Readers' letters: My fantasy North End football teams

While PNE fans have nothing better to do at the moment, it would be good to see favourite players, in a team formation, of other fans.

My first match at PNE was Sir Tom Finney’s last game. I am so grateful to my grandad for taking me on that day and pointing out Number Seven.

I am not including Sir Tom as every fan would pick him, and I’m not including loan players.

I am starting my team from the 1960s when I began to go on a regular basis.

I am a season ticket holder today with my wife and two grandchildren.

Here we go, with both teams in a 4-4-2 .

In goal would be Alan Kelly Snr.

The back four are: Willie Cunningham; Sam Allardyce: Mark Lawrenson and Jim Smith.

The midfield are: Brian Mooney; Howard Kendall; Archie Gemmill and Tony Morley; and the strikers are Alex Dawson and Alex Bruce.

The subs would be: Roy Tunks; George Ross; Graham Hawkins; Nobby Lawton; Peter Thompson; Frank Worthington and Mike Elwiss.

My next team would have Carlo Nash and the back four are Graham Alexander; Youl Mawene; Ben Davies and Greg Cunningham.

Midfield are: Tom Barkhuizen; Paul McKenna; Sean Gregan and David Eyres, and the strikers are Ricardo Fuller and David Nugent.

The subs would be: Declan Rudd; Tom Clarke; Michael Jackson; Ben Pearson; Paul Gallagher; Jon Parkin and Joe Garner.

There are so many players to pick from and you can’t pick them all, so I would like to see other PNE fans, old and young, send in their teams to the LP.

Crossy via email

VIRUS

A shameful decision

Since the start of the current Covid-19 crisis, I have followed the sad but often brave stories in the Post of the very many local people who have had to make difficult decisions during the pandemic.

Care and health workers avoiding family contact to protect their children, families unable to visit loved ones, even in their final moments, funerals held without family and friends.

All have made hard choices to support the ‘Stay at Home’ message from the Government.

In contrast to these sacrifices and courageous behaviour, I was surprised and shocked to hear of the blatant flouting of the rules by the Prime Minister’s adviser, Dominic Cummings.

What has turned my shock into anger is to hear the Prime Minister and other ministers defend Cummings’ actions with evasions, avoidance and disdain.

If I hear another minister avoiding answering questions with the words “let me be absolutely clear”, I won’t be responsible for my actions.

The refusal to act on the flouting of the rules by one of those who set them smacks of “one rule for them and another rule for the rest of us”. This is a shameful decision which avoids the Government taking responsibility and showing real leadership in difficult times.

It is a slap in the face to those who have worked so hard or suffered so much to combat the virus. The next time a Government minister comes on television to tell me how I should behave, I shall be turning to another channel. In future, I will be following my instincts and the advice of medical friends and family members, rather than the “do as I say, not as I do” attitude of our cowardly leaders.

Judith Bleasdale

via email

virus

Johnson losing credibility

Dominic Cummings should stand down, the arrogance of the man is deplorable. He should be setting an example and not be abusing the situation.

So many people in the same situation have to get on with it.

They don’t have the luxury of being

able to up sticks and go elsewhere.

We are all frightened for younger family members but at the same time are unable to move closer to family.

Even if he has broken no rules, which I don’t believe, this particular part of the rules was never read out from the very beginning so that everyone was aware that this was allowed and, as for the drive because his eyes were poor, it’s absolute nonsense.

Who in their right mind gets behind the wheel of a car with any eyesight impairment, or fear of said problem, especially with your wife and child in tow?

Johnson is losing credibility in my eyes, blindly standing by this man with a real failure to answer directly questions by the press.

It DOES come across as if he, Johnson, needs Cummings in his corner to enable him to do his job successfully.

Johnson does not inspire respect or belief when he has stated that we should all remain in our primary residence and then allows Cummings to do what he has done with no consequences or even an apology for his actions.

In such a serious situation, as the whole country is in, does all this inspire or evoke confidence in this Government?

My response would be

NO.

G Wareing

via email