Stoopid

And Keith Weller. Not to mention Frank Worthington. (Dammit - I mentioned him... )

There's Luke Varney too - mentioned somewhere and probably retired now - not sure. But a decent striker - (remember him at Mowmacre). We've produced some good goalscorers over the years actually - Lineker, Heskey, Dublin - now Che Adams, who I think has the potential to be something special. Really wish we'd signed him from Brum when we had the chance. Lee Tomlin's another one I'd like us to have signed. A very clever player who I think is easily Prem quality, but maybe a bit lacking in application.

Funny you should say that. I had a dream last night where I was walking down Tudor Rd looking for a factory I was supposed to be working at. Couldn't find it, so I went into a corner shop to enquire. On the counter was a Sports Mercury (!) With the headline: 'Anfield record broken'. Don't think I'll be putting any money on it though.

Traore is an odd one.The kind of player who opposing fans fear, but people who see him every week are less sure of. Impressive athlete - not much of a footballer. That Podence bloke though. Looks very fair.

Yeah- seem to remember Leeds being involved too.

Hugh Johns - the voice of Midlands football on Sunday afternoons back then. Certainly the kind of thing he would have done, though must admit my memories are pretty hazy. Just remember being absurdly happy about winning it. Let's face it, we didn't have much else to cheer us up at the time. Can't really remember where the rounds took place, though I've got half a memory that the first one might have been at Filbert Street? Pretty sure the final was at Ashton Gate though. Think Derby, QPR and Man City were involved as well as Bristol City.

Thinking more about it, I think it was Alan Dicks, the Bristol City manager who came up with the idea. Seem to remember the final was at Ashton Gate?

Got a feeling Derek Hobson was involved, though I could be wrong. Also seem to remember Brian Moore doing commentary. There was a 'beat the wall' section where you had to...well, you get the idea. And something where Steve Kember chucked balls to Frankie standing in the D who then volleyed them into the net. Actually I thought the format was pretty good - a competition by teams of football skills. And it was the only thing we won for years. Just before the McLintock era as well. Haven't though about it for years. Good memories.

Christina (TV Person) Trevanion is a little too full of herself for my liking. With you on Roo Irvine (although she looks tiny). But my current favourite is Steph Connell - like her soft Cumberland accent and she seems pretty bright. To even up the sexism a little, a certain female of my acquaintance likes Tim Weeks. Though his recent forays into daft hats and fringes is a bit odd...looks like he's been drinking Phil Serrall's mushroom tea?

I agree. But actually I think the fringe works. (Like her interest in art as well).

Haven't read that one, but I believe he's got a Korean cousin who wrote a book about Indian cooking. Un Yun Bargee, I think the name is. Quite a literary family...

Read something recently (can't remember where unfortunately) that casts some doubt on that 'Ligor' or 'Legore' root being to do with the river name (and there is a river Leire in Leicestershire - down Lutterworth way, I think). The Caerlyr link in Welsh seems to point to King Lear - why would the Welsh otherwise have a name for Leicester, unless it's Britonnic ie pre-Roman? JB Priestley, in his 'English Journey', certainly favoured the King Lear explanation. And it just sounds more likely. And quite often the more likely sounding explanation is the correct one. Maybe King Richard isn't the only monarch buried beneath our streets? (I've always thought he might be under the Holiday Inn).

I've lived in the USA (San Francisco) and the USSR (Up St Saviours Rd). Does that count?

Penalties.

Liam Clancy to Bob Dylan: 'Remember Bobby - no fear, no envy, no meanness.' Not particularly football-specific (though it applies), but a pretty good way to live, nevertheless.

It had a ramshackle charm completely lacking now. A proper peoples' ground. Available to the entire population, and better for it. Football mirrors society, and we now live in a safer, blander more money-conscious world. Modern stadiums reflect that of course. The game's probably better now, it's debatable, but we've lost something precious. Something that's not coming back.

Careful with that self-lobotomy thing. Tricky procedure. I tried it and ended up cutting out the parts that contain objectivity, insight, judgement and logic. Mind you, I've found FoxesTalk a much better read since then...

Saw an old episode of The Avengers today featuring Dame Diana's replacement, Linda Thorson (and, for good measure, the wonderful Christopher Lee). Not Ms Thorson's fault of course, but man, what were they thinking? For anyone growing up in the 60s, Diana Rigg set the standard of female cool - sexy, intelligent, hyper-stylish and funny. And always with a warmth (that seems pretty rare these days) informing her work. The world's the poorer for her passing.

Well said. Thought it was just me - there are so many of these, they've become a total cliché. Bland, lazy and irritating. As for this 'Big Picture' cobblers - it's cynical, predictable etc etc, but it's never going to happen. All it will succeed in doing is to make Liverpool and Manchester United even more reviled than they already are. If that's possible.

Hmm...sloppy - people speaking with a Newcastle accent don't tend to drop their aitches.

Yes - don't remember the goals at all from that one. All I can recall is that bloody perishing wind on the open end we were in, and bizarrely a memory of Larry May at a corner looking as miserable as I felt. As you point out, a rigorous selection process has to be employed in this thread. Otherwise I'd come across as an even bigger misanthropic loser than I already do...

Yeah, if suddenly they were playing in empty stadiums, they wouldn't come up with these crazy schemes. Oh, hang on a minute...

Strangely, the first game I went to in it was Oldham. My brother in law lived in Halifax where I spent that Christmas, 1981, so it wasn't an epic journey. All I can remember of that game is how cold and generally joyless it was. That Cortina though. Probably put me off cars for life.

You didn't miss much. Apart from the game remember that day chiefly for the death of my Ford Cortina mk 3. Finally gave up the ghost on the Aston expressway within sight of the Villa ground. The car had been a nightmare. But I only gave 50 quid for it (from a brother-in-law). So I left it there, walked to the ground, and never went back for it. Never heard any more of it, so maybe someone rescued it (I left the keys in). We were bloody awful that day...

Give him time and space - he's a world-beater. Deny him time and space - he's a panel-beater.