What would Thatcher think?

As the tabloids warn us of the dangers of the Eastern European influx, now that we have one million Poles amongst us, I see conflicting messages.

Whilst the Daily Mail readers quake in their beds, the captains of industry they revere seem to quite like the Poles. Apparently, the Poles are industrious and good time-keepers who are willing to put the hours in. Also, the Eastern Europeans tend to share the right wing, racist instincts of those Daily Mail readers, and they are definitely a lot whiter than the previous wave of immigrants.

And anecdotal evidence tends to suggest that employers' inclination towards the Eastern Europeans is creating pressure on the employment prospects of the Black immigration that has been the back-bone of our low-paid ancillary industries.

So are this lot going to suppress the opportunity for the previous wave to climb the ladder? Are black employees going to be sidelined, and held in an employment ghetto where opportunities to advance are restricted? Could be.


In the same vein, one wonders (doesn't one?) if there are parallels in our national game, where the foreign-owned big clubs are now relying on imports in order to avoid the Tommy Atkins school of hard-work and tough-tackling football that has brought the national side fuck-all over the decades.
Who wants a bunch of criminal class piss-artists when you can pay over the odds for a dedicated athlete who has been coached in the art of looking after himself, on and off the pitch.
The reality is that the average Johnny Foreigner is only here for the ridiculous wages, and couldn't give a shit about the club; but as long as the perception amongst the club owners of overseas players as being more professional, more RELIABLE than the home-grown players, then the British product will be continually second-rate.

Not unlike a clapped out Rover, choking out blue smoke, in the wake of the Mercedes and Ferraris on the road to success.

A German Joke: What's the difference between a Jehovas Witness and a British Car?
You can always shut the door on a Jehovas Witness!