Sao Paulo

Gasoline. Audioslave.

Fire - Daniel Lanois.

Marilyn Manson. 'Arma-god-damn-mother-fuckin'-geddon'.

Fucking hideous game of football.

Good technical player then? I'll get back to you via. this or via. Dave. Six texts have been dispatched to players all across central Scotland. Awaiting replies.

I'll endeavour to make sure this goes ahead. I could go a game too. Five players is the requisite amount as of just now. Texting round to find numbers.

This isn't cancelled but thanks for that anyway Kevin. Last check we had five confirmed two pending. I'm looking for bodies at present. Hopeful of going ahead.

Jim Reeves. Welcome To My World.

Shinedown - Second Chance. Don't give the thumbs up to a lot of modern rock but this most certainly receives. Right Gritty voice the vocalist has. Powerful number.

Every one up the Lum! Ah well.

9.10 Leicester. Short Cut. To win. Reverse Forecast. Short Cut, Kheskianto. Three Each Way Singles. Bold Bomber. Iron Out. Makaykla. (Exhales) Thank god. I was beginning to itch.

I've a code of good punting written in my head though I've ceased adhering to it now that the season has finished. Stated before that I didn't do long odds and full cover stuff but having time to kill at weekends and working some fairly unexacting Monday-Friday shifts has driven me to it. Bit of mild excitement and that. (Despite knowing full well how much of a mugs game it is). Dug some fucked lines out the Wallet this afternoon which have accumulated (Pun well intended ) over the past two or three months. More of them than I might have liked I may add! You know you're in a bad way when you've gave the bookies £7 for a Patent involving three races at Vaal. With all due respect to the course. There's little or nothing to go on there but the form and the odds. Must have been bored that day! A double on two class 6 Handicaps at Southwell I found as well. After Googling the horses. Just loads of total nothing races. I find it's quite easy to make money off the big well covered flat races. They're just not coming around quick enough for my liking. That's addiction for you but isn't it?

Anyone know what's happened to good old John (McCririck) by the way? Didn't catch him on Channel 4 This afternoon at all? Ladies day too! I know he's been made part time but honestly. A massive date in the calendar and no John!? Can't be doing with that. Scandalous. Bring back John.

I'm wearing a very wide grin on my face. Sea The Stars, I imagine you'll have heard, won this years Derby in some style. My grin would almost be on the back of my head however had Golden Sword who ran a brilliant race got into the places. Had it each way and lead for the majority of the race. A blanket finish seen Masterofthehorse just nose it from him. Can't emphasise enough how close it was. I think I'm vindicated though. 33/1 Was great value for that horse. Black Bear Island ran a good race as well. All that analysis paid off. Quite literally. Not painting the town red but it's another win under the belt!

Right the Derby then. I found making a selection here utterly arduous. Cannot stress that enough. After much deliberation though I've made Sea The Stars my pick to win. Sitting at 11/4 at the moment. Justification? A thin one. Hinging on two or three very minor and realistically negligible things. There is so little to tell it apart from Fame & Glory after all. Oxx's horse gets my money principally because of what I imagine the going will be this afternoon. Presently it's Good at Epsom Good to Firm in places. I anticipate it will be Good or better come quarter to four. That's something which might just might favour STS. Talking about form, I would be inclined to say that Sea The Stars' is marginally more impressive. It's pitted its' wits against better opposition in my eyes and triumphed without falter. The only other thing I think significant is the betting. In which I gather he, the favourite, has attracted by far and away the most interest. (I would be dismissive of the Stamina concerns. Stars will stay it I'm confident). All the above said it's not going to be a demolition. It'll be as close as it's ever been. And not for a minute am I saying the likes of Rip Van Winkle & Gan Amhras don't have chance by the way. Two horses I've backed before (Guineas). Johnny Murtagh saddles RVW with the claim that he's a special horse even more so than F&G he believes. Having had the option to ride either. That's got to speak volumes. Although I gather pundits have written Van Winkle off regardless. Seems strange to me. I'm going each way on Black Bear Island purely because of his most recent run at York. Pipped Freemantle past the post with a mercurial burst of speed. Got stronger as the race went on and really went after he crossed. Suggesting to me that the 1m 4f Epsom trip might play into his hands. Or hooves should I say! I'm also going EW on Golden Sword. I think 33/1 represents great value here. A good horse that retains the jockey with whom upon it won the Chester Vase. Don't hold a lot of hope out mind. On a footnote I'd just add that I feel the pricing is particularly well representing of each horse's chance.

Placepot up. Sariska won the Oaks. Look here finished third in the coronation. All in all a good day. Reckon I'm up £20 odds. Not seen the Pot divvy yet. Re the Derby. I'll be back with some assessment soonish.

£1 Win Patent 2:10 Plum Pudding (Mile) 2:45 Youmzain (Coronation) 4:05 Sariska (Oaks) £10 Single on Sariska to win the Oaks. Duncan & Look Here £2 EW Singles in the Coronation. Placepot (50p) (Epsom); 1;1,3. 2;1,4. 3;3,7. 4;1,6. 5;3,7. 6;3,6. I'm still mulling over my Derby lays. I'll be back this evening with some more in-depth ramblings.

Must say, I'm surprised that there's been no discussion of the Derby. Don't tell me I'm the only one that's following the season?

I said nothing of the sort. Nor can I recall the passage of play you refer to. Though I'm not, in that, accusing you of inventing it. Just my poor memory. Perhaps my murmuring was along the lines of 'c***s cannae be bothered' or 'Obviously c***s aren't bothering'. I would never adopt such an attitude lest it was the case that my team-mates were inept to the point where any endeavours of mine would ultimately be fruitless. Or in other words the no-win scenario. Fair enough though we all mishear stuff. I'm pretty bad for it myself. As for sensitive, I'll accept the charge. My response was comprehensive enough wasn't it? Although in self defence that was because I couldn't interpret whether your quote was an accusation I had made before or, as it turns out, what you thought I'd given as an excuse. Moreover, there aren't many people who would remain entirely unresponsive to defamation. And for me in this instance if I had remained silent I would have appeared hypocritical. Enough of my verboseness for now. The incident is forgotten.

Could I ask you to clarify Dave? If your perception of my performance was that it lacked in effort at times then I'm not sure what reaction that merits from me? There was no intentional laze from myself on Monday night. Might I suggest that you've looked too far into or conversely not far enough into the way things panned out on a couple of occasions? I recall you telling me that I was standing spare only the once. If memory serves? In that particular instance it wasn't a case of me abandoning my responsibilities. I had attempted to position myself at what was there or thereabouts an even distance between two men who were without markers (Kaz & the other Mark? Is it?). I remarked afterwards although I confess it was more a mumble because play had recommenced. As was often such towards the end of this week's game it happened that possession was conceded shoddily at one end of the field and an immediate recompense became necessary. The respective fitness levels of those who made up our five weren't sufficient to wholly maintain the excellent (And it was) organisation which we had been achieving for around about half an hour, maybe forty five minutes; getting up and down the pitch & orchestrating our marking effectively. In my eyes the definitive and only explanation for our fall away. The decision I made in the above detail was only logical taking into account the mobility of said individuals (similar) and gave me the best chance of intercepting/closing down/dispossessing either should they receive the ball or be passed to. The alternative was of course sticking with one leaving another free and more presentable for a pass. I thought it unwise. But now find myself irked because it's your belief, I presume, that it was me who wasn't finding a jersey or was meandering through lack of will. Au contraire I was doing only what was reasonable to make amends for the fitness of others - Messrs. Boyce & Muir openly admit to their relative lack of by the way and mentioned afterwards to Kevin & myself. I've had a go at inability before. Like hell I have. It does irritate and even sadden me when it impedes on my enjoyment of the game. Though such plaintiveness is two faced. After all I'm the one consenting. It's me who decides I want to play with person(s) who might be of limited skill. I'm aware beforehand. Relentless in-your-face criticism discourages some (I know it does me) and that's why I apologised profusely after that Jekyllish night of mine. God knows I try not to make it especially virulent when I'm critical. My self control has waned this past year through other circumstances and without doubt it's rubbed off on the football. I'm in the process of rectifying the issue at the moment. (FWIW; I'd hold my hand up as solely liable for two goals which we shipped on the night. Kevin's shielding of the ball twice deceived me as I opted to dive in leaving him to turn away from me). Edited for typo.

Won a score on Di Stefano in the 2.30 Today at Ripon. 2/1 TW. Got a pound each way on The Bully Wee in the 8.50 at Folkestone this evening but it hasn't a hope in hell. Just a novelty thing.

The tax man wasn't supposed to know about ChrisyM's bung but now it's out in the open. Real smooth Kevin. Real smooth.

Don't allow Kevin to fool you. It was me who secured the coup that was the presence ChrisyM92 this evening and the other lad Boyce. By Christ it took some doing as well. What I'm trying to say here is... Such quality contingency mightn't be available every week. ChrisyM will want a wage for any future appearances I gather and 'Boycey' is, I understand, club contracted to Italian Serie B side AlbinoLeffe so he's really went above and beyond call to fill in this evening. Chartered flights and everything. ( ?) On a serious note. Decent enough tonight. A number tired towards the end and we were ragged to say the least without the ball. Fresh blood made it a somewhat more interesting affair I thought. As it has done in the past as well.

Get in.