Stuart Appleby's Comment and Analysis

Today’s figures showing a sharp drop in students taking up university places from September are hardly surprising.

The Liberal Democrat’s role in the Government’s tuition fee reforms in November 2010 caused uproar among young people, with the cost of Higher Education rising to as much as £9,000 per year.

In total, around three in four universities are likely to have an overall drop in the numbers of students according to data published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

We will have to wait and see to find out the full impact of the reforms on the sector, but the early signs suggest many are going against the Government’s plans.

‘Top up your tanks’ was the warning from the Government yesterday, and as a result, petrol sales rocketed by 45 per cent. The coalition’s statement has only served to heighten fuel panic among motorists, whose extravagant filling up at the pump has left supply low and demand high.

Although a date has not yet been set by the union as to when the walkout will take place, motorists’ stock pilling will not help the situation. I cannot help but wonder why the Government felt it was a good idea to make Britain panic so soon, especially given the chaos previous petrol strikes have caused.

While the coalition will be looking to come to a swift agreement with the tankers and union, it will be interesting to see Labour’s stance on the issue. The party, on the whole, are supported by unions and it could well be risky for Ed Miliband to upset the apple cart among his people.

It was reported in today’s Daily Mail that Labour’s former Deputy Leader John Prescott received a fee from the BBC for appearing on Desert Island Discs in February.

Although that’s par for the course for most media guests and contributors nowadays, the fact that the 73-year-old used most of his air time to discuss his campaign to become Labour candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner in Humberside shouldn’t have happened. He was signed up to a popular programme to discuss lighthearted content, but Prescott milked it for all its worth.


Lord Prescott (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) 

The presenter or programme controller should have tried to steer the topic of discussion back on track, but as it was, they didn’t. So what can the BBC do to put that right? The answer, offer each of Prescott’s candidate rivals the opportunity to come onto the programme and talk about their musical memories!

However, as his rivals haven’t enjoyed as big of a profile in public life, that looks unlikely. Well, for Desert Island Discs anyway. They only call upon the popular people don’t they.

Roberto Di Matteo’s hero status at Stamford Bridge has long since been secured, but his reaction to Wednesday’s Champions League fightback against Napoli, to my mind, tarnished his respected reputation.

The relief of a victory which reignites Chelsea’s season cannot be denied and three wins on the bounce for the caretaker boss demonstrate a marked improvement in the blues’ fortunes, however the Italian showed little remorse for his former work colleague, Andre Villas-Boas, as he skated across the outfield after the final whistle - duly hugging members of his team in the process.

Di Matteo, for his part on Wednesday, could and should have been more reserved, as the result came only three weeks after Villas-Boas’ sacking.

Spare a thought for the young Portuguese coach, the man who brought Di Matteo back to the club as assistant manager in June. Chelsea’s senior players dismissed his style and ability to manage throughout his tenure, and despite Di Matteo playing a key role behind the scenes, multimillionaires failed to perform. Player power ultimately prevailed and that meant good riddance. 

So what has changed since? Well, the answer, the club’s old guard. Chelsea’s experienced spine of the team seem to be enjoying their football again, and although we regularly hear about how much Didier Drogba and co love the club, the level of commitment to the cause under Vilas-Boas was appalling. 

For my mind, whoever the manager or coach is, the eleven players picked to play should be working for their teammates, and for the fans, if no one else.

Maybe Di Matteo’s Chelsea connections aid his plight and recent form will certainly provide owner Roman Abramovich with the hope that the season can be salvaged, but that will not be enough for the billionaire, surely? A Champions League quarterfinal win and the race for fourth place are Chelsea’s main targets, and if they fail to make either of those (which is more than likely), expect that revolving managerial door to be opened yet again.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for winning the EuroMillions (to a point), but are the prizes on offer too much these days?

It would be better to ask that question to 22-year-old Matt Topham, who recently scooped £45million. Whatever way you look at it, it’s an amount of money that’s more than life changing.

Having your face plastered over the nation’s tabloids and broadsheets isn’t a normal life for anyone, let alone for someone who has just been shoved into the limelight courtesy of a wafer-thin slice of paper.

Surely, life can never be the same again. Today’s lottery winners have virtually no choice but to lap up the attention surrounding a winning ticket and who can blame them. It’s an extraordinary moment, and if you want to keep it a secret, you’d be lucky to remain completely anonymous and not have the press on your tail.

After the initial shock and realisation over what has happened, I imagine all lottery winners (I don’t speak from experience) find themselves with so many questions to answer. How much do I give to so and so? Does he/she deserve more or less? Do I quit my job/livelihood? What about that career I wanted to work hard to pursue? What will my friends think? Who are my close friends now? Can I be normal? 

I’d be surprised if these thoughts hadn’t gone through Topham’s head. By no fault of his own (apart from buying a ticket), he and his partner’s life will never be the same again, regardless of how normal or down to earth they are. And I imagine that goes for most lottery winners.

It’s great normal people have the opportunity to change their lives, but my point is why do the money executives at the top of the food chain set prizes and competitions based on greed? Of course, because they then make more money.

However, a life changing injection of finance for most people would enable them to pay off the mortgage, buy a new car or go on that holiday of a lifetime, so I’m not sure the millions are necessary.

The decision makers at the top should be forced to reduce big lottery wins, set a cap on how much one can scoop, limit greedy advertising campaigns and regulate financial distribution. I’m not sure our working class society craves it, so we could do with some tighter regulation. Who that comes from? Well, it’s difficult to say. Many would suggest the government has more pressing matters to deal with and that’s probably true.

I’m not going to say winning the lottery is a ridiculous idea, but some thought could look into the wider implications of a huge lottery win for the person (s) involved. It would be interesting to do a survey to see whether lottery winners are happier than they were before? Personally, I think the result would prove inconclusive.

It was March 10, 2002. Walter Smith’s Everton team travelled to Teesside to play Middlesbrough in the quarter-final of the FA Cup. For the Toffees, who at that time were embroiled in another tumultuous relegation struggle, it was an opportunity to forget those woes and advance to the latter stages of English football’s most prestigious competition. As it was, the blues were trounced 3-0 and chairman Bill Kenwright (somewhat reluctantly) sacked manager Smith quickly thereafter.

Everton were in a rut and most Evertonians were second guessing one another over who could guide this great club to calmer waters and preserve the blues’ record top flight status. Kenwright, as ever, kept his cards/theatrics close to his chest, but he knew deep down who he wanted Smith’s successor to be.

A young manager working wonders at Preston North End, going by the name of David Moyes, suddenly rocketed to the top of Everton’s wishlist. The Scot was on his way to Bristol to scout a striker, when he received a call from Kenwright asking if he would like to come and meet him. Moyes accepted the offer and the pair (along with Kenwright’s partner Ms Jenny Seagrove) had dinner together that night at the theatre producer’s London home.

When recalling that occasion now, Kenwright makes continued reference to the fact that Moyes only talked about winning. The Everton chairman knew he had his man, and after thrashing out a deal the following day, he called a press conference to welcome the 38-year-old to Goodison Park.

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