Footballers have been out of tune with the fans for years in the Prem.
All well and good them saying "I love the fans, they get us going" but at the same time they don't know how much it costs them to watch them under perform.
The clubs take advantage of those who love the national game, the "good" prices don't reflect the good attendances, the love for the game does. The relationship is abusive in that one side gives alot and the other takes without giving.
I like the point Savage says about moving a game abroad is more important than working at giving back to families who cannot afford to go to the football.
A mass cancelling of SKY subscriptions is never going to happen, so you can't cut off the hand which feeds the millions into the mouths of the clubs.
The Premiership is a mess and the knock on effect is costing everyone else.
Yes it is depressing, as was the Liam Ridgewell Andrex with a £50 note. However the players have the upper hand. That's one reason why the Rooney comment after an England game about negativity from his own fans is contemptible, if players are happy to scoff the dough from the trough, then they can shut up about being barracked and the like. (no...not racist abuse, homophobic and such like barracking). Players want our money and our love, and for the most part they get it, and in my view the very least they can do is applaud the fans after matches. Indeed I stood (in a daze) and watched Andy Hughes applaud the backs of the depressed, deflated, despairing, departing Charlton fans at Sheffield United and for that alone he has earned my utmost respect. It is not all bad. Most players give everything every game as Diego Poyet did when he played for us (!), but it ill behoves players to moan about fan reaction as they gamble their wages away.
I suspect the likes of Chris Powell. Mark Kinsella and Matt Holland knew how much a ticket cost even if Savage didn't. I get his point though, that the majority of top players wouldn't know or care.
Reading that article just wound me up to be fair. I get that players look after themselves as an individual and their families first. However, part of me would hope that there is a collective morality lingering somewhere in the back of their heads that they are on an absolute gravy train and shouldn't take it for granted. By that I mean recognise like Naismith did, that your average football fan is taking a hammering on cost these days (especially in the Prem), and we also have the 'media/brand/image' of the modern super rich pro thrust in our faces all the time too. I am of the personal opinion that I would like to be financially comfortable in life. I don't need a fast car or lots of clothes or houses, holidays etc. I just want to get to the end of the month and cover my bills, if I had a family make sure they don't go without and maybe have a little money left over to spend/save whatever.
Of course some people are motivated differently, want to earn big and reach for the stars, I get that. Savage is a great example himself. I've read his book, he comes from a working class family. I reckon their are a lot of footballers in the Prem now that come from working class backgrounds. I just wish the Premier League/Clubs maybe took the time to think about initiatives where the players maybe agreed that a tiny % of their wages be donated to supporters' trust etc, to maybe offer cheaper ticket prices. I know some players do great charity and work and respect them for that, but I don't think it's too much to ask. They have to agree that the reason prices are so high is because all the money goes to them. If the TV deal alone was strong enough financially to offset ticket prices, I'm sure we would have seen it kick in.
I honestly still cannot get my head round some of the numbers players are on these days, from your after tax salaries that the likes of Rooney gets at about £300k per week, through to unproven youngsters like Chalaboah at Chelsea on about £30k. I know it won't change, wishful thinking on my part but come on, does one person really need £300k a week to get by:(
Even more ridiculous, and another reason I hate them is Arsenal. One pathetic FA Cup in 9 shitty years that they almost threw away twice last season and their manager looked too embarrassed to celebrate. Yet they feel it is appropriate to charge up to £2k a season ticket and £97 a game!!!!! I mean I don't like their fans so good in a way, but then I'm contradicting everything I said above. This has now become yet another thing in people's lives that continues to go up in price. Bollocks to it
Comments
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29638128
All well and good them saying "I love the fans, they get us going" but at the same time they don't know how much it costs them to watch them under perform.
The clubs take advantage of those who love the national game, the "good" prices don't reflect the good attendances, the love for the game does. The relationship is abusive in that one side gives alot and the other takes without giving.
I like the point Savage says about moving a game abroad is more important than working at giving back to families who cannot afford to go to the football.
A mass cancelling of SKY subscriptions is never going to happen, so you can't cut off the hand which feeds the millions into the mouths of the clubs.
The Premiership is a mess and the knock on effect is costing everyone else.
Players want our money and our love, and for the most part they get it, and in my view the very least they can do is applaud the fans after matches. Indeed I stood (in a daze) and watched Andy Hughes applaud the backs of the depressed, deflated, despairing, departing Charlton fans at Sheffield United and for that alone he has earned my utmost respect.
It is not all bad. Most players give everything every game as Diego Poyet did when he played for us (!), but it ill behoves players to moan about fan reaction as they gamble their wages away.
Of course some people are motivated differently, want to earn big and reach for the stars, I get that. Savage is a great example himself. I've read his book, he comes from a working class family. I reckon their are a lot of footballers in the Prem now that come from working class backgrounds. I just wish the Premier League/Clubs maybe took the time to think about initiatives where the players maybe agreed that a tiny % of their wages be donated to supporters' trust etc, to maybe offer cheaper ticket prices. I know some players do great charity and work and respect them for that, but I don't think it's too much to ask. They have to agree that the reason prices are so high is because all the money goes to them. If the TV deal alone was strong enough financially to offset ticket prices, I'm sure we would have seen it kick in.
I honestly still cannot get my head round some of the numbers players are on these days, from your after tax salaries that the likes of Rooney gets at about £300k per week, through to unproven youngsters like Chalaboah at Chelsea on about £30k. I know it won't change, wishful thinking on my part but come on, does one person really need £300k a week to get by:(
Even more ridiculous, and another reason I hate them is Arsenal. One pathetic FA Cup in 9 shitty years that they almost threw away twice last season and their manager looked too embarrassed to celebrate. Yet they feel it is appropriate to charge up to £2k a season ticket and £97 a game!!!!! I mean I don't like their fans so good in a way, but then I'm contradicting everything I said above. This has now become yet another thing in people's lives that continues to go up in price. Bollocks to it
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29638128