So with our PL/CL double firmly on schedule

I took a few minutes to see who in the CL concerned me.

Madrid? Not really, too old and no Benzema anymore
Man City? Nope - once we paste them at their place all will be well
PSG? Nah, too inconsistent

It's on :nod:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WES

I took a few minutes to see who in the CL concerned me.

Madrid? Not really, too old and no Benzema anymore
Man City? Nope - once we paste them at their place all will be well
PSG? Nah, too inconsistent

It's on :nod:

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If City slip up then definitely on

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WES

I took a few minutes to see who in the CL concerned me.

Madrid? Not really, too old and no Benzema anymore
Man City? Nope - once we paste them at their place all will be well
PSG? Nah, too inconsistent

It's on :nod:

---

Our Europa league performances were not great. I will be bold however and say we will smash Porto this week.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WES

I took a few minutes to see who in the CL concerned me.

Madrid? Not really, too old and no Benzema anymore
Man City? Nope - once we paste them at their place all will be well
PSG? Nah, too inconsistent

It's on :nod:

---

This is the sort of foolhardy talk that drove men out of the trenches in WW1 :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter

This is the sort of foolhardy talk that drove men out of the trenches in WW1 :-)

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Yeah - but we're definitely winning one of them

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luis Anaconda

Yeah - but we're definitely winning one of them

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I was expecting someone to say that we won WW1 :-)

I would prefer to win the CL.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luis Anaconda

Yeah - but we're definitely winning one of them

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I am glad city have their game in hand tonight.
Though I assume it will happen again shortly with FA cup etc.

They always have a game in hand :rubchin: was the same shid last year

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter

I was expecting someone to say that we won WW1 :-)

I would prefer to win the CL.

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I thought we did on away goals


Last time we won anything on away goals

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luis Anaconda

I thought we did on away goals


Last time we won anything on away goals

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I used to think away goals were unfair, But now I actually miss them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luis Anaconda

I thought we did on away goals


Last time we won anything on away goals

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High press paid off in the end.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter

High press paid off in the end.

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I thought it was Bazball

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luis Anaconda

I thought it was Bazball

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That was WW2. Reckless German onslaught paid off initially but the Russians eventually ground them down with a bit of line and length :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter

High press paid off in the end.

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That's pretty accurate.

Though you could add that we went from 1-0 down to 5-1 up in injury time.

{MA in WW1 Studies, init?}

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult

That's pretty accurate.

Though you could add that we went from 1-0 down to 5-1 up in injury time.

{MA in WW1 Studies, init?}

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Beautifully done, p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult

That's pretty accurate.

Though you could add that we went from 1-0 down to 5-1 up in injury time.

{MA in WW1 Studies, init?}

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I'm a WW2 man, myself. The aerial threat made for a much more exciting game :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter

I'm a WW2 man, myself. The aerial threat made for a much more exciting game :-)

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Peter Allardici

I more of a 30 Years War man - far more fun. And with added Swedes

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter

I'm a WW2 man, myself. The aerial threat made for a much more exciting game :-)

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Fairy nuff.

But WW1's been my think since the poetry at school.

And being a GG man, I like it all about being based on defensive solidity and then winning it with a set piece at the end. {Amiens.}

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luis Anaconda

Peter Allardici

I more of a 30 Years War man - far more fun. And with added Swedes

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More dead Hun than any other war. {30% of the population?}

Love the way that our contemporaneous civil war combines the wars of religion aspect of the 30YW with the politics of the Fr Rev 140 years later.

We both ended the wars of religion and were already in the Enlightenment while we did it.

Though Swedes - I haven't said Gustavus Adolphus since the Louis XIV half of history A-level in the late '80s.

Great name, too. {Not as good as Limpar or Freddie but better than Stefan Schwarz.}

Gustavus Adolphus. Fück. I'd forgotten how good that sounded. Gustavus Adolphus. Cheers, LA. Gustavus Adolphus.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult

Fairy nuff.

But WW1's been my think since the poetry at school.

And being a GG man, I like it all about being based on defensive solidity and then winning it with a set piece at the end. {Amiens.}

---

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven :-(

Great substitutions, too. Took off the tiring Russians and brought on the Americans. Fresh legs :-)

My great grandfather was shot in Basra in 1916. Shipped home to blighty.

I do think WW2 was a better watch for the neutrals. Real end to end stuff, like a classic cup tie.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven :-(

Great substitutions, too. Took off the tiring Russians and brought on the Americans. Fresh legs :-)

My great grandfather was shot in Basra in 1916. Shipped home to blighty.

I do think WW2 was a better watch for the neutrals. Real end to end stuff, like a classic cup tie.

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Great point about the substitutions. {Though our Yank no.12 spent most of the time on the pitch in those quiet sectors far from the ball, and the one time it came to him near the end, in front of the Meuse-Aragonne stand, he almost put it through his own net.}

You don't know if your great grand-dad was treated on a ship at Basra, do you?

One of my best mates in Delhi was my chemist. Late middle aged Brahmin gent {who also got us Ket.} His family had had the chemist since British times. His granddad was a doctor on a RN ship at Basra '16.

Matey said that his granddad agreed to join thinking all Brits were like the white Delhi elite. He was horrified to find all these squaddies he patched up were the most vulgar chavs and other assorted plebs. Lost his faith in the empire there and then, apparently.

Strange that we both have this personal connection but I guess the war was so big it would be stranger if we didn't for somewhere.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult

More dead Hun than any other war. {30% of the population?}

Love the way that our contemporaneous civil war combines the wars of religion aspect of the 30YW with the politics of the Fr Rev 140 years later.

We both ended the wars of religion and were already in the Enlightenment while we did it.

Though Swedes - I haven't said Gustavus Adolphus since the Louis XIV half of history A-level in the late '80s.

Great name, too. {Not as good as Limpar or Freddie but better than Stefan Schwarz.}

Gustavus Adolphus. Fück. I'd forgotten how good that sounded. Gustavus Adolphus. Cheers, LA. Gustavus Adolphus.

---

Very much the Swede I was thinking of - one of my favourites as well

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luis Anaconda

Very much the Swede I was thinking of - one of my favourites as well

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I place him behind Freddie and Anders but just ahead of Borg.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult

I place him behind Freddie and Anders but just ahead of Borg.

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Never liked Borg - always more of a McEnroe man, right down to the fact that the part of my tennis game I practised most was throwing my racket down in anger

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luis Anaconda

Never liked Borg - always more of a McEnroe man, right down to the fact that the part of my tennis game I practised most was throwing my racket down in anger

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Same here! My tennis coach used to lose his **** at me for making more of an effort at throwing a tantrum than actually listening to him. Probably why I didn't make it to the top level.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult

Great point about the substitutions. {Though our Yank no.12 spent most of the time on the pitch in those quiet sectors far from the ball, and the one time it came to him near the end, in front of the Meuse-Aragonne stand, he almost put it through his own net.}

You don't know if your great grand-dad was treated on a ship at Basra, do you?

One of my best mates in Delhi was my chemist. Late middle aged Brahmin gent {who also got us Ket.} His family had had the chemist since British times. His granddad was a doctor on a RN ship at Basra '16.

Matey said that his granddad agreed to join thinking all Brits were like the white Delhi elite. He was horrified to find all these squaddies he patched up were the most vulgar chavs and other assorted plebs. Lost his faith in the empire there and then, apparently.

Strange that we both have this personal connection but I guess the war was so big it would be stranger if we didn't for somewhere.

---

I don't really know anything other than the fact that he got shot, and my mum only found that out fairly recently through his military records. Apparently he never said a word about the war. Nor did my grandad. My family's military history is not terribly impressive :-)

I do know my grandad came back from the war despising the British empire. He spent a lot of time stationed in Trinidad and he couldn't believe the poverty he saw. Began to dawn on him that everything you were told about the glorious empire was bull****.

Funny the lessons people seem to take from their time at war. Both him and your Indian friend ended up hating the British :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PSRB

Same here! My tennis coach used to lose his **** at me for making more of an effort at throwing a tantrum than actually listening to him. Probably why I didn't make it to the top level.

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I was never really any good but I did tell people that Peter McNamara was my cousin (probably is somewhere down the line) to make them think I was good

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luis Anaconda

I was never really any good but I did tell people that Peter McNamara was my cousin (probably is somewhere down the line) to make them think I was good

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I was county level but spending hours on end with just a coach did my head in. Wanted to be playing cricket and football with my mates. Sacked off swimming for similar reasons.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter

I don't really know anything other than the fact that he got shot, and my mum only found that out fairly recently through his military records. Apparently he never said a word about the war. Nor did my grandad. My family's military history is not terribly impressive :-)

I do know my grandad came back from the war despising the British empire. He spent a lot of time stationed in Trinidad and he couldn't believe the poverty he saw. Began to dawn on him that everything you were told about the glorious empire was bull****.

Funny the lessons people seem to take from their time at war. Both him and your Indian friend ended up hating the British :-)

---

Ireland being neutral in the war meant I had no relatives who fought in the wars. Though it was rumoured that my paternal grandfather volunteered for the army - no one says on which side though

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PSRB

I was county level but spending hours on end with just a coach did my head in. Wanted to be playing cricket and football with my mates. Sacked off swimming for similar reasons.

---

That's the thing about other sports-tennis, golf, etc. As good as they are, nothing beats playing cricket and football with your mates.

Apart from sex, maybe. Not with your mates :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luis Anaconda

Ireland being neutral in the war meant I had no relatives who fought in the wars. Though it was rumoured that my paternal grandfather volunteered for the army - no one says on which side though

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My great, great, great grandfather was from Limerick. He fought in the Crimean War and was part of the Charge of the Light Brigade. And survived :-)

He was court martialled for striking an officer on 01st January. :-) Rumour is he was fond of a drink.

He moved to England and ended up creating four generations of Arsenal fans :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter

I don't really know anything other than the fact that he got shot, and my mum only found that out fairly recently through his military records. Apparently he never said a word about the war. Nor did my grandad. My family's military history is not terribly impressive :-)

I do know my grandad came back from the war despising the British empire. He spent a lot of time stationed in Trinidad and he couldn't believe the poverty he saw. Began to dawn on him that everything you were told about the glorious empire was bull****.

Funny the lessons people seem to take from their time at war. Both him and your Indian friend ended up hating the British :-)

---

Beat me to it. Is very interesting. Both realised it was all a mirage.

{Btw, the average Tommy from the Western Front came home despising all Europeans except the Krauts who they had a grudging respect for.}

You don't know what regiment he/they were in, do you?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter

My great, great, great grandfather was from Limerick. He fought in the Crimean War and was part of the Charge of the Light Brigade. And survived :-)

He was court martialled for striking an officer on 01st January. :-) Rumour is he was fond of a drink.

He moved to England and ended up creating four generations of Arsenal fans :-)

---

One of my Grandad’s brothers fought in WW1. The Kaiser fled to Holland, armistice day came and went and the brother was shot & killed in some type of skirmish on the way back home. Only a teenager.
How’s your luck

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luis Anaconda

Ireland being neutral in the war meant I had no relatives who fought in the wars. Though it was rumoured that my paternal grandfather volunteered for the army - no one says on which side though

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As an integral part of the UK, they weren't neutral in WW1, LA, even if we didn't bring in conscription there in the hope of avoiding a civil war - lol, that worked well.

But the regular army regiments - eg the Connaught Rangers who fielded 6 btns and lost 2.5k officers and men - did fight, and kept getting a few additional volunteers to make up some of the lost.

I've been to the grave of the Irish Nationalist leader and MP, Redmond, in Flanders.

In Goodbye to all That, Graves said that when his Royal Welch took over a trench and the Hun opposite shouted across "Vot regiment, Tommy", one of them would shout back "the Oirish Guards" inferring said Paddy Guards were the elite of the home countries units.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 7sisters

One of my Grandad’s brothers fought in WW1. The Kaiser fled to Holland, armistice day came and went and the brother was shot & killed in some type of skirmish on the way back home. Only a teenager.
How’s your luck

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Jeez, that's horrific.

Puts Wilfred Owen's mum getting the king's telegram as the armistice bells sounded into perspective.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult

Beat me to it. Is very interesting. Both realised it was all a mirage.

{Btw, the average Tommy from the Western Front came home despising all Europeans except the Krauts who they had a grudging respect for.}

You don't know what regiment he/they were in, do you?

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I don't know, but my mum will know. I'll ask her :-)

I don't think my grandad needed too much of a shove re the Empire. He was a rampant left winger, trade unionist and anti monarchist and I think a fair bit of that pre-dated the war. But he never forgot, or forgave, what he saw in Trinidad. I was there last year and got to visit the area where the base was. We (the British) didn't cover ourselves in glory there after the war :-(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ganpati's Goonerz--AFC's Aboriginal Fertility Cult

As an integral part of the UK, they weren't neutral in WW1, LA, even if we didn't bring in conscription there in the hope of avoiding a civil war - lol, that worked well.

But the regular army regiments - eg the Connaught Rangers who fielded 6 btns and lost 2.5k officers and men - did fight, and kept getting a few additional volunteers to make up some of the lost.

I've been to the grave of the Irish Nationalist leader and MP, Redmond, in Flanders.

In Goodbye to all That, Graves said that when his Royal Welch took over a trench and the Hun opposite shouted across "Vot regiment, Tommy", one of them would shout back "the Oirish Guards" inferring said Paddy Guards were the elite of the home countries units.

---

Says a lot about WW1 that we didn't introduce conscription until 1916.

Ireland were neutral in the second lot, although they did lend the Navy a hand on several occasions, on the quiet :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter

Says a lot about WW1 that we didn't introduce conscription until 1916.

Ireland were neutral in the second lot, although they did lend the Navy a hand on several occasions, on the quiet :-)

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Yes - should have stated WWII (though tbf Ireland wasn't independent in WWI so didn't have a say)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luis Anaconda

Yes - should have stated WWII (though tbf Ireland was independent in WWI so didn't have a say)

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Well, they had their say at the Post Office in 1916 :-)

Following 7 or 8 years weren't great. I recently went on the tour of Kilmainham jail, horribly hungover. Plenty of English people there and it was a little shocking to see how little so many of them knew about the history.