Stretford Ender

Watching 'Shadow of the Noose' again for the first time in a few years. An excellent dramatization of the notable cases of Edward Marshall Hall, one of the great courtroom orators of his day. It only ran for eight episodes so many of his triumphs are left out. The episode about Crippen was very good and shed light on the legal chicanery that surrounded that case, and the way in which Crippen was essentially betrayed by his solicitor.

'The Last Samurai' (not the one with Tom Cruise). Kenji Misumi's last film before he died in 1975. One of the best samurai films I've seen.

FC United? They're doing all right. http://www.fc-utd.co.uk/

Hush! That's America you're talking about! Associating the NFL with Karl Marx would get you lynched in some places. But, yes, you're right. The fans have to bend over and grab their ankles while the owners rake it in. Made me laugh when the Glazers rocked up in Manchester and referred to the club as a 'franchise.' A hack asked Joel Glazer who United's left back was and. judging by the look on his face, you'd think he'd been asked to explain Euclid's 3rd proposition. It was obvious that they were here for the money,

Quatermass was terrific. I saw the big-screen version about the Martians in the tube station. I think Hammer produced it. I remember Survivors from the 1970s and the opening credits with a Boeing 747 - fairly new at the time - coming in to land. I thought of that programme too when all this kicked off. We used to do some pretty good sci-fi back in the day but the latest offerings are pretty poor in comparison. The original Dr. Who with William Hartnell was quite scary for its time, especially the Daleks when they first appeared. Did you ever watch any of the old ITC stuff like Department S (brilliant) and Man in a Suitcase? One of our teachers carried his papers in an old leather carrier and was known as McGill ever after. Danger Man and The Prisoner, of course, are the standouts.

Without the moralizing crap too. I will never forgive the BBC for that ending though.

That's unclear but it wouldn't surprise me. They own shopping malls as well and those places have been on the slide for many years now. Their ownership of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been pretty disastrous. They won one Super Bowl but they haven't really competed for a title since; in fact they're usually in the bottom half of their table. Glancing through articles in the Florida press and on NFL fan sites, the blame is squarely put on the lack of leadership from the top, and that's what we have at United. A bunch of utter incompetents. They rarely show their faces at Old Trafford, and Woodward, our resident football genius, hangs out in his lair in Mayfair. They have taken in excess of £1 billion out of the club and put next to nothing of their own money in. The FA should have shown them the door on the day they proposed the leveraged buy-out (illegal in the NFL by the way) but they, and our own (then) board were happy to take their money. At least they haven't had any of mine.

Eusebio in 1966. What a player. It was sad to see the courageous North Koreans go out but Eusebio tuned it round for Portugal. Commentary is in Portuguese.

Elvis Costello - New Amsterdam Bowie - Width of a Circle PIL - Public Image Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK Deep Purple - Child in Time Roxy Music - Psalm Stones - Lady Jane Heptones - Book of Rules Wreckless Eric - Veronica

It was a great programme, despite the dodgy sets. The characters made it: Avon, Blake, Vila, Gan, Jenna, Cally, Servalan, and Travis. I plan to do a bit of binge-watching this weekend.

Blake's Seven. All four series.

I did see this. The debt keeps increasing and the Glazers still keep taking dividends. It's an ugly situation.

It was a Catalina, piloted by a US Naval officer, that first spotted the Bismarck. America wasn't yet in the war but he was acting as an unofficial co-pilot attached to 201 Squadron.

We did and that possibly saved him.

I had Timpson football boots with rubber studs. Some lads had boots with interchangeable studs but I made do with what I was given. It didn't matter anyway as I was never much good.

I don't think he'll last. Personally, I think they should have got Poch at the end of last season and found Ole a job maybe as his number 2 or with the youth.

He refused morphine even though he was badly wounded. The co-pilot, F/Sgt. Garnett was also wounded but Flt/Lt Cruikshank forced himself to remain conscious, refusing to put the plane down until he was satisfied that sea and light conditions were right for a safe landing. He even stayed at the controls so the Catalina could be beached and salvaged. He was transfused in the aircraft and taken to hospital. He had sustained 72 wounds.

The action is described in John Frayn Turner's book "VCs of the Air". Some feat of airmanship. The co-pilot got the DFM too.

Used to like Bury before they ended up going down the pan because of a bent and greedy owner. There's a lot of them about.

I've always liked Jose, even after he slid on his knees when Porto beat us all those years ago. He should have joined us after Fergie left. By the time he arrived, control over team matters had passed to Woodward and those two were always going to clash. Jose has forgotten more about football than Woodward will ever know.

Indeed. We've been blessed in that regard. Liverpool too. I remember the Scottish side that beat England at Wembley in 1967 and Jim Baxter played a blinder. It's sad to see Scottish influence on the wane. Irish too.

Indeed. There's enough pain to go around all right and football should not be exempt. Clubs who have been operating beyond their means will suffer and those burdened with debt, despite pronouncements to the contrary, are bound to take a hit. If and when the league resumes, I hope the fans get a bigger say in how things are run and that football remembers its duty to them before the broadcasters. I have a sneaking feeling that City's appeal will succeed and they'll be in the CL next season.

According to the club: "In the event of behind closed doors or cancelled matches, season ticket holders will be offered a pro-rata rebate against their season tickets for next season or a pro-rata cash refund based on the number of games remaining. Rebates or refunds will also apply to supporters that have paid in advance for general admission tickets and VIP packages, while a rebate will be offered to seasonal Executive Club members." My own opinion is that we should scrap the season as the Dutch have done. No promotion, no relegation. CL places allotted to Liverpool, Chelsea, and Leicester. The outcome of City's appeal to decide who gets the 4th spot.

I wonder if there is a realistic possibility of the bubble bursting. As @Boyne pointed out in another post, the press are acting as if only the Premier League matters and that fans are straining at the leash to attend games again. I don't know about that. People I know are being pretty blase about football coming back this season and if it does, what concessions can the fans expect?

Thanks @erskblue. Scottish football was much stronger in those days. Look at any successful English team from the 60s on, and they all had an influential Scots presence.