The Interview: Mejulian

Tell us a bit about yourself … I'm 33 yo, born and raised in Mexico City, married with no kids and I live in Montreal, Canada, where I moved in Nov. 2008. Before that I lived in New York City, Hong Kong and Boston. I like running, photography (a little more serious than taking pics), hiking and heavy metal. I am a telecom engineer and currently work for the largest telecom vendor in the world. We give services to operators in the Americas, but I spent most of my time in the US.

Have you met up with any members from the forum?
No, I was once in Detroit at the same time as CelticRugby but I had too much work and couldn't get free time (plus, it was very cold, or so I thought). IBES was in Mexico City for a whole summer but I was away on business.

Look at this weather reporter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qmFy...layer_embedded
sure she’s banging, but do you have any objections to this? maybe from an ethical viewpoint? the girl that does the finance has a lot to live up to, surely!
Wow! I had never seen her before. Hey, you never know, she might be an educated meteorologist (highly unlikely). So no, I don't have any objections to it. I'm all for hot girls on TV. Besides, you don't really need that much to do that job, at least not if you just limit yourself to reading the charts, which most TV experts do, anyway. No doubt some are trained, but when they appear on TV they're working under their true capabilities. Replace them all with hot girls.

Sith or Jedi?
Jedi, they might not look intimidating but will still kick your ass.

Why do you support Pumas?
When I was a kid, around 7 or so, my best friend's dad used to take us to the stadium every other Saturday to see the team. He had studied at the university Pumas represent and had been following the team since the amateur times, he was hardcore fan. I fell in love with the sensations there: the noise, the smells, the constant rain and the overall atmosphere. My love for the team grew up from there.

Also, are you the one that got IBES to support them? or did he find them on his own?
When I met IBES he was already supporting Pumas. Apparently he started supported America when he started following Mexican football, because they're the team usually shown on US TV, but then his wife (girlfriend at the time) showed him what a disgraceful organization they are and pointed him in the right direction. I find this strange, though. I don't understand how you someone can convince you of supporting a team. Either you feel it or not, you cannot just decide on it. In any case, it's good he supports a proper team.

Do you have a favourite football team in Europe or one you follow at all?
In the 80s I started supporting Barcelona (an exception in Mexico, most people were into Real Madrid because of Hugo Sanchez) and did it through the early 00s, but my interest for them eventually faded. I thought it was a joke that an alleged symbol of their regional identity was a Dutch speaking team. The team preferred to shop abroad, even for **** players, and they just didn't care about local players. Sure, that was a trend through Europe, but that didn't make it any better in my eyes. At some point I realized that Barcelona is no different than Real Madrid (as their supporters like to believe) and my interest on them disappeared. That is when they became more successful, but I didn't care anymore.

I also followed Fiorentina in the 90s because of Batistuta. He's one of my favorite players ever and he made Italian football bearable. I still followed him with Roma but that was it.

I kind of like Newcastle United. I met Shearer and Robson back in 2005 when they played in Hong Kong (by met I mean saying hi).

Sombreros.....should they be mandatory every Tuesday?
No, my head is too big and I haven't found a sombrero that would fit. I look stupid with them.

What is your best football related memory?
This game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6h2j...eature=related

Cruz Azul had a great regular season, breaking every record available (more goals scored, less allowed, top scorer, etc.) and Pumas had barely made it to quarter finals, so it was supposed to be an easy stage for them. We surprised and tied at home, but on the return leg we were going to be the victim. My friends and I arrived early to the area around the stadium, got drunk at a nearby bar and got to our amazing seats. Jorge Campos stopped an early penalty, but Cruz Azul still managed to get the lead. With less than a minute left we had all of our team in the box, all the 11 players, and Jaime Lozano, who was playing his first season with the top team and later became a world cup player, caught a header to decide the game. We had to be escorted by the police after the riot that ensued. Awesome night.


What’s your most embarrassing moment?
When I was 16 I had an overdose at a big party and an ambulance had to pick me up to take me to the hospital. I just remember the alcohol part (drinking half a litre of tequila in the way from the liquor store) but not the drugs, at least not that day. My first memory after the event is the bright light of the hospital. Anyways, when I managed to get back to school a week later, everybody was pointing at me and talking behind my back. Kind of embarrassing, I guess, but then again at that point in my life I didn't really care that much about others, so it wasn't that bad.

Who is the better footballer, Messi or Ronaldo?
Cannot say, to be honest. I don't follow European football anymore. I'm going to say Ronaldo to avoid upsetting the Portuguese members, though. He's also the most attractive, guys. Oh, and he's not gay, he's just too emotional and has a sense of fashion.

Who do you think are the best members on the site to discuss football with?
I haven't discussed much football in a long time, but when I did I liked talking about it with IBES, Killah and Aequitas, basically the guys who know football outside of Europe. Killah, in particular, knows a lot of football history and knows what's happening around the globe. I don't know how managed to finish university with all that time spent studying football.

How many fingers am I holding up?
5

Do you have an kick ass Mexican recipe's you can give?
I cannot cook anything, not even scrambled eggs. Sorry to disappoint here.

How do you rate the Mexican League to world leagues, and do you like its current structure as opposed to the traditional European format?
The structure is the worst one I can imagine. We divide football year in two seasons, which leads to two champions per year. Then the teams are divided (unevenly) in groups with the top two of each group making it to the final phase (on top of that if a third place in a group has more points than a second one they play each other). This means that sometimes more than half of the teams make it to the second round. Once there you only need three or four good games to win the championship. Pumas actually did this a few years ago. We were the 9th place (out of 18 teams) and still won the championship. This obviously dilutes the value of a title. I like the final phase format (similar to that of the champions league), but I'd have it only once a year.

The most laughable thing is relegation. First division teams are forced to have a team in the second division, but these teams cannot be promoted because they might have to play their big brothers later on. In practice, only a handful of teams are eligible for relegation/promotion

All these stupid rules are in place because the owners of the teams are the ones making the rules. So they don't want to have relegation, want to maximize revenues and want more chances of winning something. It's like asking a bunch of spoiled kids to decide how they want to be graded at school.

The ironic thing is that despite a system that favors mediocre teams, the quality of the league is acceptable. It's hard to compare them with European leagues because it's difficult to set a standard for them. The top European clubs are miles away from any Mexican team, for sure, but I think your average Spanish team, for instance, is probably on a similar level (they might be better, but not by that much). In the Americas I think that we have the third best league, after Argentina and Brazil.


What are Mexico's chances at the World Cup? Juande Ramos the man to lead the team to respectable quarter final appearance maybe?
We're going with Javier Aguirre as coach and that won't change. We have enough individual talent to have a decent world cup, but we all know that is never enough, you have to have one talented team. The friendly games we have before the world cup are of good quality and I hope they will help us to get in good shape for the tournament. At least we should get there with a defined first team, not like we did in Germany.

I think we're a better team than South Africa and Uruguay, the results against the latter show it, and I believe we can get a positive result with France. If we make it to the second round anything can happen there. Well, that's the cliché, but it never happens for us. Anyway, there's always a first time and I'm hoping that this is the one for Mexico. I feel we're going to make history (at least for us) in 2010. I don't know how much of that feeling is just pure hear, though.

Are you looking forward to the world cup in the summer?
Yeah, too bad that I'll be in the US and there's no football culture there, at least not for the Mexican standards. You have the odd football bar, but you can go all day without picking up a football conversation, even during the world cup. But I am really excited about Mexico in the world cup. I have great hopes and I truly believe we can have a good tournament. Other than that I just hope to see good games and as less cheating as possible.

What do you wish you could have done in Minnesota that you didn't get a chance to when you were there?
Catching a hockey game. This is something I've been wanting to do for some time now, but tickets are too expensive where I've tried (New York and Montreal). I thought they would be cheaper in Minnesota, but I was way wrong. I guess I'll have to wait for a chance in Dallas someday (my company has a big office there). I also wish I had the chance to check out the north, I read that the sights are awesome, but I was working too much and didn't have the time.

What do you think the reason is behind people being ignorant of other cultures? why do many rely on media stereotypes?
Many people just don't want to be bothered by thinking on matters that don't have any impact on their lives. That is OK, I have zero knowledge of South Korean politics, for instance. The problem is when people don't want to appear as not having an opinion and then resort to whatever they've heard on TV to appear as having certain knowledge. This is something I constantly live in the US and Mexico. It's amazing how little these two know about the other and how much they think they do. Lots of Americans believe the whole Mexico (with the exception of the resorts) looks like the towns shown on the Mariachi movies (limited electricity, no modern appliances, no doctors, etc.), and in Mexico many believe Americans are a bunch of xenophobic, fat racists. There's nothing wrong with admitting you know nothing or little about a certain country, just accept it and don't say the first thing that comes to your mind.

Do you enjoy travelling all over for your job? Is your wife completely on board with that too or do you guys eventually want to finally settle somewhere?
My wife is partially on board, she supports me and tries to enjoy as much as possible, but she wished we stayed somewhere for a while. I guess she understands this is the best move for us, at least financially, but sometimes it's hard on her, especially when she cannot plan things, have her family visiting us, get a job, etc. Her support means everything to me, though, without it I would look for something else.

We intend to eventually settle in Montreal. I'm working on moving up in the organization to the jobs that don't require too much travel and, if that doesn't work, I'll have to move to a different area, or probably try to join one of our customers (that is a typical career path). I do want to settle within a couple of years and I'm working hard on it.

You’re an old school member of Soccer24-7, what’s kept you here so long?
There's a great sense of e-friendship. I do feel like I know some of the guys here (Dandy, IBES, Todd, Stan, Bamber, Manic, Killah, etc.) and staying is like keeping an eye on how my friends are doing. The forum has its up and downs, but there's always a great bunch of people around and that makes it worth staying. I don't really want to join another forum where I don't know anyone, and I don't want to stop visiting forums either.

What's your say on IBES leaving the forum, its surely the biggest incident to hit this forum, and we have had a few in recent times?
That was really shocking. He was very dedicated and I didn't expect him to leave after what appeared to me as a minor incident (or series of incidents). We've seen worse **** throughout the years and he had never left. I have the feeling that there's more to it than what we know, so we can only speculate (maybe work is taking more time from him, I don't know). We'll miss him a lot for sure. He was a great asset to the forum. I hope he decides to come back later on.

What’s your favourite sport?
Obviously football, it's the only sport I can stand watching for over an hour without getting distracted with other stuff, even with all the whining, faking and cheating that goes around. I would like to play but I suck at it.

What’s your least favourite sport?
Baseball. It's so slow, retarded and fatties dominate the game. The players are so limited on their skills that they need a coach telling them to run or stop. God forbid they have to turn their heads and see what is going on behind them. I do enjoy going to the odd game here and there, but only because I like seeing stadiums, eating hot dogs and drinking beer.

Do you think people outside of CONCACAF underrate/disrespect the countries that play in it?
For sure, especially Europeans, who fail to see they also have a bunch of terrible teams that are three points guaranteed. At the end some qualifying groups in Europe look like CONCACAF in the sense that it's obvious who's going to make it to the world cup (I'm not saying the level is similar). Another factor is that, while teams like El Salvador or Guatemala might be easy on paper, the playing conditions on their stadiums (crap field, close standings, objects flying around and a constant threat of violence) make it hard to play there. I have no doubt that France, for example, wouldn't have a problem with Honduras at home, but it wouldn't be that easy in Tegucigalpa. Another typical argument is that we would fail to qualify if we played in Europe. That is based on nothing, Mexico has had good games with the top European teams at world cup level (Germany, Italy, Netherlands) and has beaten those from the second tier. Why wouldn't we qualify?

South Americans also like to have a go at CONCACAF, when some of our crap teams, like Suriname and Guyana, are actually from their area! And again, remove their big teams, namely Brasil and Argentina, and the rest are not something to be afraid of.

What do you really think about Calean?
Calean is a racist, homophobic (too obsessed with homosexuality, by the way), xenophobic, religious bigot with limited intellect. He is unable to build an argument and lacks basic reading skills. He's the perfect pawn for politicians (on the right, of course, if the leader is black then it's a different matter); just feed him the religious/patriotic speech and he will buy it immediately. The ironic thing is that he considers himself a good Christian. The man is a disgrace.

Favourite childhood memory?
I didn't share too many moments with my dad, sometimes he was really busy, others he had other interests, and maybe that's why one of my best memories is when he took me to Chapultepec, a 1800 acres park in Mexico City, which at that point I considered to be far away. I was probably four at the time. We played football and ate with the street vendors. Then we walked on a bridge over the main highway and watched the cars and buildings for a while (that was quite an experience for a suburban boy). Finally, we went to a motocross show at the Azteca Stadium; they had a bunch of American guys doing all sorts of crazy tricks. I had the greatest time ever, I don't know why he didn't want to share those things more often. Now that I think about it, this is some sort of bittersweet memory. On the one hand it feels good when I remember, but it feels bad when I realize it's so special because I never had many moments with my dad.

As you are 'Old Guard' what changes (good or bad) have you noticed about 24-7 over the years?
When I joined, the forum was kind of right wing and it gradually took a turn left, don't know why and don't know exactly when. Another big change is that there's some sort of post-Ticcan time. Ticcan posted so much that he seemed to be the member with the highest visibility, which wasn't really that good for us. I didn't have a problem with him, on the contrary, but he wasn't the kind of member you want to have as the prominent one. When he left a balance returned to the forum and no one had the face of the forum anyone. Other than that I think everything else has been cyclical. Good posters come and go, some moments are slower than others, and overall everything stays the same. Manic Loop should take most of the credit for that. This is a great site and will stay like that for a long time.

OK so none of us really know what NAFTA (Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte... whoops that screws up the acronym) does for us, so can you give us your take on what it's like living in all three North American countries?
It's great, I am so happy living in the area. Mexico is my favorite country. I've lived most of my life there and is the place of my greatest memories. My family lives there and it's where I feel completely comfortable all the time with no awkward moments or cultural differences. There's also a football culture (nonexistent, at least at that level, in the US or Canada) and the food is just fantastic. It's too bad that violence is eating us slowly and there's no end to it on sight.

The US is an amazing country, there I've found great education, work and had great experiences. People are friendly (even in NY, where they're supposed to be rude) and there's no way you can get bored. It's amazing how many activities there are for any interest you have. Anywhere I can join a runners' club and find interesting photography workshops. There's also almost every weather and geography, which makes it great for all sorts of outdoor activities. The USA was the first country where my wife lived (apart from Mexico, of course) and she was very nervous when we move to New York. Back at home she had heard all those stories of racist policemen harassing Mexicans, people denying you service at restaurants, violent border officers, etc. The reality is that she found a great bunch of respectful people, always willing to help you out and with a great sense of community. Everywhere we've been to Americans have make her felt welcome. That is why the US will always have a special place in my heart. I love that country. Oh, and they have free refills on your drinks.

One interesting think that's happened to me is that in the US I'm a far left winger that sometimes appears as hating the country. A couple of years ago an American friend invited me to have lunch at his home with his family. At some point we were talking politics (not a good idea) and it didn't take that much for him to resort to the typical "but if you hate the US so much, why do you live here?". Americans might bash their government all the time, but they don't like it when someone else does it (I guess that's true everywhere). I've never understood why people equate government to country. In Mexico is the other way around. There I'm extreme right and have sold myself to the gringos. If you don't blame the US for everything and see grey areas (like their role fighting communism in Latin America) then you're obviously licking yanqui boots. You cannot win with these arguments.

I haven't experienced Canada that much. I'm supposed to live there but I spent a lot of time away and I haven't had the chance to get a routine in Canada. Still, what I've found so far makes me want to make it my home. Montreal is a city of a perfect size, big enough to avoid getting bored, but not so big that it becomes chaotic. The weather is not that intimidating once you know how to dress, and the people are relaxed. Plus, bilingualism adds and enjoyable factor and great learning opportunities. I'm also getting into the different winter activities (I'm practicing X-country skiing), so I can get out and enjoy the outdoors all year. The combination of high taxes and limited health care is a disgrace, though, and might be the only thing that would push me away.

Leet Speek. Is it the downfall of 24-7?
No, we have lots of members who write properly and are quite active. The kids using that writing don't seem to stay long. If it becomes too much I'm sure it'll be taken care of Manic-style.

You seem to be quite a quiet member, why is this? Do you just like to observe?
There's not much to discuss these days. Most of the discussions end with Calean acting like a retard, so I just log in have a quick look and then do something else if I don't find anything interesting. Also the kind of offices where I've been working lately don't allow any privacy and I don't want to be too obvious when I'm doing nothing.

Captain Kirk...coolest white man on the planet...agree?
No, that's John McClane for sure.

Do you dream in English? or Spanish? Also, which language do you enjoy speaking more?
Spanish for sure. I've had a dream in English here and there, but Spanish is the language in my mind most of the time. I enjoy Spanish more, as I'm more competent there and is obviously the language I speak with my wife. There are lot of things I cannot fully express in English, at least now without making a pause. It's frustrating because I feel like my spoken English hasn't improved in the last three years and I don't know how to work on it. Practice doesn't seem to be enough and I don't think lessons would help.

We’re just over a month into the new year, how has 2010 started for you?
Pretty much the way I thought it would go. Nothing special has happened, which is good when you consider all the things that can go wrong. I was hoping to get a new assignment at work, but I'm still in the same project.

You’re stuck on a desert island, what 3 members would you like to have with you and why?
Gadger, his training would allow him to hunt our food and increase our chances of survival. He seems to be quite smart and I'm sure we could have interesting conversations. CelcticRugby to keep things under control with lots of common sense. Finally, LilYiddo, no explanation necessary here.

Mexico has had one of the largest and longest UFO 'flaps' in history....have you seen one yet?
Not me, but I have a friend who's seen a few (or so he says). He actually spends his vacations and weekends driving to remote places and looking for sightings. He's convinced that governments conspire to keep the UFO truth hidden from us. No, he's not USA Blue.

Do you like cheesy Wotsits?
No, the taste is too strong on the tongue and stays there for a while.

If you were to recommend a comedy film to someone, what would it be?
I don't have a sense of humour, I don't really laugh at comedy films. I like shitty, Hollywood blockbusters, anyways, so I'd go with Vince Vaughn's movies. I like the guy.

Lets say I’m planning a trip to Mexico, what are the top 3 places I should see on my visit?
Cancun, but also include it's surrounding area, avoid all-inclusive resorts where you don't experience anything different. You can do everything there: nightlife, good food, awesome beaches, Mayan ruins, nature parks, great hiking, underground swimming, etc. All within a two-hour drive. You can get drunk on a world-class nightclub at night, wake early the following day, visit Mayan ruins and be back at your hotel for afternoon drinks. It's just great.
Chiapas. Here you have Palenque, an amazing Mayan city and smaller colonial towns that would give you an idea of the hidden corners of the country that have a culture of their own. All of it surrounded by jungle, waterfalls and very nice natural sights. This is not for everybody, though. You won't find any clubs or hot girls here.
Mexico City. It's chaos but worth experiencing. The city has lots of world-class museums, top nightlife, great food and football.
With these three places I think you'd get a good grasp of Mexico's diversity. If you're the adventurous type you could go to a border town dominated by drug lords and take your chances there, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Are there any members that you didn’t like when they first joined but over the months/years changed your mind on?
Manic Loop. When I joined he was on a long holiday in Australia and used to randomly appear and have what I perceived as power trips. With time I understood where he was coming from. BamberGascoigne as well, I don't even remember why I disliked him, but I did. He's a great poster.

When I think Mejulian, I think of the colour Green. Why is this?
Mexico plays with a green shirt, most popular chiles are green, my eyes are green as well. There you go.

What were your three favourite things about Minnesota?
Trying ice skating on a frozen lake! That's something I saw on movies when I was a kid and never thought I'd do it myself. Then all the lakes everywhere, you cannot move more than a kilometre without seeing one. When spring starts they make a beautiful combination with all the trees growing up again. Finally, the most important, the people. CelticRugby mentioned something about the expression "Minnesota nice". I think I know where that comes from. Everywhere you go you can pick up conversation and people seem to be genuinely interested when they say "good day". I have very good memories from Minnesota (even when I got stuck on a highway at -35C).

Interview Compiled by Lil Yiddo.

Bridge makes Terry bite the curb

The Interview: Manic Loop

Tell us a bit about yourself …
Well I am who I am, what you get on 24-7 is what you get reality, I don’t hide behind any persona. Most people by now will have a decent gauge of me, but if not here we go. Born on the 17th May 1981. Youngest of 3 brothers and have lived in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire my entire life (baring 3 years in Liverpool at uni, and 8 months in Australia travelling, but they were never “home”) Went to a school that’s now a housing estate and went to Uni of Liverpool getting a 2:I in Ba Geography. Went travelling, got job, did job for few years, didn’t like job, have gone back to Uni, to Sheffield Hallam to do a Msc in Urban Regeneration. Have followed Forest my entire life (baring a brief dalliance aged 5 with Liverpool) Currently live with my brother, but hes away most of the year. I love music, (rock mainly) I like films (not as much as I did, and TV. I live for going to the pub with mates. Many a good time in there, though as many friends settle down its not what it was, as they don’t come as much. I adore travelling, and try to get as many places as I can.

Where is Geoff?
HA. Well yeah you create a character you use for so long and it sticks. He has been retired to the dark recesses of my brain. Was fun whilst it lasted. Thhat thread where Arsene Wenger (Madcap) interviewed him was stunningly great fun. Hell he even co-presented one of the radio shows with me. I miss his agony uncle thread as well.

Ok Manic with our immanent promotion coming, have you got any further requests for our end of season party?
Firstly, imminent. My only request is Eiko Koike. Go google image. I’m sure shes a Forest fan. Or a Gamba Osaka fan (go go Gamba, with much gusto)

What's your natural hair colour?
Hello Meg. As you know it is clearly the greatest of the hair colours.

What outside of a house/car is your most extravagant purchase?
Not purchased a house…. Now this depends. Probably a plane ticket to Australia. But then the Forest season tickets aren’t as cheap as they may be.

If you were taking part in Come Dine With Me, which 4 members would you compete it out with?
Interesting twist, namely because they;d need to be able to cook. This instantly just about gets me to disqualify most people under 25. I go on the basis I couldn’t cook before that age. I’d say mejulian, I’d hope he can cook Mexican, then I’d choose Berean Todd, I reckon he’d be able to cook well. Actually scrap my previous comment about age. I’d invite Smeg Devil, as she owes me a few meals from the times I’ve cooked for her. I’ll throw in bamber for good measure.

Cats.....discuss
Ha. My brothers girlfriend who is essentially my housemate desperately wants a cat and I keep informing her I’ll encourage it to play in the main road. I don’t dislike them, I just see them as boring. Dogs are fun, cats just fvck off.

Favourite non staff member?
Umm, bambergascoigne or Berean Todd.

Is there a lucky lady in your life? How did you/would you charm a lady you were going to date?
No, and because of this maybe my advice here isn’t the most suited. I’m a fvck up when it comes to girls. Essentially I miss opportunities that do exist but persue ones that don’t. And then get all Bossa and obsessive over them.

You come across as being a bit boring, discuss.
Depends on what you like to do. Its all entirely objective. I think I know who asked this and your merely just someone with some unexplainable grudge. Anyway, you win some you lose some in life. You may find me boring, others may not. That’s just how it is. If that’s how you find me, then fine. I don’t think I am, but then who thinks of themselves as boring? I like what I do and I do what I Like. Therefore I am not bored. Discuss that.

Forest...when do you think they will get into the Premier League?
Yes. I do. I think we are better than any of the teams that we would face in the playoffs (where I think we will end up) Staying up is another matter all together.

Do you miss the old nags you used to sit near in your old job? Not even a little bit?
Yes and no. I used to talk a lot of stuff about Lost and Dexter with one of them. One of the others I got on well with. The thing is after my moaning threads one of them left which made life more tenable in the office. I also got to know well this other guy who sat nearby who I had used to have a decent chat about music with (he used to be a drummer in some thrash band in the 80s)
Now I’m not there I guess I realise it wasn’t really all that bad

What makes you so dedicated to the forum?
Dunno really. Well in part now because I’ve been here so long. So much time invested here that to walk away would a) feel like I wasted 8 years. And b) take something I enjoy out of my life. Ultimately I care about this site probably because I have been here since day 1. When you build something you take pride in it. If I was merely a member I’d have walked away within a year and probably in the ticcan days,But because I’ve been an integral figure here, then I have always wanted to carry on through those tough days knowing it will come good. That’s increasingly harder these days. Posts are down, the networks gone, but that also forces me to make this place stronger again. That fall and decrease in traffic galvanises a desire to bring back the good days. Roll on the world cup

Do you like cheesy Wotsits?
Not bad. I don’t like the way they stain your fingers. Plus theres better crisps, but I will occasionally dabble

What’s your worst habit
Farmville.

Is that little flick natural?
Flick? The flick in the hair? Yes entirely natural, As is the flick in my right foot when I go running (tried training it out, didn’t feel natural) so yeah those 2 flicks are natural. Unless you mean Flick from Neighbours.

Will 24-7 ever get back to what it was like in the good old days?
See above. I think we can. The problem is the feeling of complacency. People all say yeah lets get this place going , or that ideas great, but in reality are only willing to minimal effort. Theres a few people who really do try hard here, and full of great inentetions, but the effort isn’t always rewarded with results. Take the blog site. Great idea, everyone says, yeah lets get involved. And the promptly can’t be arsed. But then that’s the same in all walks of life.

Also when people mention the good old days when do they mean? This place evolves. People would think when it was busy, but have you read some of those threads? They are horrible. Just pages of drivel of people arguing the same point repeatedly with Ticcan. Then further back when people say it was fun, I actually think a lot of those threads are retarded now. But they existed in a time and place that was fun, but that time was then. Things change. You have to make a new age and not hark back to some mythical golden age. You also have to remember the way days go. The arly days always considered the best is when we were new, we were brash, we annoyed people. You can’t act like as a big site.

So your voice is actually appealing... you've obviously seduced women before with it and it 'kinda' worked on me. Would you consider it your best asset? and if not, what is?
I don’t consider a voice to be an asset. For one I could put on other ones. I don’t regard it on a girl would be like breast, legs etc. That being said I have met girls whose voice just melts you away, (mainly French) Considering my slight frame I consider that I actually have quite chunky calves from the running I’d do. I am expecting you all to say my hair. I admit its somewhat of a hindrance at times.

If you could kill someone in 24-7 land and get away with it who would it be?
I wouldn’t kill anyone. That’s a bit of harsh reaction to what is essentially just someone else putting over their view. As much as I dilike what a number of people have to say I would never actually say I hate any member (well maybe Firestarter in the past, but half of what he said and did was an act so that he’d get attention he seem to so crave, whether that be good or bad)

How quick will you be to run onto the pitch when promotion is confirmed?
Considering I sit att the back of the upper tier and it takes me 15 misn to get of ground at best of times…….not very quick at all, as I won’t be bothering.

Favourite chocolate bar?
Ummm, twix please

Zequi, why?
ask him

Favourite alcoholic drink
Well, hey, I drink Lager, but considering the maret for it where I live I mianly drink Fosters. Given a choice and an endless vat of money I’d drink most Czech beers though. If they served Gambrinus, Staropramen or Pilsner Urquell on draught where I live, then them. I also lived on Victoria Bitter in Australia. I am very partial also to a few Japanese beers.

Worst job?
The worst day of work I ever had was when I worked for an eco lodge in Queensland. I basically did odd jobs there. One day my task was basically to turn the compost heap. This is a compost heap in the freaking tropical jungle. It stank worst than anything ever. A smell I couldn’t get out of my nose for days. The thing was crawling and I mean crawling with maggots. It was just vile. The consistency of it was horrendous to. It squelched. Just vile
For an actual proper job and not just one task in my role, then picking fruit was just sh1t. **** pay, too hot etc.

What does your office deal with?
I’m a student.

Favourite soft drink?
Coca Cola

What do you think to how this forum has gone? Did you ever imagine it would grow/last this long? What are we doing for the 10 year mark?
If you told me we’d be here 8 years down the line then I’d have never believed it. But considering at times we had 3X maybe 4X posts the day we do now, I’d be a little upset. Considering I’m only in this game because I made a forum on EZboards in 2000 one night when drunk and got my mates to join then one thing led to another then even more so. If you’d told me then, when we’d had 6 regs that I’d be where we are now, then I’d be amazed. People will say it was better. But then I remember the days before that. As for the 10 yyear mark. Well we got 2 years to go. I don’t honestly see what we can do to celebrate it. Baring in mind we could get hacked tomorrow like we once did, I don’t know if we’d come back from that again.

Favourite staff member
For the sheer effort you can’t look beyond Celticrugby. However longevity theres Boovy. And then theres the fact Killah saved our ass a few times.

What is it about them foreign women that you like so much? Our Brit girls are one of a kind
Well. If you may have noticed I havent really blathered on about foreign women as much anymore. I never have had an issue with British girls. Just back in the day I was with a Japanese girl. That kinda cultivated my obsession there. But hey I am mainly over that now. Apart from Eiko

People from Derby speak very strangely, don't they
Not at all, rather how they talk than Brummies or Mancs

Do you like Sombreros?
As a fair skinned person, they can be a life saver in certain conditions. However would I wear one out of choice. No

Do you think every Tuesday should be like Sombrero Tuesday?
You can wear a big fvck off Sombrero every Tuesday, talk like Antonio Bandera’s for as long as you want, drink a bucket load of Tequila and then watch a compulsory Spaghetti Western....sound ok to you meester?
No

Joel Lynch. Forest Legend? I think so anyway.
He’s played what 12 games? And for most of them he was much maligned. Have I answered the question

Snog, Shag, Marry … The bitches on the forum.
Well basically of the girls on the forum I only ever have had any kind of conversations or contact with 2, being Yiddo and Smeg. Therefore I couldn’t really assess the others
That being said
Snog – any of the others. Your exempt from the next two.
Shag - Yiddo – I assume she knows what shes doing. I also presume it would be a good ride. And I would
Marry – Smeg – Simply cos I now her and I get along very well and have similar tastes in a lot of things. I also know shes very happy with her man though, so there you go

What 5 members would you love to see back on the forum?
Ibes – top guy. Only just gone, but I’d love for him to come back
Booser – Always funny. I stand by the fact the funniest thread ever was his one of the 24-7 members and their pets. The G comment was the greatest piece of comedy ever on this forum
Red4eva – thought Tim was top user. Intelligent and all that jazz and contributed in many areas
Shanks – All round top user. In all areas of the site. You can’t ask for more than that
Zizou – a legend and hall of famer if we had such a thing. He was a top guy. Probably before most of your times here though

I’ll give Caddy a mention too. Legend

Nottingham Forest, do you think they will get automatic promotion or face the play offs?
As said above. Playoffs

You've been here from day 1 and seen every classic 24-7 thread come to light. What's been your favourite ever thread?
There is so many. I honestly wouldn’t include the Firetstarter classic, or the G goes to Moscow. Jakey G has a kid was epic. We used to have loads like that in the past. Like I said above, there were 2 or 3 epic picture threads from Booser that simply were hysterical

You've also seen lots of retards/crap members over the years as well. Who was the worst/biggest tard?
Could almost do a time line of tards
The first we ever had was a Barnsley fan called Tykey Tyke frum Tarn.. He simply posted “lolololllolololololololol” I every post

The next was Mr Jimmy. He knew Mark and basically took this as an excuse to spout sh1t.
Highbury Lad was always fun to mock.

Probably the worst ever though was Swissknife. I mean wtf was he ever doing?

I will give honourable mentions to Crazysah and his desire for girls in football shirts pls thx. JAkey G was pretty much retarded. Sniper was epically dumb. ReAl MaDriD was ultimately stupid. The guy achieved mod status then used this to edit or delete any posts who disagreed with him. You can’t look much past BArdez meltdown either. That was both tragic and hysterical.

I heard a rumour you like to deconstruct antique telephones you buy from charity shops then re-assemble them, is that true?
wtf are you even on about. You get nominated for tard award above.

Snog Marry Avoid, Harewood, Darcheville, Van Hoijdonk
Shut the fvck up

What’s your biggest regret?
well, theres 28 years of regrets. I regret not working harder at school, I got complacent. I could and maybe should have done a different undergrad degree. I regret turning a couple of girls down or not going places I shoulda done thinking they’ll stay there forever for me to get. There was a girl I adored and would have done anything. She once text me I love you, I was at a gig and instead of going meet her after it, I thought I need to be up for work in morning, that was pretty dumb to be honest. However I am happy in life. To change 1 small thing at any other juncture is to potentially alter that. That girl ultimately got a job in London. So it wouldn’t have worked out. I dwell too much as it is without really thinking of regret so to speak. Do I regret not taking ajob at some point that might have led to me a different career? Maybe. Do I regret not doing more prep for this dream job interview one time? Probably. But would I have been happy there… who knows.

So you're at uni once again. How you finding the student life compared to the first time around? What do you want to do when you get your masters?
It is very different. For one back in my day the internet wasn’t so integral. Things like intranets, also so much information being available online. E journals and Google Scholar have completely changed the game in the nearly 10 years since I was there. I think I’m wiser too.Not more intelligent. Just more clued up

How does it feel knowing the only way you got an interview was through rigging the vote system?
Would be an interesting story if it had any truth to it. For one there were 6 voters. I got 3, hardly loads to shoutabout is it? So who is this bitter soul? I can prove it too.

Sith or JedI?
Fvck george Lucas for ruining my childhood

Where is the best place you have travelled to in the world?
Erm. Well. Australia was awesome. I loved New York. Tromso was the most beautiful place, as the amazing fjords around town were breathtaking. Tasmania was incredibly beautiful too.

So John Terry done the dirty on an old pal by sleeping with his ex missus and now she’s supposedly up the duff. How would you react if you were Bridge?
I’d fvck his sh1t up.

What 5 members do you have the most respect for?
Respect?
Well. Berean Todd. He actually manages to talk religion whilst not coming over as an ignorant pompous tvvat. Bamber, funny guy who retains himself despite having a million kids.

Celticrugby for being the nicest guy in the world. Mejulian, top guy. Boovy, putting up with being fellow admins for 8 and a half years.

Interview done and compiled by Lil Yiddo

Big Honky Ocho's wife paints her Kit on

God Bless America's WAGs. Check out SI for 29 more photos. Hopefully the trend continues.

Bethany Dempsey...now we just need BiancaCakes to follow through. Come on Landon.

The Interview: nAz

Tell us a bit about yourself …

Well...

My name is Naz.

I am a 21 year old Muslim currently studying Theology and working part time for a charity within fundraising. I am hoping to become a teacher at either college lev el or secondary school level. I may just do secondary school just for the challenge

I would call myself British unlike some other people who were born in this country but have Pakistani/Indian/Arab etc family. My parents are both from Pakistan however they moved when they were young so they understand the western way of life, I guess.

I’m not the most confident person in the world and I am actually very shy when I first meet someone however when I do get in my comfort zone I can open up and be more comfortable.
I love music and films. I tend to mainly listen to rap/hip hop tracks but can listen to anything that quality whether it is rock, rap, dance etc.

I have a fiancé who I intend to marry and I love her to bits. I have been with her for 2 years this Tuesday (sexy time)

Did I see you join a facebook group that involved telling your girlfriend to make you a bacon sandwich?
Did I? Wait, let me check.

Ahhhh. I see now. It was this group. http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?...6087674&ref=ts
That group pwns imho.

Do you like cheesy Wotsits?
Okay. I don’t know how to answer this tbh.
If we are talking literally, then yeah I like.
If we are talking about some sort of sick sex joke or something I would go for the answer that makes me seem the most gay.

Why Liverpool?
I think I have explained this on the board before.
Basically when my parents and uncles and aunts moved to this question, they came in the 70’s and 80’s and at that time Liverpool dominated and they were the team that got my family into watching football and ever since then all my family has supported Liverpool since then.
Whether or not you think I’m just an out of towner glory hunter or some ****, I honestly couldn’t give a ****.

What's your best memory of a game you were in attendance at?
I’m not going to lie and act like I have been to many games however there was one memory that sticks out when I went to Anfield for the first time watching a premier league game. It was when Crouch scored his first ‘goal’ for Liverpool. It was great because the crowd just wanted him to score so badly and everyone went ballistic when he scored and watching him run the pitch because carra wanted him to jump in the kop. He got knackered at before he could reach it from the other side

Fowler or Torres?
Fvck me, tough choice.

Footballing wise? I would say Torres. He is a brilliant player and a joy to watch. There are not many players to say the least at Liverpool that give you that WOW factor and always seem to amaze you. Torres is that player. Even when you think he has had a sh1t game and he is out of sorts...BANG, a moment of genius that wins you the game or once chance and one goal.
However, in terms of like fan favourite, I would have to go for Fowler. He was my first footballing hero that I looked up to and his love for the club is amazing like the 4 times hand gesture he did to the Manchester United fans....brilliant. Also, he is left footed like me and I score goals like him all the time when i go football and I score all the goals and maradona once scouted me and would have played me in the argentina squad if i were argentinian.

Be honest, what are your views on interfaith dialogue and the treatment of other religions in Islamic states?
I’ll be honest. I have no idea of how much interfaith dialogue there is in Islamic states. However I am guessing there is a minimum amount which is not a good thing. One thing I appreciate about the west is the freedom to practise religion. I mean even in Muslim countries I am unable to practise my religion the way I wish. For example when I went to Saudi, I was nearly arrested for worshipping in my own way. It’s a crazy world we live in.

Interesting fact, now, ass fag.
About myself? If so, I have memorised half of the Holy Quran off by heart.
In general- When hippos are upset, their sweat turns red.

I need love advice, can you help, I met a girl on Monday, after chatting and getting her digits a name, and a date with me tomorrow at 9 we went for a drink on Tuesday, now she wants to do something on Wednesday, what would you suggest?
Anal rape FTW

Seriously though. Go out to eat or coffee or shisha or something lol. I don’t know why anyone on here would want advice from a virgin but I guess you don’t know much about her so I think this kind of thing would be better than a movie because you can talk. I don’t know if that makes sense.

If you get married to this woman, i wanna invite to the wedding otherwise im going to take my testicles and rub them all over your cats vagina.

Best childhood memory?
Going to Pakistan when I was young. I loved it there, the culture, the traditions and also seeing my extended family. The weather is great; the people are amazing and friendly. I used to go swimming everyday in a local dam. I got really attached to Pakistan and when I left I was in tears, I wish I could go back.

You seem to be pretty devout in your Islamic faith. Tell us about your background. Were you always this way or what made you become so? Do you come from a family background that was very religious?
Well, my parents have been devout Muslims ever since I can remember and they have brought up their kids in a very good Islamic household. Making sure I got a good normal education as well as an Islamic education. When I was younger I would go to school from your normal 9-3 and then straight after I would go to the local mosque to memorise the Quran from 4.30-9.00pm.
I’m not going to lie; this was a very dark period in my life. I was actually depressed and I this was in the ages from 10-15. I would get beat up at the local mosque whenever I would make mistakes in my memorisation of the holy Quran. I was constantly drained and had no energy because i would go from Monday to Saturdays.

I eventually quit the class near the end of my gcse’s and concentrated on my normal education. That day was a momentous occasion even though my parents were still upset I hadn’t completed the Quran

Sorry if I have rambled on a bit in this question but fvck it, this is MY interview. I could go on and on about the threshold of a donkey when a monkey sticks its foot up its ass if i wanted but Im not into that ****.

You don't live near Liverpool yet support the only top four side not to win EPL title, conscious decision, or epic fail?
hahahaha

I don’t give a **** tbh. I have a feeling that when Liverpool do finally win the title (I HOPE TO LIVE TO SEE THE DAY LOL) that I may lose my interest in football after that because its like when you love the chase of getting a girl. Once you got her, you’re like **** this ****. Does you get me homedawg?

Can you tell us a bit about Sufism (I know we all have wiki) and how do you relate to that sect of Islam? Through parents or individually? id imagine you are Sunni from birth anyway. id imagine you're Punjabi then.
Sufism is a complex and broad subject. However the best way I can describe Sufism is to say that it is the spiritual aspect of Islam. To live a life in a state or trying to achieve asceticism and to prepare more for the next world rather than concentrating on this world and thinking that you will live forever.

I relate to Sufism through my parents and have studied it myself individually; it has always been something that helps me.

I would say one of the main benefits of Sufism for myself has been to look at difficulties and hardship as a test from God and to always remember the perceptiveness of this world and that the next world is the one we must prepare for.

Any hobbies?
Playing football and I used to be big into bike riding but haven’t been going for a long time. Maybe when the weather picks up

Ignorance is born through lack of knowledge, but the knowledge is there, why don’t people acknowledge it?
Maybe it isn’t because they don’t acknowledge the knowledge. It may be because they misinterpret it or may even be that their mind is deceitful, locking off that knowledge through a mental block to protect them from the harshness of reality.

If you could get rid of one member, who would it be?
No one really. There is no one that doesn’t contribute in some way to this site.

When are you getting married?
Soon. I am praying for this summer. It would most likely happen early august God willingly and everyone is invited

I had to do some convincing to my parents as I am marrying outside the family which is the norm within my culture. It has taken two years to convince them and now we are looking to arrange it in the summer.

If I was going on a holiday to Pakistan, where would I go and what would i do?
There is a lot of culture in Pakistan and some beautiful Masjids to visit. The best place I visited was Lahore. It has a bit of the night life and it has a lot of beautiful mosques there which I visited. Ive also been to Islamabad where Faisal Masjid is which is pretty impressive.

However, i love it because I lived within my families village and experienced a different lifestyle which is what I look for when I go abroad and was why I hated Dubai. It sucks.

What do you think of Sultan? do you think his hate of Islam is now becoming an act, he’s putting on a show? its like he’s trying to hate islam even more than he really does, do you agree?
I don’t like the guy. I think he is a hypocrite of the highest order. Fair enough, he left Islam. I have no problem with that. The guy talks like he is Gods gift to mankind and that his opinion is only valid. Atheists talk of how religious people should respect their beliefs, however with someone like him it is very hypocritical because he blasts other people for having certain beliefs.

When he isn’t discussing religion, he’s ayt.

In your view, do you view Sufism as the best 'face' for Islam to put forward in terms of opening up dialogue with the West and promoting cultural harmonization between different cultural groups?
Yes, very much so. Sufism is the way forward. It is the sect of Islam that doesn’t have any sort of radicalism. It is kind of like our Buddhism. It promotes peace and it focuses on the individual which is what Muslims need to focus on at the moment. For me, Sufism is Islam and there are aspects of Sufism in most religions and most Sufis don’t have any problem with living in the west and respect this country unlike the people from Islam4uk.

What is your favourite place that you have travelled to and why?
Madina in Saudi Arabia. More specifically, the Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad. I have never felt more spiritually at ease than when I am there. It is amazing to feel the difference between Makkah (where the Ka’aba is) and Madina. It is the most peaceful place.

After them I would say Mafia Island just off Tanzania, amazing place with amazing people. Syria was also brilliant because of the people, just friendly and very accommodating.

Do you believe Liverpool will finish in the top 4?
I don’t think we will. The squad is very poor and out of form and I believe that teams like Man City and Tottenham have more in their locker. Also, these two teams look like they mean business this year.

Watching Liverpool play is worse than stabbing yourself in the eye at the moment.

What's your stance on Sufi-influenced spiritual organizations that have sprung up in non-Islam countries that, even though they are not in any sense a Muslim organization of any sort, incorporate many of the teachings and spiritual methodology of Sufism in their outlooks? Do you think that cheapens Sufism and is an insult to the faith?
I don’t believe it cheapens Sufism at all. Many people argue that Sufism isn’t even something that is Islamic but is universal. I don’t believe that myself however I do not think it cheapens Sufism and I believe people can use it by any medium they wish to as long as long as it benefits them.

Obviously I do wish more people become Muslim Sufis but if it did help them in some way that is always a positive thing.

If you could travel anywhere where would you go and why?
Morocco. Because its a beautiful country with so much heritage and culture. Plus its an Islamic country which would mean all the food halal

There have been, many comparisons and contradictions to yourself and the boxer Naseem hamed. Both very small and skinny, both called Naz, one is a Prince, ones a Queen. Are you handy in a fight?
hahaha. Interesting question to say the least. Im not skinny by the way but I can be your queen

Im not the type to get into fights to be honest. Im a very non confrontational kind of person and I don’t think I would do well in a fight.

The last fight I had was with my older brother in which both of us were losers

Im a lover...not a fighter.

Favourite non scousers player and why?
In the team now?

Has to be Torres for obvious reasons. I also loved Alonso when he used to play for us

Who do you hate more? Everton or Manchester United.
Manchester United.Everton is more of a local thing and I don’t know many Everton fans in real life tbh. United fans are fvcking everywhere and each one talks more **** than the last when it comes to football and all the ones I know CANNOT take banter at all.

The ones on this site are brilliant though.

Does it ever piss you off that Anfield is full of these johnny come lately fans who don't live in the City and have no real link to the club, keeping honest local fans like yourself at home or behind your keyboard, forced to watch some stream in Indian or a language you don't understand?
It really does piss me off. All these foreigners coming into our country, taking our women, taking our jobs, eating our curry, drinking our tea.

Deport them all back to Pakistan I say.

Are you the Liverpool fan who's a virgin?
Yup. Virgin by choice not by looks like half the guys on this site. (sleeping with hookers doesn’t count RM)

What's Naz rocking on his Ipod when he's down the street?
Mainly Rap and Rnb. Im listening to a lot of Chamillionaire at the moment, I think he is a real good on topic rapper and just a mixture of all the latest tunes really.

How is it as a British member of islam in the UK do you ever feel like the stereotypes hold you back?
Not much tbh. Im not the type to complain about it or feel like Im being held back by stereotypes. There are many different challenges in life that come in different forms that different types of individuals have to come across and get past. If you let **** like that hold you back, you will not get far in life.

How strict are you on religion?
I used to be very strict. I remember back in school and a part of college life, I wouldn’t even speak to girls because of religion and i used to pray 5 times consistently a day. I used to be at the mosque reading quran after school for around 4 and a half hours a day.

At this moment of time, my religion has fallen a lot and I hope to get a spiritual recharging and will be hoping to perform the pilgrimage of Hajj this year insha Allah (God willingly)

If you could bring back one member, who would it be?
I wouldn’t say this member has gone but I would like to see Killah start posting in here again. I speak to him often on msn and he’s a top bloke and someone I can relate to a lot.

What are your views on Sha'ria law? Specifically as relates to the treatment of women?
I believe it is fair. I also believe that Islam empowers women and does not oppress them at all.

Firstly look at the Quranic passage ‘there is no compulsion in religion’

Not only does this mean that we must force everyone to become a Muslim but it also means that even performing religious acts cannot be forced on a person. They have to want to do it. For example, the wearing of the scarf. If a Muslim woman doesn’t want to do it then that is up to her, there is no oppression like many mistaken there to be.

Islam gave women rights at a time where female babies were being buried alive. Just look at the rights of wife within marriage.

You are having 5 forum members over for dinner and some fun. Who is coming and why?

SMG316- He is one of my favourite members on this site and me and him hit off from the get go. I think he is someone that I would get along with in ‘real life’ as well. And I can cuss him for bein Indian and he can cuss me for being a Pakistani

Killa- The guy cracks me up with some of the stuff he comes out with in msn convos and it would be good to chill with.

Bossanova- I find him to be the most interesting person on this site and he comes out with a lot of funny ****. He can also ramble on about this bird that he fancies.

The Big Easy- He is just a loveable guy. Never really noticed him much before but he would be good to go out with and he can take the piss out of me for the whole ‘FA Cup Draw’ thread

RCKB- Even though he has had a lot of stick lately. I don’t believe he is a racist at all but I like him and think he would bring out the devil within me lol

Have you had enough of the snow yet?
No- I cant get enough. It makes everything look ever so pretty
winter>summer any day of the week.

Big Freeze in football, don’t you think it was a bit of a over-hyped crap all these games getting called off?
Not really, you can always reschedule and the safety of people is lot more important than some football game. Postponing a football game is better than having someone die in a car accident or something like that.

Interview compiled by Lil Yiddo with questions submitted by members of Soccer 24-7.

Member Interviews: grobbelaargate

Tell us a bit about yourself...
I'm Sean Facer. Aged 25. 6ft tall and weighing in tonight at 14st. Live with my mother, but looking to change that within the next year. I work for plastic moulding company which is a shithole and I've been wanting out for a while but sadly in this day and age, it's not a choice so work my way up the ladder I try until something better comes along. I don't get up to much in the week besides work. I love music, reading football autobiographies on a rare day and I'm developing skill in Italian cuisine. At the weekend, it's time with my girlfriend, who I've been with for 19 months and counting.

My first Wolves game I went to see was against Notts County in December 1994. We won 1-0, Bully was the scorer and it was John De Wolf's debut that day too. I've been a regular season ticket holder for fifteen seasons and I'm considering it making it the final season seeing as we're at the top.

If you could sign anyone for Wolves, who would it be?
Michael Essien (not Mancienne for you dyslexics out there). He can do almost anything with great efficiency. Defend, tackle, pass, attack, score, run from box-to-box and he has a great physical conditioning. More valuable than Drogba, Lampard and Terry combined. Closest player to resemble Duncan Edwards.

So, its snowing. Do you want to come and make a snowman and some snow angels with me? It would be pretty cool.
Why not? Love snow angels. Love making huge snowballs as well. Would be cool indeed.

What's your political views?
Labour through and through. Even though I'm slightly disillusioned by this government restricting our freedom of choice. Still better than having the Tories and that phonie David Cameron in though. So in a nutshell, I'm left-wing.

Have you even been arrested?
No. Had aspirations to be arrested for being too merry though.

Why is Craddock your favourite player?
He's been a sensational performer over the last few seasons and I dread to think where we would be without him. Last season - for me - emphasised his importance to the team. We had Neill Collins in the team and we just brought in Christophe Berra and we leaking goals for fun and then we dropped Collins and Craddock stepped in and we've been keeping clean sheets or conceded just the one goal every game. If wasn't for him, we would be stuck in the CCC, or worst, be the whipping boys of the Premiership. I wasn't expecting him to be a starting regular this season but was expecting a new contract as 'thank you'. And he's a top fella too. Does a lot of charity and community stuff. A club legend in my eyes

What wrong with your club's badge, it looks like a disney icon.
Disney icon? You think so? I always thought it looked like one of those blocks you see on that old quiz show Blockbusters. I must say, it does look minimalist, looking at it. My good friend Nes does some great artwork. Ask upon request and I reckon he'll display

I was at the game where the woman got hit by a firework, I'm convinced it was an assassination attempt on the Premiership's greatest ever striker, why do Wolves dislike Shearer so much and are there any plans to greet Craig Bellamy in the same manner?
I think the fans dislike Shearer because of what happened in that game. Shearer lunged in with two feet on Lee Naylor and referee Steve Bennett gave him a talking to whereas minutes later, Naylor was pulling Shearer's shirt, nowhere to go anyway, Bennett books Naylor. It's either that reason or that Lescott had Shearer in his pocket in that great FA Cup tie the season before.

I think the fans hate Bellamy a bit more just for the fact that he's had a bit of a ill-disciplined past. A good seeing to from Kevin Muscat when Bellamy was at Norwich won't forgotten easily.

Who was your idol as a child and why?
Peter Schmeichel. I was inspired by him to play goalkeeper and tried to emulate him in every single way but dye my hair blonde and have a red nose. A lot of kids mocked my shouting and my way of spreading my body out. **** them. I stopped them from scoring.

What's your favourite holiday destination?
I love to go back to Barcelona again. Beautiful weather, great football, beautiful sites and views to see. I wanted to stop forever rather than just the week.

Are you aware of the past of the Wolves fans on this forum and the association of madness?
Nes mentioned this forum to me and he does tell me of the nutters that were on here, past and present. Some like Woof and Norwolf remain thank goodness.

How do you rate England’s chances in the World Cup?
A better chance than last time, and the only two things that's changed since 2006 is the management and discipline. Very highly just by looking at how the tournament has panned out, we should make the semis with ease, permitting we're at full strength. Got one or two weak links in the team but I'm confident that we can overcome this to stand a good chance.

Shag, marry, kill? Shakira, Rihanna, Cheryl Cole.
Rihanna - kill - I can't be dealing with someone/something that says the last two syllables of every single sentence.

Shakira - shag - But she's gott a shut the **** up though.

Cheryl Cole - marry - She deserves better. I am better.

Have you ever broke a bone?
Nope. Had a curly wurly finger for a week though. Why it didn't break is beyond me.

Do you like sombreros?
I love them. I went to Madrid and Barcelona but I never had the chance to go out and buy one. Next time, eh? And a moustache to boot, yah?

Whats your alcoholic weapon of choice?
Can of Budweiser. It tastes better of the can than the bottle. First choice every time I'm out on the tiles.

Do you like Cheesy Wotsits?
Nah. Space Raiders FTW!

Are there any users you just simply think are idiots?
Upon my short time here, I haven't had much time to judge who's an idiot to be honest. But two names springs to mind are Akira and Calean. OTID and Sniper were tools too. Good calls on getting rid.

Give me your 5 track album of 2009
Grizzly Bear - Fine For Now
John Frusciante - Dark/Light
The Decemberists - The Rake's Song
The Horrors - Sea Within A Sea
**** Buttons - Surf Solar

A curry and a pint of ice cold lager....heaven eh?
Oh yes! Chicken jalfrezi, peshwari naan, can of Bud. MWAH!

You’ve become quite a popular member in a short space of time, how are you finding your new found fame?
I'm handling it alright. Bit overwhelmed when I looked that MvM results and see that I've beaten someone like Foley who is a decent bloke and has been on this forum for years. To be honest, I couldn't imagine myself having such status once I joined but there's some great people on this forum and there's been so many great threads that it's made me stick around here for much longer.

We've all seen your penis, does this embarrass you?
Not really. It's all about efficiency over size for me. It's like comparing Maradona to Heskey. Which is the more effective? I'll leave it for you to decide.

What's your idea of a culinary treat?
Post-match pakoras and samosas

Even though West Brom yoyo, would it be right to say they're a better side than Wolves?
To be honest sometimes I watch West Brom in the CCC and wished we could play that kind of attacking football. But to answer to the question, they have had the upper hand on us in recent years and why not as they've got a good group of players themselves

January. One in, one out … Name them.
Out - Wayne Hennessey - cash him in for big money before he exposes himself as an average keeper.

In - Benni McCarthy - We don't have time for SEB getting there and if Doyle gets crocked, we're doomed. Proven goalscorer at this level is sorely needed.

Is Calean an idiot or misunderstood?
Idiot. From what I've seen, the boy is not right in the head. The power of Christ has corrupted him.

If you could kill anyone and get away with it who would it be?
Simon Cowell. He's made millions by making karaoke singers look like superstars before spitting the flavour out of them. Since when was singing for 2 minutes for once a week live with all the poxy choreography in the world made an artist great? Plus if I kill him, ITV won't have a leg to stand on. I'll kill him by having him and myself with a baseball bat in my hand so he won't know what's coming.

Same question but say if it was a 24-7 member.
Akira. His knowledge of football is poor. And I'd kill him the same way as Cowell.

Do you remember your "first time"? Was it special?
Christmas Eve last year. I'd say it was. We've been wanting to do it for a bit but something always had to crop up. So glad we did and glad it was with someone I had feelings for.

So you support Wolves, what I want to ask you is, which type is your favourite. Is it Grey Wolf, Tundra Wolf, Arctic Wolf?
Grey Wolf. Scary as hell.

What is your greatest Wolves' memory?
Beating Charlton 3-2 two seasons ago. I watched it on the big screen in a pub in town. The atmosphere was awesome and when SEB scored that amazing goal to make 2-1, the place erupted but when Karl Henry made it 3-2 in the 94th minute, the city could hear the pub scream from the rooftops and I was buzzing so much I felt like a kid at Christmas. I stopped in town afterwards, got pissed, yet I was still buzzing. Got home at 3am and still buzzing, didn't go to sleep until 8am.

If you had the chance to go into space, would you?
If you guarantee my return, then yes. Going into space isn't a big deal as much as it was years ago.

What runs but never walks, has a mouth but never talks?
An Ethopian athlete.

What’s your best podcast on your iTunes?
Don't do podcasts. Don't have the time for them.

What's your favourite smiley? Share it with us.


So we’re halfway through the season (almost), how do you fancy your chances of staying up?
Very likely, we've finally got a team that's playing week in, week out and getting used to each other's game. I think another striker is sorely needed. Without Doyle, we won't look like scoring.

If your a wolves fan.. why the name grobbelaargate?
At the time prior to joining I was a bit fixated with the matchfixing scandal back in the 1990s, particularly with Bruce Grobbelaar's case as he sued The Sun and was awarded compensation only to be counter-sued and left bankrupt. And I was struggling for a name at the time too. I love to change it now but I'm known by it by a lot of people now so I'm sticking with it.

Tell us about your career. What do you do? What does your job role include?
Career? What career? I did rotten in school so I went straight to college and did NVQs in Business Administration. Managed to get Level 2 but could not get a job in the office/admin field so I'm sticking it out in a factory for the time being. I seem to have lost my career drive over the last few years.

I've been doing a variety of roles over the last few months. Been toolsetting on laser-marking machines, been doing some material handling and I've been packing mouldings, which is boring. Dunno whether I wanna stick it out here and try moving up the ladder or look elsewhere.

What do you want for Christmas?
Peace on earth and a jazzmaster.

Is the Molineux ever gonna have the corners filled in?
Steve Morgan has mentioned doing the stadium as a whole ie getting the fans closer to the action, filling in corners etc. I think he'll get around to doing it as soon as our Premiership status is stable.

Sith or Jedi?
Chewie. I don't follow Star Wars, but Chewie looks awesome.

Have you ever needed stitches?
Once back in 2003. I was walking - sorry, staggering - back from a notorious pub that has since seen a few friends of mine get glassed or the **** kicked out of them. A bunch of guys got out of a car and beat me down. Luckily enough, instinct got me to put my hands over my head and I got kicked in the ribs, hands and fingers, all bruised at the end of the beating, fingers and hands more so. Still managed to have a few nasty blows to the head. I required 12 stitches in the back of the head.

What’s your views/opinions of the females on the forum?
Yiddo - Top lass of the class. Friendly, talks a really good game, gets along with everyone.

Barcelinha - Decent poster when she pops in the EPL section. Great taste in music.

Ruudlover - United through and through. Don't see her much outside the United forum but she's alright.

In all honesty they're stark contrast to the females who I talk to about football. They can't talk a good game to save their lives.

That's all the females I know of on here so if I missed you out, I apologise, unless your name is Clare Balding.

Are you travelling home and away with Wolves whilst they play their football in the Premier League?
I can't be arsed to travel away to be honest. I'm taking a page out of Geesus' book not deciding not to bother after he went to watch us get demoralised 5-1 against Blackburn when we were in the Premiership first time around.

What's your biggest fear?
Although I'm slowly overcoming it, it's heights. My girlfriend dragged me to Pleasure Beach a few weeks ago. Good money to hear me scream my ass off on the Pepsi Max. Lost my voice halfway through.

Are you a Facebook kinda person or is it Twitter for you?
Facebook. I do my best to have time for Twitter though.

Have you bought your tissues for after you get knocked out the FA Cup against Tranmere?
I have indeed Scoot. I'll be needing them whilst I'm eating my curry whilst watching us stuff the jingle bells out of your lot.

Do you play football if so, what position and what’s on your pre-match iPod selection?
I do, though it's just a big kickabout with the lads if it's all arranged. I play goalkeeper, but recently have been trying my luck in a number of positions.
As for a pre-match playlist it's very much the same as what I play before I go out on a matchday...

Jeff Wayne - Eve of the War
Talking Heads - Crosseyed And Painless
Jorge Ben - Ponta De Lança Africano (Umbabarauma)
Liars - Plaster Casts Of Everything
Radiohead - The National Anthem

How many fingers am I holding up?
Orange?

The day Wolves got promoted, how did you feel?
Not as ecstatic as most fans as sensed it was gonna happen weeks prior to the QPR game. Still very chuffed though.

Who do you think will finish in the top 4?
Right now Man Utd and Chelsea are shoe-ins. It's up in the air for the two spots. I reckon Villa will have the mileage and the squad this time around. Arsenal will be there and abouts with or without Van Persie. Liverpool seem to have a habit of finishing seasons strongly over the years but their squad has weakened for the losses of Arbeloa, Hyypia and Alonso, despite the arrivals. Spurs are a good side who will be lurking around but they need to start beating big scalps to be certain of a place. Man City has the advantage of having the resources on their side, but whether it'll be used wisely remains to be seen. But if Mancini identifies the problem behind the leaky defence, they're a serious contender.

Who do you think will get relegated?
At this point and time...

Pompey - they have a chancer for an owner and have spent nothing on players and it wouldn't surprise me if the last of their star players left.

Hull - A sitting duck without Jimmy Bullard and Geovanni looks like a different player from the one that wooed me.

Third spot can be anyone from 12th downwards. Hard to tell.

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Interview compiled by Lil Yiddo with questions submitted by members of Soccer 24-7.

Lech Poznan Fans at a U-11 Cup game



Unbelievable.