He nailed it!! Former Burnley captain Ben Mee has absolutely nailed it here. “Footballers play for the fans, not people in boardrooms. No one scores a goal or makes a last-ditch tackle to earn the praise of the owners. They do it for the feeling they get when the crowd roars. The feeling of elation when we win is the same as it was as a kid, something those who know little about football cannot relate to. Football is about competition and enjoyment – that’s why we love the game. Without that it’s just business.” Well said Ben!
Absolutely! The fans seem to be forgotten sometimes but we are the ones who turn up through thick and thin and remain when boards/ businesses leave.
He's correct of course but he's also wrong. The sport has been taken over by corporate chancers, money-men and dodgy investors (like conman) all trying to get a piece of the cake. Boardrooms, particularly near the top of the pyramid get players in to play for them. Fans are given lip-service as it suits the spin. Fans are effectively secondary considerations for these corporate types and in all truth could be jettisoned by the top clubs without much of an afterthought. Football should always be like the guy says but its sadly not.
Ben White would disagree, he makes no secret of the fact he doesn’t even particularly like football but plays it as it pays well and enables him to provide for his family.
I think he is speaking both as a player and a football fan. I have raised this, before, that why would a footballer on, say, £300k per week just down tools when earning colossal money like that, for doing something they just love. Like many, on here, I was a pub player, not good enough to be paid, so we actually paid to play (subs, travel, domino cards, taking turns to wash kit, etc..) and he sees that the simple sport of football has now become a money machine and a business rather than just a spectator sport. Well said I think.
Idealism verses reality.. it's a business, it has been for a long time. Players play for themselves and the money..
