tonyXIII

That reminds me of an incident at the school I was teaching in 2014. We had one of those 'filler' lessons at the start of the year, in which students were asked a number of questions, one of which was to state something your group have in common. This particular group of 13 yo boys thought they would shock me for a laugh and wrote, "a big d**k". (Trying to avoid sweary filter). I leant over their table and asked, "Do you mean you have a big d**k, or you are a big d**k?" It went over their heads, sadly.

Like the other posters' responses, I wish you a full and speedy recovery. I've always enjoyed your input on here. Best wishes!

Indeed. I think I shall be glued to U on my firestick.

Apologies if this has already been posted, but... I AM ALREADY BORED WITH THIS WORLD CUP.

Okay. I'm not convinced they'd survive, but I concede your point.

You can't possibly be suggesting "penalty to Celtic", can you? I think it's nailed on.

I don't think either would survive in the PL beyond one season.

When I was a young boy, I really liked Real Madrid. Puskas, Di Stefano, Gento and the rest were exhilarating to watch and even just to read about. Now they are a petulant bunch of sore losers with a massive sense of entitlement. I still think about their response to Rodri winning the Ballon d'Or. Poor Vini Jnr really was not happy that he had not won it. One player being upset is understandable, but the whole team, including coach Ancelotti, refusing to attend the award ceremony was disgraceful. I am so happy they lost and even more so that their gracelessness was exposed in the way it was.

Sort of. A bit tongue-in-cheek, but this duo badly skew Scottish football. This season has seen a refreshing resurgence of Hearts, St.Mirren, Aberdeen. Though they haven't all lasted the course, it's been more interesting than usual. And yes, both clubs' fans need to taught that they have to behave better, so a half-season out might just be what the doctor ordered.

Celtic and Rangers should be nowhere near a football pitch for the rest of this season.

Speaking as a City fan, yes I do want them to be bad at set pieces.

Me too! I miss my youth. The best years of my life, the 70s and 80s. I wish I had made more of them at the time.

@Wilderspoolmemories Sorry to hear of your diagnosis, but at least they've caught it early. Good luck with the treatment! I'm hoping it goes well for you.

I've just been reading about the aftermath of Real Madrid's defeat by Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. According to the BBC, Mbappe led the players off the pitch rather than give a guard of honour to the winners, while their manager, Xabi Alonso, tried to stop them leaving. What a petulant bunch of ######! Mind you, they also refused to turn up to the Ballon d'Or ceremony when Rodri won it and their precious little prat, Vinicius Junior didn't. I hope they never win anything again.

There are lots of fools in the world. The pricing does not bother me specifically. If you want to go and can afford it, then go. What bothers me more is the stench of corruption surrounding FIFA. I thought the departure of Blatter and Platini had fixed it, but it seems I was wrong.

Did you stomp with the goose step?

No. He said "same birthday", not "same appearance". Sorry.

It has been reported (years ago!) that Joe Namath was once asked by a journalist if he preferred grass or astroturf. He answered, "I don't know, I've never smoked astroturf." Well, I found it funny.

Thanks, JonM. I wasn't aware of that. Sadly, it's too late to get there now. Blast it!

I thought my birth certificate would solve this little conundrum, but it does not say "place of birth: Salford, Lancashire." Instead it refers to "County Borough of Salford". My question is, "What county?" It has to mean that Salford was, in 1953, a borough of the county of Lancashire. I think.

I know there are 5 minutes left, but "Well done!" to Crystal Palace.

I have the opposite problem here in Crete. We rarely need the heater, but air-con absolutely destroys the mpg (petrol car). We found a great solution - drive with the windows open. Just remember to close them when you park up for the night - it's a beggar having to dry your seat out if it rains, which it does from Jan to Mar.

I'm not sure that City will beat Bournmouth.

Whitby and Scarborough ('cod heads' and 'algerinos' respectively) have a bit of rivalry. Mostly friendly, but serious in sport!

That is well-observed. If a team relies on one 'star' player too much, it causes quite a few issues. Not just the risk of burn out, but the team's moves become predictable and easy to defend against, but also the other players don't get the chance to try the moves and tweak them. Sneyd is a very good half, but expecting him to carry the team was a risky strategy. We could well become a better team without him, though I would have preferred him to stick around as a coach/back-up player. Thanks for everything, Mark and 'Good luck'.