Sigh.

Whatever the cause, and there are those with far more knowledge on that subject than I, the fact is that world economy is going down the shitter. In the west we are collectively rich enough that none of us will REALLY suffer. Yes we'll have to make cut backs and tighten our belts but the fact is that with the exception of a very unfortunate few we will all have a roof over our heads, food in our stomachs and clothes on our back, even in the worst case scenario.

No, the people that will really suffer will inevitably be those in developing nations as individuals cut back what they give to charities and governments cut back on the international aid they give. People will suffer and people will die. So in that context it is all the more infuriating to read stories like this.

Yup, in a world that is running out of money more and more of it is being spent on arms, particularly in the Pacific and Asia. Now I'm not singling out Australia here, the fact is that they are doing this in response to other nations in the region so to single them out would be grossly unfair. However in the same way that armies were built up and alliances forged in Europe in the build up to World War 1 this situation seems to be both dangerous and pointless and most importantly diverts money from where it could surely be better spent, ie in rural China or the slums of Mumbai where people are genuinely going hungry.

It's not just in Asia either, the USA and Europe are also spending huge amounts of money on new ways of killing people, many of which seem to bear little relevance to the threats that we do face. What, I ask you, is the point? In Britain in particular we have seen, in the last few years massive investment in the Navy. The entire amphibious fleet has been replaced, the entire destroyer fleet is in the process of being replaced, Swiftsure submarines are being replaced with Astute class and 2 massive aircraft carriers are about to be built. And yet which country do we probably face the biggest threat from?

Afghanistan. Which is land locked.

I try to stay calm and patient in the face of such utter madness but, at times, it's so fucking difficult.

God, I pray, give me strength!

Senses. And the taking leave there of.

I am a lover of football, as regular readers will know, and I love the FA cup. I think there is nothing more romantic than a midweek cup replay played under floodlights, preferably in the worst possible weather conditions. It has a certain something to it that league football can never quite achieve. I also love to see bums on seats, I think it’s great for the competition and I’m always worried, for all number of reasons when ticket sales are restricted.

Yet despite all that, when word reached my ears this morning that tickets for the Arsenal v Cardiff FA cup replay have been put on general sale by Arsenal, with no restrictions, no need for membership or even a history of having bought a ticket before, my immediate reaction was to wonder whether somebody in north London has taken leave of their senses.

Football fans have cleaned up their behaviour immeasurably since the dark days of the early 80s. Yet that is not to say that incidents of football related violence don’t still happen. The Hull v Milwall game at the weekend demonstrated that. And certain clubs, such as Milwall, still have an element following them who are intent on causing trouble.

And high up in that list is Cardiff City.

I have only visited Ninian Park on one occasion and it was not a pleasant experience. The crowd was only about 4000 for a fairly tame mid table 4th division game but the atmosphere was still threatening and I have no intention of going back.

Arsenal are in effect inviting Cardiff worst element, ie the lot that have been banned, to buy tickets in the home sections for a mid week game where they will have been able to drink all day. I am predicting chaos, I am predicting a bloody riot. In addition it’s not like it will be easy to keep fans apart after the game or before it. Anyone familiar with the area will no that the Emirates is located in a rabbit warren of residential streets with access from 4 or 5 different stations. It’s a nightmare when the crowd is behaving itself.

I’m no expert in crowd control of management but it’s pretty clear that somebody somewhere has fucked up completely.

Thick as 12 board feet of wood

This season it's started early. Far earlier than usual. Oh yes.

What am I talking about you may ask? I'm talking about the total inability of my fellow Barnet supporters to get there head around the concept of ticketing for football matches. And it drives up the wall, it drives me to distraction, it makes me want to hit their head, and mine, repeatedly against the nearest hard surface.

Usually it takes the coming of a big game such as last seasons FA cup 4th round game against Bristol Rovers. Back then people could not get their heads around the idea of a game selling tickets both in advance and then selling those remaining on the gate. How hard is that to get your head around? I mean really? But no, in the build up people were insisting that this must mean that some were being held back for the day and when they found there were only standing tickets on the day got the right hump. Why? What was so difficult about the fact that some areas of the ground might be more popular and so might sell out in advance?

This year we have a cup 1st round game. It's never going to sell out, no area of the ground will sell out. And yet people are getting in a right tiz. They can't get their head around the idea of the fact that tickets can be bought in advance and still on the gate! They keep asking when the ticket office will shut, when is the latest they can get one. For fucks sake! It's Barnet v fucking Rochdale! And then they struggle with the idea that the voucher in the back of season tickets that quite clearly says it gives you a £2 discount on cup tickets gives you a er..... £2 discount on cup tickets. What is so hard to understand? Where is the problem?

In short, why are there so many thick people in the world?