Rafa's Peggy's

And when people talk about lazy people in the public sector, what the fuck is that generalisation based on? The majority of people I work with are determined to do a good job and care about what they do. However, years of being treated like shit by Government has understandably dampened their mood. As for the private sector, people who present it as a bastion of efficiency are talking shit. I work in a public/private partnership and the private side are only good for expensive fuck ups. The staff are treated like shit and a couple of years ago some of them had to get an emergency pay rise to bring them above the minimum wage. All the while the company drown in profits on the back of their hard work.

Some of the shit I've read on here about not being able to sack people in the public sector is absolute bollocks. The mechanisms exist to do it fairly if somebody is genuinely taking the piss. If the guy is not performing and meeting his objectives, use your capability procedures to improve his performance. The main reason not as many people get sacked in the public sector is a) Unions make sure that people get treated fairly and proportionately and b) Very little training is given to managers in how to manage people effectively. If the guy is not doing his job and meeting his objectives, then you can do something about it. However, if he is and you just don't like him moaning then that's not grounds for the man to lose his 18 year career.

Some of the shit I've read on here about not being able to sack people in the public sector is absolute bollocks. The mechanisms exist to do it fairly if somebody is genuinely taking the piss. If the guy is not performing and meeting his objectives, use your capability procedures to improve his performance. The main reason not as many people get sacked in the public sector is a) Unions make sure that people get treated fairly and proportionately and b) Very little training is given to managers in how to manage people effectively. If the guy is not doing his job and meeting his objectives, then you can do something about it. However, if he is and you just don't like him moaning then that's not grounds for the man to lose his 18 year career.

Thanks for everybody who has signed up so far. I find the debate really interesting. The majority overwhelmingly support the NHS and free healthcare for people, regardless of their wealth or status in society. I don't want my kids to grow up in a society where people get sick and die due to not being able to afford the standard of healthcare that can help them. The Government bang on about the 'Big Society', but the NHS must be the single biggest example of a truly decent society in action. I for one am proud to say that my taxes contribute towards people getting healthcare who couldn't otherwise afford it. The annual cost of running the NHS is around £90 bn, so the cost of it could easily be covered if the Govt set about collecting the £120bn in tax that goes uncollected, avoided or evaded by the richest in society each year. SD, answer me two questions: Would you honestly be so relaxed about these reforms if a Tory Government where proposing them with Lib Dem opposition? What are your views on the fact sepcifically ruled out any major reform of the NHS in the run up to the election, before announcing the biggest reforms in it's history?

Sign the Petition to Save our NHS! Website campaigning against the disastrous reforms of the NHS currently going through parliament. Click the link, read about it and sign the petition, if you haven't done already. Share with friends, family, associates, dogs, cats and anybody else you see fit. Remember, Cameron came into power on the back of a pledge NOT to reform the NHS. Don't let him get away with another one of his lies.

If you think that the last Labour Government was socilaist then you've got no idea of the meaning of the word. I've heard people arguing on here that privatisation was good because the service that was being provided before was so poor. That of course will have had nothing to do with 7 years of Thatcher, who had a clear strategy to privatise all state owned companies (barring rail) so had no obvious interest in making the right investments and management decisions which would have allowed services to flourish. There is no more competition today than there was when the utilities where public. The price fixing is unbelievable and there is no democratic control over the companies so all we can do is write strongly worded complaints to Government regulators, who have no power to sack the people running the companies. Reemember, water, gas and electricity are essentials. Why should private speculators profit from basic human need? Why is it wrong for 'tax payers' (the people) to run these services for the benefit of the people not the shareholders?

'I just can't get enough' is the winner for me. That will sound boss when it's in full swing.

I lived in Kensington (in Liverpool) as a kid and about 100 yards from where we lived was a full size concrete footy pitch. We used to play all the games mentioned in this thread from the moment we came home from school to the moment it went dark. We had lads who where harder than others so they would always fix it to go through to the finals of knockouts or be with the best partner in pairs. Boss times and boss character building which kids today don't get. Unfortunately, the pitch that we used to play on wasn't looked after when we grew up and has now had houses built on it, meaning there is even less places for kids to go. Best thread in a while this by the way.

I lived in Kensington (in Liverpool) as a kid and about 100 yards from where we lived was a full size concrete footy pitch. We used to play all the games mentioned in this thread from the moment we came home from school to the moment it went dark. We had lads who where harder than others so they would always fix it to go through to the finals of knockouts or be with the best partner in pairs. Boss times and boss character building which kids today don't get. Unfortunately, the pitch that we used to play on wasn't looked after when we grew up and has now had houses built on it, meaning there is even less places for kids to go. Best thread in a while this by the way.

Your the one following the crowd and being a sheep by just accepting the scandalous theory that the high prices are due to 'supply and demand'. Supporters usually qualify for CL final tickets through loyalty schemes set up by their clubs, which could already see them pay hundreds if not thousands on tickets and travel. Therefore, it will be that same group of supporters who end up paying these disgraceful prices if they want to go to a game that could be once in a lifetime for some of them. Supply and demand doesn't come into it, taking advantage of fans loyalty does. If people roll over and accept these prices as the norm, the game will be taken away more and more from communities and the grass roots, leaving only the band wagon jumpers and corporates for whom this is the flavour of the month. When the bubble bursts they'll be gone quicker than you can say 'prawn sandwich' and who will UEFA and FIFA turn to? Us. It will be too late by then though, because kids will become so disengaged with the game that they probably won't be prepared to follow it as passionately and fervently as us. You carry on sponsoring it though.

Think of it this way.... If we would have drawn against Chelsea and won against Wigan, would we be happy?

Nail on head. If anybody wants to know why he is King, they've only got to read his latest book. The man bleeds Liverpool Football Club.

National Express do coaches to and from London mate. Bastard of a journey like but beggars can't be choosers. National Express Coach

Thanks Fernando, you where fantastic. It's on like Donkey Kong now though bitch!!!

Spill the beans...

How the fuck have you got time to have an opinion on anything? Surely you've got a shitty nappy you should be changing?!!! P.S. Fucking shit all this mate. No such thing as heroes in football anymore.

Nobody should be unhappy if he commits himself to us again. He's the best striker in the league and possibly the world and he belongs at Liverpool. However, there will be an awful lot of repair work that needs to be done between player, club and fans if any of us wants it to get it back the way it was.

I'm 'open' to a Lottery win, not gonna happen though.

N'Zogbia is somebody who doesn't get anywhere near the attention I'd expect. Fast, skilful direct wingers are hard to come by these days. He'd be one of my top targets in the window as he's a vast improvement on what we've got at the moment.

Don't get your hopes up boys, we play Fulham soon so he might have just been assessing them.

As an SOS member, I'd like to say thanks to Graham and the boys for putting the effort in to stop yet another lazy football writer from besmirching the name of fellow members and Liverpool fans in general. Fucking prick. He looks like a fatter, uglier version of Andy Fordham.

Roy Hodgson isn't fit to pick the winnits from Rafa's arse. Not as a manager, not as a person and not as a man. Rafa came here and inherited what was broadly accepted was a weak squad, same as Roy did. However, whereas Hodgson's first signings where Cole, Poulsen Konchesky, Meireles and Jones, Rafa signed Alonso, Garcia and Josemi. Out of the players that Hodgson has bought, only Meireles has proved to be anything like a success, but not on the same scale as Alonso and Garcia where when they joined and improved the side immediately. This bought Rafa some trust and time from the fans. Also, Rafa's previous success with Valencia quite rightly meant he deserved some patience, which he got and repaid it by giving us the greatest night of our life. Hodgson has done anything which proves he is worthy of managing our club so therefore needed to prove himself an awful lot more when he arrived. Additionally, Benitez improved the games of players like Gerrard, Carragher and Finnan which showed that he could get the best out of what he had, which Hodgson has never looked like being able to do since he arrived. Finally, Rafa got us. He got that we always aspired to be the best, no matter what state the club was in or what players we had. He never tried to make excuses when he came in about injuries or quality of the squad and this attitude helped get us to 2 finals in his first season and we walked away with the biggest trophy in the game. I accept the decision to get rid of Rafa but no argument should be made that the reason Hodgson has failed is because of lack of support because he has done nothing to earn it

Is it ticket prices. First group have tickets for under 40 quid? Stab in the dark like.

I agree with you on Young. He's a good player and I think he would improve on what we have, but for the price it will take to get him I'd rather go out and get N'Zogbia from Wigan to be honest. Every time I've watched the lad he's impressed me and I think he'd cost far less than Young even though they are around the same age.

Below is a link to a new website, False Economy, which was launched last week to bust the myths around the neccessity for the cuts which are being made and provides an excellent critique of what the Government are doing. It provides research and information in a way which is easy to understand and interpret and also provides you with an opportunity to contribute cuts that you know about, which is then fed in to a tool which provides a regional break down of the cuts. It's sites like this which could provide a vehicle for educating people on what's really going on, whether it be through people reading and contributing to it or through campaign groups using it to shape their own actvities or material. Have a look and share the link with friends and family to raise as much awareness as possible about the site. Why cuts are the wrong cure | False Economy