Our money has gone to Iceland

[undyingking]

So apparently the govt is planning to seize the assets of Icelandic companies in the UK, to compensate the various local authorities, charities, etc who stand to lose something like a billion quid. Could make the Cod War look like a skirmish!

Of more immediate interest though: do the assets to be seized include West Ham United? If so, we could become the first nationalized football team. I think West Ham are ideally suited to being the British Leyland of the Premier League -- we already have the ovemanning, featherbed wages and endemic sicknote culture.

Or maybe, as the club has been known for so long as "the academy of football", like an academy school we'll be floated off in some sort of PFI deal whereby secretive and cranky businessfolk put in a token amount of money and exercise arbitrary and whimsical control, with local people providing the bulk of the cash but with no say over how it's run. Oh, hold on, that's actually the way football clubs work already, isn't it? Carry on, nothing more to see here.

Comments

[colonel-maxim.livejournal.com]

He has gone completely and barkingly mad. How on earth does he think this is legal and what does he think will happen when the Icelandic government seizes British assets in exchange?

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

My guess is there's less value of British assets on Icelandic soil than vice versa. Still, it does seem an unnecessarily unpleasant scenario to invoke.

It's just sabre-rattling though really -- trying to shame the Icelanders into including these British losers in their own bailout compensation scheme.

[mrlloyd.livejournal.com]

I suppose being the first nationalised football team might be good, but surely being the first team to be sponsored by the govt (via Northern Rock) has even more socialist cred?

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Definite cred points! ISTR that Tranmere or someone like that was sponsored by one of the big trade unions, back in the day. And I'm sure I've seen some lower-division club with their local council on their shirts, although I can't remember who.