Shane Long's gaff

[Mowgli]

One of the nicest families you'll see in football these days. A real genuine guy

[captainchris]

The 'only a short career' clap trap is very annoying....

Well you can still work after football!!

Hardly anyone has a continuous career in one job anyway.

The money is obscene of that there is no doubt at all. Buy a Sky Sports deal though and you contribute. I am

Not saying it is bad, only that I have chosen not too personally.

There are evidently millions that choose to pay. Have to say though that I have met a couple of people recently who have stopped Sky Sports so I imagine that Sky have seen some resistance across the country.

I like Shane Long's honesty on the pitch but object to the wages paid to players generally when yes, so many people struggle to buy even basics for their families. There is no way that the money paid can be justified. The short career sentiment will not wash...

Edited 12 October, 2016 by captainchris

[Gunnery]

You didn't join the Army to earn as much as a professional footballer (or if you did, you've got mental health issues). Society isn't 'fair'. Soldiers and nurses and teachers get paid a pittance and the people who earn the most are the people who do what's worth the least, from an ethical/moral perspective. That's how it is. There is no perfect social utopia.

Well thanks for stating the obvious, not sure why you had to make yourself sound like a massive cöck womble though...?

[captainchris]

Of course they can and I never said they couldn't.

 

Years ago, because they did not earn as much and were not financially secure, the main options for retired players was either to move into management or to run a pub.

 

Running a pub is hardly a viable option for anybody these days, let alone a former professional sportsman.

 

Not every player wants to go into management and I'm sure we can all think of players we thought would make good managers who haven't taken up the option.

 

Players invariably take stick if take what appears to be the easy option and work in the media as pundits.

 

It's not a red herring at all. While players can easily find an alternative career when they finish playing, it's unlikely to be as lucrative as when they were playing, a career that lasts around 15 years.

 

I don't think you could expect to see the CEO of Tesco or Sainsbury's stacking baked bean cans on shelves when they retire and while us mere mortals would find it easier to do something more menial to supplement our income when we retire {I'll have no problems stacking shelves, if I need to) I don't think footballers can do that.

 

I'm not saying it's right and I don't feel hugely sorry for somebody who pulls in a week more than I do in a year, but while most of us can expect to have a working life of 40-plus years, a sportsman's maximum earning power is around 15 years.

 

Christ mate which planet are you living on? There are literally thousands of jobs a footballer could do after he finishes!

Is running a pub the limit of your job availability knowledge?

Like everyone else they can find a job and learn new skills. Do stop banging the drum for the poor unfortunate footballer who's only other career path is a landlord!

[unionhotel]

Fair play to him. A genuine nice guy and a lovely family by all accounts. Any prospective and current players who see this and think that chasing the big money at bigger clubs is their only option will hopefully realise that dreams can come true at Southampton and a lifestyle far removed from Joe Public's perception of luxury is available at our club.

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

One of the nicest families you'll see in football these days. A real genuine guy

 

Agreed, defies all the stereotypes. Proud he is a Saint.

[saintchris23]

It's a gorgeous house but nothing in comparison to where the majority of the Arsenal players live down the road from me in West Common - some of these places sell for £10m with 'only' five bedrooms!