The spirit of Ensil lives on in the pedantry of PNP and the Bat **** postings of HIAG. But to be fair, he was even more of an oddball that those two put together ... and then some.
I remember Ensil. He seemed like a troubled man, at times, but I quite liked him. I can't remember who I was on the old 606. I have a feeling it might have been White Hot Lane.
I think it was the picture of his severed left bollock which was the catalyst for the tipping point, but I agree he was clearly a troubled man and it's not nice to mock the afflicted. I should probably go easier on you with that in mind
Well, you'll remember that I asked you, in all seriousness, if you had a history of mental issues, PISKIE. I was thinking of going easier on you, at that time. Of course, since then, there's been no need, as I've hung up my wum-guns, as you know.
It's good that we can laugh at these things now. I never enjoyed "owning" you, it was something I just had to do every now and then (well, quite a lot, actually). It's great that we can hold a conversation without the need to descend into wummery (on your part - and out-and-out "owning" on mine).
It is good that you can laugh at it mate, because the only thing you've ever owned is an unrivalled ability to repeatedly make a tit out of yourself. It's healthy to laugh at yourself and I'm pleased that it's not prevented you from giving all of us a good chuckle in the process
Indeed, my old comrade in banter! The times I've made a clown of you for the general hilarity of this site, god alone knows! (although I you might have been keeping a record of it all, PISKIE). It is important that we can laugh at you, mate, and it's a testament to your character that you never let it get to you or try to seek any retribution. Being forced to play the clown seems to be something that you are very good at, and that's a compliment, mate.
I'd always be open to the camaraderie of sharing a kick about, literally or metaphorically with anybody friend or foe. You can't really call HIAG a foe though, his gaffs and foot in mouth comments are too funny to get upset about and provide a lot of laughs on this forum.
You see, I love the way that you have the ability to blindly ignore the fact that fans from all teams see you as the forum's village idiot and you still plough on with your fantasies about being some kind of super wit. It's a rare talent. Some would call it denial, but I think you are so used to having the piss ripped out of you that you've become immune to it.
Anyway getting back to Bilic. It will be interesting to see how he gets on at West Ham. They had a decent season under fat sam last time and only really fell away at the end. For most of the season they looked like they would push Spurs and Southampton for a top 6 spot.
Of the names mentioned he was close to the bottom of my list, I was disappointed with the way Allardyce was treated, it takes time to build a decent side (someone should tell Levy that), and I would've liked to see what he could've done given the time and backing he had at Bolton, they were hard to beat and towards the end played some great football as well. Biesla was my preferred 'name' after Benitez. Bilic will have the crowd on his side, which is where Allardyce failed, our home games were as hostile as away games in the 2nd half of the season. After losing to chelsea and Arsenal the boo-boys were looking for just looking for an excuse. Injury forced changes were blamed on 'favouritism', and all context was removed from decisions, you can't play your best XI if 4 of them are injured. The unpopular players (i.e. our captain Nolan), the manager and owners all came in for unwarranted abuse, and it began to show in the way the players played, and the circle continued. I wonder how it would've panned out if that perfectly legitimate 2nd goal against Arsenal would've stood, or the 2nd legitimate one against Man U.
I was quite surprised to see West Ham fans giving fat sam stick to be honest. He done well last season and got West Ham challenging the Spuds, Liverpool and Southampton for those 5th 6th and 7th spots. I was quite shocked to see the way you fell away at the end. Do you think that was down to the fact that Alladyce knew he was going ? Speculative to ponder how it might have turned out, but you're right that Bolton became a very hard team to beat under Fat Sam. Bilic is going to be a bit of a gamble, but I think he'll do okay. I think the support of the crowd will lift him and the team and I think it will unite West Ham and give them an added impetus. I'm not sure that you can finish above the Spuds next season, but if you can maintain the form you showed for 2/3 of this season, then I think it'll be a ding dong battle between the two London clubs. Also it will be interesting to see how Europa affects both teams league form next season. The Spuds were terrible after they played Spursday night football.
Fat Sam was challenging Arsenal, too. None of it was ever going to last, of course. And that's where Big Sam went wrong - he peeked too soon, as a certain deluded contingent of the Spanners' barmy army began to believe that they'd finish in the top 4.
Well, we won the world cup so why would the champions league be out of reach? What went wrong at West Ham was the disregard with which Allardyce was held by that section of the fans and the chairman (and his teenage son). Sullivan wants to be the man, they trashed Allardyce over Zarate, then he went to QPR and couldn't get a game, his attitude to everything was so bad they tried to send him back.
