Jacob Butterfield, a wasted talent?

It doesn't half make me laugh

The advice given to Hammill, Vaz Te, Butterfield and Stones on here is that they should have waited before moving and stayed with us for another 6 months or so. The difference in wages between signing a new contract with Barnsley and moving to a Premiership club is massive. In Stones' case it has set him up for life. Who wouldn't make that move?

In Butterfield's case it was an even easier decision to make, as he could well have broken down with his knee injury within a couple of games and lost the move altogether. Some people on here would make poor career advisors.

Butland turning moves down was a different matter. He was clearly always going to make the move in January anyway, but had the luxury of choosing his club. Whoever he was going to sign for it would be on a deal that would mean he'd never have to work again after his football career ends. Furthermore, he would have been on a far better wage already at Birmingham than any of the Reds players would have been.

I don't think that players leaving Barnsley to sign for Premiership clubs could be deemed money grabbers, as the difference is between a decent wage and a life changing wage. You can only really aim the money grabber accusation at Reds players who are happy to sign for teams in our division for a few quid more and a nice signing on fee. I'm thinking Shackell or Davies here. Or you could throw the accusation at someone who is already earning £60,000 per week (and this was over ten years ago), but demands an increase to £80,000 per year because it's a short career, etc. i'm referring to Roy Keane here, you know the chap who complained about the prawn sandwich brigade. Like who does he think pays his wages? Even crowds of 75,000 each home game can't cover the wages of the Manchester United squad. Sponsorship and TV money are essential, so prawn sandwiches are the only way he's going to get his pay rise. The hypocrite!

 

I think the clueless **** we had as a manager was a much more telling factor.

 

#neverwillbepremiershipclass .

Bookmark it. You can bump it up when he plays for England.

 

Yawn

 

but dyson we didnt get going until drinkwater came and we had butterfield obrien vazte perkins drinkwater.
so it wasnt all him and some would say drinkwater was the better or the player that made us click. like at the king power.

 

Re: It doesn't half make me laugh

Thanks Gordon Gecko. You're quite right, it doesn't matter a jot if your professional career either stalls or even goes backwards, quickly, just as long as you are stuffing wads of cash in your pockets every week. With attitudes like this abounding in football it's no wonder the greed and selfishness that drives the Premier League are so rampant, and that clubs like ours can never hope to hold onto promising players and so develop a side that might eventually have a chance of making the step back up.

I suspect those advising Butterfield to be cautious and consider building himself up further at Barnsley, before potentially making the step up to play regularly at a higher level, are thinking about the bigger picture, including what might have been best for both his professional and personal welfare, not just his bank balance (as if the offer Barnsley had made him wouldn't have set him up anyway FFS), which actually suggests they'd be excellent career advisors.

 

Re: It doesn't half make me laugh

There is some absolute unadulterated garbage in this thread.

He hasn't had a pre-season and is recovering from one of the worst injuries a footballer can suffer.

If he struggles for the next 2 years after this, then maybe you can suggest he hasn't fulfilled his potential, but a lot of that will be down to the injury.

He was a quality player & he took a move that almost everyone on here would have taken. Simple as that.

 

Re: It doesn't half make me laugh

Butterfield shouldnt have moved clubs when he did. It was better for his rehab in the long run to stay at Oakwell, get fit, have a pre-season and kick on from there. If Norwich wanted him that badly they would have come back!

In response to the original post, no he is not a wasted talent. Believe me it's a long road back to anywhere near your best from such a bad injury. He might get there next season providing he is afforded game time at Norwich or elsewhere.

The suggestion that he wasn't a very good footballer are ludicrous. Not only could he pass,shoot and cross with both feet, he always seemed to have loads of time on the ball. Add to that one of the best passes (outside of his boot, splitting the defence to JOB) and you've got a very talented lad. He might not be as good as Stones in the long run but I think that Stones could be an England regular for a very long time but that doesn't make Butterfield crap.

 

Aside from the fact that working for a living is an alien concept to you, if you were in a job which could be completely ended by injury any week without warning wouldn't you take an offer to more than quadruple (if not more) your wages for the long term? Regardless of whether he makes it in the prem for Norwich or not the security of the contract is more than worth it for a lad who, let's be fair, will have little to fall back on after his football career.

 

He needs a full pre-season behind him. What isn't doing him any good is going out on loan and making sub appearances. Does no good for his match fitness, no good for game time and no good for his confidence.

 

I thing money played a big part in his move. He didn't go to an established PL club either.

 

Re: It doesn't half make me laugh

 

yes that sums it up & despite the fact i love BFC to my core, you don't know what's round the corner

it is apt to remember that 2 of our players left the club to join the busby babes & we know what happened there & full respect, but it has been going on a long time

 

There's some unadulterated tosh on here. One quiet season equals wasted career.

Jacob Butterfield probably did move for the money. Who could possibly blame him given he'd already suffered a potentially career ending injury - a football career is very short.

He might not make it as a premier league player. He might get sold back to the championship.

That's not a waste, that's accepting an opportunity but it not working out. A waste would be to never take on a challenge to better yourself. He's never been given a chance at Norwich and has been farmed out on loan at every opportunity - because he's probably been way behind in terms of fitness.

It should only be judged when he's had a preseason, but regardless, anyone who criticises him for accepting a 400 or 500% salary increase isn't in the real world.

It's not lost on me that the starter of this thread is somebody to whom the concept of earning a living is apparently alien.

 

To be fair, if you're on JSA then you can nearly quadruple your income by just getting a job!

 

Seriously?

Honestly, put yourself in Butterfield's shoes. The situation is he's a sought after player who has just suffered an injury that would have been career ending only a couple of decades ago. He is struggling back to fitness and knows that if his knee breaks down in the next few matches (which is when it is most likely to break down if it is going to happen) his football career could end. He would then likely get his contract paid up and that would be that as far as his big earning power goes.

So his two choices are a (and I'm guessing at what the terms would be here, but I don't reckon I'd be far out) 2 year contract at Barnsley on around £4k per week, or a 3-4 year contract at a Premiership club for around £15k per week (at least). Are you seriously suggesting that he gambles his future on the lower contract, as it may be better for his overall development (and I would argue whether being at Barnsley would be better for his development anyway!) when he has the chance to sign a contract to ensure he doesn't need to worry about finding a job after football?

We're not talking a pay rise of £10-20k per year here, we're talking half a million per year at least. Nobody on this message board would have turned that move down, particularly in view of the fact that one more injury to. His knee could finish him.

It is rotten that the money goes up so dramatically and that the gap between the Championship and the Premiership is so wide. The gap between the likes of Barnsley and many Championship teams is just as wide. But that's the way it is. Football isn't like the jobs that most of us do, in that an injury could suddenly end their career, so opportunities have to be taken when they are presented. I'm afraid loyalty and what may possibly be best in the long run will not come into it with the large discrepency in figures.

As I've mentioned before, even Matt Le Tissier would not have stayed with Southampton when the big teams came knocking if the wages were like they are today.

 

In hindsight his injury should've played a part in his mind. He didn't get back to full fitness until Norwich had already started their season, resulting in him not getting a look in. He would've been better off staying for another season and proving himself again after his injury.

That's my red-tinted view anyway. I hope the lad makes it, but I can see him lurking about in the Championship for the rest of his career.

 

a great talent on the up the lads still developing will only get stronger maybe not premiership but top draw championship

 

Seriously, who types like this?!