do i not like fizzy pop

How many times was it reported we were going to be taken over on a Friday?

What? No honour amongst thieves? (only a turn of phrase - not anything specific) Originally Posted by Sylvia Saint Trouble is there may be one chairman at West Ham who may buy one of their players for, ooh, let's say, around £10 million...... I don't think even that chairmen would be that bold - they would never get away with it............................................

How's this for a possible scenario; The FA approach FIFA to allow Portsmouth to sell players. FIFA say 'they will look favourably' etc etc. FA give go ahead and say publically they are 'doing all they can' etc etc. The other teams of the PL are consulted and agree to let Portsmouth sell players. However behind the scenes in private when consulted, the Chairmen of the other PL clubs delivered a firm 'Go f*** yourself' by having a gentlemens agreement not to bid for any of their players. This would allow the FA and FIFA to release public statements that they 'have done everything possible' and can in be safe in the knowledge that Portsmouth were sent to their grave by their peers. I really need to stop looking at this site, do some work and get a life.......

Worth a trip back in history i think.......... Luton Town fail in points appeal -15th July 2008 Luton Town have lost their appeal against a 10-point penalty for financial irregularities. Luton, who were also deducted 20 points after failing to satisfy the Football League's insolvency rules, will begin life in League Two on minus 30 points. The Football Association has now ruled the club's 10-point deduction and £50,000 fine for making irregular payments to agents stands. The Hatters were relegated from League One last season. "I am absolutely shattered by the decision, as we all are in the 2020 consortium," prospective chairman Nick Owen told BBC Sport. "But it will not detract from our determination to save our football club and drive us back up the league. "It will take a lot to avoid relegation, but that is our aim, despite the obstacles thrown at us by the League and FA." Luton were hit with the 10 point deduction in June after the FA found the club guilty of paying agents via a third party, but not of paying bungs. The club argued that the old owners were responsible and that the club should not now be punished for their mistakes, but at a hearing in London on Tuesday the FA rejected their appeal. An FA statement said: "The FA Regulatory Commission's responsibility was to decide the appropriate punishment for Luton's admitted breaches of the FA's own rules and regulations. "The deduction of 10 points was a heavy sanction, as it was intended to be, but was not excessive as a reflection of the seriousness of the breaches and the need to deter such conduct within football clubs." http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/luton_town/7507736.stm How the hell does this compare to the mess down the road and the favourable treatment they are recieving??

Should the PL, FIFA etc assist in allowing either a loan against the TV money or to sell players outside the window (and have players register with another club) it surely would be the beginning of the end for the PL? Any club facing even a tenth of the problems PFC are up to their neck would quote precedence when it was their turn with the begging bowl? Leveraged debt, dodgy owners, overspending, players wages, general debt - the fuse will have been lit and the whole situation will descend into a farce that will rumble on for years and years. If you were Chairmen of Cardiff, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Northampton, Luton, Leeds etc, would you be watching very closely on how this one pans out (Yes, FL i know)?

Cash - Van - Airport?

Another potential source of investment for pompey disappears; http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8520243.stm No point in returning those prize draw envelopes now

They just went over in black biro everything that was printed red

At the third stroke, the time sponsored by Accurist will be................

Just keep getting this nagging doubt they will somehow get away with it. In what form and by what reason i don't know but i can just see them weaseling some sort of stay of execution.

If anything it relating to Markus it would have to be MALI Group

It's the use of double negatives that winds me up; "I ain't done nuffin" - so you've done something then? (Triple checks spelling, grammar and punctuation before clicking on 'submit post').

She was very important to me my Grammar I'll get my coat........

You're right In BA's case however cynical, false, nasty, vindictive, etc, etc - there is always a reason. Good Luck FF!

Still, these companies probably are offering a better price than Gordon Brown got when he flogged off the Uk's gold reserves (around 1999/2000) when gold was at its lowest price for 50 odd years (sarcastic smiley thing)

Like everything there are two sides to this debate and it has been very one sided on here and in the media.

Until this month my Mrs had worked 12 years for BA - LGW & LHR short haul and LHR Worldwide so i have a similar insight to yourself. Ths means i have been able to read all the communications she has been sent from BASSA and all those from BA Management. We also have other friends that are crew, not only from BA but Virgin, Qatar, the now defunct Excel. I am also forunate to know ex staff from senior management within both BA and Virgin. I beg to differ on whether Virgin crew were/are more commercially aware - maybe they haven't the same strength in numbers of union membership? There is a small element of staff still on old contracts - sure, there always is in intergrated businesses. This is more than just about pay, i am sure your Mrs can tell you some horror stories about hotel security for crew accomodation in locations such as Detroit or Johanessburg for example? Yes the world has changed 2007, however if your employer had failed to implement an agreement reached almost 3 years ago amid deteriorating relations, would you be inclined to trust them more? Again these old contract holders are now in the minority and any new recruits will be on the new contracts as you say. However the majority of those effected would have been like my Mrs and stand to lose out by virtue of being 'managed out' of the routes that earn any decent allowances which we be given to those on the new contracts - possibly up to a point where you would have to resign. No BA are not rolling in it but the agenda against its cabin crew does exist i assure you (and has done for years). If other airline staff feel they have stronger grievances then they should be pressuring their union to do something about it - oh, they don't have strong union representation do they? Pay rises have very little to do with this - there is a bigger picture. I have not heard the one about Ryan Air and no water for their crew and if true i would think this puts them legally on very dodgy ground certainly under HSE requirements. Only the business customer holds any sort of sway, the rest of Joe Public are seen by most scheduled airlines as a pain in the a**. Remember as a PLC the only responsibility BA has is to its' SHAREHOLDERS. Everyone else can go hang.

Of course these dates are emotional blackmail - all dates chosen by any union or body for industrial action are designed to cause the biggest outrage in order to get the employer back round the negotiating table by maximising the potential for disruption to business/turnover. It is also the unions legal right to call a strike at this time having balloted its' members. Maybe the axe needs to be wielded over a bloated mangement structure rather than front line staff - but this hardly ever happens does it? Staff at BA have already taken on job changes, cutbacks, not taken rises etc so it's not like this is an issue in isolation - more like the straw that broke the camels back. Yes everyone is happy they have a job in a recession - but we are all constantly looking over our shoulder seeing where the axe is going to fall next. I work in the construction industry so you can imagine the last twelve months i have had - first to feel the pain, last to recover. You are right - we British workers take it all on the chin and carry on - perhaps that is why we are right royally sh@t on while the likes of the banks continue to make billions and an ineffectual government saddles our grandchildren with a mountain of debt while we have no manufacturing industry to help us out. Maybe if we were a bit more militant like some of our european cousins we might have thimgs a bit better? Anyway, last post - can't afford £5 - there's a recession on

Just another thing to consider; BA narrowly avoided the pilots union BALPA taking strike action this year. Pilots are treated like gods - so how bad do industrial relations between the employer and your top front line staff have to be to reach this point, how big does the 30 pieces of silver need to be to get them back onside and what does it say about the reationship with the rest of your staff?

Good to see all the BA pr spin is being swallowed by all. Maybe those spouting stupid unresearched comments and vitriol calling the crew 'Scum' did a bit of personal research they may find they have a bit of sympathy for the BA Crew and be less inclined to believe what is printed in the Daily Mail etc? A few points to start; 1. A number of these issues relate to agreements BA made with the union back during the threatened action of 2007 which BA have failed to come good on 2. BA crew are better paid than other carriers crew. There are reasons behind this - many have a second or third language, or a professional qualification in nursing, degrees, are ex-forces personnel - and to attract this kind of staff costs more. However some of the figures quoted in the press are wildley exagerated - Junior Crew earning £29,000 pa - i don't think so! 3. BA management have been trying to secretley implement massive sweeping changes to staff T&C's since 2007 which will not only effect the crew but ultimately the passenger experience. And they now have the ideal opportunity to bring them in under the effects of the recession and a sob story. 4. Maybe, just maybe this action is a last resort and one of complete desperation by staff that have had any relationship with their employer tossed to the scrap heap over the last few years and are seen as trained monkeys by the management? Ultimately Willie Walsh needs to decide if he wants BA to be a Premium Carrier or just another Easy Jet?