0% Villa-BBC drama on Munich air crash.

[pauliewalnuts]

A friend of mine used to swear blind that (this was in the 80s) one of the biggest institutional share holders in Manchester United was the BBC pension fund, and this was why they fawned over them so much, even when they went 26 years or whatever it was without winning the league.

[pauliewalnuts]

Talking of David Tennant, going off on a slight tangent, I found myself in the horrid position of strongly agreeing with that gigantic wanker A. A. Gill about something today, with his rant about Doctor Who.

Isn't that the norm for him?

Just curious but what did this Gill bloke say?

I'd copy and paste it, but the Times is paywalled.

Basically that it sucks up a gigantic slice of the Beeb's drama budget, they won't have a bad word said about it, and it is stale and beyond its sell by date.

[cdbearsfan]

He can piss off then. I like it.

[taylorsworkrate]

Just watched the programme.

I thought parts of it were excellent, such as David Tennant's performance. 

Other parts not so great.  They made the Busby character seem a bit gangsterish, and probably not enough backround on some of the players.

[nick harper]

What struck me after watching it, in these days of counselling and the understanding of the impact of post traumatic stress was that players like Gregg, Foulkes and Charlton were back playing within a couple of weeks of the disaster.

Given they had been in the disaster themselves and were lucky to escape with their lives - and lost their friends and people they worked with, it seems astonishing now. Charlton i,n particular,was only a kid and yet he went on to become one of the finest post war players this country has produced.

[TopDeck113]

It is also a long time since I last heard a song about Munich... this could raise that unfortunate spectre once again.

Apparently Citeh fans were chanting Munich songs at Blackburn last night. 

Perhaps the born-again Blue half of Manchester are unaware that one of those who died in the crash was Frank Swift.

[Woofles The Wonder Dog]

A friend of mine used to swear blind that (this was in the 80s) one of the biggest institutional share holders in Manchester United was the BBC pension fund, and this was why they fawned over them so much, even when they went 26 years or whatever it was without winning the league.

The BBC didn't manage their own pension fund. This would have been done for them by an Investment Bank.  Nice urban myth though.

[pauliewalnuts]

A friend of mine used to swear blind that (this was in the 80s) one of the biggest institutional share holders in Manchester United was the BBC pension fund, and this was why they fawned over them so much, even when they went 26 years or whatever it was without winning the league.

The BBC didn't manage their own pension fund. This would have been done for them by an Investment Bank.  Nice urban myth though.

That's what I suspected, but hang on .....

It wasn't just the 40,700 fans at Old Trafford who cheered the Red Devils - as they are sometimes admiringly known - after winning their first league championship for 26 years. All BBC pensioners, past and future (the latter presumably now including director-general John Birt among their number), had good reason to feel celebratory. The BBC Pension Fund has a 4.24% stake in Manchester United Football Club, one of only three quoted on the stock market.

http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/409021/UK-BBC-SCORES---MANCHESTER-UNITED/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH

[not3bad]

Talking of David Tennant, going off on a slight tangent, I found myself in the horrid position of strongly agreeing with that gigantic wanker A. A. Gill about something today, with his rant about Doctor Who.

Isn't that the norm for him?

Just curious but what did this Gill bloke say?

I'd copy and paste it, but the Times is paywalled.

Basically that it sucks up a gigantic slice of the Beeb's drama budget, they won't have a bad word said about it, and it is stale and beyond its sell by date.

Oh right.  I inferred from the talk of David Tennant that he was talking about Tennant himself rather than Dr Who in general.  Yeah I think he's talking rubbish too in that case.

[Woofles The Wonder Dog]

Even so, the BBC wouldn't have necessarily been involved in the investment directly, though if they owned 4.24% in the 80s and kept it they will have made an absolute killing. Which is tremendous news... for the BBC pension fund. Eat your heart out Damon.