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Premier League wage stand-off showing the very worst of football as angry players stand defiant against owners

Marty

Audere est farce
Mar 10, 2005
39,885
62,562
Just can't understand the mentality of people saying they wouldn't care if Spurs went under - I'd be absolutely devastated
I don't want Spurs to go under, nor do I think they will, but I do want the entire moneybags PL system to get wiped out and for teams to compete more evenly again. No more oil barons, no more big four, big six, no "£1bn game" playoff final, just a healthy league system playing the game we know and love.

The way I see it this crisis will, for English league football, end one of two ways. Either my dream scenario happens, or the exact opposite where the rich survive and the poor go under so the league becomes even more scewed. The pessimist in me think the latter is far more likely.
 

shelfmonkey

Weird is different, different is interesting.
Mar 21, 2007
6,690
8,040
Any respect I had for PL players is now well and truly gone!! I still love Spurs, but I will never feel the same about football again.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
Any respect I had for PL players is now well and truly gone!! I still love Spurs, but I will never feel the same about football again.

I can’t help but think their gifting money to charity was one massive PR stunt either. All gone quiet on how much they raised. I bet it wasn’t as much as that old boy who’s raised £3.7 million on his own.
 

McFlash

In the corner, eating crayons.
Oct 19, 2005
12,740
45,363
Wow! Really interesting reading the myriad of views on this. This is going to be a long one so please bear with me.

Let me start by saying I live out in Germany and as most have observed, the Germans have been better prepared than most other countries with regards to readiness to deal with covid through early ramping up of testing capacity amongst other measures that has led to a much lower number of deaths. We have a govt in the UK that was behind the curve (like quite a few others) and as a result has come under increasing pressure especially from the press on why testing capabilities are so low, sufficient PPE is not available to the brave souls battling this on the frontline etc. Under severe scrutiny and pressure about the govt's preparedness (and rightly so), the health secretary does what many slimy politicians do and takes the opportunity to deflect the attention by calling out premier league footballers and the need for them to play their role.

Now, in this world of information overload, clickbait and fast moving 24 hour news where critical details are easily lost, the sequence of events is very important. The comment Hancock gave was AFTER Newcastle and our beloved club took the decision to furlough non-playing staff and cut their pay by 20% by taking advantage of a scheme which was most certainly not designed for premier league clubs! The decision these clubs took is what triggered the response from politicians and the ensuing bile and criticism that was aimed at premier league footballers which I for one find extremely unfair especially when talks were already ongoing within football on how to manage the situation.

Discussions remained ongoing between the PL, clubs and the PFA on how to solve the impending financial impact on football but rather than continue these discussions behind closed doors and aim to reach an amicable agreement, what did the PL (in agreement with the clubs) decide to do? Of course they jumped on the bandwagon and decided to ride off the back of the health secretary's comments and the increasing disdain for footballers in the general public and put out that statement that alluded to the 30% package of cuts/deferrals for PL players that was not pre-aligned with the PFA. Thus, effectively throwing the players under the bus and making them the fall guys. The PL also took the opportunity to announce their £20m contribution to the NHS (which in reality is a paltry sum when you think of how much money goes through that organisation) as media spin to show their willingness to play their role.

Now, there are a lot of people in other sports, walks of life that have done very well for themselves so one has to ask why the micro focus on footballers? What about the golfers, tennis players, F1 drivers, bankers that got us into the last financial crisis, hedge fund traders, CEOs, movie stars, A list musicians etc.. etc.. Is anybody else interested in the role these well to do members of our society have to play? While we are at it, what about our dear billionaire owner on his yacht on the Bahamas? What role is he playing in trying to help secure the future of the club through this period? Could he also dip his hand into his pocket?

I'll tell you what it is. It is pure prejudice towards these lads from a working class background who have dared do well for themselves in life with their big mansions and flash cars (some of them). Reading some of the comments above, it sounds like we love to watch them on a Sat afternoon to get our footie fix but deep down we despise them and what they have achieved for themselves and their families. Hence, we are only too keen to jump on the bandwagon and label them selfish, overpaid footballers that do nothing better than kick a ball around. Their talent, dedication, skills are underplayed in a way that is not done to those in other walks of life that I mentioned above because those are somehow deemed more worthy. I commend the Players Together initiative for the NHS and I am sure in time we will hear about other ways that the players will contribute to managing the crisis especially with respect to the impact on their respective football clubs.

I know a couple of PL players (now retired) and through them got to meet other players either in night clubs on a Sat night or on holidays after the season. Amidst the champagne lifestyle that some (not all) live, people will be surprised at the scale of charitable initiatives that many of these lads get involved with. A lot of these are very personal to them and are done in the background anonymously without all the fanfare and deliberately kept out of the media even though they would benefit from the PR. What Danny Rose did is very commendable (and I can only wonder how that got out into the press but let's leave that bit, he did a good deed) but trust me this is a mere drop compared to some of the things other players do/have done in the past that I personally know about. I am not talking about one-off contributions but long term projects over the course of careers and beyond that require significant financial and time commitment.

Now to the solution and as usual we have to look to the continent for best practice. The strategy of trying to get a unified PL approach was all wrong from the start. The measures the likes of Man City/ Man Utd/ Chelsea need to take will be completely different from the likes of Bournemouth, Norwich, Burnley etc. This is a matter that needs to be handled behind closed doors on a club by club basis and this is how the likes of Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich have been able to tackle this and come to an agreement that includes their players much quicker. Southampton and West Ham cottoned on and have quickly come to agreements with their players. This is what we and other PL clubs need to do.

I will finish by saying I am proud of our club in finally reversing its decision to furlough staff. It still leaves a bitter taste that the club had to be put under so much pressure for so many days effectively dragged kicking and screaming before doing the right thing. Others like Bournemouth have also followed which is good and of course we won't hold our breath on Newcastle and Mike Cashley who only wants to get his money out of football as quickly as possible. To think that our club's name was being spoken in the same breath as Ashley and Newcastle is what a disastrous own goal like the furlough decision can do. We also suffered the double whammy that the great work the club is doing in re-purposing the stadium for use in tackling the covid crisis, helping with food distribution etc unfortunately got lost in all the mayhem.

I also leave you with the recent interview from our England captain about 'not wanting to hang around for the sake of it and the need to achieve things in his career if he feels the club is not moving in the right direction'. The timing of the interview and the resulting transfer links to Man Utd are no accident. I wonder how much impact the way our club has handled this situation has had on his thinking about his future and what type of club he wants to spend the rest of his career with.

Hopefully the club has learnt a painful lesson that will not be repeated. Footballers are humans like the rest of us and let's all be mindful of this when we choose to make judgments on their lives based on limited information that is meant to whip up hysteria and sow division in society.

Hope we get through this horrific situation as a nation with as little sickness and death as possible. After this is all over, I personally can't wait for the next time I get to see the lads run out doing their best to represent our great club. In the meantime stay well and healthy folks. COYS!!!!!!
A very good post but I have to say that golfers and tennis players won't be getting paid if they are not playing, which they aren't.
As for bankers, although they are wankers and get paid too much, the banks are still operating so they are still working.
Formula One drivers are in more of a bubble that footballers.
 

Shadydan

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2012
38,247
104,143
A very good post but I have to say that golfers and tennis players won't be getting paid if they are not playing, which they aren't.
As for bankers, although they are wankers and get paid too much, the banks are still operating so they are still working.
Formula One drivers are in more of a bubble that footballers.

I don't think you can blame football players by the way they are paid, it just so happens they get paid a salary unlike most other professions, boxers don't get paid a salary but Mayweather can make £80m off one fight (extreme example I know), the majority of footballers don't get anywhere near that, it's very hard to compare on a non individual basis - I just don't agree with lumping all footballers in the same boat, not everyone is getting paid like Sergio Aguero.
 

McFlash

In the corner, eating crayons.
Oct 19, 2005
12,740
45,363
I don't think you can blame football players by the way they are paid, it just so happens they get paid a salary unlike most other professions, boxers don't get paid a salary but Mayweather can make £80m off one fight (extreme example I know), the majority of footballers don't get anywhere near that, it's very hard to compare on a non individual basis - I just don't agree with lumping all footballers in the same boat, not everyone is getting paid like Sergio Aguero.
I agree.
I do think that there has to be a wage reduction because the clubs aren't earning (if anything, they're losing) but it has to be scaled in some way.
 

double0

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2006
14,423
12,258
I believe the majority of players will happily help and most likely are. Many players have cooks cleaners a team behind them that are still being paid. Everyone should check themselves and what more they personally could do instead of jumping on a bash footballer bandwagon.

The Government imo should/can certainly do more how they came to 80% and not 100% on farlough is anyone's guess
 

spursbhoy67

Well-Known Member
Dec 20, 2006
1,316
1,475
I made some points about this topic on an earlier thread and was ridiculed for my initial comments, but when I said most were from first hand experience they were better received.

Keep in mind that the PFA represents all professional players in the English League, from the PL down to League Two and even down the pyramid. They cannot make concessions at the top that would hurt the pro at the bottom who relies on his pay for his mortgage.

If they accept pay cuts as opposed to pay deferments players will be free to leave for other clubs and in some cases the clubs would be powerless to stop them. Also, accepting cuts opens the door for club owners to break contracts. Players could be released when injured or not performing well. Owners of promoted teams could refuse to improve contracts in the new division. I have dealt with a fair few owners down the years and most will take advantage given the opportunity. Player power always kept them in check.

Players will not agree to any cuts whatsoever. The player contract has always been sacrosanct. This applies to FIFA, UEFA and not just in the PL. It is why when teams go into administration or liquidation that players are paid their full contact unlike other creditors. Football runs by a different set of rules.

I am not saying the rules are right, but I guarantee the vulture clubs with oligarch owners will take advantage when the game opens up. A club like Spurs which tries to run as a proper business will not be able to compete.

Managers and coaches are under a whole different set of rules and circumstances. They can be fired. Have to negotiate pay offs. Can have wages reduced and agree to it. They are not like players. I know staff who have been told take a pay cut or be fired. That never happens to the players.

Football will survive the current pandemic, but the order will be changed. Fans will return, but the bond may between them and the players they cheer on will probably change.
 
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