Sheaf Saint

No, I quite agree CEC. But if somebody came to you in whatever organisation you work for, and told you that you needed to shift from a 5-day operation to a 7-day operation, with no extra funding and the same number of employees, how exactly would you respond to that? I seriously doubt you would shrug your shoulders and say "oh well, I'm pretty well paid as it is, so I'll just get on with it" would you? If Hunt wants the NHS to be a truly 24/7 organisation, then it needs extra funding and extra staff. End of. You don't even need any business training or experience to work that one out. But the funding and staffing levels have dropped dramatically since the Tories came to power in 2010, and with them still in power it is only going to go one way.

On the flip-side... http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck/factcheck-doctors-strike-patient-safety/22458 And from the comments section...

I haven't heard a single person suggest they are. People who choose to go into medicine deserve every penny they earn IMO. This isn't about the money though, it's about the imposition of longer working hours for people who already do too many, for no extra or even less pay, by a man who co-authored a publication calling for the abolition of the NHS. This is all part of the master plan to under-fund, undermine and destroy the NHS as we know it, so that the idea of privatisation can be sold to the public much more easily.

Yet we're ranked 53rd out of 241 when it comes to population density... https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_density

So the health secretary has carried out his threat to the BMA and pressed the nuclear button with regards to the junior doctor's contracts... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35548091 It's hardly a surprise is it. The fact that they tried to introduce the Trade Union Bill should make it obvious to all just how much contempt this Conservative government has for workers' rights. It seems they will go to great lengths to undermine the NHS and portray it as a bungling, inefficient organisation, in order to gain public support for its plans to carve it up and privatise it. Even Thatcher, with her insatiable thirst for privatiastion, didn't dare touch the NHS. With the junior doctors' contracts issue, on the one hand we have a Conservative minister with no direct experience in the healthcare industry telling us these contracts will increase patient safety, and on the other hand we have the BMA and the junior doctors themselves claiming the extra hours they are being asked to work will actually have the opposite effect. So who do you believe? The people on the front-line, who know exactly what problems the new contracts will cause, and those who represent them? Or a Conservative MP, with direct financial links to private healthcare companies, who has been proven to have deliberately misrepresented research relating to the issue in order to gain support for his proposals?

Because PL football is much less a sport and more of a spectacle these days. Every bit of drama and controversy creates headlines and helps to sell its popularity to the masses.

:lol:

Apparently that is Chamberlain's first ever goal away from home for Arsenal

Despite the replay showing that Wanyama never took his eyes off the ball, yeah?

With our recent form and results, we have no reason to fear any of those opponents. I would say the trickiest of them is Stoke away, as they are normally an incredibly difficult team to beat at the Britannia, although Everton made them look poor today so they are clearly beatable.

Very. Contributed nothing to our attack.

In a way it was the opposite of last season's corresoonding fixture, after their keeper got sent off and we were camped in their half for most of the game but just couldn't penetrate a compact, well organised defence and create any clear chances. It's a remarkable turnaround from what we were seeing throughout November and December really. With the same players, our defence has gone from looking likely to crumble and giving away soft goals at least once a game to being so good they are not allowing opposition players the opportunity to even test our keeper. In the one game where this was not the case - Arsenal in midweek - we have a keeper capable of putting in MOTM performances when called on. Up front though, is a different matter. Maybe he's still carrying an injury, but Pelle just wasn't in the game at all this evening. He slows down our attack and makes himself far too easy to mark. Austin and Long both had decent chances on the break but neither were on target, and so not for the first time recently, it came down to one of our defensive players to provide the goal. I really hope Austin will be fit enough to start soon, because its getting really frustrating week in week out watching our forward line huff and puff but fail to find the net.

If Clattenburg had made the correct decision and not allowed himself to be influenced by the whinging and play-acting from the WHU players, would we still have had this thread?

I doubt Vic will serve that. We are certain to appeal because that was clearly not worthy of a straight red. Payet made a massive meal out of very little contact, he clearly tried to get the ball and it wasn't a dangerous tackle imo. I'm confident we would win an appeal for it.

Everton 3-0 up before HT.

Not really. He's actually one of the better referees in the PL these days.

Yep. Has to be Kelvin for me. Not just because of the significance of winning that game in terms of our promotion, bit because he was just super human that day. As good as Fraser was tonight, I don't think any of the saves he made were ones that I wouldn't expect him to make.

Couldn't really have complained at two defeats from our last two games, so to come away from them with four points and no goals conceded is a superb return. Arse will feel they should have won that, and they certainly got enough help from Lee Mason, but that was a MOTM performance from Forster. So good to have him back, as you can't help but feel that Stek would have let at least one of those efforts in tonight. Just a shame our own attempts at goal were so weak, otherwise we could have performed a smash and grab.

I haven't heard Pelle mentioned once since he came on.

Have we actually had a refereeing decision go in our favour this half? He's just blowing his whistle for an Arsenal FK every time there is any contact FFS.

On the ropes now. Will happily take a draw from here. Pelle on for Tadic. Would have taken Mane off myself. He's flattered to deceive and been completely ineffective so far.

Superb double save from Forster there. Outstanding.

Posted this on the build-up thread by mistake. Mane having another shocker tonight. His decision making when he has the ball in good positions is atrocious.

Mane having another shocker tonight. His decision making when he has the ball in good positions is atrocious.

I think he means in our post-relegation/promotion era. I got 41. Of the leading ones I forgot Kevin Davies.