Even though Power was poor last season, Bogle was a potentially dangerous headless chicken and I’ve not seen enough of Byrne to comment, this looks like bad business to me. Fair play tell them off and listen to offers, but don’t do it publically. Making them train away from the squad and allowing them to vent on Twitter will only intensify bad feeling and make the players much harder to actually cash in on.

That was an interesting post, Steve, and in a way it does come back around to Glastonbury. Just like your supposedly poor neighbours being able to afford booze and fags, there were a number of pundits this year sneering at Glastonbbury for being a knees-up for the confortabky off.

This misses the point slightly. No matter how poor you are, you will find a way to get to the pub, or see your team in Europe, or get to have a massive blowout at Glastonbury every now and then – and why not?

Your point about Jezza being able to help the working poor, crippled by rents is more thorny. New Labour’s working family tax credits helped people materially but effectively subsidised low wages. A return to proper union recognition, an end to zero-hour contracts and widespread building of social housing would help more. Unfortunately, successive governments have believed that the only way for us to thrive is for the UK to become a low-wage economy, eventually competing with the economies of the developing world on the same terms. But productivity in this country is abysmal. Would people maybe work better if we were a high-wage, high-skill economy, where workers had a stake in their companies’ fortunes (the John Lewis/Co-op model)?

What has the de-regulation of the rail and energy industry done for us, really. They were supposed to bring cheaper prices and innovation through increased competition. Instead we got a rigged market where most of the profits go offshore. Furthermore the nationalised British Rail used to have brilliant research and development, just as local authorities used to have direct works forces; all good jobs with skills-learning and a recognised career path Now sadly cut to the bone by this senseless obsession with competition.

At least these issues – what sort of economy will work best for all of us – are finally being aired. My belief is that further privatisation and pay-as-you-go in education and health is un-British and totally unsustainable with earnings and rents being what they are. Imagine all those victims of the Manchester bombing coming round to find they’d been billed thousands of pounds for their hospital treatment. Many on the right of the Tory party (coincidentally lobbied and funded by private health firms) would be perfectly comfortable with that scenario.

Looking further into our future, PapaLazarouOnTour thought that I was on the wacky baccy for suggesting that AI and robotics will kill off entire sectors and usher in a new post-capitalist, increased leisure and community-focused economy. I suggest he watches Thursday night’s Horizon documentary about the implications of autonomous vehicles. The future is closer than you think and at least Labour are thinking about it.

While there are no certainties in politics, it’s even more remarkable to think that they’ll be doing it by coming in from the left rather than the centre ground. The. consensus has definitely shifted in recent weeks. But when Conservatism, whatever that means, can’t keep people from going hungry or feeling safe in their homes, it was perhaps inevitable.

There’s those with no religion and those who don’t vote, too, but I don’t know anything – I’m in a London bubble apparently! For the record, Alistair, I know dozens of people from Northern Ireland, probably about 70-30 Protestants over the years, and they’re all somewhat embarrassed by the state of the province’s politics. Given that most of them choose to live over here, that’s not surprising. But what I’m not doing is indulging in I’ll-informed rhetoric. The peace is fragile. The arms that the DUP, under the guise of Ulster Resistance, helped to smuggle in (used in 70 murders) were never decommissioned, they’re still stockpiled. And there was plenty of black loyalist humour online about “getting the boys back together”, when the arguments about Jezza and the DUP started to rage.

Now, you ask would ,Corbyn have sought a similar deal with Sinn Féin. History would suggest not, but as they’ve already sat in Stormont and been democratically elected, I wouldn’t have any problem with them sitting in Westminster. I can’t see it, though, and, to be honest, standing for election and not recognising the institution you’re standing for seems a pointless gesture these days. Along with most moderate people, I wish the politics of Northern Ireland were divided along class lines like the rest of the UK, rather than religion, nationalism and loyalism. What is interesting, though, is that despite our appalling electoral system, we have ended up with a parliament that represents public opinion and will put a brake on austerity, hard Brexit etc.

Pleased also to see our Steve clarifying a few points above. I think it’s too simplistic to describe the events of recent weeks as tragedies; they have causes and many of them are political. Had Andy Burnham not intervened for the Hillsborough families, would we be seeing today’s charges against the police? But I agree there is blame on all sides and there is a lot to be gained from parties working together in the national interest. I never called you a Tory, Steve; I’ve always seen you as essentially nonconformist, which is a healthy place to be.

So, the circumstances might have been tragic but I’m encouraged by the last few weeks in politics. As a prominent Conservstive said today, the electorate are being offered something genuinely of the left for the first time since 1945 and they seem to want to give it a hearing. What did the other parties have to offer young people – suffering insecure work, rising debt and no chance of a house – at this election? Precisely nothing. There will have to be a debate about what Conservatism actually means and who it is meant to appeal to before the next election. They could learn a lot from Corbyn on that front.

The Flaming Lips, Lemon Twigs, Sleaford Mods, Charli XCX, Solange, Avalanches and Yorkston/Thorne/Khan were the only things I wish I’d have been there for (besides Corbyn’s speech, of course).

Well done, Snowblind, by the way for being able to selectively copy and paste from Wikipedia. If you insist on judging him by the positions he adopted 40 years ago, I expect you are similarly disgusted that at the same time the Tories denounced Nelson Mandela as a “dangerous terrorist”, that Mrs Thatcher had the murderous dictator general Pinochet in Downing Street, and was also selling arms arms to prop up Saddam Hussein. These were the same, nice Tories who denounced striking miners as “the enemy within”, and used the aforementioned police, special branch land MI5 to distort the events at Orgreave and Hillsboroygh, and cover up systematic child abuse by politicians visiting children’s homes. Maybe you trust these Tories but I suspect that, given half the chance, they’ll discredit the victims of the Grenfell tower fire and obfuscate its rather obviously political causes in just the same way.. Carry on.

Grow up. He’s clarified many times that it was a minute’s silence for everyone who died in Ireland. The people he shared a platform with renounced violence and were until very recently the elected government of Northern Ireland.

What’s really putting the fragile peace there at risk is the British government going into partnership with the loyalists, meaning they can never be trusted by both communities to get power-sharing going again. That and exiting the EU which will require a return to a hard border between Ireland and the north. Theresa May is burning the Goid Friday agreement for her own political expediency and you’re still banging on about Corbyn talking to the IRA 40 years ago. As did John Major, as did John Hulme, and Mo Mowlam. Did that make them terrorist sympathisers or peace-makers?

I’ve lived with the wind-ups of Horc (my brother Paul) and Donny (my brother Steve) for 40-odd years so I should know better than to rise to this, but I’m afraid that the pair of you are starting to seriously boil my piss now. You don’t like Corbyn – fine. But, please, debate on the facts not dopey, narrow prejudice.

Firstly, you claim he is an IRA and Hamas supporter. Yes, he has shared a platform with both groups. Last I heard, supporting Irish republicanism or Palestinian rights were entirely legitimate positions. Or do you not believe in free speech? Let’s judge him on what he says: he comes over as a man of peace. And how refreshing is it to hear a politician talk of peace? Along with the future of the planet, it’s been forgotten somewhere along the way, and what he said at Glastonbury was hopeful and inspiring.

Second, you accuse him and the “horrible bastards” of his shadow cabinet of being opportunist about the Grenfell tower fire. This is the most heinous untruth. The worst that could happen now, in my opinion, is for this event to be depoliticised and talked about as if it was an act of God. A Conservative council – the richest borough in the country – failed in its duty of care to its poorest citizens: housing them in a death trap, clad with illegal materials, ignoring the warnings of the residents, cutting access for the fire crews, while the Tory government also cut fire service and police numbers. All in a borough where, in some areas, up to 40% of the properties are bought for investment and left empty at any one time, and where one family home “in need of modernisation” is on sale for £30 million (safe cladding for the tower would have cost 200 grand). The council also has hundreds of millions in reserves that it’s not allowed by central government to spend on social housing (a problem that dates back to Thatcher selling off council properties but not allowing councils to replenish their stocks); and they could afford to pay a council tax rebate to residents before the 2015 election (just not the ones on housing benefit or council tax reduction, of course).

What part of that is not political?

Then Lostock (our old friend Alistair) joins in with “the DUP are loyal to the flag and the Queen”. Brilliant. So what you’re saying there is that yes, they’re terrorist sympathisers too, but they’re OK because the UDA, UVF, Red Hand Commandos etc they support are “our” murderers. Well, sorry, not in my name, lads. You can love your country passionately, as I do, and still wish our pointless parasitic charade of a royal family were put out of their jobs. (NB, in typically, measured style, Jeremy Corbyn was only ever perfectly polite about the Queen at the last election).

Finally, who are these “pampered middle class turds being chsmpions of the people” that Donny (my brother Steve again) is wanging on about? That’s people like me, isn’t it, with my fancy London ways? I’m sorry that I haven’t conformed to type and voted with my wallet as I’ve got older; that I remember where I come from and want people to share the opportunities I’ve had (primarily free education and affordable housing). I’ve had my reservations about Corbyn for ages, but it’s blooming marvellous to finally hear a politician invite us to talk about a world that’s about more than work, the economy and the deficit; about the great things that can be built by pooling our creativity, ingenuity and community; about how there is more that unites us than divides us.

Right now, the only thing that unites us here is a lifelong love of the Latics but I’m not sure I can bring the kids to sit in the same stand as any of you until I see some attempt at engaging with facts and arguments rather than pure blind prejudice. And don’t try to laugh it off as banter.

So Steve, Paul, Ali: if you are genuinely happy with Theresa May’s government and the idea that your grandkids will only ever know a life of massive debt, insecure work, diminished public serices and never being likely to afford a home, then just you keep voting for that. But I think you realise that a huge movement is making you feel a little outdated right now and that your silly IRA jibes are just not cutting through.

So dare to dream, as the Tottenham fans say. Or at least propose some alternatives, rather than sharing embarrassing shit like the above.

Now hang on, there’s some revisionism going on here. Pat Gavin and Neil Morton were the two worst forwards I’ve ever seen at Latics. As for Morton trying, I have never known a player get more stick from the crowd.