bickster

Used to go as a child when my parents took me, used to bore me shitless even then. Suddenly I became aware that my Grand-Dad didn't go because he was a Communist and Communists didn't believe in God - GET OUT CLAUSE! Never went with my parents again, my Dad soon stoped going after that too and my mother couldn't argue because it was her Dad that was the Communist The last time I went into a church on Xmas Eve however was a drunken episode, my mates dad virtually dragged me into the Catholic Church after the pub and when I came to me senses (and the smell of the incense was getting to me) I sneaked into the toilet and broke out through the window, ripping my new trousers (pissing my Mum right off on xmas day) and SETTING THE ALARM OFF IN THE CHURCH! Pandefuckingmonium!

Why would anyone go around giving money to small heathens even at xmas

where would that leave Lib Dem voters as they wouldn't be able to make up their mind which camp they are in ? probably getting drunk in a gay friendly bar

yep compulsory ID cards for the Welsh the Scottish and the Irish

Do you really want to hear my opinion on Political Parties? I'm sure you've never ever heard it

Oh I agree with that too Ian and as someone who once went to an England vs Albania match at Wembley with a banner that said I D Cards are illogical with a picture of spock from Star Trek on it, I remember that crusade by the Tories only too well BUT and its a big one, they aren't saying that right now, there is no need to discourage them from saying any different right now. Can't see the point in slagging off the Tories on this issue when what they are saying in public, on the whole is the right thing but to be honest the more libertarian of the Tories would be idealogically against ID Cards anyway

Just about sums it up Pete

Lets hope so Ian, lets hope so. But I'd rather it died a fundamental death than a fiscal one

Does that automatically mean it doesn't make valid points?

Putting this in Off Topic does not make it acceptable - Bicks

How strange, that was the last son I played in the car before I came in the house. Back in Black has been having a bit of a Bicks revival today

No chance, that would give me a serious issue. That "benefactor" is barking mad. Fundamental Christian nutter and despite what it says in the prospectus you'd have to winder about his motives

Very much different in my experience Al, all my daughter was "tested" on pre senior school were the three R's and the schools certainly didn't subscribe to the key stage assessments of the govt schools. Anyway my decision was based on not wanting my child indoctrinated by christian fuckwits - far more harmful than a few tests

Better send your kids to a fee paying school then, far less assessment there than a state school in the junior and infant years And I'll wager that Tony's four year olds assessment was more to make sure there weren't any learning difficulties / other problems than actually testing the child for intelligence.

Nice Dicky, especially like the middle one If you went to Fountains Abbet, you could have gone to Brimham Rocks (see about 5 pages back) its not too far away and would probably look good with snow

yes, exactly what I meant about the crowd getting to him and then he tried to even things up

You obviously missed Worf's celebration of his first goal, masturbatory was how I'd describe it

Yep a sign of desperation for players who have kicked a ball in anger, Everton are rather short of players. On their bench yesterday I'd only heard of three players, Andy Van der Alcopop, Carlo Nash and Leighton Baines

Just realise I voted wrong, Mine should be already do as oposed to simply yes. See I might have got that right if I'd gone to the right school

By Blandy Hold on, hold on - Everton Away report A late report this week, sorry. I think I've only just got over that game. It was a bit of a throwback, really. So many games these days are quite sanitised - lots of tippy tappy football, no tackling, both teams with the same approach. Not yesterday though. The day started badly with the non-appearance of my train to Preston (for the second weekend running). A dash in a taxi, then the train from Preston to Liverpool and some re-assuring beers with Bickster in our regular pre-match haunt. Once inside the ground, we for once had a decent view. Upstairs near the front, with no pillar in the way. Everton still do that oh so 70s pre match and half time stuff - seat bingo and the like, and the food matched the 70s feel - a half cooked, over-priced, hot dog as they'd run out of pies and pasties. We'd barely chomped through the dried out bread when SIdwell scored a screamer - Luke Young cut inside, was given space, and passed into Milner in the centre forward position. His lay off was absolutely welted into the net from 25 yards by Siddy. For the next 20 minutes Villa ran the game - quicker to the ball, they used it well and had Everton chasing shadows. But then things changed. The Everton fans perhaps got to the ref a bit, but it seemed to me that for whatever reason Everton had decided they wee going to start asserting themselves. They began to win free kicks, harry and chase more effectively and Villa were pushed back. We were not keeping hold of the ball, and weren't giving Gabby a chance on his own up front - too many aerial balls which were always going to be won by their defence. Inevitably Everton scored. A free kick out on their left, and lescott tapped in after Sidwell missed it. They deserved their equaliser, and finished the half on top. At half time I felt the manager would have impressed upon the players to keep hold of the ball better, pass to feet, don't try and rush everything. Whatever, we started the second half as we'd ended the first - under pressure from balls into the box and attacks down the flanks. Laursen and Davies were defending manfully, but if it carried on in the same vein, Everton looked likelier to score than us. You can't explain what gets into players heads, though. For some bizarre reason an Everton defender passed a ball back in the region of nowhere. Ashley Young had brilliantly read what the defender was about to do and was on the ball in a flash, beating the out-rushing keeper to the ball and plonking it into the net. Funny how things mirror out - a couple of weeks ago Sidwell did the same numb-brained thing for us. Anyway, Villa now looked more likely to score. MO'N switched Ash into the middle and put Gabby on the left. This worked well - it stopped them attacking so much down that side, and left Everton unsure as to who should mark who. Ash should have got a second goal, when clean through after the ref let play go on from a tangle between Barry and a defender. Barry had the ball, appeared to be fouled, then appeared in turn to foul the defender while squirting the ball forwards. The shot was on after Ash advanced, but he cut inside and lost it. Back came Everton, piling balls into the box for the giant George Berry look a (bit) like Feliani. They hit the bar, headed just wide and generally had us defending deep. The ref throughout the game had been giving some strange decisions - playing advantage when there was none, blowing when advantage could have been played, letting Feliani off for repeatedly fouling, even after being booked already. He wasn't biased, just inconsistent, really. In a way it helped the game, but it was infuriating both sets of players and fans. I thought we'd hold on, just about to the end, but with only a minute or so of injury time to play, they scored again. A good finish from Lescott - a flying volley. He went mad, shirt off running to the Villa fans. (Why?) Everton fans, most of whom had stayed to the end, raised the roof, Villa dejected. But hold on - from the kick off, Gabby through to Ash, he skinned Lescott and beautifully curled the ball into the corner from 18 yards. Like last year, Villa came back from the dead, this time getting 3 points instead of 1. Amazing. Fans and players celebrated hugely. Evertonians dejectedly trooped out. They were hard done by, truth be told. A draw would have been fair. Since when has football fortune been fair though? A remarkably swift return to the pub followed, a couple more beers and then the train home. The whole day cost me a fortune - about £100, frighteningly, but once again it was worth it. It's a bumpy old ride, following the Villa, but it's fun. Hold on to your hats. Some marks Brad - 6 - didn't have too many saves to make, and not at fault for either goal. Reassuring, he is. Carlos - 5 - not his best game, but he did OK Curtis - 7 - calm. You need calm in a game like that. Martin Laursen - 7 - His type of game - lots of heading and clearing. Luke Young - 6 - he might not like it there, but he's doing a very good job at left back. James Milner - 6 - Lovely lay off for the goal, worked incredibly hard to help out Carlos. Not able to get forward that much. He's an under-rated asset. Siddy - 6 - belter of a goal, and like all of them worked prodigiously GB - 6- started brilliantly, and played intelligently as always. Stan - 6 - He's now a "you know what you're going to get, and you're going to like it" player. Ashley Young - 8 - 2 great goals, could have had third. Lethal and lively. Gabby - 6 - On his own up front, he's not often going to get much joy, and that was the way of it in this game. Another who strove manfully for the team.

Yes and I do currently. Why? because if you're an atheist like me, its really hard to find a decent school that isn't CofE or Cathlolic in Liverpool. All the no-dom schools are shit, they are the dumping grounds. And there was no way I was playing the pretend to go to church regularly to get my child into a school that my tax money pays for. Even the CofE schools required a letter from your vicar / priest stating that you regularly attended church and that was defined as 3 weeks in 4. Bugger that I'D RATHER PAY especially as my daughter has always been very bright and now at the age of 12 has an IQ in excess of 130

Trust us AG he gave you loads, he gave you corners that were clearly goal kicks, he gave you throw ins that were clearly ours (and before you blame the assistants they were miles away on all of them, the ref was staring right at the incidents with a clear view, he is supposed to over rule his assistants but clearly refused to do so), he blew for fouls that weren't, he ignored fouls that were fouls and no advantage had accrued (then spoke to the offending players later!) But the thing was he did it for both sides. Where it all started to go wrong for him was the penalty decision, he was doing ok-ish until that point. But after that he's get swayed by the crowd getting on his back, then he'd think, "I made a mistake there" and he'd try and even it up by not giving something else. The cycle just continued from there. Just a useless inept performance, not biased but the crowd did sway him and then he kept trying to even things up after each bad decision, he just compounded his errors all the time

Sorry Bicks but no it wasn't It was, Freidel completely changes the balls trajectory, where the ball went up slightly but dropped much quicker than it would have done if he hadn't touched it. In essence it doesn't matter, it didn't go in. Neither did his header that Carlos cleared either. Its all a bit like saying Gareth Barry should've had a hat trick against fulham Fair enough. I did think that at first but after seeing it again on MOTD I think the ball was definitely headed downwards by Fellainin and Friedel tipped it upwards onto the bar. but as you said it doesn't matter. Also, that header that Carlos cleared. The commentator said "Friedel was beaten" I really don't think he was. Watch it again and Friedel sees Cuellar there and leaves it for him. i think Friedel would have gotten to that quite comfortably had Cuellar not been there. Just watched it again in slo mo from a couple of angles, neither of us was right, the ball stays on the same path except Freidel may have deflected it sideways, it still woldn't have gone in though

yes but its the whole "based in kirkby" thing, its amusing in an ironic way, thats all

My understanding is that it was just one of those things which stuck. I know that Nays but............see above