truth behind the Rangers fans and the Manchester riots
Thursday 15 May - Manchester, near England
107,239 hungover Rangers' supporters (and an exiled Scotsman who drove up from Coventry) firmly blamed Great Manchester Police for last night's scenes of fighting, violent disorder and urinating in the street.
One fan, Jimmy 'Och Aye Jimmy' McTavish from Glasgow, claimed:
'Everyone was having a great time in Piccadilly Gardens, sunbathing, drinking and joking around with the police.
At 19:35, everyone went to the toilet, big Gordon put the kettle on, Doug popped out for popcorn and we all sat down to enjoy Rangers' biggest game in 36 years on the big screen.
Then, without any warning, the police switched channels to 'Coronation Street'. That's when it all kicked off.'
so farewell then, Sven Goran Eriksson
I have to say I am a little surprised at this breaking news. Still, I guess Eriksson will draw another excessive compensation package while he seeks alternative employment.
In my view, buying all those expensive foreigners, beating United twice and finishing mid-table was a creditable first season.
Mind you, I always had niggling reservations about Mr. Shinawatra.
So, who's next for the job at Manchester City - Jose Mourinho ?
barstool correspondent
Ashamed of MUFC's last two games (Barcelona, Chelski) - no goals, no threat, no attack, no desire, no ambition, frightened, defensive, arrogant, complacent, stuttering. Complete shite.The Story of The Who
Thoroughly enjoyed 2 hours of 'The Story of The Who' last night on BBC4. What a story it was. The ultimate rock'n'roll band. A Rolls Royce driven into a swimming pool, copious amounts of drugs, lots of girls and the premature death of two band members. During one gig, Moon was carried off stage - completely comatose. 30 years on, Pete Townshend looked visibly choked when talking about the (not wholly unexpected) death of Keith Moon and Roger Daltrey remarked 'Keith seemed to think he was invincible. He thought I am "Keith Moon of The Who".' Townshend's and Daltrey's immediate reaction to Moon's death was ironic; they tried to assuage feelings of guilt by going out, doing 'crazy things' and experimented with 'even more substances'. I never appreciated what a great bass player John Entwhistle was and he seemed the quiet, sensible one although he later died on tour in Las Vegas, in bed with a woman, after snorting cocaine (from a heart attack). Well it sure beats dying in your sleep. There was some great footage and interviews but this clip epitomised The Who at their supreme best. The American host has a chat with the band and introduces 'My Generation' with the immortal words: 'You're going to be surprised at what happens. This is excitement.' The band ended a brilliant performance by trashing their instruments with the normal dry ice and smoke bombs. However, no-one (not even the other band members) knew that Moon had bribed a stage-hand to pack his drum kit with explosives. The effect reminds me of the line from the classic film 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' - 'Do you think we used enough dynamite there, Butch ?'a short conversation with Les Battersby
Met up with some friends last night in a very busy Freemasons Arms in Covent Garden.
Les Battersby (some bloke from Coronation Street apparently) was drinking in there. Les kindly and repeatedly passed our rounds of '6 Spitfire and 2 Guinness' into our little alcove as we enjoyed Liverpool versus Arsenal.
'So, you're in Coronation Street then ?' 'Yeah' 'Red or blue ?' 'Blue.' 'Oh.'