Barry

hoping it turns up are you in sixth form then?

looks like Ballack has chosen Chelsea: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4804244.stm

wondering whether Bouazizi ever did find his geography coursework

Travis - "Writing To Reach You"

doing nothing

i'd bet you five of your Australian dollars that Henry will leave at the end of the season . . . he has shown some loyalty and has done well but he is but a shadow of Tony Adams for example (with regards to his commitment to the cause) i didn't say that a player is better because he is local. i just said that i think that if he has supported the club all his life and has such an inexorable link with the club then he embodies the spirit which the fans have and understands what it is to play for your team. a commited local player is more of a figure head, is a badge for your club and is someone the fans can relate to . . . :persuazn: . . . most derbies are fairly boring really Spurs have been so unlucky in big matches for the last couple of seasons <_< football teams are now businesses but it does not mean that they should not show loyalty to their fans and that they should erase the team's memory and change its appearance beyond all recognition. you can get some steals from abroad but look at some of the crap that Arsene Wenger has trawled in preferentially to young English talents and players already at Arsenal who he has just discarded like an old sock <_< to be fair the multicultural element doesn't really have any weight in this argument in my eyes i thought that was one of the reasons why we had the World Cup it can be good to expand the support of the club but if that means selling the current fans and youth of the country down the river then it's absolutely wrong. the cynicism underlying much of it also irritates me . . . *cough*the purchase of Owen by Real*cough* i'm not saying that the fans should revolt because a club is "too non-English." that inference is fanciful. i'm saying that when a club loses its identity so rapidly and in such a way then people get fed up and feel alienated almost. the fact is that Arsenal don't need to import the hordes of obscure foreign players that they do to be successful and by doing this they punish youth players and create a team devoid of real passion and real loyalty quite apt that Sol Campbell is there then West Ham's academy is not bad but nor is Arsenal's when you look at it . . . David Bentley, Matthew Upson, Jermaine Pennant, Jerome Thomas, Stuart Taylor, Steven Sidwell, etc . . . and that's just over a couple of seasons :| many teams would just dream of a bunch like that coming through the fact is that West Ham nurture their young players and give them a go rather than discard them untested . . . the only British player to come through under Arsene Wenger has been Ashley Cole. in ten years, one young British player

The Thrills - "Don't Steal Our Sun"

Morrissey - "Irish Blood, English Heart"

i have no problem with foreign players. i just think it ridiculous that a coach can discriminate against home produced players, import a load of often lack-lustre cronies and field a team which is not at all representative and don't have the right nor understanding to play for the club . . . i think that a home grown player has this passion, commitment and love for the club instilled in them at an early age and that palyers from the respective country have an understanding of the game which is difficult for another to pick up . . . on a side note, having a specified region for a club would actually reinvigorate the game and would restore local pride. however, it is not really feasible and would annoy many clubs so would never happen ultimately the fans will decide whether the club are representative of them and will, i think, eventually get fed up and either move back to lower division teams where there is true passion or will move over to another sport until english football is reclaimed. it really is losing it's soul . . . about the Liverpool-Chelsea thing. it will never develop into a 'real' rivalry or 'real' derby. it wouldn't be within a million miles of a Man Utd-Man City match, a Merseyside derby, a Newcastle-Sunderland match, a Sheffield derby, a Liverpool-Man Utd clash, a Rangers-Celtic match or, dare i say it, a Spurs-Arsenal match. it could be a standout fixture but never a real derby. Sol Campbell isn't Arsenal. as you know, he's from Tottenham originally <_< he didn't go to Arsenal because he believes in the club. he went because he too is a mercenary and he thought that he could have more money and possibly success there . . . i would suggest that Ashley Cole is the only 'real' Arsenal player i mean, he's been raised with these traditions and this understanding. i don't think that you can necessarily pick up that kind of belief or passion over a five year stint at a club i think that it takes more time for this kind of love to grow Henry and Vieira have probably done more for Arsenal than the other players but it doesn't mean that they necessarily believe in the club, have true loyalty to it or give the passion that a real fan would give. Just look at some of the half-hearted players there . . . there are no Tony Adams, Lee Dixons, Nigel Winterburns, Steve Boulds, David Seamans, Paul Mersons, Ray Parlours or Ian Wrights any more tradition should be preserved. i see no need for football to regress especially in a world where there is such an emphasis on the youth side of the game and different coaching tecnhiques. i see no need for it to whizz supposedly 'forward' at such a pace that club's lose their identities lots of players don't appreciate the club's history though and they just see clubs as stepping stones or play for the money i mean look at the Arsenal team, i think that it's laughable to think that every player is absolutely commited to the club and that every player has the kind of passion that Tony Adams and David Seaman once lent Arsenal. yes, globalisation is taking place and populations are mixing. i don't see anything wrong with that. in fact i live in one of the most multicultural areas in the UK . . . the fact is that that football pitch isn't a 'representation of the world.' i think that multiculturalism is good to an extent but when the previous culture at the club is nigh on obliterated and there is no culture or tradition what is the club any more? it's not a definite entity . . . in that case why should the club have any link to any locale? they're a global team, they're not really Arsenal that's something that annoys me: the purchase of foreign players JUST to try and increase support abroad or among some sections of society. it's ridiculous and i don't think that clubs should divert their efforts accordingly. i'm not saying that clubs shouldn't have foreign fans. i just mean that clubs should focus their attentions on success on the field and on providing a spectacle not on increasing the amount that goes into their coffers. i mean, the fans pay for the club so the club should look after and give something back to the fans . . . people over here are getting fed up with the clubs using and abusing fans . . . one of the reasons why crowd attendances are falling for some teams . . . the club needs to look after their existing fans and give them the success that they deserve rather than spend their efforts trying to cynically increase their fan base . . . hope that made some kind of sense . . . sorry about the length

Snow Patrol - "Days Without Paracetamol"

sweltering

Green Day - "Macy's Day Parade"

Rolling Stones - "Wild Horses"

so lazy

DJ Reacharound Mix of "I Could Eat A Knob At Night" Karl Pilkington cracks me up

the immigration department can't do anything because most the players are EU nationals and thus are entitled to work in this country. when you look at some of the imports though it's disgraceful especially considering the wealth of talents Arsenal had in their youth system which they ignored and subsequently disposed of . . . it's not about the style of play. it's about having some kind of representation of the place, region or even country. having only three real British players in the squad of a supposedly English team is frankly disgusting. what are they giving to the community and how do they represent it? why should they even be called Arsenal when they are now a team of mercenaries? they almost have no right to this name since they have no link to it any more how is the heritage and tradition of Arsenal being carried on? where is the real passion? i was initially against the idea of quotas of home-grown players but now teams have gone too far. i'd rather that English football regressed (if it indeed would ) and that the players were at least representative of their clubs, that they understood the histories, traditions and rivalries of the clubs and that there was real passion than have a league full of possibly ( ) more 'skillful' players that lack true passion and understanding that don't represent their fans or club's traditions. the style that Arsenal play and the "vision" of Arsene Wenger is irrelevant to the debate in my eyes . . . i personally feel that Arsene Wenger is flittering away the history and tradition of Arsenal football club . . . being a Spurs fan, Arsenal obviously aren't my favourite football club but i really do feel sorry for the fans and for the illustrious history of that football club i'm not criticising just because it's Arsenal. i was just as annoyed when Chelsea fielded a similar team several years ago in a match dubbed by the papers "Coventry versus the Rest of The World". i'm even more annoyed that Arsene Wenger then implied that Alan Pardew's statement was bordering on racism <_< . . . you may well agree and you may well want more of a "spectacle" but i personally value the histories, rivalries and traditions of England's top clubs and i think that it would be really very sad to lose these from the English game . . . feel free to disagree or whatever . . .

shocked . . . they've just instated a hosepipe ban :| it's only march :| that's crazy . . .

Bob Dylan - "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"

Moby - "Porcelain"

ironing my dress shirt :anger: it's so annoying <_<

Kanye West - "We Don't Care"

are adidas and puma fashionable in the US? :| . . . :rofl: most adidas, puma, kappa, reebok and nike stuff over here is the pits well, some stuff is alright but it's not exactly fashionable unless you're a 'townie' i don't really do the brand thing . . . although i would kill for that red adidas Canada top Kanye West wore in the "Through the Wire" video :|

tidying my room

Goldie Lookin Chain - "Half Man, Half Machine"

Golide Lookin Chain - "Your Missus Is A Nutter"