FoolPhysio

Excellent!

I'll be there and I'll be taking my eldest lass for her first football match - I promised her last year when she was 5 that when she was 6 I would take her to a game and she turned 6 in July!

OK, since the National Service debate seems to have taken hold, here is my belief. Having served myself and now heavily involved in the Sea Cadets as an officer, I have seen both sides as it were when it comes to children and adults in a military setting. I am not old enough to have been in NS, so I joined voluntarily and I maintain a close interest in all things military and especially naval. I have studied military as well as socio-political history and I hold strong views on personal discipline, respect for authority and the philosophy of personal development for the good of all and not just for the self. The same debate has been had on whether these miscreants would benefit from time with the Cadet organisations and my response to that is the same as for NS - no. Our youngsters do well and achieve because most (not all, admittedly), want to be there. They want to be part of a group, they want to be stimulated by challenge and to feel the joy of achievement. They aspire, and they are active in their communities. In essence, they are role models of what the youth of today can achieve. Our armed forces are highly trained and can operate in any environment in the world, maybe not the best equipped but certainly the best at utilising what they do have have to maximum effect. They also join voluntarily, because they want to be part of a team, to be stimulated by challenge and to feel that their achievements enhance the team and make a difference to the world at large. Unfortunately, in these austere times, we are all under pressure to rationalise. In the case of the RN, that means de-manning to the tune of 3,500 personnel and a significant reduction of hulls in the water. The effect on the Army Cadet Force (ACF), Air Training Corps (ATC) and Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is likely to be severe as well, as they are beholden to the MoD for funding and equipment. Fortunately the Sea Cadet Corps (SCC) are primarily a registered charity (each Unit being a registered charity in it's own right as well) and we are weathering the storm relatively well, but we are indirectly affected by reductions and rationalisations in MoD estates that we use for training purposes. National Service, or conscription if you prefer, was discontinued in Britain in the 1960s. It had been implemented as a result of the Second World War and at a time when Britain was slowly dismantling it's empire but there were still places to send them all, not forgetting of course the Korean War in the 50s. While I have the utmost respect for those who have served and made the ultimate sacrifice while wearing a uniform of the crown, let us not kid ourselves that many of those conscripted hated their time there, could not wait to get out and were unwilling participants who could have been a danger to the rest of their crew or unit as a result. What we have now is a professional force where virtually every one chooses to be there and does their bit. There is a vast difference between what we had then and what we have now, but that does not in any way infer that just because you were conscripted you were any less of a serviceman than the one who walked into the recruitment office and took the shilling of their own volition - many did indeed rise to the challenge and benefited enormously from the experience. However my point is that many did not. But perhaps the most persuasive argument is this - who is going to pay for it, when we are told we cannot even pay for the armed forces we DO have? The idea of youth camps and all the rest is simply fantasy. You are harking back to a golden age that did not exist. Harsh discipline did not make sailors and soldiers (and dare I say it, airmen) - camaraderie and "we are in it together" mentality did. If this "disaffected youth" wanted to join a gang then there are plenty out there - Cadets, Scouts, sports groups, activity groups . . .. They don't want to be part of something useful, and they view authority and organisations as the enemy. I despair when I hear kids say "there's nothing to do". Bollards. What they actually mean is "there's nothing to do for free when I want to do it at my own selfish convenience." Neither NS nor enforced attendance at a gubbermint youth camp is going to shake that sort of lazy, selfish, greedy attitude. But let me say this also. The majority of the kids I encounter are good, honest members of society who are simply finding their place in a complex modern society and they are what most kids have always been - willing to participate, willing to learn and willing to achieve. This so-called underclass is not representative of our kids, they are a lost generation and the way to deal with them is much more complicated than politicians will be willing to deal with. What we have seen in England over the last week has been pure criminality, nothing more. This wasn't a protest. It was criminal behaviour. And they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Toy

Do not, repeat, DO NOT bring back National Service. We have the best and most professional armed services in the world. We do not want it diluted with this trash.

At least it is a point. But we need to do much better defensively if we are to climb up the table.

Twice from behind and now in front - one more and put it safe!!!!

Excellent refresh, much better presentation than the previous site. However, ICT-TV does not let me log in - is it just me or have all the accounts been wiped?

Con

Sounds like an excellent addition to the squad and with the addition of Piermayr in defence things are looking up for Saturday, with both cleared to play.

What's the charge?

No real surprise really. Defence was a concern before the game and although it was fortunate in the friendlies to have goals at the other end so we finished with a win and some draws for an unbeaten run, in the first actual competitive match together it has been shown up for the weakness that it is. I realise this is only the opening game and one swallow does not a summer make, and we also have a right back in the offing, but one injury and we are left with what we fielded today. Lets hope that this is just a symptom of not enough games together and that experience will rapidly catch up with talent and we get stronger in that ara before we meet some real opposition! :pale:

TSNY, speaking as an ex-referee, albeit at the lowest rung, I wanted to post a comment on here but was struggling to find a way to do it - your post has hit the nail right on the head. Good post, and well deserved green dot. It is easy for armchair generals to criticise the referee but this constant drip-drip-drip of negativity from fans, clubs and media can do nothing but erode the confidence of the referees at the higher level and introduce second-guessing, thereby creating a vicious circle that will only result in further damage to the game. When I was trained I was told the best game you can have is one where you blow for the start, blow for the finish and only have to indicate the call when the ball goes over a line. But football more often than not isn't like that. And one "wrong" decision can affect the remainder of a match through ill-feeling or worry over having made a mistake. Add to that the increase in television coverage where every action can be endlessly re-run and scrutinised and it becomes a cauldron. Not to mention the voracious need for scandal and intrigue by the media who crave controversy in order to maintain interest (so they believe) so that even minor infractions are blown up out of all proportion. Think about this - next time there is a game where there are a number of goals, one or more disputed penalties and a number of cautions or a sending off or two and listen to the introduction from the intro from the commentator, I guarantee it will be called "the game that has everything". Like it is something to be desired. And a game that has an excellent refereeing performance and maybe only one or even no goals? It will be portrayed as boring. But if it were the way most people seem to be asking for, should it not be the other way round? By the way, can anyone tell me of one country in the world that does not criticise their referees in any way shape or form? Is England have a better than us or is it similar? In essence, are you not just wishing for the impossible?

Line

Sound

Congratulations!

Good pictures, thanks

Porridge

That diatribe from Hearts is just . . . stunning, really. But standard fayre for the Motherland so no real surprise. One thing though - Thomson will be at very real risk of injury at the start of the season as there are likely to be tackles that are less than savoury visited upon him. I would just hope that our players are not tempted to deal out any "natural justice" and damage our good name as result.

We seemed to feature more often in the "goals against" bit, then again, the others needed to bring out something special to get passed our Player of the Year!

Pea and ham? From a chicken? Now that's clever . . .

Horn

"Yeovil Town have announced a second pre-season friendly against the recent conquerors of Celtic, Inverness Caledonian Thistle . . . " Good intro!

So you're not an early adopter then . . .?

Whenever the OF fans, either side, sing their obviously sectarian sh1te, why don't we reply with a chant that goes along the lines of "What's that got to do with football?". I suppose it may just encourage them, being the perverse bunch of bigots that they are, but if there was just ONE chant of that nature that EVERY other Scottish club sings back then maybe it will give the stewards and police a heads-up on when these are being sung! Wouldn't it be funny if it caught on so well that when one of them starts their bigoted song at the next OF match, the other side responds with the new chant? Now to be honest I couldn't give a monkey's chuff about either of them or what happens at an OF derby, but I do question why we silently accept these songs at our matches with them. They are so ingrained into their repertoire that they possibly don't even realise it, so we have a duty to point it out to them (and the authorities). Perhaps the reason the SPL does little about it is because they cannot hear them from the directors boxes, so we need to give them a bit of a hand . . .