Grovesred

The absence of democracy in various Muslim countries is no justification for racist behaviour towards Muslims.

Furthermore, that absence of democracy is frequently due to western interference, just as it is in many other parts of the world. We shouldn't mistake resistance to that imperialism for some sinister plot by "them" to destroy "us".

For my own part, I'll always take the side of a striking Cairo textile worker against western companies and governments.

One strange thing at the Bridge is you always see a few Rangers supporters , I know there is a bit of mutual respect but I found it really strange that people waring Rangers tops were freely wandering around Stamford Bridge. I have seen this each time I have been to the Bridge.

Given the reputation for bigotry notoriously "enjoyed" by sections of the support of each club, I'd have thought this was entirely predictable.

I trust that the producers of Coronation Street will now also redress the imbalance created by having the Sheffield Wednesday-supporting actor Tom Craig playing the Sheffield Wednesday-supporting Tommy Harris a few years ago.

Nothing less than bringing celeb Blade Sean Bean in to play a pig-supporting wife-beater will do.

Tossers.

I suppose it's the Marmite syndrome...

Personally I think he's superb.

October 25th is FA Cup 4th qualifying round day, so chances are that someone like Wimbledon will be playing, a much better bet than the premiership IMO.

looking forward to catching them at the Duchess, York next Tuesday

sorry that was an ironic jibe

whoops, I'm well and truly whoooooshed

It's inevitable that he's an Arabs' fan surely?

Not at all - try Celtic.

A great actor, but also a modest and unassuming man - on his visits to York, he always eschewed the big posh hotels in favour of a local pub in Heworth, just outside the city centre.

RIP

Football aside, the Royal Horticultural Society's Harlow Carr Gardens http://www.rhs.org.uk/WhatsOn/gardens/harlowcarr/index.asp are well worth a visit as is the neighbouring and ancient town of Knaresborough, with its castle, Dropping Well and connections with the prophetess Mother Shipton.

I always thought 'twas Arrogate down Ilkley Moor way!

Can't speak for Ilkley, but in these parts we pronounce it Arragit.

Harrogate (with no W) Town drew 0-0 at Workington in the FA Cup 2nd qualifying round this afternoon, so the replay will be at their Wetherby Road gound at 7.45pm on Tuesday night if you feel the need to watch a team that promises so much season after season, without ever quite managing to deliver...

Seriously, though, it's a nice little ground with a very friendly Social Club, well worth a visit if you feel so inclined.

"York City - The Complete Record"

Page 116 is fantastic

It's all about confidence...

Indeed, and my pre-match confidence means I'm heading out to the pub £30 better off, courtesy of those nice people at Blue Square

Hanging around in the car park at Bootham Crescent on bank holiday Monday, I saw both Daniel McBreen and Darren Sheridan.

I co-edited a York City fanzine, Terrace Talk, from its second issue in 1981 until its demise after 50+ issues.

It was immensely time consuming (over 40 hours per monthly issue) and in the end the regular writers simply ran out of new and interesting things to say, so we called it a day.

Once it was no longer fresh, funny, and interesting, there was no real point in continuing.

However, it helped foster a culture of self-activity around the football club which helped lay the basis for the first regional branch of the Football Supporters' Association (now part of the Football Supporters' Federation), and for the sort of opposition to the club hierarchy that ulimately made it possible for the supporters to save the football club once two owners in quick succession did their level best to kill it.

The bookshop Soulfulsaint mentions was Sportspages. Alas, it went out of business some years ago, which was a shame because it accounted for about 15% of our sales.

Perhaps the most tangible legacy of the early 80s fanzines is "When Saturday Comes", which is still going strong, though now owned by a publisher rather than by the people that write it. Somewhere I still have the first issue, composed of densely-typed A4 pages, poor quality photos, dodgy artwork, and superbly-written articles and polemics. Fantastic!

i thought the balti pie was rather nice. Perhaps a tad expensive at £2.20...

£2.50 at York.

Wonder what the reason is for the different prices?

Apart from them being greedy feckers who charge what they think the market will bear.

£1.80 for a very tasty steak and gravy pie

A bargain! 70p cheaper than the chicken balti pie I didn't buy on Saturday

Are all the pies £1.80 at McDiarmid?

Referee's are actually monitored in terms of performance?

They are!

I was at a meeting of the local refs' association (working behind the bar) when Keith Hackett gave a presentation, and demonstrated how they use this particular software to check dodgy decisions and work out exactly what the ref could see from his position at the time of an incident.

It could also measure how quick they ran (frequently faster than the players) and monitor their position in relation to the ball, and so on.

Apparently it also shows that refs' assistants get 93% of offiside decisions right. At this point I had to drop to my knees behind the bar so that Mr Hackett couldn't see where the stifled laughter was coming from.

In general I agree with Soulful Saint that the technology shouldn't be over-used, but one innovation I was glad to see at York this close season was the purchase (with money donated by one of the supporters' groups) of heart monitors which are primarily designed as a hi-tech time-and-motion device to monitor players' work rate in training, but which will also pick up heart problems at an early stage.

Having witnessed a death on the pitch several years ago, I'm delighted to see this equipment being used.

I tend to think this stuff has its place.

A year or two back I saw a demonstration of the stuff the FA uses to analyse referees' performances and have to confess I was gobsmacked by the data produced and the impact it has on the assessment of the refs; everything from 3-D recreations of controversial decisions to measurement of the officials' speed.

1.80 for drink with us

£3 for a cheesburger

same price for a cheeseburger; soft drinks are £1.80, hot drinks £1.60 (I think they were £1.50 last year)

Pies are £2.50 which is the same as last season.

He's just taking the piss out of the interviewer.

You should have heard him when he played for Hull

As a matter of interest what's the cost of basic items such as pies, burgers, hot dogs, tea, coffee, cola, etc? I'd be interested to see how they compare with what Lindley charge at York.

I raised the issue of their catering at a recent meeting between fans and club officials, and the club people mentioned that Lindley's contract is up for renewal, and also stated that in their experience Lindley are actually very responsive to customer complaints and comments.

(vii) Lindley Catering. The closure of the kiosks immediately after half time was criticised. NB will inform Lindley of this and also pointed out that the contract was due to end at the conclusion of the current season. If supporters want change this is a good time to start lobbying. NB also pointed out that Lindley has a good Customer Relations Policy and all complaints will get a response.

We'll see.

In the meantime, I'll be the one stood at the back not drinking a cup of £1.60 coffee during York v Wrexham on the box tonight

Am I right in thinking the caterers are Lindley Catering? If so, it's the same mob that does the catering at York, very poorly in my opinion, far too expensively and with scant regard for the customer - eg they can't wait to lock the shutters as soon as the players come out for the second half.

Their York contract is up for renewal this year, so the hungry masses have got their fingers crossed hoping for a better-priced alternative.

http://www.lindley-catering.co.uk/index.php?pageID=10 ...their Saints' link is devoid of the information given about the other venues' eating habits. Mind you, they managed to get City's nickname wrong, so it seems they're equally contemptuous of all their customers

The BBC are obviously still living the dream.

then again, if you click the link, you get a blank page