So gutted. Spoke with David about 5-6 weeks ago and we talked about the old days and my brother Kim (Dave came to hid funeral).  It was so good chatting it really brought home how much I enjoyed his company and talking about Liverpool FC.  I was planning to meet him when I come over soon - sad beyond beyond words. Just a great guy and will be missed by many. R.I.P David.

It;s been so long since I posted on Blonde that I feel a great reluctance to do so now - even though I just wanted to say hello and a happy new year to all.  Hmm, now I am getting the urge to actually say something.  As to what, I have no idea or agenda.  I just miss writing sometimes, even though facebook is a good outlet and tends to come in handy when it's time to sleep and for the mind to reflect.  For some reason, I find myself on Blonde and actually logging in!   I do creep by sometimes and browse the forum, spending most time on the "Where are they now?", thread.

I enjoy the thread, not because it may apply to me - it simply brings back memories of people I have not seen in over a decade.  I do wonder where they are and what they're doing.  I read the part that mentioned Frankie Knight.  If ever there was Man Love, then there it is.  I could not adore another human being more than this man.  He is a true legend and very much responsible for many memories during what was an "interesting" period of the journey.  Before that in the early years, he instilled in me a dream of this place in America, called Las Vegas.  Due to various factors, that dream had been delayed for almost two decades.  Frankie grew more desperate as each year passed, as did his attempts to convince me to go.  Finally he cracked!  "I know", he said forcefully, "if you go to Vegas you will not come back".  Frankie was right!

His other wise words to me were slightly more profound, "life is all about timing", he would say.  I guess he made it easy to believe that ANYTHING was possible.  Perhaps he was right once again but, man did we also get to experience some dodgy times in between.  And I wouldn't swap those. times for ANYTHING!

I saw him in Dublin a few months - still hasn't changed. His energy, for a man approaching eighty, is simply amazing. He was like a brother, a dad and a mother rolled into one.  Perhaps most of all, he was and is a TRUE friend. 

As for me? Not much to report.  Just been learning to grow, to understand and to reflect back on people, poker, places and times.  Yes, Frankie, it was all about timing and it still is.  In fact, the time is always now. 

Simply amazing stuff from Barny - restores your faith in poker! Just hope he had a good saver with Ross as I adore them both.

@DaftLimmy 6m

First Thatcher dies, then Ferguson retires. Somewhere there is a Scouser with a lamp and one wish left.

If there is, I hope it's put into good use by replacing the FA and PFA with people that actually care about the intergrity of the game and not thier own agendas.

Peter, it's the vast amounts of money which breeds inconsistency and makes the game a victim, not the FA. This could be reduced if all the players, clubs and leagues worked together for the good of the game, but that is very unlikely. If Suarez was a poor player Liverpool would be outraged over the racism and biting incidents, but because he is a good player they are supportive. How much a player is worth to the club is directly related to what the reaction is, and that's about as inconsistent as it gets.

Surely, one area where we can see coniststency is the one that the FA have control over - namely, being fair in regards to incidents. the fact that theri current criteria levaes it open to abuse and unfairness - is dow to the FA, not clubs and players.

In regards to your other point about LFC being surpportive - I see that comment on many forums but the statement is 100% wrong. LFC are not being surportive towards Suarez in regards to the incident - they find becuase of it. LFC simply feel that the 10 game ban is excessive. Is that being supportive or having a say in how the game is run? Considering the FA's track record, are suggesting we simply accept what the FA dishes out every and never question anything? 

In regards to the Evra incident, are you suggesting that there was no room for error on the judgment? Do you see a judgement, not based on clear evidence, but on balance as a verdict that one should accept without questioning the reason and logic behind such a judgment? If you were accused of something serious, would you happily go to a court and face serious charges and accept being found guilty on balance and not actual evidence of fact. In effect, LFC had every right to question that judgment and shoudl have fought it further, considering that so much was based on oponion on the language used and its potential meaning. Simply put, that judgment was in no way proven - just the chosen judgment.   

It's all a smokescreen, Liverpool now playing the victim card in all this...you simply could not make this up. You give the FA a reason to be inconsistent by being stupid then you have to accept it, its not like the FA have a great reputation in dealing with this so why surprised,


Olivier Giroud has more to whine about that anyone this week, slipped while making a tackle and got a three game ban, now that's a bad break

This is not about LFC playing the victim - it's about the game BEING the victim. As you rightly pointed out, Giroud being one of MANY victims this year alone with unfair treatment. As for giving the FA a reason to be inconsistent, surely, a governing body is not there to take advantage of situations that further their own agendas, thery are there to be fair in cases.  As you make clear, that is not the case!  

"so Peter Costa can't lament inconsistency in the FA when the whole business of football is massively inconsistent. The priority for the FA here is to show kids learning the game that biting your opponent is not acceptable, so a 10 game ban is more than fair to that end".

Football is massively inconsonsistant because of the FA - and that should not be the case - certainly not an excuse for ther FA or anyone else to use. Should football or anything else not be about putting right what is wrong,? Should the FA not be looking to change it instead of ensuring it's growth?  As for the FA - I thought their job was to run our game with fainess and inergrity above all esle? What did they show the kids when they found Suarez guilty of racisn despite no clear evidence and just based on balance of probability and how they treated Terry when it was clear what was said? I know what it taught it me about the FA and our game. So the last thing I need from them is to teach my kids.   

First bite 7 games.

Second bite 10 games.

Looks like admirable consistency to me.

I didn't know the FA worked alongside with the Dutch league or used the Dutch league as a guideline - I thought they were a law unto themselves. LOL, they even told FIFA how to act in regards to racism and how they were going to show FIFA how strong they would be in reagrds to that. BTW, that was prior to the case against Suarez. He come along at an opportune time did he not?  But irrespective there was never any question of the FA's desire to apply consistency with Suarez - it's their overall inconsistancy I brought to light. Or do you actually beleive that FA are doing their job with fairness and intergrity and without agendas and hypocrasy?  If so, would love to know how you could come such a conclusion. Cheers!

"so Peter Costa can't lament inconsistency in the FA when the whole business of football is massively inconsistent. The priority for the FA here is to show kids learning the game that biting your opponent is not acceptable, so a 10 game ban is more than fair to that end".

Football is massively inconsonsistant because of the FA - and that should not be the case - certainly not an excuse for ther FA or anyone else to use. Should football or anything else not be about putting right what is wrong,? Should the FA not be looking to change it instead of ensuring it's growth?  As for the FA - I thought their job was to run our game with fainess and inergrity above all esle? What did they show the kids when they found Suarez guilty of racisn despite no clear evidence and just based on balance of probability and how they treated Terry when it was clear what was said? I know what it taught it me about the FA and our game. So the last thing I need from them is to teach my kids.   

So, a ten game ban for violent conduct in which there was no mark to be seen anywhere, for an offence that carries a three match ban?

I heard all the arguments for such principles to be applied- he had previous, it was disgusting, it shouldn’t happen on a football field, it will teach him a lesson. The mind boggles at the reasons that some fans and media will use to justify the ruling.

Using the same arguments, would any player with previous at getting sent off, have his previous taken into consideration next time?  Just last week, a player  returned from a three game, only to be sent off with 20 minutes - what should his ban be 10 games? Why is a bite that drew no blood and left no mark be deemed worse than an elbow?  Is one different than the other?  Because biting is unusual, does that make more common offences within the violent act rule more acceptable?  Is violent conduct not the same, unless it is extreme violence with extreme outcomes?  Would Fellenie be banned for ten games next time he elbows or head-butts a player?

In have gone about the FA in the past and how they inept they are at doing there job. Their rulings have left each and everyone of us confused as to their criteria. And yet, in this case, I doubt if any other fans apart from LFC fans will be mystified. Why? Do fans not see the bigger picture here? Is what benfits your club more important than the overall integrity of the game and of the governing body?

I knew it would be a hefty ban, not because the incident warranted it, but because the media insured that the FA and or their chosen sheep would have no choice but to appease the masses. After, it is much easier to upset just one set of fans than nineteen sets.

I started to fall out of love for the game because of Suarez. His treatment left me mystified. Sure he was no angel and miffed opposition fans, but in terms of his actions, we see it in every match from all teams and from many players. His diving - seen a hell of a lot more from Bale alone - though you would not know it. Seen much worse from many players. Yet, Suarez‘s every little and pointless incident was picked upon, scrutinized with freeze-frame and dissected by millions of surgeons looking for a cancer that did not exist. Yet they kept finding it. If not blinded by hate - than certainly by a lack of fairness.

In truth, that’s disappointed me. I never watched the game in the hope of finding fault. I watched to appreciate skill from players full of passion and desire that I shared for the game. Seeing Giggs live for the first - I could not have imagined such elegance and grace. Denis Bergkamp - what skill. George Best, dazzled me as did countless others. Maradona - yes he hand-balled - but for sheer power and control , there was no one better.

As for their mistakes on and off the field, I did not know them to judge them as people. The number of times I have seen hate attached to the name Suarez baffles me.  You hate because…..he dived, he hand-balled, he got in a spat? Then you must hate 90% of footballers.

I cannot condone his actions and it is something that I simply would never have entered my mind to do when I played. But I saw worse, much worse!  And just because what I saw was more common, it did not make it any less disgusting. Point is - the argument that he deserved 10 games ban makes no sense. Taking into consideration a player’s history, makes no sense because a penalty has been served.  Having different rules and punishments for identical incidents because the referee saw it or not - makes no sense. If you want sense, the same rule must apply. Why? Because it leaves it open to abuse. In fact, the FA have abused this rule about 30 times this season alone.  

I thought the job of any governing body was to apply fairness and integrity above all else - no person in their right mind would ever accuse the FA of actually doing that.  

So lets hand out ten game bans - but do it across the board and not when someone sees fit or when the media and majority crave it.

I no longer watch Fox Soccer Channel or Sky Sports news or read newspapers as I have seen the hypocrisy shine through in the last couple of years. For fucks sake, we even had pundits and commentators calling Suarez a cheat for a hand-ball that was never intentional. Warren Barton even tweeted an apology over his outburst. Shame he couldn’t control the desire to appeases the masses instead of spouting pure garbage on live TV.

Yet within the hypocrisy and bigotry - there is hope. But only if Gary Neville becomes head of the FA in the years to come! If not, it will be more of the same, only next time, it could be one of your players or your team chosen as an example for all that is wrong in the world!

do you know Nicky Evans?

Find him on FB and speak to him.

Will do thanks

Good luck with getting someone to take Lock money off your hands - 2+2 is full of people having to wait ages to get any money off there.

Yep - they certainly need to get their cashouts in order. I have cahsed out six times so far via a check (in the USA) and had no problem other than to wait for 3 weeks each time - but their processing system is so slow

Hi People,

Not sure if anyone plays Lock Poker but looking to swap Lock money for pokerstars. Happy to offer 5% extra.
 
PM me.

Thanks

Thanks to all for your kind words and to all those who attended the funeral.

I cannot really put into words of the immense pain at losing Kim. He is the first of nine siblings to leave us and we are all devastated at the timing. For me personally, it really brings an end to a dream. Only a week prior to his passing, I spoke with Kim and of my dream and how we should give it a year before it becoming realized.

One year before Kim retired and one more year before my time in Vegas had come to end.  I loved Vegas, and will forever be grateful for the role it has played in my life and for the people it introduced into my life.  I may even go as far as saying that Vegas saved me.  It allowed me to change, to grow and overcome health issues that perhaps I would not have addressed had it not been for the climate of Vegas.  Yet, I yearned for something else.  I dreamed of spending more time with Kim.

It was a simple dream of spending time with someone I adored.  Kim’s joy was my joy, his pain my pain.  I would often find myself pondering the joys in my life and transferring them to Kim.  I wanted him to experience what I felt, to feel as I felt. Nothing major, just small, everyday little things that I felt would enhance his life. I even told my cat a thousand times how much uncle Kim would love her.  To me, those little things meant more than ruling the world.

It will be difficult to replace a dream that had been created over a lifetime.  Yet, I think Kim bestowed one to me.  It doesn’t matter what it is, just as long as I know it was from him and that I use it to drive me forward. 

Someone once told me that I needed to feel anger in my life as anger could be my friend - that anger could inspire. It worked at the time and it is working now.  But perhaps it’s not anger that make me feel as I do, but love.  Perhaps it my love for my brother that will now drive me.  I hope so, because I know that love will never leave me. 

This is for Kim

There are many reasons for my sadness and many people I feel pain for

But today I feel selfish, for I feel my pain, for the dream that is no more

The years to come were the years yearned, when the debt by time was paid

When work was done, when peace was ours, when fun and smiles remained

I will miss you Kim, and think of you, with every step on the Cyprus shore

For the brother you were, for the love I feel, for the dream that is no more

Thank you all for your kind words. 

The whole family is devastated and not sure how we can overcome this.  We all so looked forward to the years ahead and to sharing precious time together. To think that our beautiful brother will not be with us is beyond any pain we have experienced. 

R.I.P our brother - we will miss and love you always 

 

Forgive me if it was you Peter but who wrote the poem.

It does amuse me that we see  Suarez as a Villan but Mario is a hero

Yes, i wrote it. Inspired by the TV pundits!