matthew123

They used to have a stamp machine both outside and inside the Post Office on Lordship Lane - as a result they now have a lot more people needing customer service.. was it a ploy to secure their future?

I remember Teddy Sheringham rousing the West Ham fans behind the goal at Cardiff (as if he was a one club man) in anticipation of winning FA Cup moments before Steven Gerrard equalised :)) Have to say his ashen face last night each time Macca made his views known without prompting from Steve Rider was funny. Good player but ... was he the one that won the free kick at OT for Beckham in the Greece 2-2 ?

Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Please someone put me out of my misery. I have a > very old telly; was Teddy Sheringham orange or was > that just my TV? Teddy knows his number is up - it's usually him and Andy Townsend but tonight Macca made his debut from the now defunct Setanta so we won't be seeing too much more of Sheringham - hooray!

Those Betfair odds tell me a disproportionate amount of money is being backed by deluded England fans

Save your money - for England are in a very poor group. I think you've got to look how England performed in their games this year against Spain, Holland and France to see they are far from the finished article.

At the time many pundits said it was a mis-hit free kick by Ronaldinho, probably because he was a bit of an unknown, whereas I'd think most ppl would now say he meant it. Obviously Sven has to take brunt of blame for losing that match due to infamous half time team talk but at least he wasn't holding an umbrella.

Trouble is with Seaman you can't say it was a one off as of course he repeated the same dumb trick at World Cup for England

Back up is fine but to win a World Cup (which England have no chance of doing btw) you need a world class keeper because the latter games will be too tight to carry a mediocre goaly.

All the goalkeeper options are weak - England are screwed in that position whoever they pick. David James is great when he is busy but put him in the situation of national importance like a semi final with nothing much to do and he is likely to drop the simplest cross in front of goal. Foster, Carson have fundamental flaws. Hart, Green are too error prone. Robinson is probably the best technically behind James but his confidence might be too shattered to ever return. Don't even mention Kirkland.

Well Barry, Lampard and Beckham are all probably going to be in the WC Squad so I'd doubt Capello would pick another slow coach in midfield as England could be pulled all over the park if they happen to have matches at altitude. I remember Mexico City '86 when Maradona never faced a tackle because the England team were too slow to cut him down - pace pays and that's why I think Young is ahead of Milner.

Keef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No it's me. I was basically teasing Matthew, as I > can't help feeling that if Harold Shipman had worn > a Liverpool scarf, Matt would have claimed he was > innocent. Keef what a load of bollox. This has nothing to do with a Liverpool scarf. This is about justice. Your Harold Shipman analogy is misguided to say the least. Belarus might be crap kpc but when a team disintegrates they can lose to anyone as Liverpool did only other week to Villa.

Keef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > matthew123 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Keef Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > He'll probably stab someone at the fist away > > champ > > > league match. > > > > On what basis do you draw that conclusion > > Sherlock? > > > Well it was basically a joke Matthew, although I > don't think he's innocent just because he supports > Liverpool. I don't know him, he might be lovely, > or he might be a nasty piece of work. I don't think he has been pardoned because he is a Liverpool fan Keef - rather because there is compelling evidence that another Liverpool supporter committed the crime. Of course England can lose tonight, lose next month in the Ukraine and still finish top by winning their last game at home to Belarus although if it comes to that do England have the bottle?

I wonder if Wayne Rooney's definition of Honest is more to do with football speak of hard work, and has thus been quoted out of context - and when he says he doesn't Dive he may be referring to jumping into swimming pool 2 feet first so his fag doesn't fall out of mouth..

Keef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > He'll probably stab someone at the fist away champ > league match. On what basis do you draw that conclusion Sherlock?

I hope Gerrard get's sent off in first minute and receives a 3 match ban Michael Shields receives royal pardon

The main reason the Scousers won the European Cup was because they chucked out the negative tactics at half time and then cut loose. The key change was Liverpool having a better midfield during second half - Hamman and Smicer made a big difference and both were key players in 2 of the 3 comeback goals. If Liverpool had showed more adventure in 2007 by playing Bellamy and Crouch upfront instead of just the Kuyt the Scousers would probably have won the European Cup for the 6th time. Where Gerrard came into his own in Istanbul, beyond the call of duty, was slotting into right back during extra time to nullify Milan's left winger Serginho who was on fire after coming on as a sub. As for Cardiff yes I agree.

>> "Maradona winning the World Cup on his own" It's an argument often used by the opposition to downplay being outclassed by a superior team. Similarly, Steven Gerrard is often used as the example of single handedly winning Liverpool the European Cup by pissed off fans of other Clubs - 'if we had Stevie G we'd have won the treble etc". You won't hear supporters of Argentina (the real ones not those at OT) or Liverpool saying they won trophies with just one player.

Northern Ireland were not a bad team at the 1982 World Cup - didn't they beat the hosts Spain? SP - my argument was that Ronaldo is not the best in the world (he is amongst the best but that is different to being number 1)... only last year Ronaldo claimed himself as first, second and third best in the world, and Fergie only this summer said Ronaldo was best in world. Steven Gerrard is one of the best players in the world but I'd not dream of saying he is number 1. Time will tell hope it works out at the Bernabau but I think Ronaldo is going to play second fiddle to Kaka. On the question of best of all time Maradona had this to say last week: "Do you know what? I played in European football for ten years while Pele played in South America. Yes he won World Cups and everything, but playing in Europe is something else entirely, Not that that makes me much better than him or anything like that. When I played, the man-markers in Spanish and Italian football were like hunting dogs. They never left me alone." http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25988057-11088,00.html?from=public_rss

Ahh the typical articulated responses from Mancs not happy with an opinion that does not pay homage to the myths of Old Trafford. George Best was one of the greatest but to suggest Ronaldo is some kind of modern day Pele (oh I forgot you already have the White Pele..) really is funny :))

As I said I'm going by just what I've seen - I dare say there were also others before the advent of TV cameras who also deserve mention. Would Best have been strong enough to get around the pitch wearing a pair of these boots? For me though the best player out there, certainly since Pele, is Lionel Messi - better than Maradona, Cruyff, Best. I think it's only Ronaldo and Alex Ferguson that try and fool the public with notions that Ronaldo is the world's best.. it's highly debatable whether Ronaldo is even better than Kaka once you put to sleep British media hype. Ronaldo can be stopped, and often is stopped, when he faces a strong, fast defender whereas a true master of his art is unstoppable whatever the conditions. In fact Mick I think comparing Ronaldo with George Best does George Best a disservice.

Perhaps the question to be answered is what makes the best footballer I think Barnes was up against better defenders, and in an era which was probably a lot more physical (although with less hatchet men if you exclude the Crazy Gang). Best was an amazing dribbler and we'll never know who was the most effective as they were in different teams at different times.

Aye there was a long list of 'the next George Best' at United... Russel Bearsdmore, Luke Chadwick being two of the most memorable

Were the Ronaldo claims made by Ronaldo himself by any chance?

Wow - just watched this on John Barnes and it just reminded me how great a player he was; passing, crossing, awareness, dribbling and scoring all of the highest quality.

George Best was well before my time Mick - I've seen many clips of him playing but tell me a clip of any player that does not show them at their very best. I can only talk about players I have seen and on that basis I'm voting for John Barnes.