Investigate McClaren Too.

Yesterday I blogged about Sam Allardyce getting my goat. Former England striker Alan Shearer has bemoaned the state of the beautiful game and the disrepute attached to it due to the actions of men like Allardyce, he's right.

His Match Of The Day colleague Gary Lineker has called for a police investigation. Lineker was a clean player on the pitch and like Shearer makes an honest living as a commentator, I wholeheartedly support the call for a police investigation.

It's not the first time highly paid players or managers have been caught trying to skim a bit more off the top. Where there is corruption there's crime. I've heard the figure of four hundred thousand pounds bandied about and I've heard rumours of a million pound payoff for Allardyce.  He reckons he's paying for his 'mistake'. Huh!

If his pay off exists, and you can bet that contractually it does, then the FA should publicly give it to Children In Need, or Cancer Research or McMillan and see if big Sam is big enough not to challenge that decision, he'd become a pariah, even more than he is now.

Lineker is right, there should be a police investigation and former England manager Steve McClaren who has supported Allardyce and said 'it could happen to any of us' should be investigated too, out of his own mouth.

These people live in a different universe from the British football fan working to pay for his or her ticket and the constantly changing strip and club regalia. All the money swilling about in British football attracts corruption.

You can bet someone who doesn't care that Allardyce is corrupt will give him another chance, another highly paid job. It doesn't just get my goat, it's disgusting and fans are too loyal to vote with their feet, but two weeks of empty stadia countrywide might force the FA to think twice.

The position of England Manager is an honour, and a highly paid one at that, even if some Premiership clubs pay even more. The least anyone who lands the job can do is apply themselves to it, not spend time trying to milk it.

Malcolm Snook Writer and Blogger

Where Greed Meets Stupidity

I'm not a huge fan of media stings, but I'm even more anti corruption, greed and abuse of position or power, how small does Sam Allardyce look now? English football has been a disgrace for years the FA and the England team. Can't help feeling this is just a symptom of the money, greed and stupidity that's endemic in football, but it still gets my goat.

Malcolm Snook Author And Blogger

Our Clown Prince Of Chaos

Boris Johnson got my goat yesterday (again). He's obviously enjoying his seat at the table in the UN as Britain's senior diplomat, his consolation prize for not taking the top job in government. He was talking on British television about the great role Britain plays at the UN and in the world, how no one wanted to talk to him about Brexit but about WORLD matters. Jumped up poseur.

Does he not see that he now has a seat at the table of abject failure? Rhetorical question obviously. The UN has spread disease, denied it and claimed diplomatic immunity when caught, it has failed to protect women being raped just a few miles from the door of one of its bases, it failed spectacularly in Bosnia and is failing humiliatingly again in Syria.

I mean no disrespect to the heroic people serving on aid convoys and dying for humanity, but I have utter contempt for the hypocrites at the top, especially the Security Council. With the likes of Boris, our very own clown prince of chaos at the top table the failure will go on and on. The UN requires a new constitution, not a large Johnson.

He was questioned on his absence from a recent meeting with President Erdogan of Turkey, a man he has mocked, in which he might be correct for once; although in this case it's no laughing matter. He made light of his missing that meeting, pointing out that he has relatives in Ankara. I and many people are well aware of Boris's Turkish heritage, but......

 A momentary look of  'oops what have I just said' passed across his normally merry visage, but don't worry Boris, your Turkish heritage is still not known to most, just as your utter hypocrisy in using fear of Turkey, a most unlikely candidate for prompt EU membership (as you well know) to try and bring down Europe still goes un-recognised by the majority of the great British public.

One day though, you'll be seen for what you truly are, maybe we can incarcerate you on Boris Island in the Thames. You posturing, self aggrandising idiot.

Malcolm Snook Author

Thirty Years Of Failure And No End In Sight

Female Genital Mutilation has been a crime in the UK for thirty one years. It took thirty years to bring one unsuccessful prosecution. It's a scandal and a national disgrace and that gets my goat. Research suggests one hundred and thirty seven thousand women and girls living in England and Wales were affected in 2011 alone.

It's a crime which, in some communities, is probably carried out daily. And still the police and crown prosecution service are getting nowhere with it at all. Get a few burglars to admit to crimes they didn't do in return for a lesser sentence and catch a few motorists, that's easy, helps the statistics along, but a vile crime which involves cross cultural difficulties, real victims of real violence, the hell with that sunshine, let the victims suffer, too difficult for us. That's Britain today.

Malcolm Snook

Oh Really!

George Osborne, Cameron's yes man with thwarted designs on number ten has said he will not follow his leader into retirement, but will stay and fight for the 'liberal mainstream majority'. He'd better defect to the real Liberals then if he 's actually now concerned to do what's right and not just power crazed. If they'd have him!

Malcolm Snook

The Arrogance of Assad and the Stupidity of Cameron

Recent reports have confirmed what we already knew, that Cameron standing on a platform in post Gaddafi Libya saying we (the UK) would stand shoulder to shoulder with the new government and the people to make it work (or words to that effect) was just a load of hot air and waffle. Will Cameron be bracketed with Blair? You can bet your house on it.

The report suggests that British actions in Libya contributed to the rise of IS and the calamity in Syria, I'd go further and say our actions in Iraq and Afghanistan contributed too. The lack of a strategy for the peace is staggering beyond belief, we appeared to learn from the mistakes of Versailles and re-built Europe after World War Two, but the lessons are lost on our current idiotic (on the whole) politicians and given the referendum result on many of the post war generation too.

Russia has a strategy, they want Assad in power and they're going after it militarily, such that Assad, once on the brink of defeat used the tenuous ceasefire to announce his intention to take back all of Syria, as if it was his personal estate. This does seem the most likely outcome and the highly expensive missiles and bombs thrown around by the second most indebted country on the planet will simply have claimed a few more lives along the way.

Yes, that gets my goat.

History gifts.

Lock him up, lock him up!

We locked up Anjem Choudary for inciting racial hatred, quite right too, perhaps in the light of the murder of Jo Cox and recent violence and threats against Poles we should take a long hard look at doing the same to Messrs. Farage, Johnson and Gove. Perhaps the Americans would like to take a look at that nice Mr Trump too. Lock him up, lock him up!

Malcolm Snook

Sexist Or Just Fun?

More a jokey one today. Has anyone noticed the TV ads for the Ford Fiesta ST and the Ford Focus ST? When you look at the power figures for these cars they do look mighty impressive, especially at the price.

However the Fiesta (smaller car) ads feature a lady, a recent bridesmaid in a dress she seems not to like much, hence she deserves to treat herself to a Fiesta ST, you know it's quite a girly ad which is fine but not much doubt about the target audience.

Then there's the Focus ST commercial (larger car, even more power), the ad shows a guy sitting with his girlfriend in a cinema full of women watching a weepy movie. On which basis he thinks he deserves a new Focus ST, not much doubt about the target audience there.

Am I the only one who thinks Ford might be being a little bit stereotypical and sexist?

Malcolm Snook Writer

Brilliant Customer Relations

Yesterday I blogged about mistakes and idiocies by Scottish Power, they're not the only company hide bound by rules, narrow areas of responsibility, procedure and stupidity, but they proved a good example and their actions affected someone close to me in a very personal way.

I then tweeted my blog post and hey presto Scottish Power tweeted me back, apparently trying to help. Unfortunately the person affected doesn't use Twitter, but said she would like to take matters further, in view of Scottish Power's response. They then went on to prove that there is no common sense involved and that individuals have their narrow areas of responsibility and cannot step outside them.

It would appear that if you're on the Scottish Power social media team you can't pick up a telephone for example. Here's how the Twitter conversation went, starting with my public Tweet linking to yesterday's blog post and then the conversation with Scottish power:

Thingsthatgetyourgoat The Power To Make People Sick http://thingsthatgetyourgoat.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-power-to-make-people-sick.html?spref=tw … #scottishpower #bigbusiness #callcentres #bereavement #music


@sailorsnook Hi Malcolm, we'd like to look into this for you, could you DM us your account details please?  -NA



@SP_EnergyPeople I will ask my partner if she wishes to take it further.



@sailorsnook Okay, if you would like our assistance with this, please get back to us. -NA



@SP_EnergyPeople H***** would like to take this further by telephone *********** act ***********



@sailorsnook Hi Malcolm, we'd like to discuss this with the account holder here. We'd need you to DM us with more account details.


@SP_EnergyPeople H***** doesn't use twitter phone her and sort it out if you want to but don't make matters worse by wasting people's time

@sailorsnook We can't arrange call backs but our website has a free call back feature, if you would like I can book one here for Hilary? -NA






Which brings us full circle to the telephone people who were a large part of the problem in the first place I guess. Brilliant customer relations, outstanding.



Malcolm Snook

The Power To Make People Sick

Scottish Power get my goat, sending erroneous bills to a bereaved daughter, even though they've been informed, having a broad Scottish accent is just one of those things, but talking more quickly when you've been politely asked to speak more slowly so you can be understood is pretty bloody stupid. Playing emotive songs often used at funerals when you put someone who's bereaved on hold is also pretty stupid and being unable to deviate from the script is just pathetic. Yep, Scottish Power aren't the only big business that's arrogant and stupid, but they are especially rubbish as these things go.

Malcolm Snook

He Who Divides Wants Us To Come Together

Self serving, dishonest Boris has joined a new Leave Europe campaign group, possibly to keep up the pressure on the misguided PM who made him Foreign Secretary. He says he wants Leave and Remain people to work together. The very existence of this group demonstrates just how split his own party is. I think Boris has no conception of the even deeper division in the country, which he fostered with his lies and propaganda.

A few, bend with the wind, remainers might pay lipservice, but the division will not go away. TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady is concerned that worker's shouldn't pay the price for so called 'Brexit' whilst most of the TUC leadership seem to acknowledge that many of their members voted that way to give the establishment a good kicking. Labour is equally divided.

What we see is self interest groups all panicking that their share of EU handouts might be lost or that their members might suffer. If it all goes pear shaped in three years, everyone is going to blame someone else and the easiest scapegoat will be pesky foreigners. Pathetic. If May can make this work she'll be one of the greatest PMs ever, on current performance I have little optimism, well, none actually.

Politicians meddled with my education growing up and all she seems to want to do is meddle again, whilst others around her meddle with the health service, the economy and on and on. By the way did anyone think Theresa May meeting Donald Tusk in a short split skirt was appropriate or attractive?

Malcolm Snook

Blame The Father

A twelve year old American girl was recently seen on social media posing with a giraffe she had shot dead on a hunting trip to Africa with her father. Giraffes, the gentle giants of Africa, have declined by 40% in the last fifteen years, mostly due to loss of environment, but brainless hunters teaching madness to their kids don't help.

Malcolm Snook

The Evil Of Assad

A couple of days ago we learned that a group of British clerics and members of our esteemed House Of Lords went to visit that friendly looking President Assad, you know the charming man in a suit, married to a British doctor's daughter with British kids late of Acton.

Last night we see a tiny girl shivering with fear, clutching an oxygen mask, the victim of a chemical weapons attack. Russia may choose to support this monster, we should not be dignifying his regime with visits, shame on us too. Churchmen and Lords, no more use than our politicians.

Malcolm Snook support this blog here.

BBC get it right please.

I may be an old fogey, but I'm not against change, I have no problem with regional accents and I don't care what the ethnicity of a correspondent is. However, when a BBC correspondent on a major news show thinks the plural of deer is 'deers' or when another pronounces Le Touquet with a hard 't' at the end I wonder what's happened, et tu, Brute.

I don't know what these people get paid, but I'm sure I'd like the job, do they not rehearse, does no producer, director or anyone else check they know the basics? Standards BBC, professionalism please.

Malcolm Snook