Rolling In The Cess Pit by Les May

IN an article on the NV blog a couple of weeks ago I referred to something I wrote at the end of June 2020. I commented that having read some of the abusive posts directed at Priyamvada Gopal, who had posted a ‘tweet’ which said “I’ll say it again. White Lives Don’t Matter. As white lives”, I thought you would meet nicer turds in a slurry pit.

A long article by Brendan O’Neill on the Spiked Online website graphically describes the vile abuse directed at author J. K. Rowling. From the context it appears that it came via her Twitter account, which of course means the brave authors could remain anonymous.

My own experience of anonymous communications is somewhat limited. I had one letter from an unknown ‘Christian’ in 1970 after I wrote to the local paper saying that I did not think that the Muslim children at the school I worked at should be made to attend what was in effect a Christian oriented morning assembly. I had another in 2010 after I had the temerity to point out in the same paper that Canada Geese were in a nearby park because their staple diet was grass which they got from the lawns and not the bread which they got to the visitors. Short of blocking my letter box there was nothing I could do to prevent them being delivered.

One of O’Neill’s concerns is the almost complete absence of people willing to publicly defend J. K. Rowling. He also took a few well aimed potshots at ‘Cancel Culture’ and ‘Identity Politics’. But it seemed to me that he was somewhat missing the point. If Rowling was distressed at what was being said about her on Twitter, the remedy was in her own hands, literally. All she had to do was switch off her smartphone or if that was too radical, delete the ‘app’.

Rowling, the footballers, Priyamvada Gopal and Sajid Javid are all in their own way ‘commodities’ where image matters. Keeping their names before the public is how they can both relish their present fame and make sure there they are putting something in the metaphorical bank for the future. Rowling may yet write another book; the footballers may think of taking a leaf out of the book of Lionel Messi and launch a premium fashion brand; judging by the Twitter post which led to the abuse Gopal evidently likes to be seen as ‘controversial’, and Sajid Javid is a politician who wants to be seen as ‘just like us’. He has learned the hard way that that there’s always someone who will make a grab the moral high ground if you dare use a word they don’t like.

It’s no use waiting for the government to solve the problems raised by social media by banning so called ‘hate speech’. If you find it unpleasant just stop it being delivered to your smartphone, because it will only hurt you if you let it and no one is forcing you to read it. This isn’t a ‘freedom of speech’ matter. None of the individuals I have used as examples would have the slightest difficulty in getting their voices heard in the UK media, something that cannot be said of the people who resort to vulgar abuse. I doubt the NV editors would turn down a piece on ‘transphilia’ by Ms Rowling.

**************************************************************

'RACISM' LACKS A DEFINITION, Let's Thank GOD! by Brian Bamford

IN 1959, I went to the branch meeting of my local Rochdale ETU branch one Friday night to try to raise the issue of the boycott of South African goods with the elctricians there. I was a 19-year-old apprentice at the time and the TUC, the Labour Party and the Liberal Party had all declared their backing for this international campaign which had been called for in November 1959 by the Movement for Colonial Freedom.

As a young man I was surprised first by the lack of interest of the ETU branch officers, and remember the ETU was then regarded as a militant communist trade union, who despite my protests didn't see any point in my request that the branch should discuss the international boycott campaign. They were too busy collecting the members subscription as they were queuing-up to pay before going out on the razzle as it was Friday night. As I tried to interest a West Indian electrician the chairman, who had become tired of my appeals for support, asked the assembled members if anyone was anxious to discuss the topic of the boycott of South African goods? The silence was deafening! Even the one black man present didn't show any interest.

It took many more years of international struggle before South Africa obtained anything approaching freedom and aparthied was removed.

Yet according to Kader Asmal: ‘If any event galvanised the Boycott Movement into action it was Chief Albert Luthuli’s plea for sanctions”¦’ Luthuli’s statement reads: ‘I appeal to all governments throughout the world, to people everywhere, to all organisations and institutions in every land and at every level to act now to impose such sanctions on South Africa that will bring about the vital necessary change and avert what can become the greatest African tragedy of our time.’

Apathy & Pleading Petitions

I was reminded of this disinterested apathy of these 1950's north of England trade unionists when I was recently urged to sign a petition to support the three footballers who according to the media had been racially abused for missing a penalty in last Sunday's Euro Final.

The protest petition reads:

'Three black football players have received a storm of racist abuse after England lost the final. We can't let such hatred go unchallenged -- so let's meet it with a deafening public cry of support from across the country. Add your name to the public letter below, and when we reach 100,000 names, Avaaz will publish in a major national newspaper.'

The petition pleads the case further:

'Within minutes of England losing the match, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook were flooded with cruel, racist messages towards the players. Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel have since condemned the abuse -- but only after they'd originally undermined anti-racism gestures by the team earlier in the competition.'

'Let's show these three black players, and the whole country, that racism has no place here. That as ordinary citizens, we will not sit by as a small minority of people spew their hatred and ignorance. But more than that, let's show the children of this country what it truly means to be English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh and BRITISH in the 21st century.'

Worthy words indeed!

'Racism' is not defined! Racial discrimination is!

My understanding is that the United Nations (UN) does not define 'racism' as such; however, it does define 'racial discrimination'. According to the 1965 UN International Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, '...the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distintion, exclusion, restriction, or prefernce base on race, colour, desent, or national or ethnic origin that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundimental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.'[

'Racism' is clearly not defined by the UN because it is ambiguous and is often used as an ideological swear word by the liberal left in much the same way as the word 'Facist' was used in the 1930s as a term of abuse. Despite the fact that one such petition had more than a million signatures on it according to Woman's Hour today I doubt that the culture will change and I suspect that many people will find this kind od virtue signaling turns their stomachs. Even if Gareth Southgate OBE is ever such a nice bloke.

As they say 'Everything Changes, Everything Stays the Same'.

*******************************************************************

The Joys Of The Freemarket by Les May

MY interest in football peaked when I was eleven in 1953 and has been declining ever since. If professional football vanished from the face of the Earth I would not miss it. But I cannot help observing that the proposed formation of a European Superleague is just the logical conclusion of the ‘greedfest’ which led to the formation of the Premier League in 1992. Domestic and international television rights generates about £2 billion a year for the Premier League which is a corporation in which member clubs act as shareholders. A nice little earner one might say.

Clearly the owners of the six UK clubs which want to become founder members of the European Superleague can see the cash registers continuing to roll and even more money finding its way into their coffers. The remaining Premier League members now seem to be crying foul having themselves done much the same thing to the old Football League almost thirty years ago.

And who has stepped in to see fair play? It’s our free enterprise worshipping Prime Minister. Boris has suddenly discovered that markets sometimes need to be managed to bring about socially desirable outcomes. Though quite what he can do to block the European Superleague is still unclear.

Question: If Boris Johnson can find time to think up ways of taming the excesses of this particular market, why can’t he find time to bring some sanity to the housing market which continues to leave families homeless or living in very substandard housing while paying exorbitant rents a what is euphemistically called ‘the market rate’.

*********************************************************************

The Goalie and the Nazi

by Christopher Draper

CHANCES are you’ve never heard of Jack Kirby but he deserves public recognition as a bona fide Northern Hero.  The North was never short of footballers with scoring ability and popular appeal but Kirby had neither.Jack was a quiet, modest goalkeeper who in 1934 defied the concerted might of his Derby County Management, the British Government and his Nazi hosts and alone refused to salute fascism.

(insert amended Derby County Shield here)

Nazi Football

Hitler hated football but saw the game’s potential for showing off Nazi physical prowess.  When he assumed power in 1933 Germany was a weak footballing nation that hadn’t participated in the 1930 World Cup but Hitler was determined to remedy that.  The head of the German Football Association, Dr Otto Nerz, the man who brought Jack to Germany, shared Hitler’s view and not just on football. Nerz was a devoted member of the Nazi Party long before Hitler’s accession and was as determined as the Fuhrer to make the national team a model of Nazi success.  To this end he travelled extensively studying successful foreign teams, including periods 'living-in' with Aston Villa, Glasgow Rangers and Arsenal.
Nerz similarly shared the Fuhrer’s rabidly anti-semitic prejudices and subsequently detailed his struggles,  'Jews and their bondsmen continually made the lives of the leadership (of the football association) very difficult, particularly with regard to the issue of professional players. During the crisis before 1933, there was a great danger that football would also become Judaized. The major clubs were always deeply in debt and the creditors frequently were Jews.  The drive towards professional football was very strong and the state at that time could not give the leadership of the sport any support because the state itself was dependent on the Jews.'
With Hitler running the state and Nerz running the F.A., German football was swiftly 'cleansed' of racially unacceptable players and managers but this didn’t concern the English F.A .

New Best Friends

The leaders of English football admired Hitler’s commitment to the game and were keen to cooperate in raising Nazi Germany’s international profile.  Within a year of Hitler’s take-over Dr Otto Nerz had secured the agreement of the English FA for top team Derby County to tour Germany playing exhibition matches against a German FA XI.  The British Government and almost all elements of the English Establishment were delighted at this public demonstration of our two nations’ shared values.
In February 1934 Dr Otto Nerz announced details of the Derby County tour to the international press telling reprorters,  'They play very attractive football and their style of play is likely to make a big appeal to Germany.'  The tour awaited the English close season when Derby would play successive matches at Frankfurt, Cologne, Dusseldorf and Dortmund with the first kicking-off on 10 May.

Rams on Tour

Jack Kirby along with sixteen team mates and half-a dozen officials, including a photographer from the Derby Telegraph left Derby station late on Sunday evening, 6 May 1934.  Sailing from Dover at noon the following day the party didn’t finally arrive at their hotel until the early hours of Tuesday. Everyone was in good spirits although, as the Derby Telegraph reported from Frankfurt, everything hadn’t entirely gone to plan,  'The Derby County party arrived here this morning in very happy mood in spite of a lengthy hold-up at one a.m. at the German frontier.  We were requested to produce all moneys in our possession.  This is an innovation since Herr Hitler’s regime.  The same procedure takes place when the traveller leaves Germany.  The German authorities thus have a check on one’s purse, the motive being to make sure that travellers do not leave Germany with more money than they had in their possession on arriving in that country.'
As soon as were met at their Frankfurt hotel by Otto Nerz they experienced no further obstructions as he chaperoned them around Germany ensuring that everywhere they were enthusiastically received. Specially translated English language menus were provided at eating places, dedicated guides provided and relaxing river trips on the Rhine organised.

A Rum Do

By May 1934 German football had already been thoroughly Nazified with both teams expected to stand and deliver a formal 'Hitler salute' before kick-off.  The Derby County men weren’t keen to comply and made this clear to club officials well before the Frankfurt match, as George Collins much later recalled, 'We told the manager, George Jobey, that we didn’t want to do it.  He spoke with the directors, but they said that the British Ambassador insisted we must.  He said the Foreign Office were afraid of causing an international incident if we refused. It would be a snub to Hitler…'
Despite Herr Nerz’s cosseting the players were beginning to realise that they were pawns in a wider political game and the Germans were determined to win.  As the Telegraph reported, 'The German pivot was playing very unorthodox football…he repeatedly played the man instead of the ball…
Bowers was badly fouled and injured…he came around after about three minutes (although) still appeared dazed…Kirby was the next to receive an injury.'  Even the referee seemed to be under orders from Nerz, 'It is interesting to note that the second half lasted 55 minutes and Herr Otto Nerz had to send a message to the referee by a linesman to remind him that it was much past time.'
The jubilant Germans won 5-2 although the Telegraph reporter claimed, 'Even the German authorities doubted two of the side’s goals.'  What he didn’t report was the Derby team’s instructions to salute.(pic of Derby team giving Nazi salute – except Jack!)

The Quiet Man and the Nazi

Jack Kirby was a Derby man through and through. Born at Overdean in South Derbyshire in 1910 there were Kirby’s all over the area and for generations they’d worked down the pit. Jack’s grandad was a miner, his dad was a miner and he never forgot his roots,  When instructed to salute fascism Jack adamantly refused.  As the photo shows, whilst the rest of the team followed orders, defying 35,000 chanting German football supporters Jack Kirby stood his ground and kept his arms by his sides.  It was a gesture every bit as brave and powerful as the iconic Black Power salutes of the 1968 Olympics although in 1934 nobody mentioned it.  This picture, taken by the accompanying Derby Telegraph photographer wasn’t published in the paper, nor was the incident reported.  There was no protest from the Nazis, no apology from the British F.A. and simply no mention of Jack’s defiant gesture in any media outlet.  It was fake Non-News, a conspiracy to keep quiet about an astonishingly brave public act of opposition to Hitler. Only after Jack Kirby’s death in Derby in 1960 did his old team mate George Jobey reveal Jack’s astonishing bravery, 'We did what we were told. All except our goalkeeper, Jack Kirby'.
Jack died as he had lived, a quiet unassuming hero. Satisfyingly, his 1934 bete noire Dr Otto Nerz eventually received his come-uppance.  Much admired by fawning English sports reporters as the, 'virtual dictator of German Football,' in 1945 Nerz was captured by the invading Red Army. Identified as an irredeemable Nazi,  Dr Otto Nerz was interned in Sachsenhausen where he died of meningitis on 19 April 1949.

Christopher Draper (February 2018)

Barcelona FC to join strikes today

OVER 40 unions and Catalonian associations are calling for a general strike across the embattled region following widespread violence and police abuse of their powers during the national police crackdown on the independence referendum on Sunday.

More than 840 people were injured in clashes with police after the Guardia Civil tried to close polling stations across Catalonia, violently removing people who were attempting to vote.
In response, the Catalonian government has approved a 'go-slow' of public transport services, which will operate at 25 percent capacity during the morning and evening rush hours. Inter-regional transport services will reportedly operate at 33 percent capacity.
The workers groups called for the 'nationwide' work stoppage across Catalonia today, Tuesday October 3, in protest at the abuse of power by the Spanish National Police, the Guardia Civil, reports La Vanguardia. 

La Liga sides Barcelona, Espanyol and Girona have decided to join the general strike in Catalonia on Tuesday.

Methodology of Spanish football in the UK

MANCHESTER's Instituto Cervantes presents this coming Wednesday 7th December, at 6.30pm, the launch of the project ‘Methodology of Spanish football in the UK:  Sports excellence’, by Spanish coach, Ángel López.  The talk, which is free of charge and open to the general public, will “analyse the Spanish methodology and the English football’s current scene, with the aim of finding new ways of collaboration regarding the training of managers, both at professional and lower levels”.

The main goal of this project is to organise conferences and seminars on the Spanish methodology on football at the clubs’ premises, at the English Football Association and also at the Manchester’s Instituto Cervantes.  Moreover, the project intends to offer Spanish classes “with specific football terminology” to all the colleges, academies and clubs interested, and it is aimed both at football players, coaches and managers.  Likewise, there is a view to organise after-school activities about football and summer camps in Spanish for kids and teenagers.

López points out “the remarkable conditions for working in English football, from professional categories to academies”.  However, this goes against “the shortage of native coaches in the Premier League as well as in the best leagues in the world”.  Hence, this project could lead to joining forces with local managers, to foster talent and expertise.  The Spanish coach highlights that “we should not forget that England invented football, therefore it deserves our admiration and respect and always look to contribute and collaborate with them”.  According to López, Manchester is the perfect place to develop this project, as today it is “the nerve centre of world football”, he claims.           

About the author         

Ángel López is a National Football Coach with the Madrid Football Federation and Graduate in Physical activity and Sport Sciences from the Polytechnic University of Madrid.  Furthermore, he holds a Master´s Degree in Physical Training in Football.  He has a wide experience as an Assistant Coach at the Spanish First League with Getafe FC and he has also trained teams at the Romanian Professional Football League and the Asian Champions League.

Among his many merits and achievements, it should be noted out that he was the youngest assistant and fitness coach in the Spanish La Liga in 2014 and 2008, respectively.

More information and bookings: cenman@cervantes.es  / 0161 661 4201/12

Roy Bentham Becomes BSG Joint Secretary

ROY Bentham, blacklisted carpenter / joiner from Liverpool, has been unanimously elected as joint secretary of the Blacklist Support Group at the campaign's recent AGM at University of Greenwich. He will share the BSG secretary position with Dave Smith, who will remain in the role. 

Roy Bentham was blacklisted after taking the role of shop steward on the Connah's Quay power station project in the 1990s and is currently the UNITE branch secretary for the Liverpool construction branch. He is also an avid supporter of Liverpool Football Club and as a Hillsborough survivor worked alongside the Hillsborough Justice Campaign and was a founding member of the LFC fans union, the Spirit of Shankly  

Roy has been a leading BSG national committee member for a number of years, speaking at union conferences across the country and organising protests against ongoing blacklisting at Anfield stadium, the Alder Hey hospital and the Royal Liverpool hospital. He has participated in negotiations with lawyers representing the 8 major contractors during initial talks over the compensation scheme, as well as with Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Football Club and other major clients about contemporary blacklisting. 

Roy has been a vocal supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, celebrating Corbyn's re-election as leader of the Labour Party by watching LFC with John McDonnell and unfurling a pro-Corbyn banner on the Kop before the match. 

Roy Bentham commented: 

'I'm immensely proud to be representing the Blacklist Support Group now I've been elected. I'd like to pay tribute to all the Committee and activists for their continued and unstinting work as we now focus on stamping out contemporary blacklisting and like Orgreave and the Shrewsbury pickets, redoubling our efforts for a full public inquiry into The Consulting Association scandal under an incoming Labour government.'

Photo attached of Roy Bentham alongside John McDonnell outside the High Court and at Hazards conference. Bentham's first public event in his new role will be this Saturday in Sheffield at the Orgreave Truth & Justice conference (flyer attached).

Blacklist Support Group

book: http://newint.org/books/politics/blacklisted-secret-war/

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlCa8yQmZ70

blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/

Unite Rule 27: MEMBERSHIP DISCIPLINE

Degradation Ceremonies & a Curious Caste System

 by Brian Bamford

WHEN, in the 1970s, I wrote my unpublished dissertation 'Members and Officials:  Some aspects of a Trade Union Dispute', I was mindful of the model proposed by Harold Garfinkel in his essay 'Conditions for doing Degradation Ceremonies'.   Degradation in Courts of law, the defrocking of priests, and even at disciplinary hearings of trade unions etc. is an accomplishment which must be brought about by demonstrating that the proposed 'offender' has conduction him or herself in some untoward way which would put the proposed 'offender' outside what is considered to be proper.  Somehow the interrogation must artfully show that the 'offender' is beneath contempt or is acting outside the rules in some way.

 

On the 12^th, August 2015, I have been called to an 'investigation' under Rule 27 of the Unite Rule Book, specifically 'Rule 27.1.5 Bringing about injury to or discredit upon the Union or any member of the Union'. 

 

The allegation is that in March a report appeared on this Northern Voices Blog entitled 'Unite Committee Bins Blacklist Motion' that was 'inaccurate', and contained material that had consequences for the Unite union and undermined Mr. Sidney Graves, who was merely doing his duty as Chairman of the North West Local Authority Regional Industrial Sector Committee (Risc.) at a meeting on the 5^th, March 2015.  The problem was that the crucial decision or the non-decision of the North West Risc. to move a motion supporting the promotion of an effective Ethical Procurement Policy in the way local authorities award contracts to companies that have been involved in blacklisting building site workers.  Northern Voices considered that this failure to find anyone on the North West Risc. to move such an important motion or for the chairman to even hold a discussion, was something that was in the public interest.

 

Mr. Graves seems to have taken a contrary view, and he quickly complained to the North West regional secretary of Unite, Mick Whitley, that the report on the Northern Voices Blog was 'inaccurate' and he believed had consequences for  him and his committee.  As I write these words I am listening to a report on the Radio Four 'Media Show' in which a Scottish football journalist has just been banned by Rangers because he had refused to oblige the Club by producing what is called 'corporate journalism' or reports that please the football club.  Can it be that this week's investigation (12/08/2015) by Unite into Northern Voices is an attempt to produce a kind of 'corporate journalism' for Unite the Union?

 

Interestingly, Unite Rule 27.1.4 says:

'A member may be charged with ... Inciting, espousing or practising discrimination or intolerance amongst members on grounds of race, ethnic origin, religion, age, gender, disability or sexual orientation.'

 

Yet, Unite Rule 27.8 determines that:

'A member may not be charged under this rule in respect of any alleged act or omission in connection with the performance of his / her duties as a full time officer and / or employee of the Union.'

 

Hence, there will be no discrimination on grounds of race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, disability or sexual orientation, and yet discrimination is enshrined within Unite Rule 27 at Point 27.8 on grounds of functional status:  It is clear here that in Unite that there is an 'officer class' which is beyond the reach of Rule 27, and at the same time that there is an ordinary 'membership class' which is covered by the rule.

 

This represents a 'Get out of Jail Free Rule' and the consequences of this predicament as demonstrated by Rule 27:8 are not difficult to predict:  in terms of this Rule 27 the 'officer class' of Unite the Union are unaccountable, unelected, and untouchable. The rule therefore clearly discriminates between two classes of 'member' – a rank and membership class subject to discipline under Rule 27, and a privileged 'officer' or 'staff' membership category.  As a consequence ought we to be surprised that there have been widespread allegations of full-time trade union officials being inclined to incompetence, corruption, and complicity in blacklisting with the now disgraced Consulting Association?

 

But the situation is now worse than a simple apartheid within the rule, because by invoking Rule 27 to seek to  investigate a report on an independent publication outside the remit of the trade union by the potential use of this rule Unite is surely creating a precedence which could have serious implications for future reporting of trade union affairs.  Does this decision to investigate the editor of Northern Voices mean that Unite the Union is seeking influence editorial decisions of people who also happen to be members of Unite?  Of course, if Mr. Sidney Graves as the Chairman of the Risc, felt he has been defamed by the report in Northern Voices, then he always had the remedy of writing to the editor to seek to correct the report.  Instead of that he sent a complaint to the Regional Secretary of Unite in the North West. 


Similarly sources in the Unite Greater Manchester Community Branch have reported to our Blog that another lay officer, Evan Pritchard, has also put in a complaint to the Unite North West region about other reports appearing on this Northern Voices' Blog under Rule 27:  these reports have commented upon certain internal attempts to censor a face-book page of the Greater Manchester Community Branch and are clearly in the public interest. 
All of these actions  could easily be seen as an attempt to censor and gag the media through the machinery of the Unite union book by the use of Rule 27.  This is bad news for transparency and freedom of the media and suggests a degree of small-mindedness among some of the lay-functionaries within the Unite today:  it appears to be another attempt to establish 'corporate journalism' such as was applied by the Rangers Football Club.

Creating 'Corporate Journalism' in Football

IN February Rangers Football Club was condemned for imposing a ban on the Daily Record.


According to the Trinity Mirror-owned title, the club’s chief executive, Derek Llambias, sent an email and fax on Monday evening saying it was no longer welcome at matches and press conferences.  The Daily Record said that despite the ban, it will 'continue to write the truth'.


Llambias wrote to the club:
'Following recent reporting by your journalists in the Daily Record, I am writing to inform you that with immediate effect the Daily Record newspaper will banned from attending all Rangers press conferences and games at Ibrox Stadium and Murray Park.'


The Record quotes Craig Houston, spokesman for Rangers supporters group Sons of Struth, as saying:
'All Rangers supporters should be deeply disturbed that this latest development.  The Daily Record, perhaps more than any other newspaper, has exposed what has been going on behind the scenes at our club – particularly over the last four years.'


Record editor Murray Foote said:
'We're disappointed by this ban but will continue our robust, fair and accurate reporting of Rangers.'


Rangers is the third club to have been exposed for banning a newspaper so far this year.  Newcastle United - whose owner Mike Ashley reportedly owns 8.9 per cent of Rangers' shares - recently lifted a 14-month ban on the local press, which was prompted by coverage of a fan protest. But the club has an ongoing ban against the Telegraph.  Swindon Town and Gillingham Town have also been in the news so far this year for bans on newspapers.


This has been described as an attempt to create of 'corporate journalism' in football.

Alex Ferguson, Manchester United, and the 1959 Apprentice Strike

SIR Alex Ferguson is to retire as Manchester United's manager at the end of this season after 27 years in the job that some say has made him the most successful boss in British football.  He had helped the team win 13 league titles, two Championship Leagues, the Cup Winners' Cup, five FA Cups and four League Cups. 

It has been said that there is a plan in place for when Ferguson steps down.  Ferguson said of his decision:
'The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly. It is the right time. It was important to me to leave an organisation in the strongest possible shape and I believe I have done so. The quality of this league winning squad, and the balance of ages within it, bodes well for continued success at the highest level whilst the structure of the youth set-up will ensure that the long- term future of the club remains a bright one.  Our training facilities are amongst the finest in global sport and our home Old Trafford is rightfully regarded as one of the leading venues in the world. Going forward, I am delighted to take on the roles of both director and ambassador for the club.'

But he also spoke sympathetically of the Glazer family, who tookover United and who many up here in Manchester despise, he said:
'Over the past decade, the Glazer family have provided me with the platform to manage Manchester United to the best of my ability and I have been extremely fortunate to have worked with a talented and trustworthy chief executive in David Gill. I am truly grateful to all of them.'

In July 2010, Ferguson said: 
'When Manchester United Football Club went plc without doubt it was always going to be bought. Somebody was going to buy it. It was inevitable. It's unfair that because a particular family like the Glazers have bought it, they should come under criticism when anybody could have bought it.  I have to say they've done their job well. They support myself, the manager, they've supported the players. I've never been refused when I've asked for money for a player, so what can I do other than carry on the way we're doing it, and the way I'm allowed to carry on? I've no complaints.'

Since their takeover in 2005, Ferguson has consistently supported the Glazers but these comments are pointed at a time of widespread unrest among fans over the club's ownership and ability to attract top talent to Old Trafford. At that time the United manager, who then also reiterated that he has no immediate plans to retire, said:
'The debt has come through the club being bought out by an owner. You know very well that no matter which business is bought nowadays, it's usually bought with debt. Because it's a football club it seems to attract a different type of negative reporting via the media or particularly some of our fans.

In 2004, writing in his autobiography 'Granny Made Me An Anarchist', the Scot, Stuart Christie, was to write:
'We shook staid Central Scotland to the core, or so we thought... Four years earlier, in 1959, there had been a strike of Glasgow apprentices, something previously unheard of in industrial relations (the strike committee included men like Sir Alex Ferguson, Gus Macdonald and Billy Connolly, now lords or millionaires, or both).'

That engineering apprentice strike was to spread from Glasgow in May 1959 to Manchester, and much of the rest of England.  I got involved when it came to Tweedale & Smalley, Rochdale in Lancashire.  Clearly there is a lot more to Alex Ferguson than meets the eye. 
_________________________________________________________

The next issue of the printed issue of NORTHERN VOICES No.14, will soon be available for sale. Northern Voices can be obtained as follows:
Postal subscription: £5 for the next two issues (post included). Cheques payable to 'Northern Voices' sent to c/o 52, Todmorden Road, Burnley, Lancashire BB10 4AH.
Tel.: 0161 793 5122.
email: northernvoices@hotmail.com

Mrs England, Mr Rochdale & Master Nobody!

Lady Thatcher, Sir Cyril Smith & Bob Miller: 

Tributes in a Time of Turmoil

TODAY tributes will be paid to Lady Thatcher by the great and the good, and Dave Whelan, the Wigan Athletic chairman, has even said that Thatcher, who died on Monday at the age of 87, was 'owed' a minute's silence at Wembley ahead of the FA Cup semi-finals, and he also said that he would be in favour of players wearing black armbands out of respect.  The Premier League and the Football League have said that they will not be requiring clubs to hold a minute's silence, though it remains possible that individual sides could request one. It is understood that the FA has no plans to hold a minute's silence ahead of either of this weekend's FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley.

There was no minute's silence before the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Monday night, but Mr. Whelan claimed he could not understand why parts of the population, especially in the North of England, did not want to mark her death and said Manchester United's decision was 'very disrespectful'.


Tributes and obituraries are a tricky things to tackle as Northern Voices' (printed edition) found out last year, when it published one after the death of the Oldham schoolmaster, Bob Miller, an almost unknown anarchist who died almost two years ago.  Unlike Lady Thatcher and Sir Cyril Smith, Bob Miller was not what we or anyone else might call a public figure in so far as he didn't do anything very much in public affairs, and it was this very fact that he kept his head down all of his life that got NV into so much trouble when we drew attention to the fact.  None-the-less, the obituary has had a painful polarising impact on some in what passes for the English 'anarchist movement', in the same way that the death of Lady Thatcher is having now on the nation. 

The death of Lady Thatcher and the mixed reactions to it, have been like a play by Bertold Brecht and it is polarising society in an extraordinarily melodramatic way even as I write these words.  It may be sobering now to read the tributes issued at the time of the death of Sir Cyril Smith, another formidable figure, in the Rochdale Observer in 2010.  Today, Sir Cyril is  described as the disgraced former Rochdale MP and Rochdale Council have removed the blue plaque dedicated to him on Rochdale Town Hall.  In the end it will not be these trite tributes or obituaries that will matter but the biographies, and  memoirs dedicated to them in the years to come.

Tributes to Sir Cyril Smith in September 2010:

Lord (David) Steel of Aikwood, leader of the Liberals from 1976 until 1988:
'Cyril was first and foremost Mr Rochdale. His by-election picked up the Liberal Party from the disastrous 1970 election, when we had only six seats, and started our recovery.

'His was also our first breakthrough in the industrial north of England. He served diligently as MP, chief whip and president of the National Liberal Club.'

Jimmy Cricket, comedian and long-time friend of Sir Cyril:
'Cyril was a giant who loomed over the political landscape of Rochdale for over two decades.

'He was synonymous with the town, like the Co-op and Gracie Fields, and you would be hard put to find many people here, even today, whose lives haven't been touched by him.'

Norman Smith, Sir Cyril’s brother:
'Cyril was larger than life in so many ways and he was so very kind to so many people in Rochdale. During his time as a politician, he meant so much to so many people in the town who could go to him with lots of problems and he worked to resolve their concerns.

'He was involved in the life of Rochdale for so many years, and in so many organisations and charities. He was the best brother one could have and I couldn't have had a better brother. His family are obviously upset.'

Nick Clegg, deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader:
'Cyril Smith was a larger-than-life character and one of the most recognisable and likable politicians of his day.

'I am deeply saddened to hear the news of his death today, and offer my sincere condolences to his family and friends.

'Everybody in Rochdale knew him not only as their MP but also as a friend.

'He was a true Liberal, dedicated to his constituency, always showing great passion and determination.

'Cyril was a colourful politician who kept the flame of Liberalism alive when the party was much smaller than it is today.

'Rochdale and Britain have sadly lost one of their great MPs, and I think we can safely say there will never be an MP quite like Cyril Smith again.'

Simon Danczuk, Rochdale Labour MP:
'Sir Cyril was a towering figure who cast a large shadow over the political landscape in Rochdale. His influence was felt everywhere. I could not but admire the fact that as a member of what was then a very small party he managed to win five elections in Rochdale as a Liberal. I think this would be very hard to achieve today. Remember when Cyril won the seat there were only a handful of Liberal MPs.

'Sir Cyril was one of the first politicians of the TV age to use his personality and charisma to enormous effect. In that respect he was ahead of his time.'

Paul Rowen, former Lib Dem MP:
'I have known Sir Cyril since his first election victory in 1972. He has been a truly amazing ambassador for our town and a true inspiration to me personally. During my years as Rochdale MP he was a great source of advice and help and he remained active within the party up until only a few months ago due to his illness. He will be sadly missed by thousands of people, not only in Rochdale, but across the country.

'He was a towering figure for our party and led us through difficult times.'

Councillor Dale Mulgrew, Sir Cyril's Godson:
'Throughout his life many people, including myself, were touched by his great warmth and generous nature.

'But he wasn't afraid of speaking his mind. Over the years I often came to expect the firm guidance that he provided, which was often comforted by a memorable anecdote delivered with his characteristic charisma.

'Cyril, I and Rochdale will miss you.'

Councillor Irene Davidson, Lib Dem leader of Rochdale Council:
'When I first came to politics more than 20 years ago, Sir Cyril was the first person to take me under his wing and for all the time I have been a councillor he has been a great support. He was Mr Politics, and not just for Liberal Democrats. He simply was politics for Rochdale. Politics will never be the same without him and the Lib Dems will never be the same because we have lost such and important piece of jigsaw. He will be missed, not just in Rochdale but across the country. He lived, breathed and sweated politics and he is going to be very sadly missed.'

Councillor Ashley Dearnley, Conservative deputy leader of Rochdale Council:
'Sir Cyril really was Mr Rochdale. Whenever you went anywhere and mentioned Rochdale, everyone always asked about Cyril. He was a great advocate of the borough. He had a great deal of common sense. His views were not party political, but about what was best for the people of Rochdale. I had a lot of time and respect for him. He will be remembered as Mr Rochdale.'

William Roache, Coronation Street actor and friend:
'He was a lovely, fair-minded and good man. He was one of the first people who crossed party boundaries. He was a warm and friendly guy who always seemed to get right to the heart of the matter with incredible common sense.'

Sir Menzies Campbell, former Lib Dem leader:
'Cyril Smith was a one-off in British politics, instantly recognisable, with robust, enthusiastic commitment to his views.

'You only had to walk down the street with Cyril to realise how popular he was. His individualism was occasionally at odds with the party leadership, but his heart and soul were always with the party.'

Lord (David) Steel of Aikwood, leader of the Liberals from 1976 until 1988:
'Cyril was first and foremost Mr Rochdale. His by-election picked up the Liberal Party from the disastrous 1970 election, when we had only six seats, and started our recovery.

'His was also our first breakthrough in the industrial north of England. He served diligently as MP, chief whip and president of the National Liberal Club.

'He was always a warm-hearted colleague.'

John Spiller, Cyril Smith’s election agent in the 1972 by-election and Secretary General of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1986:
'Cyril Smith's famous victory at the Rochdale By-election in 1972 ushered in a whole series of stunning election performances by the Liberal Party at that time.

'Cyril was a tough and formidable campaigner, a prime example of that very unique brand of northern politician with a no nonsense approach.

'His down to earth style, at times controversial endeared him to grass root liberal activist up and down the country.

'Cyril was also a kind and compassionate man.

'Early in his own life he had experienced very real and personal tough times. It was no surprise that over many years, and without fanfare, he would give practical and unstinting assistance to numerous families in Rochdale who were facing difficulties or problems.

'As Cyril's agent when he was first elected in 1972, I was in a privileged position to observe his many attributes. He was a leading politician of his time. He will be remembered with fondness and great affection, not only by the people of Rochdale who he served so magnificently but also thousands of liberals throughout the country.'

Sue McGuire, North West Liberal Democrat chairman:
'Our first thoughts are with Sir Cyril's family at this sad time. The people of Rochdale have lost a formidable champion today and the Liberal Democrats have lost someone who has been an outstanding influence on the party locally, regionally and nationally for over 40 years.'

Chris Davies, North West Liberal Democrat Euro-MP:
'Although he was never a European enthusiast he campaigned for me in 1999. I spent happy days travelling across the North West with Cyril, his brother Norman, and his former agent Rodney Stott. The car we used had been strengthened to bear their formidable collective weight and I was like the filling in a sandwich. Cyril wore his heart on his sleeve and was passionate about two things, Rochdale and politics. He could be a formidable foe, and the most loyal of friends. I have had experience of both.'

Councillor Jean Ashworth:
'We owe so much to him because he put Rochdale on the map and was a very genuine and positive person. He never held anything back, he said it as it was, and it's a very, very sad day for Rochdale. He will never be forgotten.'

Alan Taylor, former Rochdale council leader and Cyril's election agent from 1973 to 1978:
'Cyril Smith had a public side and a private side and those who were privileged knew the private Cyril. He could make anyone feel special. He was wonderful.'

Maureen Cooper, who succeeded Sir Cyril as the chairman of the Rochdale Childer, which he founded 41 years ago to help vulnerable children:
'Cyril was always very active up to the last few years.

'Even when he was in the House of Commons, he would still raise money for us by giving talks.

'He was a very generous and loyal friend, and very caring of those who were less fortunate.

'I'm sure that he would wish that the Rochdale Childer continue in the way he intended it to.'

Jimmy Cricket, comedian and long-time friend of Sir Cyril:
'Cyril was a giant who loomed over the political landscape of Rochdale for over two decades.

'He was synonymous with the town, like the Co-op and Gracie Fields, and you would be hard put to find many people here, even today, whose lives haven't been touched by him.

'Through his selfless dedication to helping others my own son, Dale Mulgrew, was inspired to enter politics.

"Though no longer with us, he will be for ever in the hearts and minds of the people of Rochdale.'

Vivien Coburn, his personal assistant from 1975 until his retirement in 1992:
'I applied for the job as his personal assistant through the Rochdale Observer and I thought ‘this is the job for me’. Cyril was great to work for and he was always very thoughtful and considerate. We became good friends and he always asked about my family. He was still asking about them when I went to visit him in hospital recently.'

The Rev Gillian Peel of Rochdale Unitarian Church, of which Sir Cyril was a lifelong member:
'It was with great sadness that we received the news that Sir Cyril Smith had passed away. Cyril has been a lifelong member of Rochdale Unitarian Church. He has always supported the church and was immensely proud of his Unitarian roots. As a youngster he was in the Unitarian Young People's League and he went on to become a Sunday School Superintendent, a role he only relinquished when he became an MP in 1972. Cyril was the chairman of the Trustees of the church until ill health forced him to resign, although he remained a member of the trustees. Cyril was a tireless worker on behalf of Rochdale Unitarian Church since being a young boy.

'He will be sadly missed by the members of the church and our sympathy goes to his brother Norman and Norman's wife, Shirley, at this sad time.'
_________________________________________________________


The next issueof the printed issue of NORTHERN VOICES No.14, will soon be available for sale with a blow-by-blow account of the rise and fall of Sir Cyril Smith written by John Walker one of the former editors of the Rochdale Alternative Paper, it can be obtained as follows:

Postal subscription: £5 for the next two issues (post included). Cheques payable to 'Northern Voices' sent to c/o 52, Todmorden Road, Burnley, Lancashire BB10 4AH.

Tel.: 0161 793 5122.

email: northernvoices@hotmail.com

Di Canio, Football, Fascism & meaningless words

GEORGE Orwell in a section on 'meaningless words' from his essay 'Politics & the English Language', written in 1946 for Horizon, wrote:
'The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies “something not desirable”.'

In the same essay he maintains:
'The words democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic, justice, have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another.'

What follows from this is that a word like 'democracy' is a praise-worthy word, while 'fascism' is a foul-mouthed word. Today, all manner of régimes would want to embrace the title 'democracy', while few nation states, political parties or individuals would embrace 'fascism' as a label. That's what makes the Italian footballer, Paulo Di Canio's statement in 2005 that 'I am a fascist, not a racist' so remarkable, at least to an Englishman. Does it mean that Italians are more honest in their political language or braver or more brash than the English? Di Canio has 'Dux', the Latin for Il Duce, another name for Benito Mussolini, tattooed on his right arm, and is said to have a lot of books about Mussolini on his bookshelves, and in his autobiography he is said to have described Il Duce as 'a very principled individual'. Oh yes, and in 2005 he gave two straight-arm salutes to fans at Lazio, the football club where he was playing at the time.

The appointment of Di Canio to coach Sunderland has certainly upset some folk, and the Blairite MP and former Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, has resigned on Sunday as vice-chairman of Sunderland football club in protest against Di Canio's politics and Durham Miners' Association is about to ask for its Wearmouth miner's banner back from the Stadium of Light. Orwell, in writing about political language, was concerned about people using words such as democracy 'in a consciously dishonest way'. Yesterday, Michael Walker writing a column in the Daily Mail wrote:
'Sentences (in Di Canio's autobiography [2000]) such as: “Perhaps it's because I am right wing, I fascinated by Benito Mussolini”, left Miliband no alternative but to resign from Sunderland's board on Sunday night.' It seems that 'it's a big stride, even for a politician ... though the New Labour man was comfortable with a venture capitalist (Ellis Short, a hedge-fund dealer from Texas) in control of the club'.

Is Di Canio's politics grounds for sacking him? 

This week, co-incidentally, it is 75-years since on March 31st, 1938, the McNaboe-Davaney anti-Communist bill was vetoed by Governor Herbert H. Lehman. That bill, if enacted, would have barred from teaching and civil service positions in New York State all persons advocating the forcible overthrow of organised government, all adherents to Communism or criminal anarchism. If you strive for consistency, believe in liberty and don't enjoy a twisted logic; if like Northern Voices, you've fought against blacklists in the building trade since 2003; or more recently censorship of small publications like NV; and restraints on free speech generally, then it is hard to see how it is legitimate to sack even a bloke like Di Canio because of his politics. 

LOOKS LIKE FC UNITED STADIUM IS SECURED!

IT'S LOOKING like FC UNITED has finally cracked it and got planning permission for a stadium of 5,000-capacity at Ronald Johnson Fields in Moston in Greater Manchester. Though a group of local residents still hope to block the stadium by being granted a judicial review.

FC UNITED is a non-league club, originally formed in protest at the Glazier family's takeover of the premier league club Manchester United. Last Friday, a High Court judge found that planning approval for the FC UNITED stadium should stand. Thus, the rebel club now has a opportunity to create a home for their club: recently FC UNITED have been playing at Gigg Lane in Bury for their home games. Some Moston residents have welcomed the judge's verdict, considering that the £4.6 million plan will bring in investment and offer facilities to the young in the area. Others fear that the stadium will be built on a green field site and introduce problems.

Northern Voices' All time pageviewings: Top 5.

1383 pageviews for 'Bolton Council say "Bye-Bye" to Gary Neville's Tel...'
Dated:  25 Jun 2010

468 pageviews for 'The Coalition: Return of Maggie Thatcher?' by Laurens Otter.
24 Sep 2010

452 pageviews for 'The Bradford Fire 25 years on: a preventable trage...'
12 May 2010

395 pageviews for 'What kind of 'Anarchist' is Julian Assange?'
9 Dec 2010, 8 comments

356 pageviews for ' "Can tha' keep a Secret?" - An old Yorkshire tale ...' by Chris Draper.
22 Apr 2010, 1 comment

SPAIN: Not just football and George Orwell!

SPAIN's team last Sunday night triumphed in the EURO 2012 final, in what one newspaper has called 'an historic night in Kiev' .    In a 4-0 victory over Italy, Spain became the first coutry to win three major tournaments in a row and to become the 'greatest international team of all time'.  This morning the incumbent Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, said that he hoped the result would give some pleasure to the many unemployed Spaniards suffering from the downturn in economic activity.

Last month, Harry Eyres in his Saturday column in the Financial Times (02/06/12) wrote that at a dark and difficult junction in his own life Spain '... or rather its generous, warm-hearted people - opened up roomfuls of sunny windows, made me feel life was more various and richer than I had realised'.  He was he claimed 'in rebellion against aspects of (his) upbringing, (his) schooling, (his) class' and, he writes 'the Spanish and Catalan friends I made in Barcelona, and then more widely spread over the country, seemed to understand without too much explanation that ancient boarding schools and universities might have their oppressive aspects.'  Harry, clearly a middle-class lad, was in Spain after Franco died on the 20th,  November 1975 at the aged of 82, but I went to Spain in February 1963 to work with the young Spanish anarchist resistance to the regime while Franco was still in power; having been a former secondary modern boy who was the son of a Lancashire mill girl and a semi-skilled machinist. 

Harry Eyres, who knew the old anarchist John Retty, tells us that it helped that the Spaniards and Catalans 'revered George Orwell, who they saw Eton as a microcosm of a fascist state - even though that great and brave writer never seemed to me to convey much feel for Spain or Catalonia.'  Mr. Eyres writes of the Spaniards that:  'I was included, with no fuss at all, in family celebrations, invited to weddings, offered accommodation whenever I felt like it' and he continues 'there was an unforgettable kindness of picnics and on ... occassion a bottle of cider on trains and buses, as if food and drink were not private possessions but communal gifts.'    He says 'I was lucky to arrive in Spain at an intensely vibrant and exciting time for the country:  the early 1980s.'  He thinks that it was the best time to go to Spain because 'Democracy was being re-established (the country had only ever known one brief period of modern democracy in its history, the storm-tossed Second Republic of 1931-1936), and it was not without alarms especially the attempted coup d'etat of February 23 1981.'

I would say that his shows Harry Eyres, who says of Orwell he 'never seemed to me to convey much feel for Spain',  doesn't himself understand the deep eternal spirit of Spain and Spanish society, which to visitors from northern Europe has often proved irresistible even when it has been accompanied by an authoritarian regime in Madrid.  For Orwell, Spain and his experiences during the Spanish Civil War pursuaded him that the idea that socialism was a practically possiblity; simply because, as he says in his letters later, that the nature of the ordinary Spaniards he met won him over as nothing else could to the idea that a better more egalitarian world was possible.  Hence, anytime is a good time to go to Spain - that is Spain of the  Spaniards and not those parts of Spain that seem as if they have fallen off the back of a lorry because they are so full of foreigners from Northern Europe. 

My problem in spending so much time with English types in England now, either among careerists who are so ambitious, self-absorbed, or with the narrow-minded English eccentrics and stamp-collectors of the anarchist ilk, is that I often forget that there are decent people like those in Spain  who could possible make socialism work.  Mr. Eyres article has reminded me that I need another visit to Spain to recuperate from the inanities of English society, and paradoxically perhaps to appreciate England a bit more.

'Hodgson has always been good at making players play above their level,' says former Rochdale editor

LAST week, John Walker, a former editor of the controversial journal of the 1970s the 'Rochdale Alternative Paper' (RAP), e-mailed Northern Voices to say 'Hodgson has always been good at making average players play above their level' and 'the Euros have been a good example for him to put his forte to work'.  John Walker, a lad from London who came to Rochdale in the 1970s became a editor and founder of RAP while lecturing at Rochdale College.  While in London he was at school with Roy Hodgeson, and when Hodgeson was made England manager he did an interview on Radio 4 in which John worried that Hodgeson may get done-over in the media if the team didn't perform well in the Euro competion.  This week, after England's defeat to Italy 4-2 on penalty kicks, Roy Hodgson said penalty kicks become an obsession in English soccer, but he admitted there was no way to reproduce the tired legs and pressure of penalties during training. 

Six O' the Best Northern Theatres & the need for the Arts in the North

Christopher Draper in Northern Voices 13, now on sale, tried to judge the best theatres in the North, many serious politically minded people dismiss these kind of articles on the arts and northern cooking in Northern Voices as trivial, but earlier this month Simon Schama wrote a piece in the Financial Times on William Shakespeare arguing that 'almost before there was a true political and institutional "England", there was a theatre of England.'    Some folk will say, and have said, that we are wasting space filling up our publication with stuff on films, gardening, regional beer, or tea time treats, when we could be analysing the economy and the national deficit. 

Simon Schama writes of the Bard:  'Shakespeare would not be the great poet-philosopher he is were he not to have spoken to the universal condition of humanity, but in the beginning he didn't address himself to humanity at large but to the English.'   It was a need for identity of place that he address himself to in an England that was not yet then fully born.  Schama argues persuasively that:  'This peculiar sense of English belonging, kindled in the theatre and then projected on to the streets, fields and villages of the country, had begun in the time of the first Elizabeth, and Shakespeare was its great virtuoso.'

Thus, Northern Voices (NV) commits half of the coverage in its journal to our Northern culture, food, drink, history and the arts.  That it why we supported the Touchstones Challenge campaign to protect the arts in Rochdale; listed the Manchester & Salford Film Co-op; reviewed the 'Pre-Raphaelite Pioneer' Ford Madox Brown exhibition at the Manchester Art Gallery; interviewed Eddy Hopkinson on his second-hand bookstall on Church Street in Manchester; backed the Tameside TUC campaign for a Blue Plaque for Spanish Civil War hero, James Keogh in Ashton-under-Lyne; as well as surveying the clash of the classes in Sheffield in the 19th Century and covered a football story on Glossop North End in N.V.10.
_______________________________________________________

The printed version of NORTHERN VOICES 13, with all sorts of stuff others won't touch and may be obtained as follows:

Postal subscription: £5 for the next two issues (post included)

Cheques payable to 'Northern Voices' at

c/o 52, Todmorden Road, Burnley, Lancashire BB10 4AH.

Tel.: 0161 793 5122.

email: northernvoices@hotmail.com
_______________________________________________________

Barcelona & the benefits of apprenticeships

IN the 1960s there was a wave of snowball strikes by engineering apprentices that was started in the North: in Glasgow in Scotland. Comedian Billy Connolly was on the strike committee up there but Alex Ferguson, now manager of Manchester United, figured as one of the leaders in that long ago apprentice dispute of May 1960 that quickly spread South to Manchester, the Midlands and even London. These apprentice strikes were for increased pay relative to craftsmen, against the use of apprentices as cheap labour and for better education in their respective trade.

Now, at a time when the apprenticeship has been diminished in the North of England and elsewhere as a system since the 1980s, the Lex column (Saturday May 28th/Sunday May 29th 2011) in the Financial Times of all places has made a persuasive argument on its behalf. Entitled 'Football fever: apprentices become masters' Lex wrote last Saturday:

'Football is like German engineering: one of the few industries to hire and nurture apprentices. Every so often, the custom produces pure gold: the latest piece of classic German technology, or a great football team.

'No club epitomises this nurturing of talent like Barcelona, who play Manchester United - England's once and hopeful future exemplar - in the Uefa Champions League final on Saturday. The club will field match winners who cost only what it takes to educate, train and employ them. Much of the side won the World Cup for Spain last year.

'As football looks to introduce financial fair play rules, its bosses, owners fans and players know that debt-fuelled transfers, with their hidden costs and inflated prices, are untenable. As Barcelona and German engineers have proved, it is talent, not money, that matters.'