Had trouble reading the above, so figured I'd C+P.
I'm a bit torn on this. On the one hand, wages throughout the English game are undoubtedly incredibly, if not unsustainably high. On the other hand, there is some trickle-down effect from all the Premier League money in terms of significantly higher transfer fees. And there is generally more money in the game, even if it isn't proportional. Players wanting a but of that is not, in my opinion, unreasonable.
Also, given that Peterborough regularly drive a hard bargain and sell their players on for more than they're worth (Craig Mackail-Smith), this seems a bit much: "'Ambition over Greed' is our mantra"
It's not that I think his critiques are wrong necessarily, I just think that they're a bit hypocritical.
A little perspective from me on the 'market' at moment re footballers. Its been a fascinating May so far talking to the many free transfers, many Transfer targets that would need fee paid for them, many agents of players from below and above possibly available.. And ones thing thats for sure is the sudden shift in L1 wage expectations. Some Players from Non League now turning their nose up whereby not so long ago they would walk on hot coals to sign & be sensible about terms built with incentives & improved Basic wage for the step up.. Now some dont even return calls or agents think they can go higher... and their demands way above even the average L1 basic wage for lads who've never played in the Football League. Many are on less then 1k per week and the opening gambit now from agents is contracts worth 3 times this lol.. Re league players who have are out of contract/released its even worse with now wage demands getting out of hand/control for players who have not done anything yet in game/would be deemed as a Punt, many under age of 24 (so plenty time to make their fortunes). Prem Youngsters released/not wanted by prem clubs where they are on 600 or 700 quid per week now instantly expecting/demanding 2.5k per week deals and more having yet played 50 games of mens football.. But then again this is May with hundreds of footballers about to be released, June onwards should/will see some common sense/reality set in for lots of them and their demands. Right now its fun and games and many funny conversations with agents... the tide soon turns... has to turn or our game at our level will see many casualties going forward if some clubs keep falling for these ridiculous demands. A good football club with good recruitment plan is based on signing the right characters who want success/growth/improvement & understand that the big money comes after and not before... 'Ambition over Greed' is our mantra & something we went away from last year but something we will stand firm on this year with our young and hungry policy. We have plenty experienced players but lot of talented young players including ones we will recruit this summer and with this our one and only aim is to grow into winners on and off the field.
The Boyds, McLeans, CMS'S, Tomlins, Taylors, Bennetts, Gayles, Britts & Washingtons epitomized our mantra & didn't worry about over top contracts until they had brought success to our club and themselves.. and regardless of current climate, trust me when I say, there are plenty more of the above characters out there.. and its our Job to find them/sign them/improve them.
The thing that winds me up is that it's the level some of these blokes are playing at, and they walk round thinking they're the bollocks, just because they're a professional footballer
With the greatest of respect, if you're playing in league one, you ain't all that.
Football is a trough and greedy pigs are lining up to get their snouts in it.
I know there are exceptions, but in general I truly believe this is the case
the issue is it would just make the gap between premier league/championship and lower leagues bigger, clubs going up wont be able to compete and would come straight back down.
There finances of football are a nonsense at the moment. Players in the 3rd division who think they've made it, youngsters who've achieved nothing in the game already driving around in large SUVs
The thing that gets me is when supporters of high wages say that its what guys in other professional sports expect.
In the NBA for example there are 30 franchises each with a roster of 15 players. With the rare exception these guys are the 450 best players in the world.
In Tennis and Golf you have to be a top player to earn significant sums.
In the premier league alone you have 20 teams with 40ish players in a squad. Therefore you have 800 players in one division where most, if not all, are earning life changing sums. Add another 800 on for those in the Championship and we're up to 1600.
How many of Europe's top leagues are at a better standard than league 1? French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Portuguese. So even disregarding the Turkish, Belgian, Danish, Swedish, Polish, Brazilian and Argentinian leagues we're upto 6400 players who are playing at a better standard than league 1.
Personally, I don't think being that low down the pecking order deserves financial reward to the tune of 100,000+ a year
Wage bills should be capped at a sensible % of a clubs turnover. It's the only long term solution. Even QPR probably regret challenging the ruling now.
The thing that gets me is when supporters of high wages say that its what guys in other professional sports expect.
In the NBA for example there are 30 franchises each with a roster of 15 players. With the rare exception these guys are the 450 best players in the world.
In Tennis and Golf you have to be a top player to earn significant sums.
In the premier league alone you have 20 teams with 40ish players in a squad. Therefore you have 800 players in one division where most, if not all, are earning life changing sums. Add another 800 on for those in the Championship and we're up to 1600.
How many of Europe's top leagues are at a better standard than league 1? French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Portuguese. So even disregarding the Turkish, Belgian, Danish, Swedish, Polish, Brazilian and Argentinian leagues we're upto 6400 players who are playing at a better standard than league 1.
Personally, I don't think being that low down the pecking order deserves financial reward to the tune of 100,000+ a year
I don't disagree with your numbers but the wages will be determined by supply and demand.
It is interesting that the gist of his comments is that at the start of the summer players cost much more (demand higher wages) than towards the end of the window. This does, kind of, justify why clubs (ours included) don't sign all the players they want in May and are still signing players in August. It's, maybe, not just the extra wages for a few weeks that they save. Paying a player, say, £1k more each week for a three year contract is not only £150k but it also pushes up the demands of the other players in the squad. Being 'pressured' to pay 20 players £1k a week more is, obviously, £1m a year.
At our level there are probably several options for each position and it would be prudent for clubs to wait until all those that might pay silly money have filled their squads and then take what is left. I know that can mean missing out on specific players but in the third division there should be plenty of players that can do a job.
Wage bills should be capped at a sensible % of a clubs turnover. It's the only long term solution. Even QPR probably regret challenging the ruling now.
As has been said several times before, many by me, a club needs to be allowed to go to the wall and all its debts to other clubs wiped off before the Football Authorities actually do something about it.
Even a blanket cap on wages based on each division would be a step forward. They could do it in two ways, an aggregate cap for a squad and an individual cap for each player. That would level the playing field a fair bit but it would, certainly, stop the outrageous over spending.
They should also introduce an annual cap of payments to Agents. I suspect that most of the demanded rises in wages come from, and end up in the pockets of, the Agents.
Wages in football are a f@$#ing joke especially at the top. Joe Piggot is on £1.500 per week at Maidstone so it's not surprising that league one wages are considerably higher.
The thing that winds me up is that it's the level some of these blokes are playing at, and they walk round thinking they're the bollocks, just because they're a professional footballer
With the greatest of respect, if you're playing in league one, you ain't all that.
Football is a trough and greedy pigs are lining up to get their snouts in it.
I know there are exceptions, but in general I truly believe this is the case
Irrespective of all the nonsense inherent in football, if you manage to get to the level of league 1, you are a very decent player.
The thing that winds me up is that it's the level some of these blokes are playing at, and they walk round thinking they're the bollocks, just because they're a professional footballer
With the greatest of respect, if you're playing in league one, you ain't all that.
Football is a trough and greedy pigs are lining up to get their snouts in it.
I know there are exceptions, but in general I truly believe this is the case
Irrespective of all the nonsense inherent in football, if you manage to get to the level of league 1, you are a very decent player.
Wages in football are a f@$#ing joke especially at the top. Joe Piggot is on £1.500 per week at Maidstone so it's not surprising that league one wages are considerably higher.
He deserves it - he is the best finisher our reserves team coach had ever seen.
Wages in football are a f@$#ing joke especially at the top. Joe Piggot is on £1.500 per week at Maidstone so it's not surprising that league one wages are considerably higher.
One pound fifty a week doesn't sound too outlandish to me.
The thing that winds me up is that it's the level some of these blokes are playing at, and they walk round thinking they're the bollocks, just because they're a professional footballer
With the greatest of respect, if you're playing in league one, you ain't all that.
Football is a trough and greedy pigs are lining up to get their snouts in it.
I know there are exceptions, but in general I truly believe this is the case
Irrespective of all the nonsense inherent in football, if you manage to get to the level of league 1, you are a very decent player.
Comments
I'm a bit torn on this. On the one hand, wages throughout the English game are undoubtedly incredibly, if not unsustainably high. On the other hand, there is some trickle-down effect from all the Premier League money in terms of significantly higher transfer fees. And there is generally more money in the game, even if it isn't proportional. Players wanting a but of that is not, in my opinion, unreasonable.
Also, given that Peterborough regularly drive a hard bargain and sell their players on for more than they're worth (Craig Mackail-Smith), this seems a bit much:
"'Ambition over Greed' is our mantra"
It's not that I think his critiques are wrong necessarily, I just think that they're a bit hypocritical.
A little perspective from me on the 'market' at moment re footballers. Its been a fascinating May so far talking to the many free transfers, many Transfer targets that would need fee paid for them, many agents of players from below and above possibly available.. And ones thing thats for sure is the sudden shift in L1 wage expectations. Some Players from Non League now turning their nose up whereby not so long ago they would walk on hot coals to sign & be sensible about terms built with incentives & improved Basic wage for the step up.. Now some dont even return calls or agents think they can go higher... and their demands way above even the average L1 basic wage for lads who've never played in the Football League. Many are on less then 1k per week and the opening gambit now from agents is contracts worth 3 times this lol..
Re league players who have are out of contract/released its even worse with now wage demands getting out of hand/control for players who have not done anything yet in game/would be deemed as a Punt, many under age of 24 (so plenty time to make their fortunes).
Prem Youngsters released/not wanted by prem clubs where they are on 600 or 700 quid per week now instantly expecting/demanding 2.5k per week deals and more having yet played 50 games of mens football.. But then again this is May with hundreds of footballers about to be released, June onwards should/will see some common sense/reality set in for lots of them and their demands. Right now its fun and games and many funny conversations with agents... the tide soon turns... has to turn or our game at our level will see many casualties going forward if some clubs keep falling for these ridiculous demands. A good football club with good recruitment plan is based on signing the right characters who want success/growth/improvement & understand that the big money comes after and not before... 'Ambition over Greed' is our mantra & something we went away from last year but something we will stand firm on this year with our young and hungry policy. We have plenty experienced players but lot of talented young players including ones we will recruit this summer and with this our one and only aim is to grow into winners on and off the field.
The Boyds, McLeans, CMS'S, Tomlins, Taylors, Bennetts, Gayles, Britts & Washingtons epitomized our mantra & didn't worry about over top contracts until they had brought success to our club and themselves.. and regardless of current climate, trust me when I say, there are plenty more of the above characters out there.. and its our Job to find them/sign them/improve them.
Just me perspective
Thanks
Darragh
With the greatest of respect, if you're playing in league one, you ain't all that.
Football is a trough and greedy pigs are lining up to get their snouts in it.
I know there are exceptions, but in general I truly believe this is the case
In the NBA for example there are 30 franchises each with a roster of 15 players. With the rare exception these guys are the 450 best players in the world.
In Tennis and Golf you have to be a top player to earn significant sums.
In the premier league alone you have 20 teams with 40ish players in a squad. Therefore you have 800 players in one division where most, if not all, are earning life changing sums. Add another 800 on for those in the Championship and we're up to 1600.
How many of Europe's top leagues are at a better standard than league 1? French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Portuguese. So even disregarding the Turkish, Belgian, Danish, Swedish, Polish, Brazilian and Argentinian leagues we're upto 6400 players who are playing at a better standard than league 1.
Personally, I don't think being that low down the pecking order deserves financial reward to the tune of 100,000+ a year
Take note RD and KM.
'our level will see many casualties going forward if some clubs keep falling for these ridiculous demands'
'A good football club with good recruitment plan is based on signing the right characters who want success/growth/improvement'
first comment - yep, and Katy falls for it every time
second comment - who? Charlton? surely not !!
third comment - spot on
It is interesting that the gist of his comments is that at the start of the summer players cost much more (demand higher wages) than towards the end of the window. This does, kind of, justify why clubs (ours included) don't sign all the players they want in May and are still signing players in August. It's, maybe, not just the extra wages for a few weeks that they save. Paying a player, say, £1k more each week for a three year contract is not only £150k but it also pushes up the demands of the other players in the squad. Being 'pressured' to pay 20 players £1k a week more is, obviously, £1m a year.
At our level there are probably several options for each position and it would be prudent for clubs to wait until all those that might pay silly money have filled their squads and then take what is left. I know that can mean missing out on specific players but in the third division there should be plenty of players that can do a job.
Even a blanket cap on wages based on each division would be a step forward. They could do it in two ways, an aggregate cap for a squad and an individual cap for each player. That would level the playing field a fair bit but it would, certainly, stop the outrageous over spending.
They should also introduce an annual cap of payments to Agents. I suspect that most of the demanded rises in wages come from, and end up in the pockets of, the Agents.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42221487
Joe Piggot is on £1.500 per week at Maidstone so it's not surprising that league one wages are considerably higher.
Last couple of seasons
Oh my fucking god, Driesen is on the look for a new job
Lookman 11m
Konsa 2.5m
Grant 2m
Gudmundsson 2.5m
Cousins 1.5m?
Magennis? Holmes?
That's since 2016.