kop205

Have to say I would do the same.

Some of us didn't even get the letter, despite meeting the criteria. Don't understand why fancard holders with two credits get the same priority as season ticket holders with two credits, but fan card holders with one credit are behind season ticket holders with one credit. I thought their policy now was to go strictly on games attended rather than giving automatic preference to season ticket holders (though I know that was a policy not everyone agreed with). I know there aren't enough tickets for everyone with one credit (once you've already sold to those with two or more) so I suppose the club just didn't want a situation where the numbers in the queue exceeded the numbers of tickets available i.e. in other words they couldnlt be arsed paying for proper stewarding (and possibly policing) of the queue. Maybe the fact that it is the Easter holidays for the schools has been a factor as that would boost numbers, but their general attitude to stewarding the queue seems to be pretty shoddy. Due to my work, it is sometimes my retired Mum who goes up for my ticket and when she has challenged scally knobheads for jumping in she has been givenn torrents of abuse, with no stewards around to intervene. She made a complaint to Rick Parry, who wrote back and said that because she was getting there before opening hours and the incident happened outside of the Paisley gates and therefore not on club property, the club had no duty to guard against this kind of stuff. t***. If it had been a straight sale to all those with one credit I'd have got to the ground whatever time it took and waited in line for as long as necessary, and if I'd not got one then fair enough. This has pissed me of though - though it is probably the s**** way that they organised the ballot (i.e. not even sending letters out to some) that annoys me more tha the principle itself of a ballot.

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Objectively speaking you are probably right, though if we lose in the semi to Chelsea it won't seem that way for a bit. The manner of the Champions League exit still rankles as well, but overall I don't think anyone (a) can complain about the progress that has been made in the League or (b) is unhappy with the work Rafa is doing.

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I assume that is a piss take? Can't say I have a big problem with OOTers in general. You get some who behave like w*****s, but then you get some scousers who behave like w*****s at the game too and are just as clueless as the worst OOTer. Take each fan on merit. I guess we all have a vague idea of what it means for the club to be 'in your heart', even though it is a hard concept to precisely define. You certainly don't need to be from the city for that to be true about you, so it shouldnlt really be a massive debate. This issue normally rears its head with regard to tickets as there has (justifiably) been anger in the past when loyalty hasn't been rewarded and day trippers have been able to suddenly get their hands on tickets for big matches at the expense of regulars. To blame that solely on OOTers isn't accurate though - I know plenty of scousers who I would class as day trippers and a good few OOTers who go week in week out.

I agree and disagree. I agree that Riise isn't the greatest player around and I must admit I'm not a massive fan of his. I disagree that that we need better than him to win the league. Fact is, we've won the league in the past with worse full bakcs than him (certainly Joey Jones, arguably Alan Kennedy) and other sides have won league title in the last few years with some pretty average full backs in their sides (Del Horno at Chelsea assuming they win it, Silvestre when he was played at LB). There are plenty of examples of average full bakcs (Lee Dixon, Gary Neville to name just two) beign fitted into very effective defensive lines. Left back can be improved, but is some way down the lists of priorities.

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Blows my theory out of the water then! Don't know whether that is good news or bad news.

Still nothing in the post this morning. Hoping this doesnlt mean that the ballot hs already been done and those who got letters are the only ones in with a shout of a ticket. Are you from the area mate? Just wondering if for some reason they may have sent them to OOTers first?

Heskey was an average striker and a dreadful wide midfielder, but at least he generally tried wherever he was played, ceratinly more than Cisse does anyway.

Have people had these letters yet telling them about the ballot for the semi-final tickets? My brother's girlfriend has had hers, but I haven't had mine yet. I'm local, she's not. What about anyone else? They reckon there will be only about 4000 tickets left after the other rounds of sale, which probably means at best a 1 in 3 or 1 in 4 chance of a ticket I would say.

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Never seen the lad play but it certainly seems that he (a) is extremely quick and (b) can chip in with the odd goal. What is his touch/dribbling ability/close control like? Does he just use pace to beat people (a la Cisse) or has he got decent technique?

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108 goals in 300 career games apparently, which isn't bad I suppose (probably better than I expected) but certainly doesn't make him the 'guaranteed 20 goals a season man' that people are always clamouring for. And he is a total, utter c***.

I wouldn't disagree particularly with that, just think 'exceptional' is going a bit far - especially given the long spells this seasons when we have struggled to score goals, something from which Crouch can't be immune to criticism. I'd go with a 'good debut season witht he promise of more to come'! My point was probably more about Bascombe really - that he sees things in very black and white terms and has his favourites and his scape goats, which is fine when talking as a fan but less when writing as a professional journalist. He does tend to get an idea in his head that someone can either do no wrong or do nor right and then bang on about it forever and a day - note the constant needless digs at Houllier and Morientes. He just seems a bit prone to hyperbole at times and does labour points - which is probably what I'm doing, so I'll leave it there!

Has he had 'an exceptional debut season' though? Not saying he has been s*** as he has certainly made progress and we know how to use him better now, but 'exceptional' seems a bit over the top to me. Fowler and Owen had exceptional debut seasons, I'd say Momo is having a very good one too. Not really any half measures with Bascome though is there?

Ca alors, ca c'est mon stylo rouge. (Copyright Toutes Directions circa 1980 something) About as sensible and relevant as the premise behind this thread. What did the Romans ever do for us anyway?

Why do you put. Full stops in the middle. Of your sentences.?. Only mistake Benitez was made was putting Morientes instead of Fowler near the end. I'd just love to have seen their faces...

Thought most of the bookings were deserved personally. Gerrard's first was harsh perhaps, but no argumants with the second. Certainly Alonso, Cahill, Weir, Ferguson could have nowt to argue about. Kewell and Stubb's deserved theirs for looking so gay. Who else was there? Can't really remember. Either way, they have to be the only club in the world who can complain about the referee after a game in which he has sent off the opposition's best player after 18 minutes for 2 bookings, one of which could have been dealt with by having a quite word. Truly pathetic.

There was a Reading fan on SSN yesterday saying that the place he is most looking forward to visiting is Anfield and hearing YNWA being sung - reckons a lot of others feel the same. Nice to know we are still held in high regard and just goes to show that Chelsea talk s**** when they say that being hated is an inevitable price of success.

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Fair point, though unlike Owen I would say that Ronaldo is undeniably past his best so if it was a choice between the two i'd prefer Owen (plus the fact that Owen was never really given much of a chance at Real and was bought and sold as a money making exercise).

If he isn't good enough for Madrid, why is he good enough for us? Morientes wasn't.