Malky Mackay installed as favourite to land Crystal Palace job
EDITOR'S BLOG: Tony Pulis' Crystal Palace exit means Friday's paper is old news
Oh bugger.
This was my immediate reaction on Twitter, when news of Tony Pulis' departure from Crystal Palace was confirmed on Thursday night.
The reaction reflects two things. Most importantly, this is a terrible blow for the Eagles in so many ways – not least the timing and the fact Palace are losing one of the most tactically adept managers in the country and probably the best in the club's history.
Then, the football aside, there is the small matter (in the scheme of things I'm sure Tony is devastated) of Friday's Croydon Advertiser.
We went out on something of a limb or, rather as an editor, I did – ignoring advice to limit our season preview to eight pages to instead produce a bumper, 12-page guide to the new campaign.
We were up until the small hours compiling the supplement, neatly rounded off by a natty cartoon, portraying Mr Pulis alongside his cast of stars in a mocked-up poster for Pulis Academy 2 (geddit?)
All very satisfying, until the point where the main focus of this 12-page bonanza leaves the club before it has been seen by a single reader.
To see why the Pulis exit has rather peed on our Palace supplement bonfire, here is a rough idea of its contents:
Page 1 Tony Pulis-led cartoon
Page2 Steve Parish says 'I love Tony Pulis' (the irony…)
Page 3 Brede Hangeland says 'I love Tony Pulis'
Page 4 Julian Speroni quite likes that Tony Pulis bloke too
Page 5 Jason Puncheon… well, you get the picture
There is plenty of other material in the supplement, in fairness, and I hope you all still find it an enjoyable and informative read. Andrew Jameson's eight predictions for the new season comes especially recommended, though our very own Nostradamus didn't see this one coming did he?
But, as a newspaper editor, this evening has been a ruddy nightmare. Going to press roughly 20 hours before your paper hits the shops is bound to carry some element of risk.
But, after eight years as a news editor and editor, never have I felt quite such a proverbial custard pie in the face as I do right now.
Crystal Palace look set to miss out on Manchester United's Wilfried Zaha
Crystal Palace caretaker boss Keith Millen 'shocked' by Tony Pulis departure
KEITH Millen, who will take charge of Crystal Palace at Arsenal tomorrow (Saturday) has admitted Tony Pulis will be a "tough act to follow" as Eagles boss.
Arriving at Palace's Beckenham training ground on Friday morning, Milen told Sky Sports News that he was "shocked" to hear of the Welshman's exit when he received a phonecall on Thursday night from chairman Steve Parish.
Millen said: "We've been frustrated we haven't got the players in we wanted but we were all looking forward to the game yesterday.
"He'll be a tough act to follow."
Milen said his job now would be to focus the players on the trip to The Emirates, adding: "I'm going to have to speak to the lads this morning and try to get their heads around it and remember what a good pre-season we've had."
Asked whether he'd like the manager's job full-time, Millen said: 'It's too early for me to answer that. We've got to get over the shock of what happened yesterday and concentrate on tomorrow's game."
Crystal Palace confirm Tony Pulis' departure
Keith Millen: Too early for me to say on taking Crystal Palace job
Three years after riots, just 12 per cent of Croydon's regeneration fund has been spent
THREE years after the 2011 riots new figures show that just 12 per cent of the money allocated to regenerate the worst-affected areas has been spent.
Croydon arguably suffered the most extensive damage, with 28 buildings set alight, 252 businesses damaged and 100 families made homeless.
It was given £23 million by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to rebuild and revitalise the worst-hit areas on top of £13.2 million of council investment.
Both have been criticised about how the money has been spent, with very little change in places such as West Croydon.
Now a report by the London Assembly Regeneration Committee, published today (Friday), has found just £4.4 million of the available £36.1 million has been spent so far
Even projects that were thought to be on track have now been set back. The council's £1.5 million Innovation Centre - designed to create jobs and support businesses - has had its funding delayed and the authority has been unable to find a suitable location for it.
In total, just £11.4 million (16 per cent) of the £70 million Mayor's Regeneration Fund (MRF) has been spent across London so far, the report said.
Gareth Bacon, chairman of the committee, said: "The 2011 riots left many already deprived areas of London facing even bigger economic hurdles and challenges after such wanton destruction. The Mayor's Regeneration Fund was a welcome recognition that these areas would need help on the path to recovery.
"These projects must be delivered in a timely and effective manner, so Londoners who have experienced long-term decay in their communities and can live in a safe environment, with access to jobs and growth."
In Croydon, people affected by the riots, such as those living and working along London Road, were under the impression the majority of the money would be spent rebuilding and investing in areas which had, by the council's own admission, been neglected for decades.
Instead they have seen very little change. Earlier this year Cllr Jason Perry, the authority's head of regeneration, admitted people would notice "no difference" from the Croydon of 2011 but that construction work would begin later this year. He credited the delay to the fact that "physical changes take time".
Most of the money spent so far has been put toward Connected Croydon, a transport and public realm project, with little if any connection to the hardest-hit communities. Some £7.5 million, for example, is being spent on improved road crossings in Wellesley Road.
The report said the Greater London Authority (GLA) needed to better communicate the purpose and progress of the MRF.
It added that the balance of funding is "skewed towards transport and other projects to improve the public realm".
"It aims to deliver locally appropriate projects, but some local communities have complained that the fund has not responded more directly to the needs revealed by the riots."
The report, called Out of the Ashes: the Mayor's Regeneration Fund, also called for changes to be delivered more quickly.
Under a revised timetable, the Mayor has indicated that the plan was now to spend £35.5 million by April 2014. The committee found just £11.4 million had been used by that point.
"Almost three years after its launch, the GLA and boroughs have spent only a small proportion of the MRF," states the report.
"Indeed, the GLA has extended the timeframe for spending the fund, and there are risks of further slippage."
The report does add that "overall", the MRF is "having a positive impact on bringing forward and supporting local regeneration that will make a difference to communities".
The committee visited Croydon in February as part of its research. They toured Surrey Street and then Reeves Corner - where House of Reeves furniture store was burned down - and walked down London Road before a presentation at the CVA building.
Mr Bacon told the Advertiser at the time that he was "impressed" with the way the Mayor's money had been spent.
"What they are trying to do here is really good," he said. "The scope and the ambition is considerable, now it's a question of delivery."
He also implied that residents and business owners could have to wait ten years to see real change.
"Right now it would be good if there was more done but, in ten years' time when things are finished and done properly, I think they will see it's been the right way to go."
The committee did not speak to directly to business owners and shopkeepers during its visit (Mr Bacon: "We didn't have the opportunity to talk to [the shopkeepers], so I can't comment on how they feel") so instead rely on an article in the Advertiser to gauge their opinion on the MRF.
Referencing the piece, the report says "some business owners expressed disappointment that while there were plans for improvements to shop fronts in the London Road area, MRF-funded works had not yet begun".
It calls on the GLA to "reflect on the impact" expert advisors in Tottenham and Croydon had on how the Mayor's fund has been spent.
Mr Johnson appointed Julian Metcalfe, co-founder of the Pret-a-Manger group, to lead the Croydon taskforce.
The committee heard Mr Metcalfe took on a different approach to Sir Stuart Lipton in Tottenham, focussing on supporting "brokerage" with businesses on London Road.
"We heard that he advised Croydon Council on bringing together local businesses to discuss the implications of the redevelopment of the Whitgift shopping centre. These discussions aimed to help local businesses prepare for the impact of the development would have on the local trading environment."
In the future, the committee said, councils should be required to set up a leadership and governance structure as soon as they make successful bids for regeneration funds, and should also set out how they intend to use expert advisors.
The report makes three recommendations including that Mr Johnson should "refresh his efforts to deliver the MRF" by engaging in a public consultation to inform people how the money is being spent, the reason for the delays and when they should expect the work to be complete.
Council: 'Projects like this take considerable planning and coordination'
Croydon Croydon has defended the lack of progress made in regenerating areas affected by the riots.
It said investment on this scale takes "considerable planning" and that each stage has to be signed off by the Greater London Authority (GLA).
A spokesman pointed to changes already implemented through the Mayor's Regeneration Fund, including the West Croydon Enterprise Hub and the business investment package in London Road.
Improvements have also been made to Lansdowne Road and Reeves Corner will be developed through the Old Town Masterplan.
South End works are already well underway, the council added, and London Road will start later this month. Work will start in Surrey Street and Frith Road next Easter.
A spokesman added: "In the intervening time we put a huge amount of effort into consulting with communities over what works were wanted, recruiting design teams and preparing detailed delivery plans to maximise the benefit of the investment and to minimise local disruption".
Innovation Centre 'delayed'
An 'innovation centre' predicted to create close to 500 job opportunities has had its funding delayed.
The project, backed by £1.5 million from the Mayor's Regeneration Fund, is designed as a co-working space for small and medium-sized businesses but the council has been unable to find a premises for the centre.
The London Assembly Regeneration Committee said the centre is now being "re-scoped" and that its funding agreement has been delayed by approximately five months.
A report published in late 2012 said the council would take out a ten-year lease in existing office space near to East Croydon station.
Estimates suggested the centre could support up to 267 businesses during that period, creating 470 jobs.
Arsenal boss surprised by Tony Pulis' exit from Crystal Palace
Former Crystal Palace boss has his say on Tony Pulis exit
Tony Pulis leaves Crystal Palace - where did it all go wrong?
Jamie Redknapp: I feel for the Crystal Palace fans and players
FAN VIEW: Steve Parish will get plenty of blame for Tony Pulis exit, but it takes two to tango
CRYSTAL Palace fan and Advertiser reporter ANDREW JAMESON on why, despite the blame game, we'll probably never know who's at fault in the Tony Pulis/Steve Parish fall-out...
It's a difficult one.
Now it would be very easy to lay all of the blame at the feet of Steve Parish. And in a situation where all we can go on is speculation - I don't think Parish will be apearing on Piers Morgan's Life Stories to talk about this anytime soon - it seems he will take the brunt of Palace fans' frustration.
It would be easy to back Parish to the hilt. While he is one of four owners, he is undeniably the driving force behind the club's relentless upward curve of the last four years. He is now the full-time chairman and Steve Browett has intimated on numerous occasions that the Tag founder runs the show.
Save for George Burley, he has largely made right decisions at every step along the way. For a start, he sacked Burley when it became apparent he was woefully short of what was required. He then took a chance on a young Dougie Freedman and, for a while, things looked rosy and the club enjoyed success. But after a run to a League Cup semi final and with Palace sitting pretty at the top of the Championship, Freedman walked and went to Bolton.
As is the irritating will of a portion of the Palace faithful, fans went off on one and slated Freedman till the cows came home. Never mind the man was probably in the top five club legends of all time, Our Dougie became a pariah. Rumours of Freedman being the lowest paid manager in the division didn't matter, the man shouldn't have walked because he was Palace.
But getting back to the crux of the matter, Parish replaced him with Holloway. Holloway didn't set the world alight in his time at Selhurst but he took the club up. You can't ask for much more. But crucially - and this is another one where we're really just guessing as to what happened - Holloway left when our Premier League campaign was looking doomed.
Then we waited. My God did we wait. At one of the more awkward press conferences in history at which Holloway announced his departure, Parish was asked about Pulis in front of Holloway. He replied that the former Stoke manager had never been relegated and said he sounded a good option.
But yet we waited a month. That month's wait is looking more and more significant every time I look at it. Whether Pulis didn't want the job or whether Parish wasn't keen - it doesn't matter, it was clear no one jumped at the move.
And now this. After a miracle turnaround which led to proper real actual pundits backing us to finish TWELFTH having only bought two players this summer, we have no manager.
Has Parish been obstructive? Comments from the man himself have suggested he's not an easy boss to work for. But then he speaks so much bloody sense in interviews, you can't help but admire the guy. If, as has been suggested, Pulis was miffed at missing out on players, then again, I'd say it's a difficult one.
It's very hard to have a go at Parish for protecting the financial security of the club, but with Pulis, it looked as if we'd struck gold. Maybe Pulis was unhappy with the way he'd been sold the job and its financial realities or maybe he took it as a stop gap. If he has, it's served as a hugely reputation-enhancing stop gap.
Parish will take more than a few hits after this. Four managers in four years isn't great - after all it's not a dissimilar record to that of the not much-missed Simon Jordan. (Incidentally, Jordan's defence of Parish after yesterday's events - given his derogatory comments about Parish in his book - may help the current Palace chairman more than he knows.)
I also doubt Pulis is clean as a whistle over this. What a horrible cliche this is, but it really does take two to tango. Did he ever take to the club really? And unless Parish really is a massive Jekyll and Hyde character - if Pulis has walked rather than been sacked, how much did he care?
But unless we get the truth, which from within a football club is unlikely, then it's hard to know who to back. As with Freedman's departure, we'll just have to keep guessing.
EXCLUSIVE: Crystal Palace shortlist includes three former Premier League bosses
CRYSTAL Palace have drawn up an initial four-man shortlist in the search for Tony Pulis' replacement, the Advertiser can reveal.
A source close to the club has told us that bookies favourite Malky Mackay, former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood, and ex-Newcastle and Norwich City manager Chris Hughton are on the list, alongside a manager from abroad.
We also understand that, though Mackay is the heavily-tipped favourite to succeed Pulis, he is not necessarily the nailed-on, number one target for Steve Parish and his board.
Scotsman Mackay has been out of work since being sacked by Cardiff owner Vincent Tan last Christmas, having got the Welsh side promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history the season before.
Sherwood left Tottenham in the summer, just six months after taking over from Andre Villas-Boas and is known to be looking to get back into management, while Hughton left Norwich in April, four games before the end of a season which saw the Canaries relegated to the Championship.
17-year-old arrested following incident at primary school in Thornton Heath
POLICE investigating an incident a primary school during which a man tried to collect a child who did not recognise him have made an arrest.
A man called at Beulah Junior School, in Thornton Heath, at 12.20pm on July 21 and told staff he was there to collect a named child.
Teachers spoke to the child, who said he did not know the person, but the man left before staff could establish who he was.
Concerned about the incident, the school contacted the police and an investigation was launched by Croydon CID.
A 17-year-old was arrested on Thursday (August 14) in connection with the investigation.
He is currently in a south London police station.
Anyone with information regarding the incident should contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Police concerned for missing 17-year-old with links to Croydon
A 17-year-old with links to Croydon was reported missing a day after her birthday.
Michelle Brewer, of Plaistow Lane, Bromley, was last seen leaving home at 7pm on August 12.
Michelle is described as a white, with shoulder-length dark brown hair and is around 5ft 6 tall. She was last seen wearing a black jumper, dark jeans, grey Nike trainers and carrying a yellow and black JD Sports bag.
Michelle has been reported previously, the Met has said, but police are concerned for her welfare and are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen her.
Anyone with information should call police in Bromley on 101 or contact the Missing People Charity on 116 000.
New Addington parents plead with health body to allow seriously-ill daughter home after 10 months in hospital
THE parents of a seriously ill little girl have pleaded that she be allowed home so her "last memory is not of being in hospital".
Seven-year-old Melody Driscoll has spent the last ten months in hospital recovering after an operation.
A senior doctor has said she is ready to be discharged but health bosses will not let her go home because they are worried her mum Karina Driscoll and step-father Nigel will not be able to cope.
Melody has Rett syndrome, a rare genetic disorder which causes severe physical and mental disability.
She already required 24-hour care before her condition led to further complications, such as intestinal failure and internal bleeding, for which she is being treated in hospital.
Due to the complexity of Melody's care, Karina and Nigel have been unable to secure nursing support for their daughter.
But they have received extensive training in order to treat Melody themselves, as they did before the operation at Great Ormond Street, and argue that she should be allowed home to enjoy a better quality of life.
Rett syndrome, which affects around one in 12,000 females, is a life-limiting disorder and doctors have said they do not know how long Melody has left to live.
Her parents want Melody to be allowed to return to her home in New Addington and spend that time with her family.
Karina, 32, said: "Melody could have another ten or 15 years, but she could die tomorrow, and I don't want her last memories to be of being in hospital without her family."
A Facebook page called 'Help Get Melody Home', created last Saturday, had been backed by more than 1,500 people as the Advertiser went to press, and the family are in the process of launching a petition.
Melody went into Great Ormond Street for an operation on October 26 last year, after months of increasingly serious health issues, including regular episodes where she would vomit blood, her eyes would swell up and her finger and toenails would turn black.
The procedure, to remove a section of her bowel, was a success but uncovered other problems. She was started on a morphine and ketamine pump to relieve pain following the operation but, each time doctors tried to take her off the dosage, the swelling, bruising, and bleeding would return.
Melody now requires up to 40 doses of morphine/ketamine a day, and on top TPN (Total Parental Nutrition) which means she is fed thorough an intravenous drip.
Her condition gradually stabilised and, in February, her parents were told she was ready to be discharged.
However, health professionals led by Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will not sanction the move without nursing support at home. Karina says that, due to the complexities of Melody's case, 13 care packages have fallen through.
Melody's parents are trained in administering TPN, intravenous therapy, oxygen and resuscitation, and insist they can manage looking after her at home on their own until nurses are found.
"I can understand [the panel's] concerns, but they're not giving us a chance to show we can cope," said Karina.
"When we had Melody at home before her operation she was always in pain. She would lash out and pull her tubes out. Now her pain is under control, she's a lot easier to manage."
Karina and Nigel, who have two other children, also want to take Melody home after becoming concerned about the quality of care she has received at Great Ormond Street. In recent weeks, she has been moved to a hospital in Surrey.
But their main concern is the effect being in hospital for such a long period of time is having on their daughter, who is unable to speak because of Rett syndrome, which begins in early childhood.
"Before the treatment she didn't have any quality of life because she was always in pain," said Karina.
"The hospital has given her the chance to lead a better life but, by keeping her there, they are denying her the opportunity to live it. She should be at home playing, spending time with her family just like a little girl should.
"She hates it there. If she could talk and say she wants to go home, they would have to find a way. But, because she can't voice her opinion, it doesn't seem to matter how long it's going to take.
"So she's withdrawn herself. It's like she's going through depression. When we're there she ignores us at first. It's like she blames us because she's being kept somewhere where she feels so sad."
Nigel said: "Sometimes I feel like she has given up. She's not interested in playing or interacting. It's so heartbreaking. I think she blames us for not taking her home.
"Our main concern is getting Melody home because we don't know how long we have got her for.
"I would hate myself if we lost her and her last memory was of being in hospital.
"We know there would come a time when we have to take her back, but at least we will know we've done all we can for her before that happens."
Health body: We are working hard to get Melody back home
THE health group that ultimately has the decision over whether Melody can leave hospital says it is "working hard" to ensure she can go home.
Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group, supported by other other health professionals, says it is trying to find a care package to meet her complex needs, but that it has met "significant problems" due to their complexity.
Dr Agnelo Fernandes, assistant clinical chairman, said: "We understand how important it is for Melody and her family that she is able to leave hospital and be looked after at home.
"We are working as hard as we can to enable Melody to go home but she has very complex health problems and needs highly specialised care. This is not routinely available in the community and we have had to plan and commission a unique care package for her.
"We have encountered significant problems with identifying an appropriate and willing healthcare provider for Melody. We understand how difficult this has been for her family and want to reassure them that we are doing everything we can to get Melody home as soon as possible."
Facebook page attracts hundreds of supporters and messages of goodwill
KARINA Driscoll has set up a Facebook page to highlight her call for Melody to be discharged from hospital and treated at home.
The group has attracted more than 1,500 'likes' since it was created on Saturday and many people have left messages of support.
Carolyn Brathwaite wrote: "Wishing you lots of luck, your little girl deserves the right to be back at home in her own surroundings with those who love her."
Rhawnie Cyr posted: "God Bless Melody and may she get home today or ASAP to be with those she loves and who love her. This will ensure the happy life she so deserves."
Cheryl Creswick said: "I wish you luck bringing this little girl home. Sometimes home is the best environment when we are ill. The care and love, whatever happens, are important things to feel, especially for one so young.
"If you, the parents, are willing to look after Melody at home, then you should be given that opportunity."
Valerie Hance wrote: "I hope you get her home soon.
"She deserves to be with those that love her, not in hospital.
"No matter how good they are, it's not the same. Good luck I will pray for you all."
Visit Melody's page on Facebook here
Gerry Francis expresses disappointment at Tony Pulis' departure from Crystal Palace
Exclusive: Keith Millen's message to the Crystal Palace fans
Crystal Palace will attack Arsenal at the right times, says Millen
FAN VIEW: Tony Pulis has only thought of himself by leaving Crystal Palace now - and that's unforgivable
OUR columnist and Palace fan ALEX WHITE reflects on the events of the past 24 hours - and explains why fans shouldn't be so quick to blame Steve Parish and the board...
It is certainly never easy being a Crystal Palace fan and with the drama of the last 24 hours, I think that is an understatement.
It started as rumours back in January this year that the relationship between the club chairman Steve Parish and manager Tony Pulis was strained. As is to be expected, both men played down the reports and got on with work as usual.
The big question on most of our lips now is – why did Pulis decide to leave? If you look at the papers and social media you could find a dozen reasons to why he walked out.
The stories about frustration surrounding transfers to me seem odd. Parish himself will admit that the window, so far, hasn't been as successful as we all would've hoped. As a club we missed out on some big deals for big name players, most notably Steven Caulker and Gylfi Sigurdsson. Of course it's frustrating that the players chose other clubs but Pulis can't say that the owners didn't try. They bid over £8 million each for these two players alone and offered a staggering £40,000+ per week contracts.
The fact that the owners tried to sign these types of players suggests they tried their absolute hardest to meet Pulis' needs. The other rumour is that Parish wanted to sign Zaha and Pulis didn't, but I really don't see why Parish would do that behind Pulis' back – in fact I don't believe that he would. Parish always said in his interviews regarding Wilf that it was ultimately up to the manager. To me this collapse in relationship seems personal - both Pulis and the owners are strong opinionated people and maybe their relationship just wasn't supposed to be.
From what people have said to me, ever since Pulis accepted the job his relationship with Parish was deteriorating. Pulis considered walking in the summer but our wonderful owners managed to convince him to stay.
What frustrates me is that already in this story we have seen people take sides and people have been portrayed as the 'good guy' and the 'bad guy'. We can't really comment or make a judgement until both sides have given their stories. Parish and the board have come off as the 'bad guys' but questions have to be asked on how easy to work with Pulis was. I know that Parish wanted to sit down with Pulis over the summer and talk over relationships and targets, but this meeting didn't happen until much later than what Parish wanted and intended.
We have to remember that yes Parish leads the consortium and is chairman, but there are four owners of this great club. They always said they would never risk putting the club's future into doubt again and wouldn't be bossed around by anybody. The club needs to spend money to show ambition but we shouldn't give in to whatever just because that's what the manager wants.
We have to realise that perhaps we are better off a stable, solvent club with a future rather than breaking the bank to sign players which end up getting us into the same mess as last time. We all know that that is the beliefs of our owners and most of us respect that, we are not run like bigger clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City which are unsustainable in the long term if something bad was to happen. Until we have the security from a billionaire willing to gamble on Crystal Palace, the future of the club will not be risked and I totally respect that for what it is. We sometimes don't realise how lucky we are to still have a club to support every Saturday at 3pm.
I'm not writing a completely pro Steve Parish piece because it would be small minded not to look at both sides of the story. In the past three years the club have had three managers; these three have all decided to walk away. Why did they walk away? Well we never really found out. Dougie Freedman never spoke badly about the club and what went on because he had too much love for us to do that. Ian Holloway has never come out and said anything negative regarding the day to day running but has for sure hinted at some issues in his newspaper columns.
Regardless of who is to blame in this situation, the fact these events have occurred two days before the season is set to start is unforgivable. As fans we should be getting gripped and excited ahead of what should be an exciting season. Instead, we find ourselves baffled as to what has just happened to our club.
I don't think as fans we had ever felt so safe and calm under a management regime. It is gutting to lose our best manager in years - arguably ever - but if the manager is willing to walk away two days before the start of the season is he really the kind of person we want in charge of our club? Forget the relationship with the owners, Pulis owed it to the players and fans to leave this club with dignity and integrity much like the previous manager. For me it seems like he has thought about one thing when walking away from this club, and that's himself.
Keith Millen was fantastic when in caretaker charge last time round and I am really hoping he can have the same success. Millen revived the side; without him last season I truly believe Pulis' job would've been far harder. Ultimately what has been done now has been done and the events cannot be changed. We still have a duty as fans to get behind the players and galvanise as a group once again and I'm sure the fans will show the world how to truly back a team.
Saturday's fixture will be tough but with the support from the best fans in the country anything is possible - just look at last season.
Keith Millen's red 'n' blue army!