What's out top earner on?

They can, and those who've come into football (at the top) since SKY, Alan Sugar, Graham Kelly and Rick Parry ****** the meritocracy of football into a cocked hat have done well. I don't knock them - what I knock are the dishonest players, whether on £100k a week or £500 a week - who toss it off and don't earn their money.

Fowler's a prime example of someone who 20 years earlier would have had to go and play for Tranmere for example and try to get a coaching job later on or do something else - football's given him that opportunity - whether Leeds/Man City fans who watched him at the end of his career would be as appreciative is another matter - when as you say - it didn't matter. But he should still have put a shift in.

 

Let us not forget Tex. Another player that HT didn't like, and used to hammer him, that was ok though. Hypocrite doesn't go far enough in describing HT. Mentalist.

 

Why do they have to secure their families future in those years? Can they not go out and do other jobs? It is that belief that they have a right to be secure for the rest of their lives at 30 which partly drives the greed culture. Rest of us have to work until 68 (HT excepted).

 

I do

 

Do they all think they have that 'right' ? Or are they fortunate enough to earn enough to retire mid 30's ?

Life's not fair, some earn (are paid) more than others.

 

The problem with that is the people funding them are fans, paying £28 a match or £300 season tickets to watch them and £60 a month Sky subscription. They are benefiting at ordinary people's expense. I don't blame them as individuals but the system. I'd rather they had to work again and football clubs were accesible to the local communities they serve.

 

I largely agree. The only thing I'd say is that I don't feel like I am getting fleeced by a film star or Usain Bolt. I can watch Oh Brother Where Art Thou on my DVD which cost £3 abd throughly enjoyed last night's Diamond League meeting on the BBC.

The problem with footballers wages is that they are directly proportionate to the amount we pay for tv coverage and attending matches. The new tv deal will simply be invested in inflating the top players wages even more, funded by our subscriptions going up. Then the next best player at the club will demand - and get - a pay rise to ensure a club further down the ladder don't offer him more money to be their star player. Then they don't want to lose a decent squad player cos to replace him will mean signing someone new who knows what the wage structure is and will cost more. Meanwhile any other club that would be improved by that squad player will have to offer those players even more to try and attract them to a less succesful club, and on and on.

I think it is the top wages which dictate the way all wages go. And the higher wages go the more the fans pay for it. The clubs don't benefit or gain an advantage as they are all paying out the same proportion whether its 1 million a year or 1 billion. The fans don't benefit, they are the ones funding the same players. The only ones who benefit are the players. And its not really their fault for asking, its the whole game's fault for failing to regulate

 

I doff my cap to that post. Nailed it.

 

Thus the power to change it is with us.

Do we really want to ?

By that I mean all fans, not just contributors on here. I'm as much to blame as anyone, got me ST, me replica shirt (for bairn as well) and me SKY subs.

Where's the tipping point you reckon ?

 

Hmmm, can you put the genie back in the bottle?

The only answer I can think is let the big four (or five, or six) **** off and form a European Super league which no-one will ultimately give a **** about and let the domestic game become competitive, without those same clubs manipulating the system to ensure their superiority. Ensure television revenue is spread more equally amongst all clubs, without the big draw clubs threatening to leave collective bargaining (a la Real and barca) unless the deal is weighted in their favour.

Not really sure that would work either to be honest. Automatic clauses in contracts that wages reduce if a team are relegated?

At least we're not Spain. They reduced income tax for footballers to 25% so it would be easier to attract top players to La Liga. Now that is shafting the fans and all of society!

 

The question is should they be that fortunate? Bearing in mind the way their wages are funded by fleecing the working man and debt, despite all the income they get from the tv companies.

 

How about a sort of draft NFL style? Only for youngsters though, and the worse off teams get 1st dibs on a pool of hot prospects ans free transfers.

 

Trouble is all the youngsters have already been tied to clubs for years. There is no equivalent college system feeding it. The best footballers at schools tend to get stopped playing with anybody but their club.