BTRFTG

Signed a 'box to box' player then (like the rest of his midfielders) transformed him into a poor man's Ray Wilkins, crab-like sideways and backwards. Ruined the kids career.

The Bloke From Knowle, who went on leave at Xmas and seemingly never returned.

Whilst I think you are correct to remind Liam Rosenior and the great Bristolian postage stamp crisis.....

'No-interest' does not speak volumes other than your own unsubstantiated assumption. Were I advising HNM and in the present market, I'd likely make it known around footballing circles that unless I really thought his future lay with City, to perform to the best of his abilities when given the opportunity but not sign any contract extension. Use performance to boost any potential signing on fee and contract offer from wherever that may arise. If he performs and City want him (why would they change their minds other than they don't actually want him but are attempting to preserve their own financial intetest,) they'd still offer him a new deal at season end. So little risk player side. As for write off (sic) there is none. At contract expiry all players 'costs' will have been depreciated to nil, as will have been dictated the day they first signed their contract.

Given City's overpriced carousel of crap these past years that clearly isn't the case. Cost & value share no dependency. Never did, never will. I also find it amusing when fans project their own flawed logic onto players. Like cost and value football and contracts share no dependency. When a player signs a contract all one hopes is they perform until that contract expires. City have been stuffed to the gunnels with non-performers on long contracts they're unable to shift (no rounds of applause for the AG8 please), so length to contract expiry is a woeful indicator as to performance and commitment. Why should a player feel obligated to perform anything other than that stated within their contract? If you employed a builder to construct an extension on your gaff would you berate them were they not to hang around after delivering as much simply because you might want them also to look at your roof? Seems to me HNM wants to fulfill his contract. What's wrong with that?

Haven't listened to the interview but if the suggestion is Nige views HNM as only a 'squad player' on the basis his contract expires at the end of the season, then that's disgraceful. HNM, like all players, should be given the opportunity to show what they can do. Just because the likes of CoD, KP & TBFK gave up long before exiting doesn't imply HNM would act similarly. If anything, the kid has always put a shift in when given the chance. It works both ways. If by some fluke City were promoted at the end of the season, would they stand by those players that had delivered success simply because they had time left on their contracts? Like hell would they.

Sad news indeed. Stoney, his red fedora, his jokes and anecdotes have been permanent fixtures around Ashton Gate since I was a kid. That he was a 'character' is without question.

Not HMHB, rather The Beloved's 'Hello'.

Not to mention the repeated 'Come On You Reds' sample in Unfinished Sympathy.....

If you ever wish to know how not to construct au unbiased survey, this is about as fine an example as you might ever find. It demonstrates why football fans attempting to run/influence football clubs isn't necessarily a good idea. Pretty much all its questions are meaningless. They're constructed against assumptions and constraints not stated. Where time limited, they wholly ignore pre-requisite factors that negate the question posed. Other questions solicit opinion against premise(s) the stated conclusion for which is not logically derived. Ditto 'comparison questions' which highlight a single factor not wholly influencing the outcome referenced. Why be concerned? The problem with this is the SC&T will use survey responses to justify the clear position they've already adopted, claiming them to reflect 'the fans' views when in reality they are nothing of the sort, they'll be skewed answers to skewed questions.

'...doing The Elephant.....' Once read, never forgotten

That's the brilliance of Peace's writing (both football & non-football.) His rhythmic repetition as an accentuating device is mesmeric. It's personifies all adulation or hatred held. It recalls the form of Stewart Lee's comedy, how to take a single line or premise and turn it into an half hour routine yet remain funny throughout.

Ronald Reng's - A life too short Ghostwritten - Ossie, King of Stamford Stan Bowles (though ghostwritten) - Stan The Man Paolo Hewitt - The greatest footballer you never saw Kevin Beattie - The Beat Pete Davies - All Played Out For Fiction , the utterly brilliant David Peace's The Damned United

His post match interview cropped up on a social media feed (not sure why?) Don't worry if you didn't catch it, you've seen it dozens of times before: We deserved to win I'm disappointed We were well prepared, great game-plan, not my fault, players need to look at themselves

Using inflation as a measure that'd be around £1.15m these days. Or, if one considers the record transfer at the time was Nish @ £200k, Spiring would be worth 0.3x the present UK record fee today - £30m!

Wow, I never knew Spiring's old man played for City, though did know his son played county cricket. For you 'yung uns' who think the top flight ruining young kids careers is a post Premier invention, Spiring was a very talented and tricky winger, England youth, great end product who went to Liverpool for decent dosh but who never played for them.

Using your argument London has fewer than 10k residents and if you believe that there truly is no hope.......

Of greater significance would be the prospect of UEFA removing infrastructure costs from FFP. Now I'm unsure how any proposed 'Gas' deal is to be funded but there would be a significant risk premium should the deal be design and lease, as opposed to design and build. Who'd bet The Gas might still be trading in 20 years let alone covering the costs of building a new stadium? Should The Gas, through their own investment and grants available, fund part of the capital cost of the build, then unlike now this might no longer be available to ignore in terms of FFP. Even if it is straight lease it's likely leasehold costs over the term will be so substantial as to, from an accounting perspective, make this a virtual freehold. One presumes for FFP purposes this would allow The Gas to show a huge profit first year when the asset first hits the books but depreciation and lease costs combined would then prove a massive encumbrance year on year thereafter from an annual trading perspective.

I forget the match but for some reason I was sitting lower Williams (rare event) near the Open End when Baird got clattered right in front of us. He didn't move and looked in pain. My colleague accused him of feigning and being soft. Buster F trundled on, fiddled around with a sponge for a few moments then pulled Baird into a sitting position, slapped him hard a couple of times on the back encouraging him to get up. Baird played on though visibly struggled. Later that evening Baird went to A&E coughing blood and struggling for breath, two broken ribs having punctured his lung. I'm not sure how good a cyclist he was....

I thought if it was they gained £x advantage over the others then this was discounted at such rate such as a nominal value was assumed against transfers or period of time. Never sure how parity was supposedly endured.

Free transfer but goes back to a point I made previously is I thought there were levelling up measures against clubs who have gained an advantage over peers by entering administration. Anybody know how these are calculated as I fear they're made up on the fly?

£22m

If fans still are unable to comprehend it's a LAW and NOT a 'rule' (sic) and the differences therein, what hope AI? They'd be better off doing as in hockey and scrapping Law 11 altogether. In hockey the predicted impact on styles of play didn't materialise. I think they're going to trial in the Dutch 2nd tier soon.

Save Law 11 isn't 'black and white', that's why we have pigs ear debates each and every week. Recall, it's not an offence to be in an offside position, so try writing the algorithm to resolve as and when it does become an offence. Guaranteed first game we'll see play halted quickly (because VAR flagged it,) only for pundits to highlight that although the player was in an offside position he wasn't committing an offence. Here's a thought. Before starting the farce, use the technology to analyse decades of many of the greatest and most memorable goals in football, and see them scratched off.

As if you needed another reason not to watch the World Cup. The beauty of football was it's Laws were the same for all, top flight pros, kids in the park. You used the same equipment.