Of course not - he may not be very good but he's not stupid.

If meejah and politicians spent more time improving things and less time playing BLAME games and allowing peoples' envy and jealousy to dominate effort and time, we'd all be better off.

My God we hate people who make millions, don't we?

I agree it's jealousy. If it was in his contract that he be paid such an amount, then he is entitled to keep it.

JK2006 wrote:


My God we hate people who make millions, don't we?

Ahem, at the expense of the tax payer? Too bloody right. He is now considering giving some of it back. How very kind of you Sir. Like your previous employers you are bankrupt-MORALLY.

politicians expressing "outrage" about Goodwin's pension is amusing as they know it's something they cannot change -so it gives them the perfect way of apearing to the electorate to care, knowing full well their own well padded pensions are secure despite their incompentance.

The day they enact laws to make directors more responsible for the failures of their corporations-and give shareholders greater powers in bringing directors to account is the day I'd believe any of their tough talk. They never will of course-as a parliamentary career these days is just a stepping stone to a swag full of directorships upon them leaving politics.

If it's in a person's legal contract of course they will keep whatever benefits they can (the public's views are overshadowed by next month's dramas and in year-they will have completely forgotten who Sir Fred Goodwin ever was).

A similar drama is being enacted in the (Murdoch) Oz newspapers about an unfortunate former High Court judge Marcus Einfield who has pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice over a bizarrely silly attempt to avoid a $77 speeding fine. The poor 75 year old man has been crucified in the media as he faces sentencing with howls of outrage that he will "keep his judges penson for life".

The fact that he has been a life-long advocate for the dispossessed and done a lifetime of free legal work for them despite his judge's duties is of no consequence .

Which brings me to the wondrous James Purnell MP and the man who unfortuntely is in charge of UK pensions for the great masses (me being one who will be applying for mine in the near future if I survive that long).

Baby faced Purnell (and Blairite acolyte) who loves to sound tough on the obvious work-shy unemployed (who his government's policies and lack of corporate controls will be swelling the ranks of) is eagerly about to introduce a scheme that will supposedly secure the future government and private pensions of British workers.

That is despite the very same sheme having operated in Australia for the past 10 years which has seen pensioners in these schemes watch their superannuation vanish into thin air and the money they have paid in worth about half what it originally was.

No problem-Purnell's pension will be secure for the rest of his life with generous increases to adjust for the rising cost of living.

He is not legally obliged to. The govt rubber stamped this package without reading it in October and only now are saying 'Ooops'. Like rats from a sinking ship, they jumped overboard and managed to get the best severance deals they could from a government more worried about keeping the bank afloat.
Good luck to someone making loads of money through success tenacity and good fortune, but through massive failiure and mismanagement? It's a bit ridiculous. RBS could theoretically be paying out £25-30million to him for the rest of his life.

I find the Media asking for someone to hand back what they earned totally ridiculous.

Does that mean we ask TONY BLAIR to hand back his Pension because he took us into illegal wars ? or others who are rubbish at their jobs ?

The UK has lost its marbles collectively.

Yes - it leaves a bad taste in the mouth but I cant see any reason to take this pension away.

Why cant the media spend some time helping the jobless to find jobs in their papers ? campaigning for those WITH money to start new businesses in this climate ?

The media is bankrupt of morals - looking for a panto villain - when the real problems lie at the feet of Gordon Brown.

I think we are all united here - the smokescreen of publicity, so perfected by Clifford, simply doesn't work anymore.

No matter how much righteous indignation is whipped up about Jonathan Ross or Fred Goodwin or Jade Goody or little Alfie - the majority of the public are catching on.

It's all rubbish to disguise the enormity of the disaster.

"Two Jags" Prescott was on the radio this morning saying how a special law should be hurried through to take away this man's money. We can worry about the consequences later, he said.

Yeah, well ...

Anyway I don't know what all the fuss is about.
If Darling's brilliant new solution, borrowed from Robert Mugabe, for the financial crisis - printing more money - works as well as it has in Zimbabwe, £650,000 should buy Fred a mere couple of cups of coffee in a couple of years time.

I know he is not legally bound to pay back the money, however out of principle he should pay back some of the money. Anyhow who needs £16m, when you could live a luxurious life for the rest of your life on 1m. Also he won't be able to live safely with all that money, he will be a target for yobs and thugs. Maybe Steve Maclaren and Sven Goran Erikson should be made to pay back some of their pay-off money.

There are many footballers on over £100,000 per week salary for very little work. Nobody seems to complain about them. They are funded by the fans just as Bankers are funded by their customers. Football managers are given several million pounds payouts when they get the sack.

I think it must be the season for Banker Bashing.

and dont forget JACQUI SMITH stealing from the taxpayer ( legally ) to fund a second home in Redditch ( Cough ) where she gets Fluoridated water.

Wages are crazy - the jobs such as farming - nurses - teachers and cleaners and agricultural workers continue to go down in real terms - but Chief Executives move onto millions..........

Gordon Brown allowed this situation to happen - in fact after THATCHER LEFT IN 1991 that is when it started happening ( Premier League - Sky etc )

The NOSE IN THE TROUGH society has been brewing since 1991. Now we reap the reward of paying people who create no wealth.

Al wrote:
There are many footballers on over £100,000 per week salary for very little work. Nobody seems to complain about them. They are funded by the fans just as Bankers are funded by their customers. Football managers are given several million pounds payouts when they get the sack.



The football industry is disgusting and morally corrupt. Once upon a time it was a working class game but now it's all glitzy and making more money than the music industry.

It is disgusting that idiotic football fans gleefully hand over shitloads of cash each year for the ever changing strips and ever increasing ticket prices. The fans ARE idiots allowing themselves to be perennially ripped off and funding a shameful money game. If all the fans were really that passionate, they would had all turned on the clubs years ago.

And these overpaid cretins, who kick a bag of wind about get paid more in a week than most of their loyal fans will ever earn in ten years. And they are worshipped for it!

Football ceased to be a game about 20 years ago when sponsorship deals began taking over... not to mention the evil influence of Murdoch. I watch archive games from the 60's and 70's... it was full of passion... they played out of pride. Now, they just play for the highest bidders.

As for the manager situations... it never ceases to amaze me how they are forever being sacked after just a few months. Pathetic... they are never given a fair chance to develop, but then the golden pay-offs they receive leave a rather nasty taste in the mouth.

Going off the original thread a little here, but I agree. In the 70's and 80's supporting a football team was about been passionate about your local town team. Most of the Liverpool League Championship winning team of the 70's were scousers or from nearby in the North of England. Players were nurtured from local schools, or bought cheaply from lower leagues (e.g. Kevin Keegan and Ray Clemence from Scunthorpe). Nowadays Manchester Utd or Chelsea has very little to do with Manchester or West London, apart from been locations where the home games are played. Money has spoilt it all.