Calnefoxile

Oooohhh I'm getting nervous now, 2-1 up on the night, 2-2 on aggregate, 45 mins and all to play for. COME ON YOU FOXES!!!!!!!! Rregards Neal.

WEST HAM HAVE SACKED ZOLA!!!!!! Just seen this on BBC Sport website http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/8674605.stm I must say I'm a bit surprised, I know they didn't ahve a very good season, but I'm still surprised. Regards Neal. P.S. Are we going to discuss the World Cup in this Topic or do we start a new one just for the World Cup???

Here's an interesting point for the Playoffs. If Blackpool win at Forest tonight, and Leicester manage to turn Cardiff over tomorrow. Who does DJ Campbell play for????? He's on loan at Blackpool, but still a Leicester Player sorry team member, and is not allowed to play against us, but I'm not sure if that was just for the League Games or whether it includes the Playoffs as well. Personally I don't think we are ready for promotion just yet, even with Milans millions (if he's not done for tax evasion ) + the Promotion payout, but obviously if we make the playoff final and we play Forest then I hope we stuff 'em Our record in the Playoffs is one of the best, so far we have never failed to make the Playoff finals whenever we've been invovled, but there's a first time for everything, which now means I've put the mockers on things. But whichever way tomorrow night goes, we've had an outstanding season, being promoted back to the Championship straight away, and finishing in the Playoffs, brilliant!!!! I certainly won't be too upset if we don't get promoted, especially if we keep Nigel Pearson for next season. Anyway enough of my ramblings, I always ramble when I'm nervous COME ON YOU FOXES. Regards Neal.

WaaaayyyyyHaaaaayyyy We're in the playoffs, looks like we'll be playing Cardiff in the Semi's. Now I don't like to tempt fate, but we haven't lost a Playoff Semi-final, ever. We may have lost a couple of Playoff Finals, but never a Semi. Well thats put the mockers on that then The interesting problem will be if we end up playing Blackpool in the final, DJ Campbell has a clause in his Loan Agreement that he cannot play against us, and the fact that it's his goals that have propelled Blackpool into the playoff posistions. Anyway, COME ON YOU FOXES lets make it back to back promotions......Hopefully it'll be a City Forest final. Regards Neal.

Geoff, Apparantly its down to the number of teams in the respective leagues. Mind you I'm sweating on our Play-Off place, I think Forest are more or less guaranteed a Play-Off place, I also think Cardiff will stay where they are, but the last spot is between Swansea, Leicester, Blackpool and Midlesbrough. Hopefully it won't come down to a last match shoot out between us and Middlesbrough, we could seal a Play-Off place with one more win over Watford and a draw, and considering that Blackpool have to play Forest then depending on that result it could be Swansea sweating more profusely than us. Oooohhhh permutations, permutations. But you've got to admit it's exciting Regards Neal.

I get on extremely well with the lesbians next door. They asked me what I would like for my birthday. I was stunned when they gave me a Rolex. It was very nice of them, but I think they misunderstood me when I said, "I wanna watch." --- Why is it when your wife becomes pregnant, all her female friends rub her tummy and say "congratulations" but none of them rub your d£$% and say "well done"? --- Honestly some folk will take offence at anything. I met a bloke with no legs this morning while at the bus stop and all I asked was "How are you getting on?" --- Paddy was in the delivery room when the midwife handed him a black baby "Is this yours?" she asked. "Probably." said Paddy "She burns everything else!" --- My missus has just gone into hospital with two black eyes and a broken jaw. It seems we were on different wavelengths when she said she wanted decking on the patio. --- Sex therapist claim that the most effective way to arouse your man is to spend 10 minutes licking his ears!! Personally I think its b£$$£%^s!! --- They reckon that Beer contains female hormones and I think they are right. After 8 pints I talk s£$% and can't drive! --- Whats the difference between Basil Brush and a Terrorist with a rucksack? The Terrorist with a rucksack only goes "Boom" once. --- Vicar booking into a hotel asks the receptionist "Is the Porn channel in my room disabled?" "No," she replies "it's just regular porn you sick b£$%^&*." --- A mate of mine has just told me he's shagging his girlfriend and her twin. I said "How can you tell them apart?" He said "Her brother's got a moustache!" --- A biker goes to the doctor with hearing problems. "Can you describe the symptoms to me?" asked the doctor. "Yes. Homer is a fat yellow lazy b£$%^&* and Marge is a skinny bird with big blue hair."

I have just seen on the BBC Sport website that Crystal Palace have been deducted 10 points for going into administration, now this is all fine and dandy and in line with the rules, but my gripe is (and I'm not an Eagles fan) is with the last paragraph of the article http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/crystal_palace/8484824.stm , and I quote "Administrators were appointed earlier this week after the Eagles twice paid players late this season." Can I just ask the questios, HOW MANY TIMES DID POMPEY NOT PAY THEIR PLAYERS ON TIME????? WHY DID THEY NOT END UP IN ADMINISTRATION AND GET 10 POINTS DEDUCTED???? I can answer the 2nd question myself, quite simply. BECAUSE THEY ARE A PREMIERSHIP TEAM, and it wouldn't be good form or good publicity for the Premiership for a team to go into administration whilst in the Premier League, or am I being to cynical ????? Many Regards Neal.

Steve, I've got some cracking ideas for European Competitions: 1:) A European Cup competition where the only entrants are the Champions of the Country's respective Top Leagues, it is a straight knockout competition from the off, and all the Clubs are drawn out of a hat at each stage and its a Home & away tie. Losers are OUT full stop. 2:) For the next couple of teams in the league i.e. 2nd,3rd and possible 4th we could have another competition with exactly the same rules as above, or maybe this one could be a League based competition. 3:) A European Competition for teams who win major domestic cup competitions, maybe we could call the Cup Winners Cup, again straight knockout competition and each game is drawn out of a hat at each stage. Should I send these ideas to Mr Blatter/Mr Platini for consideration for next years competitions??? Regards Neal.

Yep, I hope this is a wake up call for NP and MM that we need to buy some more quality in January. I listened to the game at my folks house and have to admit (through gritted teeth) that Forest were much the better side. We are in a fairly false position at the moment, we were lucky with the other results going our way, just have to hope we can recover on Tuesday against Bristol City. Did anyone notice the irony of who scored both goals for Derby in their 2-2 draw with WBA??? Yep, Paul Dickov and DJ Campbell, both on loan from Leicester :icon_frustrated: :icon_frustrated: Ah well back to refusing to answer the house phone in case its the in-laws calling, FIL is a Forest fan :icon_winker: :icon_winker: Regards Neal.

Something else happening today, is the World Cup draw for South Africa 2010. Anyone want ot give me odds on England being drawn with France and Portugal in their group!!!!!!! Ooohhh just checked this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/8393328.stm we can't be drawn with both France and Portugal. Anyway looking forward to this World Cup, we've got to be in with a shout of winning it this year, or at least getting very close to it, IF we can keep all our 1st team players fit. So my advice to all those Professional footballers who are members of this Forum B) "Buy some decent football boots, not those flaming ballet shoes you wear these days, and you won't end up with fractured/broken metatarsals etc." Regards Neal. "Come On England"

Big game on Saturday, could be the 'biggest' game of the season so far. What am I talking about, the game being played at the City Ground kicking off at 1:00pm, 4th vs 3rd, of course I'm talking about Nottingham Forest vs Leicester City, 2 of the clubs with the meanest defences in the Championship so far. Also 2 of the Clubs no-one suggested would be any where near the Play-off positions at this point in the season, I for one did not expect Leicester to be 3rd in the League, I was expecting mid-table obscurity for us this season, and a push for Play-offs/promotion next season, but we could be getting there this season. Heart says "Go for it NP, get us to the promised land!!!" Head says "Don't be ridiculous, if we go up this season, we'll be straight back down, even with Milans Millions!!!" Personally, I want to get through to the play-off final and lose!!! Yes!!! Lose..... This would give us more money, and make the players more determined to go the whole hog next season and avoid the disappointment. Anyway, need to sort out my lucky boxer shorts, get my Rabbits foot, cross all my fingers and toes and hope a black cat doesn't cross my path between now and tomorrow afternoon. Regards Neal.

The French taking the, ahem!!!, Mick http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/02122009/58/world-cup-theron-draws-ireland-world-cup.html Regards Neal.

I too feel sorry for Paul Hart, I can't see that he's done much wrong really. I mean when your old team boss comes calling waving millions of pounds under your players/boards noses for the best players at the club, the Manager can't do much about it, and then he is expected to work miracles with whats left and not to be given any of the spoils of those transfers, it smacks of cutting off your nose to spite your face. You would have to suspect whether it would be "Right you're names Ferguson, you're Sir Alex's son, get on with it" a bit like Clough at Direby, ooopppsss sorry Derby . Darren Ferguson did get Peterborough promoted, but I'm not sure if he was given any cash to splash in the Championship. As a Leicester Fan to any Pompey supporters read this carefully Pearson is going nowhere I think this is common knowledge, I have heard this said many times recently on the TV that because of the financial crisis at Liverpool, they are stuck with Benitez. My problem with Benitez (and I'm no Liverpool fan) is that he can't handle losing, when things are going great then fine, but when it comes to them being overrun or losing, he just doesn't seem to know what to do to change things around. Also they do seem to be very much a 1 man team in Gerrard, now don't get me wrong to lose him is a massive blow, but for it to make that much difference to a side is unbelievable. Regards Neal.

Unless I'm mistaken, don't the Video Refs in Rugby and the Video Umpires in Cricket use the TV Camera Video for their decision making, and if with all those angles available they are still undecided the benefit of doubt goes to the defending team/batsman??? I was a bit sceptical about the 5th/6th official at matches, but in this case I believe the goalline Ref would have seen Thierry Henry's, ahem!!, error. I do agree though that FIFA/EUFA have a lot to answer for in seeding the play-offs, this was disgraceful. In my opinion it doesn't matter what country you are you should have equal opportunity of making the World Cup finals, yes we all like to see the best players in the world at these competitions, but we all also like to see the underdogs beat the 'Big' teams. This goes for domestic football as well as World/European football, how many of us where hoping that Bosnia-Hercegovina would beat Portugal. From a purely selfish point of view, I was, because I was thinking "One less big side for England to beat on their glorious march to World Cup glory" and then I woke up realising it was a dream Regards Neal

Hows this for a disgruntled football fan http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6579407/Grimsby-Town-fan-letter-the-full-text-of-Poojahs-rant.html Regards Neal.

I was trying to stay out of this discussion on Fergie/Managers in general & referees, but I feel I ought to wade in with my 2penneth worth. I do agree with Red Devils posting about what Fergie has bought to English football in the way he has nurtured young talent into world class players, with the likes of Beckham, Giggs (yes I know he's Welsh), Rooney et al, but and its a big but, to me he still needs to watch what, how and to whom he says things during and after games. To watch the way he berates the 4th official when a decision goes against his players is disgraceful, now I'm not saying that the passion should be knocked out of players/managers because that would water down the game to people who passionately support their football team, but there are times and places for asking questions. I'm also not saying that Fergie is the only one who does this, Wenger/Benitez are just as culpable of this, in fact I've seen most Premiership Managers doing this. There was a rule passed a while ago that the Captain is the only person allowed to approach the Ref for an explanation of a decision, this is still not being enforced hard at all, we've all seen the players running 30/40 yards to affront a ref for a decision they don't agree with, IMHO referees have got to start being more card happy when this happens, tell them "Back off you will be sent off" and if they don't, send them off. The same should be for Managers, the 4th official should have the authority to send a Manager off, if he thinks the verbal attack warrants it, I know the Ref can send a Manager to the stands, but he should be able to send them from the field of play, straight to the dressing room like the player, because the Manager can still influence a game from the stand. I also believe that Referees should be allowed to give interviews after a game and if necessary explain a decision and if they have got it wrong, they should have the b"??$s to publicly announce "Ooopps I got that one wrong, that should have been a penalty/sending off/yellow card...etc" I know they cannot influence the outcome after the game, but the FA make decisions about Players after the game, after they've read the referees report!!! In the mean time, the FA have got to start stamping down on Managers who step out of line and berate Referees to the point of personal insults to them, and I think this is what has happened to Fergie this time around, it was seen as a personal insult about Mr Wiley and has been dealt with as such. Managers, and I mean all Managers, have got to understand that the Referee is the one in charge of the game and until some sort of technology is introduced to ASSIST the refs, then I am afraid their decision made at that moment of the incident is final, whether it is the right decision or not. Sorry for my rant, but I do get annoyed when some people think the sun shines out of Fergies/Wengers/Benitez's backsides, just because they are Premiership sides and 1 decision can cost the club millions, money isn't everything in football..... Regards Neal. P.S. I would say the same if it was Nigel Pearson and it was a last minute penalty against us that cost us promotion via the play off final, oh hang on we've been there before

Quite possibly, and at least the Government won't step in to save them unlike the Spanish Governemnt have for the likes of Real Madrid, at least I think it is them or it could be the Italian Government saving one fo the Milan teams, or I could just be talking absolute claptrap like i normally do Anyway, I, ina strange way, hope that one of the 'Big' clubs does have to call in the recievers just to see how they try and squirm and wriggle their way out of it. COuld be kind of interesting. Regards Neal.

How about Large Logo Blue or Triple Grey I think they may look good in those or even Railfreight Red Stripe like the original 58's. I have to admit, very quietly though, that the Freightiner green livery looks rather good on them....Shhhhh don't tell everyone that I said that Regards Neal.

Whats the consenus of opinion on here about Phil Gartside resurrecting the idea of a 2 tiered Premiership with 30-40 teams including Celtic and Rangers??? http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8353937.stm IMHO I think its a rubbish idea, if Celtic & rangers want to join the English league then they should start at the bottom like everyone else has to, start in League 2 and work their way up. As for the 2 tiered approach, is this Mr Gartsides idea for protection against relegation for Bolton??? Or is it a genuine attempt to ease the financial pressure on teams being relegated from the Premiership?? There is a massive financial pressure on teams being relegated from the Prmeiership to the Championship and the 'Parachute' payments are supposed to make relegation a bit easier on the teams relegated, but I believe that it is the clubs themselves that should think about the possibility of relegation and make sure their contracts with players have a clause in that states 'Should relgation happen you will take a pay cut' or words to that effect. I also believe that the financial situation in football is not going to be sustainable and we will lose a major footballing team very soon, I think Rangers are almost in that position now. anyway, what do others think??? Regards Neal. Up The Foxes

Owen, Why 'sadly' there is nothing wrong with supporting any team. Be proud of who you support at least you're not a fair weather supporters like most people these days. I support Leicester City and have done for nearly 30 years, I'll admit to following Liverpool in my early days, until one occasion and I remember it to this day, it was the 23 August 1980, my dad took me to Filbert Street to see Leicester play Liverpool, we sat in the Double Decker above the Kop, right behind the goal, when a free kick was played to one of our central defenders, Andy Peake, just inside the Liverpool half, he strides forward with the ball and unleashes a right foot shot that curls away from Ray Clemence (best keeper in the country at the time) and into the top left hand corner of the net and Filbert Street erupts around me. And from that day to this I've been a Leicester City fan, and boy have they put me through it over the last 30 years, from the elation of promotions/relegations to the old 1st division/Premiership via automatic and play off victories, beating the top sides, sometimes quite comfortably. Then came the ignomy of relegation to the 3rd division or League 1 as its called now, and now our meteoric rise again under Nigel Pearson. Can we be as good as we where in the late 90's early 2000's, I doubt it, there is too much money in football now and we will never be one of the 'fashionable' clubs, probably always be nearly rans, but for us supporters they will always be the best club to support as a Leicester City fan. Sorry for going on a bit, but as I said in my opening paragraph, never be sorry or sad to support any football team unless you can take the bad times along with the good times. Regards Neal.

Now I'm not normal known for my support of Fergie or ManUre, but I have to agree that the Chelsea goal should not have stood; A: It was never a free kick. B: Drogba was definately offside, he had to be interfering with play, he was stood right in front of Van Der Sar. Anyway, we were apparantly beaten by a better side on Saturday and I for one am not going to complain and moan about being beaten by the Baggies, they are a cracking side and should be there for automatic promotion come May. As for Leicester, for me the perfect season will be, make the play-off final and lose, yes lose. We are not in a position to go straight up to the Premiership, otherwise we will do a Direby and come straight back down with the lowest points haul ever. We need another year in the Championship to give most of the young lads more experience and hopefully give Nigel Pearson the money to strengthen and really be contenders for promotion next season. Anyway, Keep the Faith Foxes fans, we will be back...... Regards Neal.

I thought the 'Dutch' livery was bought into distinguish the Engineering stock from the 'normal' Railfreight stock???? But as far as running it with BR Blue, you can mix Dutch with BR Blue because, as has been said before BR Blue didn't die completely until post privatisation. But just remember one thing, Rule 1 applies - It's your trainset Regards Neal.