Can anyone tell me why Dieudonné M'bala M'bala (man of the quenelle fame) isn't an awful, awful man and a racist? Dare I say, if he were white he'd be condemned worldwide? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25563233
Oh My! QPR chairman Tony Fernandes says it is "not critical" for the club to win promotion back to the Premier League this season despite their £177.1m debt. He said, "Achieving promotion this season is not critical to our long-term strategy, but remains our short-term goal. If we fail, the support is there and there is no need for any more advances to build a squad." He added: "We are now in a position where we can work with what we have, and raise capital to invest in the squad by selling players who are not part of the manager's plans." Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26482087
People like this are evidence there's metaphysical Evil in this world. I don't mean bad people, psychotics, thugs, serial killers, genocidal murders, etc.; I mean an actual darkness and a malevolency that can't be easily explained.
David. I used to have a friend whose middle name was Trelawny and who only ever owned up to it when he was drunk at a party. His brother's middle name was Nelson.
Several years ago I was at a church service where a young girl was being baptised. Her mum had remarried and they had taken the stepfather's surname of Rockett. Gloriously, the girl's name was Iona - Iona Rockett remains the greatest boast I've ever heard in someone's actual name. My surname is Couch, which would also work but it's far more prosaic than Iona Rockett - lots of people own a couch. I have a friend whose surname is Moon and I harbour hopes that young Iona might one day meet and marry one of his sons, taking on a hyphenated surname of Moon-Rockett. All of this is true and from my first hand experience - no 'friend of a friend' Internet hokum. Mind you, if any of you repeat it, it will be friend of a friend stuff, so it's credibility will be lost.
An old family friend called Dan Curtain married a woman named Annette Hall. Her name is now Annette Curtain. I've always found that one amusing.
Had a friend years ago whose name was Wendy Gail Breeze ... truth is stranger than fiction. My middle name is Wright, my mother's maiden name, typical of us folks from New England. My forebearers, Puritans, emigrated from England in 1630 and promptly opened a string of Fish 'n' Chips restaurants that the Indians wouldn't eat in ... too bland, they said.
Chris Baird has signed on a free transfer for title chasing Burnley. please log in to view this image Baird started the season with Reading after signing from Fulham in the summer, this after six years at Craven Cottage where he played in 127 Premier League games for the West London club. He started his career in the Premier League too, making his debut for Southampton in a 2-2 home draw against Aston Villa in March 2003, coming on as a substitute for David Prutton who is now with Sheffield Wednesday. Just three months later the Country Antrim born player made his debut for Northern Ireland in a European qualifier against Spain. They drew 0-0 at Windsor Park with a team that also featured future Clarets Steve Jones and Paul McVeigh. He's since gone on to win 64 caps for his country, a total that has been bettered only by twelve players. He's still some way behind the top of that list; it's goalkeeper Pat Jennings who won a total of 119 caps. The 2003/04 season saw him go out on loan twice to two Championship clubs, and this is where the link with our current manager comes. From September to November he was with Walsall and he played in our 3-1 home win against them when Delroy Facey scored all three Burnley goals. He was to play at Burnley again that season. In March he joined Watford and played eight times for them. In all but the last of those games he played in a Watford team that included Dyche, with one of those games coming at Burnley in April 2004 when Watford won 3-2 when our goals were scored by Mark McGregor and Dele Adebola. He returned to Southampton and went on to make 68 league appearances for them before a move to Fulham in the summer of 2007 for a fee of over £3 million. He played in a variety of positions for them and during our season in the Premier League was in the Fulham team for both games. Baird was offered a deal by QPR last summer but opted for Reading. His contract with Reading was until January. He played nine times for them, including their Turf Moor defeat in October, but they weren't able to offer him a further deal in January, presumably because of the uncertainty of ownership there. He's continued to train with them and now joins his former Watford team mate until the end of the season as Burnley look, one game at a time, to gain enough points for promotion. Source: http://www.clarets-mad.co.uk/news/tmnw/baird_signs_in_at_turf_moor_828124/index.shtml
If Burnley go up and he gets a contract, it would be lovely to see Bairdinho back in the Premier League. Even more so if we're still there as well!
Baird came to us from the dreadful Sanchez era and was, if memory serves, one of our worst regular 11 players for quite a while, often getting thrashed by fans at CC and us couch-bound pundits on the old 606 board. But somewhere along the way, he turned a corner and became a decent-to-good right back and occasional defensive midfielder ... and a fan favourite. I was sad when he was let go.
Completely off the beat being non-football related and even mildly political, but the irony of this is so good - please log in to view this image Link to pic: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BkdMbh_IgAA-VgO.jpg
You have to wonder if some parents are cruel or just oblivious. Best I can offer is that I work for an American guy called Randy Fox, which amuses me no end. He doesn't get it. Welcome to the board, by the way.
Once came across a Justin Mann, always had an image of him on his knees, bawling at the sky "I'm Justin Mann"
