I see where you're coming from. Man who kicks a ball for a living didn't realise he was kicking a cat in front of his young child. Quite acceptable by current standards. Apparently his agent is putting it all down to Keir Starmer not banging up Savile...

I didn’t really say it was acceptable did I. Just think moyes was right with his comments there should be consequences just not on the pitch.

Hi Bernard, I’m happy with that. One of the things I’ve always liked about this forum is the difference in opinion but for it to (hopefully) always be discussed amicably, to see others point of view but still be allowed to push your opinion…..and also when that discussion dies out then let’s move on to something else rather than flogging it to death. The discussion only ever really came up through the lack of Arsenal games. On to Thursday and a huge game v Wolves!

Of course they should have dropped him, it was sickening. This was the moment for West Ham to stand up and make a stance against animal cruelty, show their impressionable fans, many of whom have pets, that this kind of behaviour is simply unacceptable from anyone, and particularly from a West Ham player.

Instead West Ham showed a complete lack of class and a lack of understanding of the public mood.

Frankly, I am amazed the dressing room allowed it.

It’s a cat. I doubt his team mates give a *%^@. Let the RSPCA deal with it that’s what they are there for. There should be consequences and he’s rightly getting slated. This isn’t Michael Vick

He should be at least dropped for one match just to show cause.

Rich, I am sure you will get your wish for there to be differences of opinions over the next 17 games. The jury is still out on whether they will be amicable.

Possibly 1 game but really not much in it.

Ronaldo settled on a rape case and plays every week to acclaim and kids up and down the country are doing that siuuu shouty thing. Don’t see the moral stance there.

I bet we have players in our squad who forgot to feed their goldfish. Drop em. We should start checking this

As for the cat issue, I never condone cruelty to animals, however if that f... cat next door takes another dove (2 in the last 2 days) and I catch it I give you no guarantees. They should not be allowed to roam at all. They continually try and take wildlife and particularly when new plovers and curlews have hatched. Just pests and irresponsible owners get up my nose.

Have you noted the story about Rooney deliberately wanting to injure someone in 2006. It is keeping yourself in the media, but I think there must be consequences that follow. I thought many times Man Utd got away with this type of crap and I totally loath them. I personally hope Man City always finish ahead of them.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... n-26178671

I’m actually with you on this.

There was a case recently where I live where a cat got into someone else’s garden roaming and was killed by a Greyhound (probably but not definitely). A major row occurred with the cat owner reporting the dog owner to rspca, police and all sorts and not to mention plastering it all over local Facebook groups vilifying the dog owner.

Where do you stand on that one ? I’m not a pet owner so I wouldn’t even know where to start with that. I suppose greyhounds are used to chasing and running but can you vilify a dog for doing what comes naturally to it in its own garden and it’s owners for not being able to control that.

Like I said I’m not a pet owner and I find 90% of cat owners are weirdos anyway, dog owners similar but a slightly lower percentage maybe 40-50% are weirdos.

Don't be a muppet all your life.

You cannot condone violence towards defenceless animals.

I begin to wonder whether you actually have any self awareness at all, TG, with the crap you spout.

Have you ever considered it might be you who is the weirdo and all the pet owners are the normal ones? Just a thought.

Where did I condone it you clown

The reason we have institutions like the RSPCA and police is to deal with stuff like this. Let them pick it up
Asking football clubs police society won’t end well

You’re only probably saying this because you yourself are weird about cats.

Yeah, soc, ya gotta wonder about some people. Mankind has had pets for 1000s of years, all over the globe on all continents. So, how is that abnormal?

Nothing wrong with keeping a pet. As you say they keep lonely people happy for thousands of years and kids entertained forever

Different pets though attract differing levels of crazy people and people with compulsive disorders though. So people need to be aware.

An example of an pet with exceptionally low crazy people ratio is a rabbit. No arguments from the owners about that animal. Serves its purpose cute and cuddly bosh. There to do a job.

The worst animal for attracting nutters as owners though is far and away horses. 99% of horse owners seem crazy women determined to start arguments about their beautiful illicit creatures etc. take my advice don’t date any women that owns a horse. Liable to do a John Wayne Bobbitt on you.

Seems a strange reaction from the cat owner. Okay, I realise cats aren’t taken for walks with leads like dogs are. So if they’re routinely let outside the owner’s dwelling to do their ‘business’ (defecate and urinate) and so on, how can the cat owner complain if their cat gets into the garden of someone with a dog, and the dog kills it?

How would the cat owner feel if their cat killed a mouse or two when it went out? It’s nature and is what happens, just like the dog killing the cat was in your example. To report the dog owner to the police, the RSPCA, and vilify the dog owner on social media seems ridiculous when their cat gets into the dog owner’s garden. Do they expect them to keep their dog locked in the house so it cannot attack a stray cat that gets into their garden?

I’d have thought it would be more the responsibility of the cat owner to take steps to keep their cats away from dog owner’s garden, if that’s possible?

I dunno really. The feeling was the dog owner was being unfairly treated but there were some horrendous comments being said by people on socials attacking them

I think the dog owner made a mistake in taking the dead cat round their neighbours and apologising it had died. He should have Fred west the dead moggy in their back garden. A definite case of considering if you accidentally run over a cat just leave it in the road.

As long as the dog’s owner wasn’t encouraging it to kill the cat or failed to take reasonable steps to stop the killing, there’s no case to answer. The Law recognises that dogs have it in their nature to kill cats. In fact, very few breeds of dog will actually kill a cat, not least because most aren’t quick enough to catch them, nor are they brave enough to press home an attack while getting their eyes scratched out. Of the more mainstream dog breeds, only terriers (Jack Russells in particular) and greyhounds are likely to do the business. I’m sure that some of the exotic ‘fighting’ breeds would also fall into the ‘killer’ category.

On the other hand, pretty much all cats are killers. As Gaz points out, yer average domestic moggy will routinely kill anything it can and in particular, slower moving or ground nesting birds. Cats are a serious problem when new developments spring up close to nature reserves, which quickly get cleaned out.

I’ve had a few cats and dogs down the years. Had great times with them all. Last pet was a Jack Russell who was a real biter – quite often me! I had to have him put down finally when, at the age of 18+ he’d lost everything – hearing, sight, movement. I held him while he was injected – felt I owed him that. It was the kindest thing to do but left us distraught for months. Toughest thing I’ve ever done. No pets since, though I’m happy to dog-sit or look after neighbours’ cats in their absence.

I suppose in global terms, it’s not the worst crime ever seen but I can’t understand why anyone would have a dog or in Zuma’s case, cats – and so wilfully, enthusiastically and in front of your children, hurt them. A cruel and sadistic noswoc. An utter shitbag who will be held to account - indeed as I write, the RSPCA have just removed his cats.

Expect another knock on the door quite soon, Kurty boy.

Thinking about it, there's probably a case to be made for removing Zouma's kids. I lifted this from an FBI report:

"Animal cruelty is a predictor of current and future violence, including crimes of assault, rape, murder, arson, domestic violence, and sexual abuse of children."

Gaz implied something earlier with serial killers. It’s a minority of cases, but it does happen, that some of Britain’s serial killers enjoyed killing animals as children. There was one, can’t recall who but it was but a famous one, pulled the wings off butterflies and the legs off other insects in his or her youth.

Priti Patel?

Yes if they video the starving fish and upload said video to social media they absolutely should. Both for animal cruelty and sheer stupidity.

Is it too much to ask Soton to get a result against the scum?

This is a very apt point DHD. A few of my friends are in the police and on talking about this story practically all of them, independently of each other, mentioned the potential link between animal cruelty and child cruelty. I wouldn't want to extrapolate exactly that in Zouma's case, but the idea that "it is only a cat" is definitely short-sighted. To perpetrate that violence in front of a child should have no excusers.

I find her strangely attractive. I know, I know...

Many infamous serial killers harmed animals when they were children, including Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgeway, John Wayne Gacy, and the Boston Strangler.

Yeah they were American ones. My interest is more in British serial killers, especially female ones.

"Ian Brady, the Moors murderer who tortured and killed five children in the 1960s, boasted of killing his first cat when he was just 10, and went on to burn another cat alive, stone dogs and cut off rabbits’ heads before going on to target people. Robert Thompson and Jon Venables would shoot pigeons with air rifles and tie rabbits to railway lines to watch them be run over – until in 1993 they killed toddler James Bulger."

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long ... 18071.html

Yes she has that head mistress like "you've broken the rules and must be punished" look.

Southampton battering Spurs this half but it’s 1-1. Southampton missing so many great chances. You just know they are going to regret them all and Spurs will get a rocket from Conte and find a way to sneak a game they should be 3 down in already

Now spurs lead 2-1. They’ve only had 6 shots compared to Southampton’s 19! They should be out of sight. Spurs do feel like they’re massively riding their luck right now

Not any more

Now spurs are behind 3-2. Saints deserve it. Big result if they can hold on

Come on saints …

Was thinking the exact same thing watching Southapmton squander those chances in the first half - they're going to regret it. Then Son scored and you expect Tottenham to close up shop. But fair pay to Southampton, easy to feel dejected after letting that second goal in, but instead they upped their game and really came at Tottenham. They've been the better side over 90 minutes.

3-3 now - still a good result for us. Come on Southampton...

Edit: Spoke too soon, I think that's offside.

She seems like a tough cookie compared to the rest of the non-entities on the Tory front bench. She'd never get my vote, but I bet she scares the life out of those Eton boys and the public school civil servants. A little dynamo.