tonyXIII

I share your pain, mate. Except the weather. At least here it is a beautiful day ... ... again!

I wonder if Gerald Sinstadt will be doing the commentary?

I don't often post on the football thread, but I shall make an exception now. Many of you know that I am a long time fan of Manchester City (though nowadays I much prefer TGG), and I am heartily sick of all the media speculation about a 'quadruple'. STFU! All any of this does is set us up for a fall. If and when City do win the quadruple, then you can fill your papers and pundit shows with any amount of reporting. Rant over.

Silver service?

Hmmm! You really should have thumped Farage (pronounced Farridge) when you had the chance. His influence on you has been toxic. Edit to add a smiley.

One of my childhood idols. Only 7 years older than me!

Sad news indeed. I saw Mountain live at Sheffield uni in early (Feb?) 1972. Absolutely brilliant and their live version of Nantucket Sleighride is still one of my favourite tracks ever.

May I ask the experts on here a question? The BBC (and others) have reported that United are out of the CL. When I look at the table, it seems that a big win (5-0 or so) for the Turkish team would shift PSG's goal difference enough to put them below United and mean that United go through while PSG are eliminated. What am I missing?

It was. However, i was disappointed that they didn't experiment to see how many trucks they could attach before the lead engine crashed into the last one. I reckon there's room for another twenty.

Would it be in bad taste to remind everyone of a famous line from one of the Bond films, "No, Mr Bond. I expect you to die." Yes, it probably would. The obits I've seen so far all seem to ignore the film "Marnie". Sean Connery and Tippi Hedren. I liked it, but it was controversial.

If it's free, then it probably is worth it. There could be other reasons to have a smart meter, but just having a smart meter will not save you money. You have to reduce your electricity consumption in order to pay less. If, for example, the smart meter allowed you to use more environmentally friendly electricity*, such as wind generated, and the environment is important to you, then get one and enjoy your environmentally friendly electricity. * I don't think it can.

Last year's was better, but I am biased! PS. I haven't even watched this year's. I told you I was biased.

It's nice to see that, in these times of change, some things can be relied on to stay constant, your love for the 'Targers' being one of them. Hope you are keeping well, OF. Take care.

Jack Nicklaus, I believe. It is a truism. You can't eliminate luck completely, but you can shift the odds slightly in your favour by working hard and practising.

That's a gracious viewpoint. I think the role of luck is underplayed in sport. I know it evens out over a season, but a single game often swings on a lucky break. When City beat Liverpool, the first chance felĺ to Salah and his shot bounced out off the post. If it had gone in off the post, the game would have been totally different. City may still have won, but not so easily. Good managers can pick players and tactics that shift the odds slightly in their favour, but they can't eliminate luck altogether. I think it was Bill Shankly who said, "I'd rather have a lucky team than a good one." In any single game, luck can play a huge part. Sorry. Forgot to add "Well done, Saints!"

I think you are jumping the gun with the "City favourites" claim. If the UEFA ban is upheld, even a club as wealthy as City could struggle to attract the quality players they need. If the ban is overturned, then I think you could be correct.

So, Mrs Lincoln, did you enjoy the play? Or, to bring that old joke up to date, I know you didn't enjoy the game, but did you enjoy the guard of honour? I think next season is going to be interesting.

Blimey! It's not long since they beat City in an FA Cup final. What the hell has gone so wrong?

My thoughts are with you, gazza. Condolences and best wishes.

Only just caught up with this. Very sad to hear about Loungr Room Lizard. Only knew him on here, but he struck me as a bloke I'd like to chew the fat with over a beer and I cannot pay a higher compliment than that.

I'm not looking back in anger. I'm looking back at your sarcastic comments about a "guard of honour in Manchester" and wondering what the hell brought them on. IIRC, it was you who almost pleaded for me to praise LFC last year, which I did. I don't remember gloating about our domestic grand slam last year, so I don't understand your attitude. You may not mean it, but you come across as rather ungracious. Enjoy your victory.

Should go to Specsavers!

Oh dear. You do crave the adulation of the whole world, don't you? Nobody took anything away from Liverpool there. They simply pointed out that City have lost their edge. Not replacing Kompany has cost us defensively, but we also lost key players in Leroy Sane (all season) and Aymeric Laporte (months out). To give some perspective, two seasons ago, City raised the bar beyond everyone's reach. Last season, Liverpool worked hard to match us and came up just short with the rest trailing badly. This season, Liverpool have maintained their momentum and are probably better than last season, but City have certainly taken a step back for the reasons above. As for the future, I don't rate City as favourites for the Champions League. I think Real could well dump us out at the Etihad (no Aguerro) and City have a long history of tripping over their own feet. Next season I expect Liverpool to win the title, though not by such a margin, and I expect City to struggle as the UEFA ban means we won't be able to sign the talent we need to replace an ageing squad. Anyway, forgive me for not kissing the feet of Liverpool FC, but "Well done, Jurgen." Now perhaps you'd like to reconsider your sarcastic comments about the "guard of honour in Manchester"? I doubt it will be as bad as the welcome you lot gave our team bus.

Thanks for the correction. I'm amazed it was that recent! I never liked the Arndale. I found it a boring, unimaginative piece of architecture (sic). I much preferred the old Cannon Street with its many short narrow side streets full of bespoke tailors. Somewhere near there was the notorious Liston's Bar. Sadly I was too young to ever get in it before it was destroyed to make way for the Arndale.

That reminds me of what people said about Manchester city centre after the bombing in the 70s (I think). It had improved the city centre more in one afternoon than the council had in 50 years.