Whitey Grandad

Shall think themselves accursed they were not here... Just got back and I'm still buzzing. We were doing well until they scored and then they just gradually took control until I could see no way that we could score. I saw loads leaving with 10 minutes to go and for once I could understand why, but I always stick it out to the end and now I always shall. Papa was very disciplined and not offside once. A well timed run for his first goal and he gobbled up a loose ball for his second with the last kick of the match. A special mention for Wotton. Who else thought he was going to blow it? I'd have preferred a clean sheet. It was daylight robbery but 'who cares'? \\:D/

Just think of the money the football clubs' owners used to make when there was the wage cap. Thanks for the reassurance, I shall sleep better tonight.

Did anybody really believe that someone would pick Notts County as the best club to invest their millions in? It never rang true, did it?

France and Germany seem to be doing ok, but their governments know what they are doing.

I would love to see the cashflow projections. It's a horrible thought but what if the big crowds in League 1 mean that it is more profitable to stay there with lower players' wages?

They can't carry on losing money or they'll have to fold. Just like Southampton PLC did.

You just can't trust BA, they've got previous on this sort of thing.

It's my fault, I only discovered it last week and now evreybody is signing in to read my drivel.

Some of us have very long memories and will be scaring our grandchildren and great-grandchildren with stories of BA for years to come. I have the memory of an elephant and the physique to match. I shall never forget.

I would expect with crowds of around 20k then the club is not actually losing money provided that the owner is not expecting an immediate return on his investment. Indeed, the break-even point may be a lot lower than that with any residual earnings ploughed back into the development of the club.

I'm with you, Wes. As a manufacturer this period drives me up the wall. Everybody winds down and after next Monday you can forget it. Then when they get back on the 4th January it takes a week to get back running again. On top of all that I've got the Chinese New Year to consider at the end of January. What I cannot understand is why, if 1st January is a Saturday or Sunday, then the Bank Holiday is the following Monday? Surely the Firday would be better. Why do people want so much time off at the darkest, coldest, dreariest time of the year. The French arm of my business do not get Boxing Day off (doesn't matter which day, they just don't get it) and if a public holiday falls on a weekend then 'tough' so they carry on working and expect support throughout the 'festive period'. So it's holiday in the spring, summer, autumn for me when I can indulge in 'outdoor pursuits'.

I'm bleating about the enormous tax burden that employers have to shoulder in order to support a bloated public sector. Times have never been good for manufacturing in Britain and I look forward to enjoying a profit if ever I see one. Tell that to any business these days and they'll roll around laughing. It's a common misconception that if you have a business then you're rolling in it with lots of cash benefits and allowances. A lot of small businesses work 60 to 80 hours a week, every week. Now employers NI is going up yet again, it's just another payroll tax. The qualification thingy was an anomaly which has now been removed, quite rightly. My daughter and niece have been through the PGCE process so I know what's involved.

OMG Real Madrid it is then.

It is an MA at Cambridge which in theory qualified me to teach, although I would be the first to admit that I would need a lot of training first, but until about three years ago was sufficient. I accept that you wife puts in a lot of time and dedication, but one specific will not disprove a generalisation. I know plenty of people in the business world who put in more time than she does (yes, really) and who don't have the associated job security or fringe benefits.

What benefits might they be? Certainly not unemployment benefit, holiday pay, sickness pay, pension. Out in the 'real' world you can only eat what you can kill.

Until the requirements were changed recently my qualifications were sufficient for me to be able teach in schools and universities.

Luxury!

It looks like random musings done to impress. There are various equations relating to gravitational attraction and they've even managed to squeeze in Einstein's relativity. To me it indicates a troubled mind, maybe someone who has difficulty sleeping?

I'm self-employed and have been running a business employing people for 27 years. I was a school governor for 4 years, I have close relatives who are teachers and employees in the health service. My comments are based on a lifetime of observation and experience so I am in a good position to make comparisons. The Public Sector have it easy. BA is a dinosaur left over from the age of the big publicly-owned corporation. You can tell from the age of its staff that they're on good money or they wouldn't still be there.

If you're not up to the job then get out and let someone else do it. At least you're not working with an axe hanging over your neck. (not 'you' personally')

It's some time since I have been to Ontario so I don't know the current suituation over there but I do know about nurses and teachers in the Uk and they are the most secure, unproductive cushy numbers that I have ever come across. How many teachers have lost their jobs in the last 11 years? It's just over 10. One main reason why so many are losing their jobs now are because of the enormous millstone that the Public Sector hangs round the necks of the Private. If I'm biased it's because I am fed up with supporting Public-Sector employees who aren't pulling their weight.

I'm not arguing, they are.

I agree. At least at SMS the corners point towards the centre of the pitch, at Highbury you were looking along the west stand and Portman Road gives me neckache.

One was 'tight'. The other was well off.

The day after Christmas was not a holiday until the Bank Holidays Act of 1871. Until then the only days off were Christmas Day and Good Friday. If you do your family history you will find that many people got married on Christmas Day because it was the only day they had off work. The same act defined Boxing day as always the 26th December with the corresponding bank holiday moving to the Monday in cases such as this year.