The Football.....

[jowwy]

In lots of private sector businesses, the highest earners have taken a pay cut (10-20% reduction for senior management team at the one I’m currently working at) while company income was down due to Covid. This so the lower earners didn’t need to and to protect jobs.
The players and manager will be by the far the highest paid staff at most clubs so why should they not do the same to support the colleagues who earn what is likely a fraction of what they earn (say 25k vs 2.5m...or 10m)

the question is....why should they???

they also have families, children to pay for, bills to pay, they also pay huge tax, give money top charities, do charitable work. Not very footballer earns 2.5m or 5m or 10m.....so which ones pay and which ones don't???

at what stage do we stop blaming the players and start blaming the owners of these clubs, who decide what players to buy and what to pay them??

 

[SpokeyDokey]

the question is....why should they???

they also have families, children to pay for, bills to pay, they also pay huge tax, give money top charities, do charitable work. Not very footballer earns 2.5m or 5m or 10m.....so which ones pay and which ones don't???

at what stage do we stop blaming the players and start blaming the owners of these clubs, who decide what players to buy and what to pay them??

You make some fair points.

I think the reaction to the news story is based on the obscene (imo) wages that many footballers earn - and it doesn't just apply to footballers; there are many other professions where huge money is earned in relation to what the individual actually does.

I know it's about supply and demand and short careers (footballers) but many do not cover themselves in glory with there overt greediness that has precisely zero sensitivity to the situations that other people find themselves in.

Something has to be wrong where we have a society where the average UK wage is around £30k earning maybe £1.2m during a lifetime of work and a young kid (CHO at CFC) earns £7.5m pa ex' bonuses/image rights/boot sponsership deals etc.

The whole business model of football relies on the hoovering up of millions of individual, relatively small amounts, from often not well off people and funneling the proceeds into the accounts of a small number of people who become obscenely rich and let's be fair, whilst I love the game, nobody is worth what many of these guys earn. In the real world if a footballer earns £200k a year they are doing very well for themselves let alone £200k a week and beyond.

 

[jowwy]

You make some fair points.

I think the reaction to the news story is based on the obscene (imo) wages that many footballers earn - and it doesn't just apply to footballers; there are many other professions where huge money is earned in relation to what the individual actually does.

I know it's about supply and demand and short careers (footballers) but many do not cover themselves in glory with there overt greediness that has precisely zero sensitivity to the situations that other people find themselves in.

Something has to be wrong where we have a society where the average UK wage is around £30k earning maybe £1.2m during a lifetime of work and a young kid (CHO at CFC) earns £7.5m pa ex' bonuses/image rights/boot sponsership deals etc.

The whole business model of football relies on the hoovering up of millions of individual, relatively small amounts, from often not well off people and funneling the proceeds into the accounts of a small number of people who become obscenely rich and let's be fair, whilst I love the game, nobody is worth what many of these guys earn. In the real world if a footballer earns £200k a year they are doing very well for themselves let alone £200k a week and beyond.

and i totally agree with your points - but the anti-football fan will only attack that sport, what about film stars, tv celebrities, media moguls etc etc
why the constant attack on footballers...

casing point - during the height of the current pandemic people moaned as footballers were not giving to the NHS ( except for their huge tax contribution) Que footballers to set-up NHS funding stream that goes direct to the NHS and not the government to snip the cream off the top....

now a club needs to lay off staff, so again lets attack the footballers for earning too much, they should take yet another pay cut to pay for redundant staff........suddenly the footballer has no earnings left as the paying for the rest of society and can no longer pay their own bills, keep their families etc etc

i think you should now get my point

 

[SpokeyDokey]

and i totally agree with your points - but the anti-football fan will only attack that sport, what about film stars, tv celebrities, media moguls etc etc
why the constant attack on footballers...

casing point - during the height of the current pandemic people moaned as footballers were not giving to the NHS ( except for their huge tax contribution) Que footballers to set-up NHS funding stream that goes direct to the NHS and not the government to snip the cream off the top....

now a club needs to lay off staff, so again lets attack the footballers for earning too much, they should take yet another pay cut to pay for redundant staff........suddenly the footballer has no earnings left as the paying for the rest of society and can no longer pay their own bills, keep their families etc etc

i think you should now get my point

I wasn't disagreeing with you!

And I also do agree with your point about the constant attack on footballers. My guess is that it is an easy target due to its very high profile globally.

I too am astonished by the amounts that other participants in other sports earn as well as those in a variety of media etc. Why for instance does the BBC pay a newsreader £500k pa or Lineker £2m+ Pa for MOTD and SPOTY? How on Earth can a young golfer earn this sort of money:

https://www.businessinsider.com/roy-mcilroy-makes-spends-money-2017-5?r=US&IR=T

Or this band of tuneless (imo) popstresses:

https://www.capitalfm.com/artists/little-mix/net-worth-perrie-edwards-jade-thirlwall/

etc etc.

World's gone mad.

 

[The Crofted Crest]

The obvious thing to do would be to destroy capitalism, but people seem a bit coy about that.

 

[AndyRM]

It’s a simple question really.......how far do we go?..

should doctors give up some of their pay rises, so nurses can have some??? Do teachers give up some of their so their teaching assistants can have some???
Should MPs give up their wages for the whole country to get a pay rise???
why target footballers just cause they have high paying contracts???

It's not a simple question at all really, and others have raised interesting thoughts about it. My own would be that the wealthiest in any profession or society should be prepared to take a hit so that the less well off can survive. That's how taxation should work, but unfortunately it does not.

I don't think that footballers are being 'targeted' either. I think the press around football has been pretty positive recently, particularly the support for BLM, which is massive. Unfortunately, as @Slick has pointed out, there are always some idiots who ruin that.

There's something really weird about the Bolingoli incident he's mentioned. Celtic should be getting absolutely hammered by the authorities for that, but nothing seems to be happening. And as for Aberdeen, if anything having a match postponed will work in their favour, because they won't be missing 8 players. Scottish football is mind bendingly ridiculous at times.

 

[jowwy]

I wasn't disagreeing with you!

And I also do agree with your point about the constant attack on footballers. My guess is that it is an easy target due to its very high profile globally.

I too am astonished by the amounts that other participants in other sports earn as well as those in a variety of media etc. Why for instance does the BBC pay a newsreader £500k pa or Lineker £2m+ Pa for MOTD and SPOTY? How on Earth can a young golfer earn this sort of money:

https://www.businessinsider.com/roy-mcilroy-makes-spends-money-2017-5?r=US&IR=T

Or this band of tuneless (imo) popstresses:

https://www.capitalfm.com/artists/little-mix/net-worth-perrie-edwards-jade-thirlwall/

etc etc.

World's gone mad.

£500k pa for a newsreader who knows, as for lineker........well as some maybe aware or not. He's self employed, bbc approaches him to front MOTD and SPOTY and he says yup no problem, for that my time is worth 2m a year......take it or leave it

BT sport approach Gary Lineker to front Champions league........yup my time for that is worth 3.5m a year...take it or leave it...

as for mclroy well thats prize money for winning tournaments, its not his fault how much the organiser stumps up in prize money........

as for little mix.....well that's the music industry for you

 

[jowwy]

It's not a simple question at all really, and others have raised interesting thoughts about it. My own would be that the wealthiest in any profession or society should be prepared to take a hit so that the less well off can survive. That's how taxation should work, but unfortunately it does not.

I don't think that footballers are being 'targeted' either. I think the press around football has been pretty positive recently, particularly the support for BLM, which is massive. Unfortunately, as @Slick has pointed out, there are always some idiots who ruin that.

There's something really weird about the Bolingoli incident he's mentioned. Celtic should be getting absolutely hammered by the authorities for that, but nothing seems to be happening. And as for Aberdeen, if anything having a match postponed will work in their favour, because they won't be missing 8 players. Scottish football is mind bendingly ridiculous at times.

see above on footballers, if you dont think they are not being targeted, then you must live in an alternate universe

as for scottish football.......i would shut it down after the aberdeen and celtic incidents and make sure they all have negative tests, 3 times in a row before allowing them to play again and fine the clubs and players for breaking the laws on quarantine...

but that has nothing at all to do with how much they get paid.........but you have no other argument, so you throw in an erroneous one instead

 

[AndyRM]

see above on footballers, if you dont think they are not being targeted, then you must live in an alternate universe

as for scottish football.......i would shut it down after the aberdeen and celtic incidents and make sure they all have negative tests, 3 times in a row before allowing them to play again and fine the clubs and players for breaking the laws on quarantine...

but that has nothing at all to do with how much they get paid.........but you have no other argument, so you throw in an erroneous one instead

OK, I'll make it clearer.

Some footballers are paid astronomical sums of money. And obviously it's the right of the club to pay them that money, offer those contracts and remuneration. But I think that those in hugely privileged positions should have a bit of self awareness, humility, call it what you like, and support those less well paid in what are trying times for everyone.

Because when it comes down to it, if a club has no infrastructure, support or other employees, then the players are kind of f*cked really.

 

[jowwy]

OK, I'll make it clearer.

Some footballers are paid astronomical sums of money. And obviously it's the right of the club to pay them that money, offer those contracts and remuneration. But I think that those in hugely privileged positions should have a bit of self awareness, humility, call it what you like, and support those less well paid in what are trying times for everyone.

Because when it comes down to it, if a club has no infrastructure, support or other employees, then the players are kind of f*cked really.

and there is the attack on footballers.......enough said.

 

[AndyRM]

and there is the attack on footballers.......enough said.

I mean, that's one interpretation of what I've written. It's wildly inaccurate though.

 

[jowwy]

I mean, that's one interpretation of what I've written. It's wildly inaccurate though.

So you didn’t attack priviledged footballers in your above post????

 

[AndyRM]

So you didn’t attack priviledged footballers in your above post????

No. I didn't.

And I resent the accusation that I did to be honest.

 

[jowwy]

No. I didn't.

And I resent the accusation that I did to be honest.

So you don’t think footballers are in a hugely privileged position? If so why did you type it in your above post

 

[Smokin Joe]

and there is the attack on footballers.......enough said.

I take it as a comment on the imbalance of earnings in general, as was my original comment on the subject. I have always been the first to point out on this forum that footballers are picked on unfairly when it comes to earnings because they are nearly all working class lads without much formal education, whereas nobody ever starts a rant about some doped up alcoholic rock star earning millions because that is an intellectually acceptable profession in the eyes of the great and good.

That does not mean the massive imbalance in renumeration between those at the top and those at the bottom is acceptable or healthy.