a tight spot, but now he's gone, people are finally seeing Reuben for what he really is - clumsy, thoughtless, arrogant and inconsistent. The problem is, we don't have the money to go out and find a better replacement, so it's up to the coaching staff to knock his arrogance out of him, firstly by taking the captains armband out of his reach, and then by bollocking him when he tries showboating rather than ignoring his silliness as they did against Plymouth last week. I just hope we can discover a replacement soon, then we won't have to worry about Brill letting the free kicks in which Hazell needlessly gives away.

I hope you're right. I really fancy trying a few new ones. Bloody B-O-T have all the fun!

Sorry Diego, that wasn't the point I was trying to make. Here in Oldham we are unlikely to see many of these beers. Instead we will see the regular Ruddles, Pedigree, Greene King etc, which are all fine beers but limited in character. I hope that other fans of real ale are aware that there are places in Oldham where you can try different and unusual ales that change weekly, without having to wait for festivals or rare specials at Wetherspoons. I'm delighted at the resurgence of real ale, and well done to wetherspoons for promoting it. It would be better if the ales were seen more frequently at outlets around the country though.

Remember reading one by Dougie Brimson (sp?) which I think had something to do with Luton Town. It was unsubstantiated crap from start to finish, and made me wonder how they ever find publishers. You chase us at yours, and we'll chase you at ours. All sounds a bit gay to me.

Because of Wetherspoons business method of buying almost out-of-date stock in huge amounts at very low prices (Knowing they can sell it quickly), they rarely have the more unique ales from smaller breweries on. Unfortunately it is normally run of the mill ale you can buy anywhere. There are some much better ales to try every week at proper CAMRA pubs like the Ashton Arms (Though they're often a pound dearer - which kind of takes the shine off a bit). From next Saturday, the Ashton Arms has 'Hit and Run' beer from the Northern microbrewery near Northwich. It's a 4.2% blond beer with a fantastic raspberry taste, which I'd highly recommend. Just don't drink it all, cos I intend to consume as much as possible while it's in town.

Not sure whether it's a fake or not, but that zebra definitely IS a fake...

That's where Shez went wrong at BP. Top of the league, then brings loan players in to upset the balance. Watch them slide.

Furman: "Aaagh! The manager's gonna kill me for missing that sitter!" Ref: "You're kiddin right?, He's only that big, what harm can he do?"

Player almost out of shot: PAAAARRRRRPP!!! Furman: "JESUS! THAT STINKS!" Ref: "Well stay over there - I don't want to share it!"

Pay for something I'm becoming increasingly bored of? You're having a laugh.

Titter!

Father Phil Sumner, from nearby St Patrick’s RC church, described seeing a ‘mass exodus’ So he was holding Mass and eveyone had to leave? or was that just an unfortunate use of the phrase?

Remember it well. Went there to see the Ya Ya's who weren't particularly good that night, but they were far better than Oasis, who were all over the place in terms of playing together. Nice to see both bands improved tremendously (Well, Oasis improved slightly).

The tool just can't keep his head down can he?

Earned my vote too.

They should be led onto the pitch and shot between the eyes as half-time entertainment. That would bring the crowds back.

Prince William gets lost on his first 'shout' as a search and rescue pilot.

Bournemouth were unfortunate not to get anything out of the game after being the better side for much of the game, but their <superb> goal was scored from a free kick that never should have been - one of a number of very poor decicions by a hugely inconsistent referee. As FMS said, our efforts were crying out for some wider support, and when we did take it down the wing we scored the winner. A couple of players need to look at their positioning and overall performances today, as they had a bearing on the whole teams performance. That said, Bournemouth appear to be a well organised team who don't give opponents a second to spare on the ball, and will be up there at the end of the season, so we shouldn't be too critical of our performance. A good win really.

It's at No 160 Broadway near Ground Zero, but I've just been told that it is nowhere near as swanky since its refit after 9/11 (Is it really that long since I last went in there?). Have a bite to eat in Greenwich Village instead then - if you get a seat near a window there are some amazing sights walking by. Also, if you're worried about missing any big games while you're out there, you might want to try the Manchester Pub on Second Avenue (Not sure of the exact address but it's up near 44th St). They have all the live Prem and European games on, and have a real interest in 'Soccer'. Last time I walked in in my Latics shirt the barman instantly recognised my shirt and said "You're losing 1-0 to Wimbledon" He was right, and it amazed me just how much interest he had in the English leagues. Edit: Just checked, The Manchester Pub is at 920 Second Ave near the 49th St junction.

Yep! so they've lost a :censored:load of quality, and also failed to show us the better (front) view images of the pair walking past the main entrance. Do they really WANT to catch them?

Don't forget the GrayLine bus tours. A good informative view of the city, and you can hop on and off wherever you like (I'd stay on board while going through the Bronx though). Not sure if it's changed now, but Hard Rock Cafe used to have (Friday?) nights where they didn't advertise the band that were playing, and there were one or two real surprises - We were treated to Red Hot Chilli Peppers a few years ago. A novelty for the kids would be McDonalds on Broadway. It is a swankily decorated upmarket version of McD's and even includes a bloke playing a grand piano in the restaurant. Tower Records in Trump Tower has always been a great source for me to pick up rare versions of albums, and you could always take the Mrs a couple of blocks up to Tiffany's afterwards to drool over the jewellery. As for the best time to go? The week leading up to Christmas is always best in my opinion - the atmosphere is fantastic with (Hopefully) snow on the ground, steam coming from the grids, Ice skaters on the Rockerfeller, and Father Christmas on every corner.

I'd be surprised if some of the smarter directors didn't include a full season's loss of revenue on the insurance claim. Those boxes were fully booked up until next may you know