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Property & Sports shorts
9th September 2008
Has the credit crunch ended?
There have been conflicting statements in the Press over the last week with some people saying that with banks lending to each other again that the credit crunch may be over.
However, only this morning Andy Hornby, the chief executive of HBOS, is quoted as saying that the credit crunch may last for another 18 months!This may well be something to do with the fact that HBOS is one of those banks which appears to have been hardest hit by the credit crunch having had a rights issue and also paying off a number of staff across the country.
Santander, the Spanish banking giant, which owns Abbey and who are waiting to complete their takeover of Alliance and Leicester later this year were not affected by credit crunch and are starting to flex their muscles with competitive mortgage rates which HBOS are having to try and match and the next few months should be interesting to see who wins the battle for supremacy of the overall mortgage market.
The credit crunch may not quite be over but the Spanish influence should mean that borrowers are the winners in the coming months.
TALKING A GOOD GAME
"I've got more respect for Ferguson than anyone else in the game. He's like a Scouser, really. He's funny, doesn't mind telling people to **** off, and he even votes Labour. I love him."
Liverpool?s Jamie Carragher has an unlikely hero in Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
?That was almost an orange card, somewhere between a yellow and a red."
Former Liverpool defender Jim Beglin dreams up a third card whilst commentating on the European Super Cup match between Manchester United and Zenit St Petersburg
?I was watching a TV programme about accents the other day where they said the Birmingham dialect was the most difficult to understand, so I couldn't make out what they were saying."
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez after receiving a hostile reception at Villa Park.
TROUBLE IN THE TOON
Oh, to be a Newcastle fan. The perennial Premier League underachievers seem to slip seamlessly from one crisis to the next. Their passionate supporters deserve so much more for their unwavering enthusiasm but even their patience must have been severely tested over the past week.
The Geordies? Messiah Kevin Keegan left the club after his much publicised fall-out with owner Mike Ashley. King Kev was aggrieved at his lack of control in deciding who was coming and going from St James? Park along with the interfering from the diminutive director of football Dennis Wise.
Ashley was once placed on a pedestal by the Geordie fans when he sat in the away ends with them in his Newcastle replica top but he is now public enemy number one.
He will need to find a worthy replacement to Keegan as quick as he can to quell the fury felt by the Newcastle faithful. However with Alan Shearer already distancing himself from the vacant post there seems to be few obvious choices for the job. The Newcastle fans have pledged to hurt Mike Ashley in his pocket by boycotting matches and club merchandise. If they keep their word then the owner may have no choice but to call it a day.
ABSOLUTELY HORRI-BURL IN MACEDONIA
Oh to be a Scotland fan. George Burley?s troops had a bad day at the office in Skopje on Saturday. The Scots could not recover after conceding a slack goal five minutes into the game.
The energy-sapping heat, dry pitch and dodgy referee colluded to give Scotland a woeful start to their World Cup qualifying campaign. However had we been awarded a penalty when Kenny Miller and then James McFadden were felled in the box or had Shaun Maloney?s audacious attempt from 50-yards sailed into the net instead of going harmlessly over the bar it could have been so different.
Fortunately, Iceland managed to draw with Norway so should we win in Iceland on Wednesday night it would not be a completely disastrous start. But if we lose on Wednesday?
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