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The Manchester United thread 2006/2007 - featuring BBB leaving early

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Mika

Mika

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Smith to step out of the shadows

A year ago this weekend, Alan Smith suffered a horrific injury that has limited him to just two first-team starts since.

As a second-half substitute against Liverpool in the FA Cup on 18 February at Anfield, Smith blocked a shot from John Arne Riise, which broke his leg and dislocated his ankle. The 26-year-old striker hasn’t played for the Reds since getting a 60-minute run-out in the defeat to Southend in the Carling Cup at the start of November.

Smith has been on an intensive fitness programme to get his fitness levels back up. Described as “terrific†in training, Sir Alex Ferguson would have no qualms about throwing the striker back into action against Reading on Saturday – but says the Yorkshireman may just have to be a bit more patient in getting back into the team.

“I could play him against Reading no problem," said Sir Alex. "But the difficulty of course is the form of the team and that I have so many players playing so well. I’m trying to be fair to everyone, but it is hard. All I can say is that he is improving all the time, he has been terrific in training.

“I’m thinking that when Henrik Larsson goes back to Helsingborg in March, Alan could become a very important player to us. I think he sees that himself, and hopefully that is the case.

“It's just a matter of getting his timing and his confidence back again,†added the boss. “He's coming along fine. He's been in the squad over the last few weeks but the team is picking itself at the moment and when everyone is fit it's difficult even to pick the subs.†</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Fergie hasn't forgotten about him then icon14.gif

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gonch19

gonch19

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Eastwood:

People claiming a draw against an average French team would be a good result? How times change. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

theyre 3rd iirc. hardly average

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James M

James M

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gonch19:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Eastwood:

People claiming a draw against an average French team would be a good result? How times change. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

theyre 3rd iirc. hardly average </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

they're in crap form and without their best player, to not win would be ****

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gonch19

gonch19

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by James M:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gonch19:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Eastwood:

People claiming a draw against an average French team would be a good result? How times change. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

theyre 3rd iirc. hardly average </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

they're in crap form and without their best player, to not win would be **** </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

yeh but we NEVER win away in europe

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Weststandred

Weststandred

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Posted

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Reds in race to sign Argentine star

Racing Santander defender Ezequiel Garay has revealed that he is being tracked by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

The 20-year-old Argentinian has been in impressive form this season and is thought to have attracted the eye of United chief scout Martin Ferguson.

And now Garay admits he is excited about interest from the Premiership leaders.

"It's a pleasure that a club as big as Manchester United are interested in me, but at the moment there has been no official contact," he told Spanish daily As.

"I haven't yet had the chance to speak with my representative about it. The club hasn't spoken to me about the matter either, so we shouldn't go shouting about it from the rooftops.

"At the moment all I'm thinking about is Racing, and my only aim is to continue working in the way I am now, with my thoughts on the upcoming game against Nastic. The important thing is to make sure those three points stay in Santander."

Chelsea and Barcelona are also believed to have enquired with Racing, although neither coach Miguel Angel Portugal nor anyone else at the Cantabrian club has made an official statement.

Garay is likely to cost around £13.8million in the summer.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

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14AlanSmithifb

14AlanSmithifb

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Nick OGS20:

anyway, more important matters: who's coming to the wall tomorrow?

last I heard Mart was shunning us in favour of some posh do with his work. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll be there.

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Nick OGS20

Nick OGS20

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Posted

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Lyon trio in Lippi's squad

Three more players have been added to the all-star Europe XI team to face United in the Jubilee Charity Match at Old Trafford next month.

Sir Alex Ferguson and Marcello Lippi go head to head on 13 March in the special match to celebrate 50 years of United in Europe and half a century since the Treaty or Rome, which laid the foundations for the modern-day European Union.

Olympique Lyonnais trio Eric Abidal, Grégory Coupet and Juninho Pernambucano have all accepted Lippi’s invitation to join his squad, which also includes David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

Coupet is the first goalkeeper named in the squad, while Abidal, a French international left-back, joins Jamie Carragher on the list of defenders.

The selections of Juninho, Gerrard and Beckham point to an impressive collection of midfielders as well.

“It is a great honour for the club to have three players selected for a game of this nature,†said Lyon boss Gérard Houllier, who will accompany his players on the trip to England.

“It is always special to play at Old Trafford and my players are delighted to have the opportunity to meet up with other stars from top clubs who, like us, have become regulars in the Champions League.â€

Coupet and Abidal were both injured when Lyon last visited Old Trafford in the group stages in November 2004, resulting in a 2-1 win for the Reds.

“Facing Manchester United is going to be a pleasure,†said Coupet. “The visiting goalkeeper can always expect to be busy!

It’s also exciting for me personally because I had to miss Lyon’s last trip to Old Trafford through injury. So I’m looking forward to playing there.â€

“I was also out injured,†added Abidal. “It will be good to see our World Cup team-mates, Mikaël Silvestre and Louis Saha. I’m sure they’ll give us a warm welcome – and will want to beat us.â€

Juninho, a Brazilian World Cup winner, is one of the few non-Europeans likely to be selected by Lippi. The creative midfielder did play at Old Trafford two and a half years ago, enjoying every minute of it.

“The atmosphere was fantastic,†he said. “It will be even more enjoyable to go there to play a match aimed purely at giving pleasure to the supporters.†</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

still not going, but that's looking like a decent lineup now. mon some autographs

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Nick OGS20

Nick OGS20

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Boss wants Academy revamp

Sir Alex Ferguson has long been among the dissenting voices when it comes to the Academy system in British football.

Players must be within an hour's travelling distance of a club to be able to train there. It is a rule the United boss feels has hamstrung the most talented young footballers from receiving the best available coaching - not only damaging for the Reds, but also for England at international level. Sir Alex urges the football authorities to have a major rethink of the entire system...

Do you think there are too many foreign players in the Premiership?

It’s a difficult one to answer, but what I do think is that we should be paying more attention to home-produced players. There are all sorts of theories about what you can do to change it. For instance, in Scotland they tried a system where it was something like you had to have at least two Under-21s on the bench. There are also some recommendations that you should have four or five home-produced players in your team, which I think is a sensible one.

Is there a problem with producing home-grown players?

I think the problem lies in the fact that the Academy system is not working. The restriction on travelling time of an hour means that Manchester United, and particularly Arsenal, are having to look elsewhere, abroad. Liverpool are starting to do that as well now. They are venturing into Spain in a big way. What we would all like to do is get the best young players into the club because there is an expectation and need for Manchester United to do well. That is always there.

The fees for English players are so high, does the role of agents play a part? Gary Neville said recently that football would be better off without them…

Of course, in an ideal world he is correct. But agents are here. If they are professional and sensible then there is nothing wrong with players taking correct advice. What I would like to see – and I think most people would – is an investigation into the tariffs they have, they are taking a lot of money out of football, so much so that they are now able to buy players. That is a dangerous precedent because then they can control the markets. They would buy all the players, that would be a really dangerous area to go into. But that is happening at this time, as we know. If agents are sensible and have a responsible attitude towards the industry then there is nothing wrong with that. We had a situation recently where an agent came to our academy trying to tap up young players aged 11 and 12. We barred him, but he waited outside the Academy and stopped parents as they were leaving, trying to tap up the youngsters. There are some bad ones, but I am sure there are plenty of good ones.

There is to be a review of the Academy system this year, are you hopeful something will be done to improve them?

There has to be something done. I think it is in serious danger of falling apart. If you were to examine it you would see that there are countless flaws in it, countless. Some Academies aren’t even run properly now. They cut the Under-19s teams, I think purely on finance, because teams were not able to afford it all. When it started, Bristol City came up here with a youth team, the fathers and mothers of the players stayed in a hotels. It must have cost them a fortune. At some point, the chairman of that club is going to say, ‘where are the players?’. It costs a fortune to run, it costs this club £4million a year to run the Academy.

Do you think there is enough talent there, and it’s just not being produced in the right way?

I think you can find talent. Talent has got to be identified at a very early age. In my experience, there are very few natural footballers in the world anyway. Most are produced by practice, like the Brazilians do, or seeing what players like Cristiano Ronaldo does every session after training. That is producing yourself. The practice ethic should always be there. We feel that quite strongly at this club. I think talent is always there, you have to give it the right platform and encouragement.

Does it amaze you when you see English clubs with just foreign players in the starting line-up?

There is an obvious slant in that question towards Arsenal. But, Arsene Wenger is obviously strong on French football and African players, so why not, for his sake, take advantage. The problem doesn’t lie with Arsene Wenger, it lies with the system. If there was a formula where you had to produce home-grown players then it would be different for everyone. If I go to buy an English player, the prices are horrendous. So there is no fairness there. It forces you sometimes to go abroad to buy a player. Therefore, it is our own fault. More attention has to be given to producing home-grown players. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

from Fergie's press conference earlier. he's right, the academy system iffffs

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Taz & The Devil

Taz & The Devil

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Posted

Drawing with Lille away would be a great result considering how stupid our tactics are. I dont see why Fergie hasnt seen where he is going wrong yet.

When we are playing teams we consider our lesser why dont we go 4-4-2 and let them worry about us a bit like we did Bolton earlier this season? We always look to go 4-5-1 and worry about their game which if anything is playing to our weaknesses.

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Philip Rolfe

Philip Rolfe

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gonch19:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by James M:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gonch19:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Eastwood:

People claiming a draw against an average French team would be a good result? How times change. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

theyre 3rd iirc. hardly average </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

they're in crap form and without their best player, to not win would be **** </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

yeh but we NEVER win away in europe </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'd be massively surprised if you didn't win this one, seriously. I've been to see Lille twice this season and they're not the most prolific of teams. They've not scored more than one goal in a game since early December, and only 6 times in 24 league games in total. As marshy alluded to, their best player, one Mathieu Bodmer, is injured and is doubtful to play. He's their top scorer. Striker and second top scorer Peter Odemwingie hasn't scored since November 4th in the League.

If they're firing, they can beat anyone, they were fantastic earlier this season. They've got a great coach, and in Kader Keita they have a ridiculously good, often unplayable winger. They'll be tough to break down but having seen them and knowing how United can play, it really should be 1-0 United at the very worst.

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Taz & The Devil

Taz & The Devil

Posted
Posted

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Kevin (Nolan), I don't know if this has been asked before, but who do you intend to vote for as PFA Player/Young Player Of The Year?

Ben Walford, England

The voting takes place, I think, over the next couple of weeks.

As things stand my vote for Player of the Year will be Paul Scholes. I'm not too sure about the Young Player of the Year award. If Ronaldo is still eligible I will probably go for him.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

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Nick OGS20

Nick OGS20

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Posted

he said he was going to, but then realised he has his poncy works do at some fancy hotel in the evening and doesn't want to turn up to the wall in a suit. or something. probably wise tbf, we'd only take the p*ss on a grand scale

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Coldberg

Coldberg

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Posted

If the do is after the match in the evening then there is absolutely no reason for him not to turn up before the game. Not like he will be wearing a suit to the match & then going out right after the game. He lives 5 minutes away so going home to get changed won't be a problem.

Something decidedly fishy going on here.

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Coldberg

Coldberg

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Posted

He hasn't been on MSN all day either.

I say we turn up 3 hours before the game at his flat tomorrow & see what's really happening.

As it is I am off to bed as I am up at 5AM forwork so I can go to the game icon_frown.gif

Dedication, gotta love it.

Actually had a thought, maybe he is just bullshittingus & watching it on tv like he did the last round. But he doesn't want to tell us because he doesn't want us to know he is a part timer.

Anyway, bed.

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Mika

Mika

Posted
Posted

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by 14AlanSmithifb:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Nick OGS20:

if we line up 451 on Tuesday i'll RAGE. no excuse for it </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

So, blatant that we will. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

SO blatant.

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theis

theis

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Nick OGS20:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Boss wants Academy revamp

Sir Alex Ferguson has long been among the dissenting voices when it comes to the Academy system in British football.

Players must be within an hour's travelling distance of a club to be able to train there. It is a rule the United boss feels has hamstrung the most talented young footballers from receiving the best available coaching - not only damaging for the Reds, but also for England at international level. Sir Alex urges the football authorities to have a major rethink of the entire system...

Do you think there are too many foreign players in the Premiership?

It’s a difficult one to answer, but what I do think is that we should be paying more attention to home-produced players. There are all sorts of theories about what you can do to change it. For instance, in Scotland they tried a system where it was something like you had to have at least two Under-21s on the bench. There are also some recommendations that you should have four or five home-produced players in your team, which I think is a sensible one.

Is there a problem with producing home-grown players?

I think the problem lies in the fact that the Academy system is not working. The restriction on travelling time of an hour means that Manchester United, and particularly Arsenal, are having to look elsewhere, abroad. Liverpool are starting to do that as well now. They are venturing into Spain in a big way. What we would all like to do is get the best young players into the club because there is an expectation and need for Manchester United to do well. That is always there.

The fees for English players are so high, does the role of agents play a part? Gary Neville said recently that football would be better off without them…

Of course, in an ideal world he is correct. But agents are here. If they are professional and sensible then there is nothing wrong with players taking correct advice. What I would like to see – and I think most people would – is an investigation into the tariffs they have, they are taking a lot of money out of football, so much so that they are now able to buy players. That is a dangerous precedent because then they can control the markets. They would buy all the players, that would be a really dangerous area to go into. But that is happening at this time, as we know. If agents are sensible and have a responsible attitude towards the industry then there is nothing wrong with that. We had a situation recently where an agent came to our academy trying to tap up young players aged 11 and 12. We barred him, but he waited outside the Academy and stopped parents as they were leaving, trying to tap up the youngsters. There are some bad ones, but I am sure there are plenty of good ones.

There is to be a review of the Academy system this year, are you hopeful something will be done to improve them?

There has to be something done. I think it is in serious danger of falling apart. If you were to examine it you would see that there are countless flaws in it, countless. Some Academies aren’t even run properly now. They cut the Under-19s teams, I think purely on finance, because teams were not able to afford it all. When it started, Bristol City came up here with a youth team, the fathers and mothers of the players stayed in a hotels. It must have cost them a fortune. At some point, the chairman of that club is going to say, ‘where are the players?’. It costs a fortune to run, it costs this club £4million a year to run the Academy.

Do you think there is enough talent there, and it’s just not being produced in the right way?

I think you can find talent. Talent has got to be identified at a very early age. In my experience, there are very few natural footballers in the world anyway. Most are produced by practice, like the Brazilians do, or seeing what players like Cristiano Ronaldo does every session after training. That is producing yourself. The practice ethic should always be there. We feel that quite strongly at this club. I think talent is always there, you have to give it the right platform and encouragement.

Does it amaze you when you see English clubs with just foreign players in the starting line-up?

There is an obvious slant in that question towards Arsenal. But, Arsene Wenger is obviously strong on French football and African players, so why not, for his sake, take advantage. The problem doesn’t lie with Arsene Wenger, it lies with the system. If there was a formula where you had to produce home-grown players then it would be different for everyone. If I go to buy an English player, the prices are horrendous. So there is no fairness there. It forces you sometimes to go abroad to buy a player. Therefore, it is our own fault. More attention has to be given to producing home-grown players. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

from Fergie's press conference earlier. he's right, the academy system iffffs </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

For someone senile he does talk a fair bit of sense tbh

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McMaster#28

McMaster#28

Posted
Posted

Serious post I promise icon_smile.gif...

I'm not sure home grown solves this problem.

The fans/media don't want players to have especially come from their clubs youth academy, they want English players.

For example, if all of a (English) clubs players were home grown but from France, fans would still be upset no?

Let's look at Arsenal, a team generally known for playing foreign players (not that imo I care but nevermind)

Home grown players (or will be classed as HG in the next 2 years):

Cesc Fàbregas

Philippe Senderos

Mathieu Flamini - I think will become one in 2 years having signed when he was about 19

Johan Djourou

Gaël Clichy

Jérémie Aliadière

Armand Traoré

(Players who will become HG if Arsenal keep them)

Nicklas Bendtner

Arturo Lupoli

Francisco Merida Perez

and every foreigner in their U18 squad

So say the rules come in you have to have 4-5 HG players per matchday squad - Arsenal could easily do it, and it's still not really going to do what the rule was intended to do (i.e. encourage English players to play)

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Ryno

Ryno

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Posted

One reason to forget about Ruud:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Ruud revisits spat with Ferguson

Ruud van Nistelrooy has again spoken of his departure from Manchester United, saying that Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson "kicked his soul".

Van Nistelrooy was left out of United's Carling Cup final team against Wigan last year and he was unable to deal with the snub.

"I exploded and began swearing at Ferguson because I felt he had kicked my soul," revealed Van Nistelrooy.

"That was the moment things died and could never be the same again."

Van Nistelrooy, who left Old Trafford and moved to Real Madrid in the summer, said it was particularly hard to take because prior to that point he had had a great relationship with Ferguson.

"I find it rather tragic," he told World Soccer.

"This was the man who visited me in hospital when I had my bad knee injury while I was with PSV.

"This was the man who wanted me at all costs.

"It was because our relationship was so warm that this situation was so painful." </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just let it go ffs. It's the past, it's happened and you have moved on. Now fo!

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alilaw

alilaw

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Posted

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by BBB:

iirc it's from the sun, so it's blatantly bollox.

Ali, give me a few weeks and I should be able to sort ya out, maybe Bagpuss has a race, I'll check, then you get to sit next to me! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

icon14.gif Cheers matey. Not been in the stretty since the Valentine's Day Citeh FA Cup game a couple of years back. Which was fffffffffffffffffffffbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb.

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