There is a Viking Cruise from Buenos Aires around the bottom of Sth America thru Beagle and Magellan Straits ( down to Cape Horn weather permitting) and then up the Chilean side visiting fjords etc and back to Santiago and home. My grade 4 teacher inspired me to take this trip. When she taught us about Magellan I just had to come and see this area. In 1987 when my missus and I backpacked around SA for 3 months we didn’t get down to the real Southern area so time for a bucket lister. Currently in Buenos Aires for a few days and it’s as good as I remember it to be.

Was he on Spooks? Good stuff indeed.

Cannon reminded me a lot of Alfred P. Doolittle. A rough diamond when not in his cups.

Ødegaard is back in full training. Some welcome good news.

and others don't?

Rice didn't train today and didn't travel to Italy.

Arteta's upcoming 6 pm presser should sort that out.

Yes, there was definitely more variety in subject matter and a fair amount of good-humoured banter too. Perhaps people's idiosyncratic views were more respected too? I think immediately of Bernard's defending to the hilt any opinion he ever posted - Edith Piaf's classic was made for him, as was Mr. Petty's (Tom not Buddy) I Won't Back Down. Exiled's history posts; CB's spoonerisms; Steve Martin's down to earthness; Daz's wit and the various flagellations of the greatest manager we ever had. It was all part of the forum's tapestry.

Great series by NZ in India!

2 goals for Gyökeres against Man City tonight. Sporting lead 3-1. We play him and then at the end of the month

Hat trick for Gyökeres now. He’s the one

Well done .... I did think on reflection ; what was supposed to be an observation on how things are and were ; could be construed as subtle kick in the nuts regarding your numerous posts . .

Indeed ; after NZ won the first two tests I thought the Kiwis would subconsciously relax and the Indians hellbent on avoiding a whitewash would smash us into the next century .

Doubt any of the Kiwis would feature if you picked three world elevens , no superstars Hadlees , McCullums , Glenn Turner , Martin Crowe .... just a group of tradesmen working hard for each other

.... sort of attitude Arsenal could do with

'

Oh no .... it looks like in spite of the best efforts of the Obamas , Clintons , Bruce Springsteen , Robert de Niro , George Clooney and all the news networks Orangeman Bad is going to win the US election .

Now I'd be very surprised if the Democrats don't have a contingency plan to prevent his inauguration

... a sudden CIA inspired "spontaneous" uprising under the banner of " Saving Democracy" could bear fruit .

There is another avenue they could go down ; remember that little Jan 6th " Walk thru the White House " they flamboyantly labeled an INSURRECTION ...
They blamed that on Trump .

Well the 14th Amendment of the Constitution specifically prohibits anyone taking high public office who has engaged in such activities
[ insurrection , inciting an uprising ] ... there you go done and dusted .

Finally ... there is the good old tried and true JFK , Martin Luther King , RFK , Cermak , Abe Lincoln method

They tried once and the annoying ***&& went off script deciding to look at his teleprompter at the exact moment he was supposed to collect one in the middle of his forehead .

Have another go , this time forget the sniper's rifle .............. use a machine gun ........ a bazooka

So for all those out there like DHD , Top Gun , Decaf getting ready to slash their wrists with a rusty razor .... hold off fellas , it ain't over yet .

Haha, I don’t mind either way. If people don’t want to read my posts they can scroll past! Some days my posts can be a collection of random thoughts though, and a lot of them don’t just pop in to my head, often I’ve read a piece elsewhere or even just a Twitter post that I think has made a good point, or said something interesting and will say it on here.

Howard Webb has said the decision to award West Ham a 92nd minute winning penalty v Man U was wrong, everyone could see it was wrong at the time. Michael Oliver was on var and demanded the penalty be given - it’s been said the more junior refs are scared to go against Michael Oliver when he’s ref or var - Oliver is now the ref for our game v Chelsea, the biggest game of the weekend. No accountability

It is now ! No im not likely to swallow a shotgun barrel yet kiwi. I mean it obviously will affect Palestine and Ukraine (not that it’s my *%^@*** problem ) and doesn’t help Europe or Britain generally. However contrary to what people here may think I’m a self made true market capitalist, own properties and Shares and when these characters get power I typically tend to make out better financially so when these things happen I never personally lose. That said I imagine there are quite a few fathers waking up in the states who can’t look their daughters in the eye this morning when they rise.

Carragher is heavily pushing a narrative that Arteta is morphing in to Mourinho, and then getting defensive when Arsenal fans have a go at him about it, saying it's not a criticism. Carragher must surely recognise that any association with Mourinho he makes is not a compliment based on Mourinho's ruthless efficiency of winning trophies (back in the day), but will be taken as a slur representing negative football etc. Of course it could be said there are aspects of Mourinho's coaching that influence Arteta, he's admitted that himself, and I'm sure us fans can see that Arteta has quite often a cautious approach to games and we'd like him to be more expansive. But the comparison is a bit lazy and ignores many aspects.
1) Arteta was told he was mini-pep, now he's told he's mini-Jose - which is it? and if its both is that not a good thing for a coach to be flexible?
2) Pep has also build a defence with 4 CB and a tall striker and robust holding mid
3) it ignores the high press Arteta regularly deploys
4) it ignores that Mourinho played some very attacking football and scores lots of goals in his teams
5) it ignores Arsenal regularly inverting a full back in to midfield, something Jose would have never done

So it isn't an outrageous opinion but misses huge amounts of context which would balance the argument

It is over. Its a right wing fantasy that the democrats are also willing to subvert democracy. Sadly all that stuff you blather about is just conspiracy theory nonsense. Harris will concede gracefully to the duly elected Trump when the time comes, because she's not a complete sociopath and understands the rule of the game.

I just hope and pray that despite all the evidence to the contrary, you are right on this single point .. that Trump isn't nearly as bad as I think he is, and won't wreak utter havoc. It is a slender hope.

One of the great ironies is the US economy does better under the democrat but people trust the republicans on the economy ... I'm not sure how Trump's protectionism added to the usual Republic trickle down economics is going to pan out the yanks or its trading partners like the UK

Anyway, no more gnashing of teeth let alone wrist slitting -- the best response is to disengage.

I feel pretty pessimist about today's game too.

Rice out tonight and a doubt for Chelsea. We must get Partey back in midfield or as a bare minimum bring Jorginho in.

I don't think Partey has done too badly at right back, but I just think its better to have more round pegs in round holes. If only one of Timber or White is fit play them at RB and bring Zinchenko in - he has his faults but he brings stability, ball progression and composure when we're in possession. We may have moved on from him but I still think he's got a decent amount to offer this year - especially when we're being critical of the team for lacking creativity

I think Trump deserves to get at least 4 years.

Indeed! But surely time served would suffice?

Good lad Rich ...you've gone up 300% in my estimation , such wisdom ............ how old are you ...early 70's ....... ?

is it because you haven't got a shot gun ...?
after musing with Old Man about a bit more colour on the forum ' I was hoping for a more volcanic Harlow Steve type response ..... "why don't you go f***& yourself ; NZ is a poxy little country would have been nice .

Seriously pleased you are doing well ...... I think Trump COULD offer some hope for America . He appeals to the working class , some of his policies have merit . Key for me ; is if he decides to work with China instead on confronting them .

this is too easy ....... " concede gracefully " .....far from ringing Trump she didn't even come out and thank her own supporters !!!!!!!

Who said she was a sociopath .... I just said she was as dumb as dog she***t .

In the 2020 Democratic primaries involving her . Biden , Warren , Bloomberg , Butegieg , Sanders she never gained a single vote ...she was first to drop out .

Subvert democracy fantasy ; conspiracy theories ...... Bush v Gore in Florida , the Mafia Sam Giancana swinging the vote for JFK in Illinois , the Gulf of Tonkin , weapons of mass destruction , 9/11

...enough already ...... try reading a book instead of the Comic Strips .

I was somewhat hopeful about tonights result, in fact even without Declan I think we might do well.

My reasoning is down to theteams that beat us and can destroy us are ususally non footballing teams.

Teams that play football rarely do us damage. Yes yhey can beat us but we too could beat them if our football is played as shr should be played.

I'm crossing everything.

300% - oof high praise. But % would be relative. If you only rated me 1 out of 100 and now rate me 4 out of 100 i've gone up 300% but still rank only just above a headless cockroach.

I'm 43 (not 12 Gunfire... ) and have a 6 year old and a 3 year old, so Arsenal is very much my release....except when we play badly and then Arsenal contributes!

I bought my 6 year old boy last year's yellow away shirt with SAKA 7 on the back, he loved it, wore it to his football class all the time, then suddenly didn't want to wear it, I finally got it out of him that some other kid must have said something to him about Arsenal or Saka (I live in Leeds so supporting Arsenal and Saka means you're pretty much top dog) - he still likes wearing it on family days out but I can't persuade him to wear it to football and its annoyed me because he obviously didn't like whatever was said, and I totally understand him not wanting to wear it. Adults brush this off and wear it with pride but kids shouldn't have to not want to wear their teams shirt because of nonsense comments.

There is no player I would love to win it all, team and individual than Saka

I wish I was as optimistic. Inter are seriously good and really well coached in and out of possession. They play a 3-5-2 so not something we come up against often. Keep Saka and Martinelli really high and force their wing backs back in to a back 5 and we can get on top of them. Our recent passive away performances are the main thing filling me with fear. We seem to let the opposition find their feet, get the crowd up and the goal follows despite not being backs to wall or necessarily under huge pressure

watch out if you're watching football on tnt they are asking for a separate subscription on my daughters prime. Bit confusing for an old get but if it's simple let me know what you did.

Fixed my problem, not a problem, just watching on sky.

Kudus has had his ban extended from 3 to 5 games, quite rare that this happens for a straight red card. It means he’s now suspended for West Ham’s game v us.

I just hope we don't see that two man midfield tonight, especially with Rice out. Play Jorginho, Partey, and Merino. A dull draw would be fine.

Nobody said she is a sociopath. I was referring to Trump. Do you think he is right in the head?

Look, if you want to believe all that other nonsense about assasinations, Gore, etc. it is fine. However, when Harris concedes (and bear in mind your orange friend never conceded, so do give her at least 24 hours), will you at least be man enough to eat humble pie about the utter nonsense you posted about the Dems having a "contingency plan to prevent his inauguration" (I've copied it below as you deleted from your reply)?



"Now I'd be very surprised if the Democrats don't have a contingency plan to prevent his inauguration

... a sudden CIA inspired "spontaneous" uprising under the banner of " Saving Democracy" could bear fruit .

There is another avenue they could go down ; remember that little Jan 6th " Walk thru the White House " they flamboyantly labeled an INSURRECTION ...
They blamed that on Trump .

Well the 14th Amendment of the Constitution specifically prohibits anyone taking high public office who has engaged in such activities
[ insurrection , inciting an uprising ] ... there you go done and dusted ."

Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Havertz, Partey, Merino; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli

Substitutes
N. Butler-Oyedeji
Jorginho
T. Setford
J. Kiwior
M. Lewis-Skelly
J. Robinson
Neto
E. Nwaneri
R. Sterling
O. Zinchenko
Gabriel Jesus
M. Ødegaard

Ødegaard on the bench.
I’m pretty over the Trossard/Havertz front 2 or false 9. Creativity really lacking. Without wanting to be too downbeat I can see a very stodgy game, very few chances and a 0-0 or 1-0 either way. Really hope I’m wrong and we can click in to gear

Inter look like they’ve rotated out some of their regular starters.

Darmian at left wing back v Saka looks like an area to hurt them. Darmian on for DiMarco.

He just doesn’t like rotation at all. Really surprised you aren’t looking at starting Sterling and Zinchenko for a game like this. Potentially even Jesus. He just doesn’t trust certain players

Hold on - a new kick off routine. We didn’t go back to Raya to kick it long. Merino passed it out of play pretty quickly though

great start from us.

I find that kind of refereeing really annoying. Gabriel and Martinez are pushing each other a bit before a corner comes in, refs has a word then yellow cards both of them! Just tell them you’re watching them and are ready to give a free kick or penalty for any nonsense once the corner comes in, that’s warning enough!

Likewise. We sacrifice a lot in midfield and gain nothing in attack.

If merino wins the header and the gk misses his punched clearance and instead punches merino in the head then that’s a penalty no?