Hardly a declining industry and hardly a declining union
Hardly a declining industry and hardly a declining union.Gordon TaylorProfessional Footballers Association, Manchester. AS A colleague of Liz Davies for many years, I must take issue with Mary Rooks (Letters, 8 October). Liz only broke the Labour whip on Islington Council twice in five years; many Labour MPs have broken the whip in Parliament more often; indeed Neil Kinnock broke it over 70 times and went on to become leader. Our membership is at record levels and our pension scheme, funded by a 5 per cent levy on transfer fees, has paid pounds 10m to players in every division.We presently have more full-time clubs (92) and more full-time players (nearly 4,000) than any other country in the world. The consequences are a contraction in the number of clubs and job opportunities.
Without protection for national talent, clubs will look abroad for cheaper players and have no encouragement to invest in youth training. Far from being a "Luddite" union, the Professional Footballers Association has developed a unique youth training scheme with some 1,250 boys on two-year courses, the community programme that developed as a result of the Heysel tragedy, and campaigns against racism and drug abuse. He also reveals a lack of understanding of the progress made in English football since the time he was a player in the 1960s. Dunphy is critical of my statement that as a result of the judgment the game will never be the same again Yet clearly this is going to be the case. EAMON Dunphy does not understand the true nature of the Bosman case and its possible consequences on English football ("For the good of the game", 24 September). But current policies make it certain we will never know the truth simply because proper research cannot be conducted.
I consider that disturbing, especially given that most infectious diseases have been wiped out, not by vaccination, but by improvements in public health. Denis MacEoinNewcastle upon Tyne. Immediate adverse reactions to vaccines may only be the tip of an iceberg: the greater problem may be long-term chronic illness developing as late as adulthood. That same week, the Department of Health announced 90 per cent coverage for its measles vaccination campaign. Perhaps Dr Fisken would care to explain how scientists can conduct future long-term studies if we eradicate unvaccinated control groups. Researchers compared a vaccinated group with 11,000 unvaccinated individuals who developed measles naturally, and found the first group three times more likely to develop Crohn's disease. This April, a report in the Lancet showed strong evidence of a link between the measles vaccination and bowel disease. R A FISKEN'S stern put-down of your article on vaccination problems shows how much emotion and how little logic are at work over this issue (Letters, 8 October).