P-man

I like Robbo actually, despite his shortcomings as a writer, but c'mon. What has he painted it up as? "Taking shots at younger journos", the "younger journo" in this instance being Whateley. Davis hasn't criticised Whateley as a journalist, quite the opposite. He's had a crack at him as a race caller. So what? I'm sure Gerard couldn't give two hoots. He does it for the love of it, not the plaudits. Robbo didn't like the jibe about his intellect, but he would appear precious if he just responded to that, so he's responded under the pretence that the criticism of Gerard is his main concern. Whilst I'm sure him sticking up for his mate is genuine, if there had been no attack on himself in Davis' column, there'd have been no response.

Hopefully most Landers can appreciate that the wins will come, but first things first, we need to not be embarrassing. I think many took umbrage with the one liners Neeld trotted out when there was a failure of even being competitive. "It is what it is" sounds very hollow when you're getting belted by 10+ goals every week. Plus when it's coming out of the mouth of Paul Roos, it demands greater respect. Might be unfair, but it just does.

haha...pretty obvious that Robbo took offense to what Davis said about him and dressed it up as standing up for Gerard.

That's the first time I've seen Burgs [censored] himself.

haha..he can talk the lad! Honest to a fault it seems. Great listening to him talking up the future.

As a City fan I was pleasantly surprised at the performance against Norwich, although I think the Canaries lost 4-0 earlier in the week in the League Cup so can't take a huge amount away from it. Much needed points though to stay in touch. Demichelis looks to be the answer to the central defender woes in the absence of Vinnie Kompany. Very happy to see the title race becoming more and more open. Six teams with legitimate title claims, whilst Everton should be looking at Champion's League football as a realistic goal. The Saints stumble for the first time away at Stoke, but still a remarkable start to the season for them. Hopefully they can keep it up.

I believe I wrote a quite detailed post about Murdoch's ties with Abbott, I'm not going to go through that again. Educate yourself. Yes you keep banging on about the "climate screamers", and I can't say I'm bowled over to discover that you're a climate skeptic. As I said, I have no interest in discussing that with you. I'm sure you have a solid foundation for your views on the subject. Yes I saw those comments from Stevens about it being "prudent". Until I see evidence that he a) requested the $8 billion and b) believes it was a NECESSARY move, it's just hot air. There was no necessity to do it all in one year. And no, it doesn't supersede advice from Treasury as recently as April that no such move was necessary and that it could be staggered over several years. Hockey's actions are in direct conflict with that advice. I hardly would think you would fork out $8 BILLION in the middle of a supposed budget crisis unless it was necessary, and simply could not wait. You say my criticisms are laughable yet you continually fail to address any of them with any merit. You just ramble on about "climate screamers" and say that a carbon price is going to bankrupt the economy, and I'm the one not to be taken seriously.. For the very last time, I don't care about personal politics or the inner workings of the ALP. Clearly they were a circus in that regard, and it is what cost them the election. I believe their policy achievements deserve greater acknowledgement than you, but I'm not saying they were or are a well oiled machine. Certainly, they are the lesser of two evils right now. Anyhow, it's all come flooding back to me what a complete waste of time this is. Abbott can do no wrong in your mind, and good luck to you. I'll grit my teeth through this one and wait for the next PM to bring us back from the 1950s.

1) I don't give a rat's about personalities or even motivations if I think their policies are the best thing for the country's future. This seems to be where we differ. You are hung up on personalities, I am not. I do however find it kind of funny that you would spurn them as "power hungry", yet you support Tony Abbott. 2) I do think you have a closed mind. You paint every Labor person with the same brush. I don't paint every Liberal, or Labor, or even Green with the same brush. I am talking about an individual and his government. You are convinced that every media outlet that is critical of Abbott or his government is a Labor affiliate or mouthpiece which is frankly delusional. I am critical of the Murdoch press because his links with Abbott and what he stood to gain from his being in office are known and documented. You do a blanket sweep of anyone who is critical (which to be honest is just pointing out the blatantly obvious most of the time) as having some sort of motivation. Perhaps you'd feel more at ease if we had Joe Goebbels orchestrating what the media can and can't say. If it wasn't for the publications you are dismissing, we would be completely in the dark. But apparently you'd be happier that way? And why would I concede Abbott has "got it right"? What am I meant to be admitting he's got right? The lies about the budget emergency? The media blackout on boat arrivals? The farcical NBN that even Turnbull struggles to defend and will inevitably have to be overhauled? The total disregard about his and his colleagues' personal expenses coming out of the taxpayer's pocket, despite the unrelenting scrutiny regarding the same issue during his time in opposition? The scoffing at links between climate change and increased fire risk? The less than subtle attempts to silence the climate scientists in this country? If you expect me to admit he was right with any of these you'll be waiting a while. 3) The RBA is hardly gong to say no to an injection of funds are they?? C'mon. The question is whether it was requested, and/or was an urgent need. if you can provide me with a quote from Glen Stevens which confirms that he requested the $8 billion, and that it was a necessary move, I'll reconsider. Everything I have read, including the April memo from Treasury, suggests that it was unnecessary, and likely done for political gains. 4) Rudd and Gillard both made mistakes during their time, no-one would deny that, but my concerns are genuine with regard to their significant investments into education, health, a world class NBN, and a clean energy future being all but completely undone. We can debate about a single female in Cabinet, or Hunt making a dick of himself every time he opens his mouth, or Hockey's lies. They are issues, but they are side issues. It is the future of the country that really matters, and that is why I oppose Abbott and his government. I don't think it is in safe hands at present.

In my discussions with you Robbie, I am 100% certain of one thing and that is I am more open minded than you. You are as rusted on a Lib supporter as they come. The very fact you think opinions must necessarily be wrong or right is a statement about how open minded you are. Plus you continue to be hung up on personalities with your fixation on Rudd's public persona, even now that he is gone, which is largely irrelevant. Actually it's entirely irrelevant. Kevin Rudd isn't my hero, not even close. I've stated more than once I do not have any allegiance to any party or person, but I am certainly opposed to Abbott. Pretty much every action he has taken thus far has confirmed my opinion of him, which as you can tell is very low. Hockey has come out and said the RBA requested the payment, whilst providing no evidence to confirm the specific nature of this request or how it was initiated. What is on the public record however is advice from Treasury in April which stated there was no particular imperative to return the Reserve Fund to a particular level, and even if the RBA's capital position turned negative, it would not impede its capacity to do its job. It's a political move by Hockey, not an economic one. Nothing more. It does however provide a fair whack to the debt level, although that's okay cause he's just raised the debt ceiling. You know, after slamming the previous government on the very issue of debt and borrowing and providing grandiose statements about how they will rescue us from the "budget crisis". A crock of [censored] it would seem..who'd have thunk it? "bankrupting itself to bring in a carbon tax" - I'm not going to bother delving into this subject with you if that's your ridiculous starting point. There's thread for that anyhow.

Staggering. Abbott loves people like you Rob. People who are content being kept in the dark on exactly what is happening on our borders, or how the new NBN rollout will affect you (I did enjoy the irony of the website people being referred to being down for extended periods, and containing no useful information at all). I say thank god for the Age, CT, ABC etc, for actually REPORTING on what the government is doing, like handing the RBA $8b it didn't need or ask for, after an entire election campaign based on a budget "emergency". I won't even begin on the circus around the climate change debate with the recent bushfires. We have a Minister who is, quite literally, an international embarrassment. Not to mention a complete [censored] idiot. You stay content with your eyes and ears covered mate. I prefer to keep mine open.

It's one of the headache positions. I still have hopes for Strauss but those hopes officially have a 12 month expiry date.

Do we dare to dream?

I'll be disappointed if Hogan isn't starting in Round 1. This is no ordinary kid. He's ready to roll. Reluctantly, I think McKenzie is a lock to start for Roos' first game. I'd also have great hesitation about Cross at HB. Given the other two are Grimes and T Mac, we need a very good distributor taking up that spot. Kicking is not one of his strengths. I'd have Vince or even Toumpas there ahead of Cross, who I'd be throwing into the middle from the get go.

Sweet mother of god...did we really have all of Gillies, Pedersen and Sellar playing in Round 1? Suddenly that result makes perfect sense.

Yeah? Man...I'd hate to see his worst. I had fun playing with Ben in that thread. We should do that again soon.

What a ripper fella. Great to have him here. Just the sort of person we need.

I purposely worded it to err on the side of caution and not getting hopes up too high. Perhaps I should've gone for "just maybe there's a wee chance this could slightly improve our chances of maybe a win...possibly." Just because we've had our hopes destroyed in Round 1 the past couple of years doesn't mean we can't reflect on the positive impact this could have on our chances this time around.

That Round 1 W is looking a little more promising I have to say..

A fair bit of kicking the bloke in this thread. Sure, he's bitter. He should be. There were weeks where his non-selection defied every logical explanation. Talks of him being a "limited" footballer need to be placed Into the context of what an ABYSMAL midfield we had at a time when he was left to rot in the seconds. He was performing, he was needed, and he was overlooked. Consistently. I can understand his frustration. The Hun have grabbed him when the emotions are raw, and I'm sure once that settles he'll regret a couple of the statements he's made with regard to the club as a whole. But I don't begrudge him the right to feel short changed when that is exactly what happened under the previous muppet regime who plonked a midfield workhorse into the forward line for a few games where none of his best attributes could be used, and then onto the scrap heap. Although I'm sure the positional change was part of his "development", right Mark? I hope he gets another chance. This article doesn't change that.

That is deadset incredible that he would be allowed to go on radio and essentially make an arse of himself.

Not great from a commercial standpoint but we have to face facts that until the team can start making games interesting, crowds won't come regardless. This is the season to build some confidence and win back a bit of respect, and in that regard it is a pretty good draw.

I do. I totally believe it.

I'd have much rather a middle of the road side than another cellar dweller. We'll find out very early where the side is at. I don't want to say it's must win, but it pretty much is. Saints are widely being tipped for the spoon.

2013 - 17 games, 15 goals and avg 16.4 disposals. Compare that to the likes of Tapscott, Blease, Nicholson etc etc. I think he's unlucky to be delisted. Really not that far fetched to give him a year and add a little bit more competition for spots.

Unlikely, but i wouldn't hate it. Often used as a sub if I remember, and rarely shamed himself. Can sneak the odd goal. Only 26.