Chim Chimineeee

Eddie - thanks very much. Will look one of those 2 up and give em a bell. Cheers

Frank - cheers. It's family/kids so 10/20 miles out wouldn't be a problem, any Harvester type thing really that'll let kids in near one of the main roads.

For our away at yours. Can any of you recommend any pub that does food, outside but nearish Bolton or Horwich that would cater for a coachload - family type coachload.

A real football legend. Listening to the tributes on the weekend, it seemed like another sport was being talked about, as well as a different age. A better age for the game, in which he stood out. Condolences. R.I.P.

Bolty - that video you're thinking of where they're interviwed on a coach is definetely the Panorama one you mentioned (the full version) I think it's on YouTube in it's entirety, or at least it used to be.

Jolly ollie - mentioned your name because you suggested that those involved could do with a stint in the army in your opener. Just pointing out that a fair percentage of those you are on about have already done so.

Bolty58 - yep, but I think the Southampton/Pompy thing might have been a few years later in another strike that was just specific to shipping - think the West Ham/Millwall disputes were earlier in the general strike. Fair to say that the origins of it are long gone and wouldn't mean a thing to many now, but it is a rivalry with incidents rather than just an area on area type of thing.

No balls, thanks, spot on.

Exiled - back then people used to work closer to home, didn't go abroad and meet people from other places on holidays etc. reckon fans today actually mingle more, not less, than they did in 1901. Forget cliches about 'manors' etc Doesn't matter where people live now - they go to the ground every other week, drink in the same pubs for donkeys years, know the landlord, respect the place, ditto the regulars they've come to know over the same donkeys years. Someone from outside all that think they're going to stroll in and smash the place up - what do you think the reaction of the people who've been going to that pub is going to be?

Exiled White - sorry, what's the difference between this happening in 1901 as it did and 2009?

And to jolly ollie - as you go to football it's your perogative to wish attending games was like however you want it to be. It's everyone else's right to do the same. Personally much preferred games in the atmospheres of old. But your argument about going to wars etc is a non starter, given that a significant number of people involved over the years here have been ex services. Can't speak for other clubs but would imagine it's a similar picture.

Hello Bolty58 - respect your opinion on most things on here when I've browsed, but would have to argue about the 'reciprocal' thing. There was trouble at our games vs Millwall right from the very off at the turn of the last century and decades ago respective work forces worked very close on the docks. During a strike the dockers south side of the river/Millwall continued to work. I have no idea of how much actual hatred that caused at the time, but it's certainly a part of the history of it and a genuine hatred of Millwall has passed from generation to generation - it's not a mere thing of territory or they hate us, so we'll hate them type of thing. It's been maintained because of a number of clashes and incidents over the years, and playing the likes of Spurs doesn't come close for the older lot. To other posters the likes of the laughable Green St etc have absolutely nothing to do with it, would've happened absolutely regardless.

If we've got Behrami and Cole still out, it'll be a bigger weakeness to us than the names might suggest. I don't think Cole should've got an England call up, but his overall game has improved a lot of late, very good at hold up play, and as for Behrami, one of the underated players in the Premiership, his work rate is phenominal. Without Cole we'll be light up front, without Behrami we lose a lot in midfield. Unless we have a blip though, expect a tough game, unbeaten away since October. Giving it a miss this season, but hope it's a good one and best wishes for the rest of the season.

Davenport - In a nutshiell is 'ok'. he's fine (most of the time) at dealing in the air with corners and set pieces, and in a couple of tricky away games lately has done us proud. he's the kind of player that as a supporter of a club, you wouldn't really raise an eyelid if he was either in your starting line up or sold. Majority of the time he won't let you down, but if your looking for an outstanding central defender/leader of your defence type figure, then he ain't it. If your full backs push up to much, or there's no reliable holding midfielder dealing with anything tricky coming down the middle, then don't expect too many memorable last gasp tackles and to be honest he deals with stuff in the air a lot better than at his feet, especially if its at pace. But you can expect a fairly competent central defender dealing with the bread and butter, albeit with a few lapses, like most in the league. ?3M is a bit much to be honest, but overall if his hearts in it and he's up to his best playing for you, you could do a lot worse.

Belated well played (computerless for last few weeks) deserved the points. Greens worst game for as long as I can remember, but no complaints about the outcome.

Just as the walk from Horwich train station to the Reebok isn't typical of Bolton, nor is Green Street Upton Park still typical of the support we still draw from East London. As anyone whose been to our ground will know, the west bound back into the city is far busier than east bound - and the majority aren't getting off at Liverpool St for Essex connections.

as - I don't think any team in the Premiership is tin pot - got to be fairly well ran and managed to get there and stay there in the first place. Foreign investors took over and made a bit of a mess of Stoke City - wouldn't rule them doing the same to any club really. I reckon most of them get blinded with all the prestige of owning a club, footballs hardly the safest way of getting returns on all their investment. Lot of prestige, bit of a gamble with people with money to burn, then they get bored or their fingers burnt, and leave clubs in the shit. Could happen to any club over the next few years I reckon

Reckon it'll go one of two ways - he'll get a few in to play the way he liked to play football, attacking and with a bit of flair - he seemed to be a thoughtful kind of player, so hopefully he'll have some of that going as a manager. Or, he's never managed at club football before, and will get totally used and undermined by our board. To be honest I just turn up at the games lately and see how it all unfolds - hate all the behind the scenes shit and shenanigans that's gone on - least in the old days you had owners who might be totally inept at running a football club, but their heart was in the right place - with our new lot, I don't think anyone really knows what they're up to.

Bolty - unfortunately not! Was counting my chickens when it went 10/1 to evens. Zola went a bit under the radar, must've been his height.

Donadoni - 10/1 plus midday. Evens and Odds on now...

Carlos - wasn't really a great surprise Curbishley going - board really took the piss out of him, with McCartney being sold - left us at the time without a single recognisable left back (other than one of the kids, who isn't anywhere near the finished article), as well as making Curbishley look stupid for stating one thing, and then the club doing the exact opposite days later, for the third time in a few weeks. reckon 95% of managers would've told them to stick it. Suspect there were people ITK on the Keegan/Curbishley front, but our Board wouldn't have been a source - Curbishley's circle perhaps. Nani is pulling a lot of strings for us at the moment - my logic - he'll want a fellow Italian, someone he knows - see odds move on any of them - bung a bit on

Any of you lot like a flutter, new board are tight closed, so all the ITK stuff has stopped in the last year, but concencus is the appointement will be made sooner, rather than a dragged out affair. But I'll be watching for any significant market moves with one of the Italian names involved, and bunging a fair bit on. Could do worse than sticking a couple quid on.

average player, who goes out partying, whilst having a sanctioned break from football to visit his ill Nan - with the clubs several thousand miles away from the sickbed. ?8M? Nice doing business...

Leigh White - I think there's a growing trend of fans of a certain age looking towards non league as an alternative - reckon I'll keep going, but the drinks before and after games, travel with mates etc, used to be a sideshow to the main event, the actual match - increasingly, it seems to be the other way round. Loyaltys the main thing that keeps a lot of us going I suppose, but when the clubs themselves drop a lot of the things that made you loyal to them in the first place, you wonder what it is you're still being loyal to - fellow support and the buzz at away games tops an ever dwindling list.

Homer Jay - yep, I would. Wasn't unduly bothered this time last year - Premiership's overated, over hyped and too bigger percentage of the games are dull affairs, with both teams scared witless about conceding a goal. Moneys ruined it, and enjoyed games just as much if not more in the Championship - might have lacked the quality, but the games were morre exciting, end to end and unpredictable. Also get to visit grounds that still have a semblance of what going to games in the 70s and 80s was all about. Travel all over the shop and over time you meet a lot who've been going decades - nearly all of the same opinion, we're playing the most negative, uninspiring, dull football, that any of us can remember. You cut your cloth accordingly, but Curbishley has spent a shed load of money, employing footballers on high wages even by premiership standards, and while I'm more than happy with 10th, with the players at his disposal and the relative strength of the squad, to say that we could have only achieved survival by employing negative sterile football week in week out is a nonsense. And even if we had had to, that doesn't excuse the fact that since achieving survival, the tactics have become even more dull. You lot saw us at your place - you were desperate for the points, we had nothing to worry about other than finishing 10th or 11th - the team playing the attacking football won 1-0 and deservedly so, given that we went out to try and stifle from the start, and offered practically nothing up front - which has been Curbishley's plan A, B and c, even when safety was assured. A succession of dull, liefeless games where we lose 1-0, or others where they look like they're already on holiday and lose 4-0, news that the third most expensive tickets in the country are going up again, and a scraped victory again without anything much on the attacking front against Derby? You can't be pissed off with some of the most negative tactics you've witnessed for weeks on end, and then jump up and down with joy after scraping an undeserved win at home to Derby - That would make you fickle.