Macca

Trav was what he was . I accept him for that His draft number has condemned him IMO

You had me 'Forest Demon' until the 'Mentally flakey' bit about TJ . And the 'get rid of' bit stands out as well . If you had of left it at the 'Ageing' bit it would have been ok . There is just no need to talk about such a past player in such derogatory terms . Trav played many terrific games for the club . If you totaled all the put downs , insults and demeaning comments about recent past and present players , there wouldn't be many that would escape (often) unfair scrutinization . Neitz is the only one who never seems to cop it .

Yeah , it was a hair-raising finish . Some broken bones in yesterday's stage as well . Hope last nights stage crash doesn't have the same result . Here's a write up of last nights stage that I found ... Greipel finishes off a wonderful team effort Stage summary04.07.2012Stage 4 - Abbeville / Rouen "Once the escape of the day reached an advantage of almost nine minutes the Lotto-Belisol team moved up to the front of the peloton and began to consider the sprint that was expected in Rouen. Although it was the fourth longest stage of the 2012 Tour de France, from Abbeville to Rouen, the real action came in the final three kilometers. That's when the jostling for position started in earnest and the lead-out trains started to form. Up near the head of the peloton, however, a touch of wheels at the speed that's required to hold off any ambitious attack can be treacherous; alas, that's just what happened. Robbie Hunter, slipped and thudded down onto the road and, right beside him, Mark Cavendish couldn't save himself. He too was taken out of the sprint equation. Up ahead, Lotto-Belisol finished off what they started early in the stage. With four from the Belgian team at the head of the peloton leading in to the final kilometer André Greipel was delivered to perfection. Greg Henderson was the last man ahead of him and, once the New Zealander peeled off, the German simply drag raced the others to the line. No one could match is pace and the veteran sprinter earned his second success in the Tour de France...

Mens Quarter finals on tonight and you'd expect Federer (3) to defeat Youzhny (26) , Djokovic (1) to beat Mayer (31) and Tsonga (5) to take care of Kohlschreiber (27) . The interesting match-up is David Ferrer (7) against Andy Murray (4) . This game is 2nd up on Centre court after the Federer/Youzhny match . The winner of the Ferrer/Murray match will most likely play Tsonga in the Semi-finals . Roger and Novak are in the same half of the draw so are most likely to meet in the other semi-final .

Fair enough and thanks for that . Just a bit of a heads up - There are 8 stages (starting from Saturday's stage 7) with lots of climbs ranging from medium to high difficulty . Although the medium difficulty climbing stages look rather difficult to me ! Stages 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 14 , 16 and 17 all involve lots of fairly lengthy climbs of various degrees of difficulty .

'Young Guns' are a British alternative rock band from Buckinghamshire who have been around since 2009 . This song 'Bones' was released from their 2012 album (also called 'Bones') It peaked at no.2 on the UK Rock charts . Macca 9.0 [media=]

Fairly flat H_T ! Stays much like this until Saturday's 7th stage . Picture-postcard stuff tonight (like every other night !) THE VIEW OF JEAN-FRANCOIS PESCHEUX Down the Alabaster Coast "The fourth stage, the fifth day of racing, but I am sure there will already be some gaps, proving that the prologue, the finish in Seraing and, most importantly, the finish in Boulogne-sur-Mer have made an impact. Today, we continue with one of the longest stages in the Tour, with 214.5 km between Abbeville and Rouen. We will obviously seize the opportunity to pay tribute to Jacques Anquetil. We will also emphasise the touristic aspect of the Tour by riding down the Alabaster coast for a long time and enjoying its breathtaking landscapes and light effects.

In the Cloke poll started by RR , around 45 - 47% voted for us to go get Cloke . Clark missing last week (and the rest of the season) underlines the value of a good key forward . Somewhere there is a list of the free agents and in amongst them are quite a few midfielders - that's what we need . Cloke will come at a hefty price but I'd be very happy if we snared him .

When I saw all those $$$$ in the topic I could only think of one poster for a fleeting moment ! We can all breathe easy

Yeah , Cadel looked very comfortable and assured . His team are quite visible at the front as well . Lookin' ok . Just on Wiggins , how's his history in the Pyrenees and the Alps ? We know what Evans is capable of . And did Wiggins lose one of his teammates last night ? Siutsou ? Is Siutsou renowned as a good climber ?

I know there's nothing we can change from past years , but how on earth did the club not know how far behind other clubs we were in terms of fitness ? I don't recall hearing anything about these levels until Misson , Neeld and Craig came on board . Was our footy dept that far behind ? Did our club , or people within the footy dept not notice how other clubs were going about their pre-seasons ? It's fairly transparent I would have thought . You'd reckon that all people within a footy dept should at least know 'The lay of the land' . It's just astonishing if they didn't .

Yeah fair enough Hardnut . I just wanted to make sure that other posters knew my point of view . I respect yours and any other posters points of views yet I may not agree with them . We all want the team to play better . Some just want to blame the players only - I don't agree with that . A bit of a concern for me though is this 'Reward' for losing games (as in better placed draft picks) . It makes losing for some a lot easier . I generally don't like losing under any circumstances and better placed draft picks mean very little to me . Therefore , what can happen , is you can end up debating heavy losses with people when you're not even close to being on the same page . We should all hate losing - equally .

Just want to clarify a couple of things 'Hardnut' . At no stage have I ever called for Mark Neeld sacking and in fact , I really want the bloke to be successful at our Club . However , After round 8 I did question our game plan and I stand by that . I haven't commented further since then , other than to mention (on this thread) that I believe any poster has the right to question or critique the Coach . And just like any of our players , a critique of the Coach (or any of the coaching panel) should be done without resorting to demeaning comments or insults IMO .

Excellent wrap-up JJ . Keep 'em coming . How long is the 'Free Agency' window opened for ? I heard that players can't officially move until July 11 - is this true ?

There are a couple of category 3 climbs at the end of tonight's stage . It will be interesting to see whether Cadel wants to do anything about the 10 second deficit to Wiggins . He may bide his time for now . Stage 3... THE VIEW OF JEAN-FRANCOIS PESCHEUX Opening of hostilities "We are now in France and ready to start from Orchies, a familiar place for classics specialists. One could be forgiven for thinking we have come for the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix, but we are actually going to ride straight away from them towards the hills of the Boulonnais. Six big climbs in 100 kilometres, four of which in the last 16 kilometres. This could mark the opening of hostilities in the Tour. There is no way the sprinters will be there at the finish, which will be decided at the same place as the French Championships won by Chavanel. I think the bunch will be smashed to smithereens."

There is no doubt about it Rangey , you are the absolute King at sparking interest in a thread ! Like your work , but this idea simply won't be taken up by the club - for any number of reasons . One of those reason IMO is that the Club and its supporters have copped so much in the last few years for it's poor performances and perceived tanking , that we'd be just asking for trouble . Another reason is that we desperately need more midfielders so that we can get some wins . Winning games has to be the main objective of the club (and should always be) . Viney could easily be the difference in winning a close game or 3 . Next year . And how 'bout those 'Footy karma god's ? Something would go wrong !

Cavendish wins it by half a bike wheel ! His 21st overall stage win . What a sprinter . Anybody know how many stages Robbie McEwan has won ? No change to the overall classification .

I don't want you to to think I'm directing these comments at you 'old dee' because , on the whole , I find your comments quite thoughtful and worthwhile and never demeaning . Posters who come out with comments such as 'Sack him' , 'Delist' , 'He's a spud' , 'Get back to Casey' etc etc really annoy people like me . And there's plenty like me who get sick of reading this stuff . It's a team game and when you lose badly it's the whole teams fault including the Coach and the coaching staff .

I didn't actually criticize the Coach 'old dee' . I questioned whether a poster does or doesn't have the right to criticize the coach . What I'm saying is that if any of our players can be virtually crucified by some posters , then is that fair ? Yet the coach (who is responsible for getting the best out of those same players) is somehow immune from criticism . It's a bit one sided for my liking . Length of time at the club doesn't seem to apply for some players either . I recall Blease copping plenty after playing 5 games ! And what about Spencer ? One game back in the seniors after a knee reco and he's copped plenty . One game .

So does that include our players 'Thbt' ? I see Moloney , Watts , Sylvia , Davey , Morton , Bartram , Bate , Dunn ,Blease , Bennell , Spencer , Green , Jetta , Macdonald , Martin , Petterd , Sellar and Trengove cop a absolute caning over and over again in various threads - on an almost daily basis . Often by the same posters (you'd reckon they'd stop repeating themselves after a while but they don't) Yet any criticism of the Coach is deemed as treacherous and unacceptable . The hypocrisy is so bad it's hilarious . This line of 'Show some support' is fine if it were extended to the players - but it isn't . There are 2 rules . And one totally conflicts with the other .

Yep , big fan of French cinema . 'Swimming pool' and 'Lemming' were terrific . Charlotte Rampling starred in both movies Mainly French crime films though - nearly always well made . Must watch 'La Haine' and 'A Prophet' http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235166/

Watching 'Le Tour' visit Belgium has reminded me of a great little film called 'In Bruges' . A definite 4 stars out of 5 for this gem . Starring Brendan Gleeson , Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes , 'In Bruges' is a Crime caper laced with plenty of humour . Farrell is especially good in this movie . Here's the link to a trailer and reviews on IMBd . The film was released in 2008 . http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780536/

The 3rd day in Belgium - reminds me to watch that movie again , 'In Bruges' - A classic crime/comedy caper ! This is my kinda bike ride - perhaps with about 200 less klm's ! Stage 2 ... THE VIEW OF JEAN-FRANCOIS PESCHEUX Sticking to tradition "This pancake flat stage is tailored to pure sprinters. If Cavendish has missed out on a win the day before, this is the perfect place to make amends. This will be the third day straight that the Tour de France stays in Belgium. The stage will start from Visé, which is hosting the Tour for the first time. The bunch will visit the citadel of Namur halfway through the stage (km 82). We are sticking to tradition.

Yeah , it's gonna be fascinating how it all unfolds . It may come down to how much help either Wiggins or Cadel receive from their teammates in the 'Alps' and the 'Pyrenees' . Stage 3 has a few climbs but we'll probably have to wait until stage 7 (next Saturday) to see how both teams support their man . Can't help but feel that there's a 'Smoky' out there who might surprise the 2 favoured riders . I'll post the profile of tonight's stage and 'Jean-Francois' preview a little later . Last nights finish was a beauty . Pity I fell asleep and missed it 'Live' !

Ha ha ha ! That's what I call 'Distancing yourself ' . If we keep up performances like yesterday , I'll be joining you !