kick it off

[quote user="YankeeCanary"] kick it off, the reason you were doing so much better earlier when you defended me for simply stating my opinion on the opening ceremonies was because you expressed what you had to say in a cool, objective manner.   Now, on this latest input you lose all such objectivity and allow your emotions to influence your input by claiming what I say is absolute bull. If you read again what I responded to Bethnal with and then think about it ( for a second or two ) you will see that I refute Bethnal''s input ( regarding Romney having a foot in the mouth problem every time he speaks ) with the fact that Romney demonstrated exactly the opposite in a very long campaign for the Republican leadership, and certainly far better than any other candidate. You then say I infer that Obama is universally unpopular inside the USA. I inferred no such thing. I said he does not enjoy the popularity here that he apparently does outside our country. The major respected polls currently have a very close situation between the two candidates. However, on a daily basis the liberal news media are constantly citing more random and less respected random polls based upon questions skewed in favour of Obama. All of what I just stated are facts, not bull. Now moving away from that, to my opinion, I clearly want a change in government. We simply cannot afford what this President has undertaken. During his first term in office he is spending more than $40,000 of every single second that goes by than the government generates in income. This is not only my children''s future being mortgaged, but my grandchildren''s also. If he was the leader of any major corporation he would have been fired well before now on that one fact alone.    In closing, a couple of thoughts for you. I am always surprised at  the obsession that many seem to have with American poitics. I was born and grew up in England but, while I cast an occasional glance at various columns on the British scene, frankly it does not go beyond that. Why should it? I don''t vote in your country and I don''t have to pay taxes based upon the choices you make.   Finally, with respect to your concerns about the loss of non-Jewish blood in the middle east. Blood is blood, whether it''s Jewish or otherwise. The region is obviously affected by outside influences by the amount of oil it sits on. However, quite apart from that, if you want a good history lesson on the tribal differences that exists in the region then may I suggest you read "Seven Pillars Of Wisdom" by your very own T.E. Lawrence.   [/quote]Quite right on your point about objectivity Yankee, it was late and I was commenting emotively, although I think some of your phrasing was a little ambiguous, I certainly jumped the gun in my response after misinterpreting your wording.Your opinion is yours and yours alone, and you are fully entitled to it, and obviously I recognise what you''re saying with regards to the economy, but if you contextualise it a little, Obama didn''t exactly inherit the financial bed of roses to begin with. As I say, I don''t agree with everything he has done, certainly not on the economic front and he has certainly made some mistakes, but Romney''s European tour was gaffe after gaffe, including a particularly offensive one to the Polish people which entrenched my dislike of him further, contributing to the emotive response last night.You say Romney demonstrated his qualities during a long primary campaign, but firstly look at the opposition. Hardly high calibre candidates, with only Sanotorum providing any remotely credible alternative. Secondly his primary campaign, although not totally overwhelmed by gaffes, certainly featured an significant number of prominent ones such as the etch-a-sketch moment (although this was not Romney, it was one of his top aides and certainly provided ammunition to the Democrats - in the glare and scrutiny of a full presidential campaign, mistakes like that will cost you)... the infamous "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me" and "I''m not concerned about the very poor" quotes rounded off by claiming $374,000 he made from Speech Appearances was "not very much money".  This series of high profile gaffes doesn''t lend much credence to your claim that he was virtually gaffe free in the primary campaign, in fact it supports the notion that he is prone to foot-in-mouth syndrome.In response to your closing quotes, the reason I am so interested in American politics is I just graduated a degree in International Relations and given America''s role in the world society, it is obviously a prominent feature in the geo-political landscape. As for the rest of the world, I would assume it is America''s place in world standing, leading of global military interventions, and various other factors such as the notion of the "American dream" etc.I take your point about taxes etc meaning you have more right to an opinion, but that''s very simplistic given the American foreign policy machinations. Like it or not, USA is a dominant global force and therefore not only is it interesting to outside observers, American leadership doesn''t just affect American lives, it directly affects the lives of millions across the globe, so in my opinion it is only right that it comes under international scrutiny. To be candid, various American administrations have utilised the CIA to try and overthrow FIFTY democratically elected governments across the world since 1945. FIFTY in 67 years. The real question is why wouldn''t the world be obsessed with American politics?I agree blood is blood, I wasn''t trying to make any value judgement on the value of one life vs another, I merely meant that if Romney gets in to power, there will be a lot of blood spilt and most of it will be Arab. The disgraceful unwavering support for Israel from the US is bad enough already, and will only make for a worse situation in the Middle East with Romney in charge. I have resigned myself to the fact we will NEVER see peace in the Middle East, and the blame for that lies solely with America and their totally shameful bias in the peace process and their refusal to let anyone else actually try and broker peace. The only way we would ever see peace is if the Arab League of Nations stopped bickering amongst themselves (perpetuated by the US to ensure there is no united Islamic council) and kicked the USA the hell out of the region (where they have no right to be, and no right to intervene in regional politics anyway), but I can''t see that happening in my life time for sure.

[quote user="YankeeCanary"] Romney went through a long, long debating process before becoming the Republican candidate and, compared to all other candidates, he did an admirable job of dealing with attacks and staying on message. The newshounds are following him everywhere like papparazi just hoping beyond hope they can get him to make a big mistake. Whatever the reasons are for Obama''s ( I speak well with teleprompters ) popularity outside of the USA don''t be confused into believing he enjoys any such popularity here at the grass roots level of inside people''s homes. The liberal media are doing all they can to keep Obama in the game with more distorted polls than there are mosqitoes in a wet season. Come November, we almost certainly will have President Romney ready and waiting to take office. Believe what you want in the interim but watch how the American people vote when the polls are open. [/quote]Absolute bull Yankee. That may be the case within the circles you mix with, but he is plenty popular with a lot of people in the circles me and my American pals mix with. That''s like saying everyone in the USA is a Christian based on a survey you took in church. I''m not saying he enjoys universal popularity, but the inference he is universally unpopular in the USA is erroneous in the extreme.Blaming the media is weak, as is saying they are distorting independently conducted polls by partisan, professional polling organisations. If these organisations, who make their living by being neutral, were actually consistently bias, they wouldn''t exist for very long. The fact of the matter is the conservatives can blame the media all they like, but in reality, Romney just isn''t that popular for a million and one reasons, and the media argument is nothing more than a smokescreen attempting to mask the GOP''s unelectable candidate.Obama is certainly not perfect, and he hasn''t turned out to be all that most people hoped for, but he is a hell of a lot better than the other name that will be on those slips in November in my opinion. It is my opinion that it is almost certain that Romney will be preparing for nothing more than a concessionary address and congratulating President Obama on a second term of office, as you say we will see come November, but I hope to god I''m right, otherwise, the non-Jewish population of the entire Middle East will be in dire straits and a lot of blood will be shed in the process.

[quote user="delta bravo"]Holt looked massively overweight last night (sometimes difficult to tell from a long way away) however, if he was as fat as he looked from where i was sitting he should be ashamed of himself.  Apologies if this has been mentioned before somewhere, will be amazed if it hasn''t but tbh couldn''t be arsed to trawl through all the threads.[/quote]Actually yes, you''re eyes were deceiving you - I watched it online, and at one point Holt lifted his shirt to wipe his face and he is as lean as I''ve ever seen him. Specsavers for you son.

[quote user="Oz Canary"]I thought the Open Ceremony was brilliant and an absolute credit to Danny Boyle and you all should feel immensly proud today. For me it had everything that was great about the UK.   Everybody I have spoken to over the past couple of days have stated how much they liked it. Everything from Brunel to Bean and Beckham. Only the best could meld all that history,inspiration with satire and come up with the triumph we witnessed. Yankee Canary, giving that 5/10 is a disgrace and would suggest that you also didn''t understand most of it. I am a born and bred Australian but my paternal grandfather was British (from Northampton) and I spent three fantastic years living in Norwich in the early 90''s and after witnessing that spectacular Opening Ceremony I was even filled with a sense of pride. I was also chuffed to see that my maternal grandmother''s home country of Scotland(Fife) was represented. IMO, anybody that didn''t find that enjoyable is kidding themselves. I would like to say congratulations to you all it was fantastic and you should all be proud and enjoy the next two weeks I wish I was there to share in the excitement.  [/quote]Im glad you enjoyed it mate, but it''s a bit stupid to try and tell people what they do and don''t enjoy. I thought overall it was a good effort and pretty entertaining, but I HATE Mr Bean with a passion - I understand it, and his place in British culture but the humour is completely not my thing, at all - should I have enjoyed that bit just because you did? Is it a disgrace I would give that segment 3/10? No, it''s my opinion and I''m entitled to it, just as Yankee is to his, and you are to yours. People don''t all enjoy the same thing, and to take issue with people who didn''t enjoy the opening ceremony is bizarre. A lot of it did require a knowledge of British culture, but just because someone didn''t like it, doesn''t mean they didn''t understand it.

[quote user="Jimsyross8"]Clint has been left out of trip with city main front runners to sign him with the Vaughan deal paving way![/quote]Someone just IP ban BW for god''s sake. Boring drivel yet again. How many times can one friendless attention seeker register on here before it''s worthy of a ban?

I have the programme from Birmingham away in October of 1996, signed by Mike Walker and most of the squad, including Neil Adams, Darren Eadie, Chippy, Bellers, Gunn, Green and Fleck.Sentimental value will always far outweigh monetary value as it''s the programme from the day I was mascot (back in the days where we only had one mascot per game) and has a lovely picture of me in there complete with tragic lopsided bowl haircut inflicted on me by my mother. I might scan the picture up in the next couple of days so we can all revel in my misfortune!

Don''t see any legitimacy in this - We have Ruddy, and more than capable back up in Rudd and Steer.

[quote user="BlyBlyBabes"]Hot tip.   Alaixys Romao.   Plays in France - not sure who for. Togo international. Late 20s.   Anybody else heard of our interest in him?   OTBC     [/quote]Lorient.Wiki here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaixys_Romao

[quote user="ricardo"]I thought it was good  9/10.[/quote]What was Snowy''s verdict mate? Any feline predictions for the Team GB medal haul?

[quote user="Mike"] Once again Norwich pull out the team work card what makes you think we can''t play as a team full pre season together won every match 5-0 5-0 2-1 all goals setup by great teamwork. You forgot to mention they were all against non-entity minor Asian teams. Well done, you beat 3 teams equivalent to pub standard football here. We think you can''t play as a team because you proved last season you couldn''t and another summer of wholesale changes doesn''t encourage any increase in cohesiveness. Faurlin no better than your midfield? Don''t make me laugh statistcally the 2nd best midfield before he got injured if I remember correctly other teams noticed arsenal and real Madrid was report to be weighing up a offer before his injury. According to the papers. It''s a game of my opinions and I don''t rate Faurlin as highly as your lot do. Stats can say whatever you want them to say. Taraabt is a difficult one on his day he can win a game on his own great thing is under Hughes he has changed a better player with consistency. Never won a game against us singlehandedly. In fact you haven''t beaten us in how long? Despite all your big names, we have proven team work is far more important by beating your asses. We have done you 3 times in the last 4 and that would be a 100% record if not for our penalty miss in the Championship. I will enjoy watching us play you next with our overrated overpayed players (nobody know how much they earn) Our team is looking strong very strong now just need this ki midfielder and a cb apparently we are in advanced talks with c samba then we are all good to go :) So will I - another easy 6 points for us. Samba is a good signing for you, I know nothing about Ki as I suspect you and most of your fans don''t. Are you seriously suggesting that QPR is such an attractive club with your tinpot stadium and tiny crowds of glory hunters that you don''t seriously have to over pay your players to get them to go anywhere near Loftus Road? Ridiculous. [/quote]

[quote user="Mike"]Can''t forget us lot at QPR. Barton << LOL - suspended for 25% of the season already (plus the others he will accumulate next year) and disruptive influence. No thanks.Diakite << Good playerFaurlin << No better than most of our MidfieldPark << Decent player on his day but not played a huge amount of football for a few years now. Think he will fade by Xmas.Taraabt << Exceptional 10% of the time, anonymous 90% of it Swp << Way past his prime, over-rated and living on his former gloriesMackie << Strongly linked to be leaving you, so irrelevant as likely to be playing against you next season.Hoilett << Quality player, the only player in your midfield who is top class, would really have liked us to sign himDerry << Top end Champs player at bestAlso apparently we have agreed terms ect with ki. Don''t see many midfields beating that.[/quote]You seem not to have noticed, but you had most of those players on your books last season and scraped survival by the skin of your teeth. You lot think you''re better than you really are. Too many individuals, can''t play as a team, I''m much happier with our midfield than I would be with yours, despite your overpaid and over-rated big names.

[quote user="spencer 1970"]and remember, when some of you lot think about giving it the "bluddy Lundun" next time...ask yourself, what other city in our fine land could have done that?! exactly.[/quote]I don''t understand what you''re trying to say here? Admittedly the Olympic flame speedboating up the Wensum wouldn''t have the same dramatic effect, but the rest of the show was confined to a stadium and was delivered by people from all over the UK. Why could no other city have put on a show inside a stadium? That point makes little sense to me, so please elaborate and help me comprehend it?

[quote user="Jacko"] But lets enjoy the here and now for the moment. We have got a skilful, two footed midfielder capable of scoring and assisting by the bucketload. [/quote]Yeah I''m really keen on the Jacob Butterfield signing too... Oh wait... you mean we have TWO "skilful, two footed midfielder capable of scoring and assisting by the bucketload." - Happy days, let''s enjoy the ride. [:)]

Lol - fair play Wiz, I found much of your negativity incredibly irritating and with little foundation, but at least you have the balls to front it up and apologise.

[quote user="kick it off"]Are you mental?They have Tom Hanks, we have Wolverine.[youtube=7k0HSEpkVx0][/quote]Stupid crap forum not supporting anything.Video is HERE

[quote user="im spartacus"]Just seen the picture in todays  paper, no wonder he had his head turned ,we could never compete with that [:D] [/quote]Are you mental?They have Tom Hanks, we have Wolverine.[youtube=7k0HSEpkVx0]

[quote user="Mr Brownstone"]Really like it, good stuff![/quote]Me too, I thought last season''s was pretty terrible but this one is smart and modern. Looks great.

I think it''s far more likely we see Crofts, Korey and King Simone out the door before Pilks and Howson. I think if anyone else goes, we may lose Fox to Villa to be honest, Lambert obviously likes him and although I wouldn''t like to see him go as I think he''s a decent player, I have to say I dont think we specifically NEED him with the new arrivals. [Disclaimer: I do not have inside sources and am not predicting it, just saying IF we lose anyone other than KOS, KS + Crofts from Mid, i think Fox is most likely]

[quote user="AJ"]Can''t believe some people are slating this guy, he''s a perfect replacement for Whitbread![/quote]Agreed, he''s a decent addition and adds much needed experience to the backline.

[quote user="Gingerpele"] And what young defenders who are better than what we''ve got, within our price range, would those who don''t like the idea of Turner recommend?[/quote]I''m happy enough with the Turner signing (and Whittaker looked excellent last night til he got injured) too. I would say that I would have preferred Damien Perquis from Sochaux to Turner though, would guess fee and wages would be fairly similar.

[quote user="Canary1902"]Have a Glenn Roeder table. And stick all the family on it that you don''t really want there, but had to invite[/quote]No, the Glenn Roeder table is better filled by loaning someone else''s family for the day.Good luck with the wedding day and future marriage btw.

Yep just seen Celtic TV are showing it - guaranteed to be streams then :) - Wiz are u referring to VIPBox? I have a weird feeling thats the one you use?

Advertised on Wiziwig - FirstRow have no mention of it though so not going to get my hopes up just yet.

[quote user="Cantiaci Canary"]"Chaaaaaaance!"   "That really takes the biscuit!"   Know what I mean?! [/quote]"Blocked on the line, it''s gonna go in, it''s gonna go in......"That was such an incredible moment, don''t think I''ve ever seen Carrow Road go that mental.Another one I will always remember is Goss vs Bayern at home to knock them out. I was 7 years old and remember it clear as day.And Neil Adams smashing a penalty into the roof of the net against Brimingham away to give us a 3-2 win - only memorable because I was mascot that day :)

I can''t see both Burke and Snodgrass coming in unless we''re shipping at least one or two midfielders out the door or Hughton''s master plan involves a 0-10-0 formation