Steve K

Back when the Citroen CX was a car you could expect to see on the road most days, I thought they were hideous, absolutely horrible. But now, looking at pictures again, I think they are really quite beautiful machines. They look like a sleek aircraft with the wings removed, and I'd be overjoyed to spot one on the road again. Similarly, I've started seeing a Rover SD1 on the roads around here recently, and it's quite amazing, the warm fuzzy feeling of nostalgia that it invokes. At the time, those cars were derided (probably with good reason), but 40 years on, it's easier to appreciate the design, and the mere fact of this car's survival brings a smile to my face.

Mood October? I'm with you. I get quite grumpy this time of year, as the nights start to draw in! I've also really enjoyed the progress so far on the Sri Lankan models over at http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/115806-scratch-built-ho-models-for-sri-lankan-railways/ , but I'm definitely looking forward to more progress on the Castlefield side of things when time allows.

It's best not even to think about that, but if you must... He's earned more in 2 months than a lot of people reading this will have earned in the last 20 years. Makes you feel warm inside, doesn't it. To be fair to Sam, he was a bit naive on this occasion, but not corrupt, IMO. And which of us hasn't said silly things as a favour to a friend, or to look big and clever in front of someone we've just met? £500,000, though... bl00dy hell...

That's quite funny, but I do think that the banner headlines in your jokes are over-selling them a bit!

You know, I'm probably just as interested in that match as I am in anything going on in the top flight, and I support Chelsea. Don't know if I'm alone in this, but I'm completely failing to give a toss about the Premier League this year. There's so much rubbish surrounding the game that the actual football seems like a mere sideshow. As it happens, Chelsea have started the season pretty well, but I still care more about how Newcastle or Villa (I'm from Birmingham) get on in the Championship than anything going on in the division above. Mind you, calling the football league the EPL also sounds so... icky, that I might have to turn my attention to something else entirely. It's bad enough that the divisions keep on changing names, what with sponsorships and so on, but all this TLA* nonsense seems like an unnecessary Americanisation of the most English of sports. *I don't need to explain that, do I?

Out of breath after that?

That's actually pretty funny, probably because it's so close to the truth! You might want to advertise it a bit better, though - many of us are a bit wary about clicking on links without any kind of description. Well, you say that... maybe 40 years ago, when I first heard it, but the last couple of dozen times, it's lost a bit.

Probably not, but let's just hope that they're not out of Europe by June 23rd... Besides, we've got the 5th best player in the Euros, apparently: http://www.skysports.com/football/news/19693/10301021/james-milner-above-toni-kroos-gareth-bale-and-paul-pogba-in-uefa-rankings-tool And according to the same list, Danny Drinkwater is the 8th best English player.

I've got some lovely Thomas stock that would look a treat, whizzing up and down at a scale 300mph, if that's any help.

Your friend is Mr Caffey O'lay, and I claim my £5! Yours E G McMuffin

"Big two"? It's been the "Big Yin" for 4 years, hasn't it? Still, I'd imagine that Rangers will be properly up for it next season, so there will be a decent level of competition through the whole 38 games. While I enjoyed seeing this year's nearly-but-not-quite team, Aberdeen, giving it a decent go, it never really looked like they'd take their challenge all the way to the end. Disgraceful, perhaps, but to say that Tottenham were "no better" than Chelsea is a bit harsh - Chelsea weren't the team to get a record number of bookings. Then again, I agree with something I heard on the radio the next day - Alderweireld should be ashamed of himself. The only outfield player to play 90 minutes and not get booked. The lad wasn't even trying! Exactly. I actually think the referees do pretty well under hard circumstances. I'm sure I've said it before on this thread, but what we need is retrospective action against all those players who try to con the ref into giving the wrong decision. If they know they'll be caught, they might at last start to unlearn all the cheating tactics. I think we'd all love that, Rob, but I can hardly see it. In fact, I'll give you 5000 to 1 my word that they won't!

I believe that the perpetrator was soon grabbed by the rozzers. Or possibly picked up by the fuzz... Either way, it was eye-watering.

Please . Actually, he could cure his addiction by reading jokes about Bonnie Tyler sat-navs... Anyhow, must -

I think it's got something to do with... what was the question again?

Being serious for a moment, there's nothing terribly wrong with referees' eyesight, but they do need help. I'm a Chelsea fan, but I'm happy to agree that the penalty award was fortunate in the extreme. I don't necessarily agree that it was "beyond belief", or that the player fell over of his own accord (but maybe that's my own bias!), but the contact, such as it was, occurred a few inches outside the box. Unfortunately for West Ham, the referee, in his one and only look at the incident, had to judge - after the Chelsea player had hit the deck - whether an offence was committed, and if so, where. As you rightly say, we need to move top-flight football into the current century, and give the officials every help they need to arrive at the correct decision.

Employing Neil Warnock might be a better idea, given Rotherham's recent upturn in form!

That quoted comment is mostly bitterness, of course, but I'd still like to take issue. I'm a Chelsea fan, but Leicester would be just as capable of getting knocked out by PSG or Barcelona in the last 16 as Arsenal or Chelsea! Seriously, who, after this season, would begrudge Leicester the chance to mix it with the big boys of Europe, even if it's just the once? As for "showing how pathetic the PL has become", I'd far rather have a league where any one of 6 or 7 teams might win the league, than the supposed pinnacle of world football, where Barcelona and Real Madrid (both fantastic sides, of course) have a near-monopoly on every title going, and regularly win league games by 6 or 7 goals. It's not the quality of the top teams that sets the PL apart, in my view, it's the quality of those near the bottom. Week in, week out, we don't know for certain who's going to win any given game. Sunderland or Swansea, to name but two, will pull off one or two giant-killings in the season, and may still have some surprises in store in the last 8 games. Struggling teams can have an effect on the title chase in a way that just doesn't happen in Spain or France.

While I'm sure most of those are true, I'm pretty sure that the Mitsubishi Starion was named after a shortening of "Star Orion", not because some executive mangled the word "stallion". Mind you, from some of the garbled English stuck in the back window of my old grey-import MR2, anything is possible! Here's a link to the Urban Dictionary page, spelling out exactly what was on that sticker: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dandism

I'd get that word copyrighted, if I were you, before everyone starts saying "Rafalution"!

Yes, apparently, he "thinks" there was contact. Presumably, as he was unsure, he fell over just in case. Well, I "think" he's a cheat. But that only an opinion, I can't be sure.

Although in the case described, it was an Audi he hit, so no innocents suffered...

"Chelscum"? More than a bit harsh. Pray tell - which team of angelic cherubs do you favour?

Not quite swapped places, fortunately - Chelsea are a mighty 13th, and if they win today (a big "if", going by the commentary), it's up to 12th. I may get a nosebleed if that happens... As was suggested on the last page, though, I'm definitely one of those cheering on Leicester this season. Regardless of one's team loyalties (and regardless, in my case, of the fact that Chelsea are doing so poorly!), it's hard not to cheer at the amazing and fearless performance of the Foxes this season. Even if my favoured team and Leicester were neck-and-neck going into the last match, I'd be hard pressed not to applaud if Leicester pipped Chelsea at the post. It's proper Roy of the Rovers stuff - who doesn't want a well-organised team of decent players to beat several groups of over-paid, self-absorbed, spineless prima donnas? And yes, I'd definitely include Chelsea in that category, at least for the first 15 games of the season.

Clive Thomas has been widely mocked for that one decision over the years, but he got it right, didn't he?

Good looking, too! Assuming you're a fan of the works of HP Lovecraft...