The true cost of football.

[Alain Perrin]

When you add in the cost of wages, the cost of football is astronomical. And Saints are a generally prudent club!

 

I don't know the figures on wages, these are just guesses, but it goes to show there is no such thing as a 'free' transfer.

 

Rasiak - £2m purchase, £17K per week wages, 3 year contract - circa £5million.

Euell - Free - £14K per week wages, 2 year contract - circa £2.2m

..... BWP, John, Saga, Skacel.

 

Can anybody make a guess at our total weekly wage bill on the last day of last season?

 

When you do the maths it is no wonder we had to resort to playing kids who'd play for a bag of cola bottles and a play with Mr Lowe's puppy.

 

Jesus. No wonder we're ****ed. Mike Ashley must be bricking it.

[oxfordshire_saint]

There should be a salary cap outside the Premier League, it'd soon stop clubs from over-spending in a league where the clubs can't generate the revenue to line the pockets of very average players who think they deserve Prem wages.

 

Only disadvanage would be the gap between the Premiership and the rest of English football.

 

Sod it, salary cap the lot, worldwide, Blatter and Platini would love it.

[docker-p]

No need for a salary cap. Just limit first team squad sizes to 16 players. Less wages not restricted wages.

Kills too birds with one stone. Clubs are financialy better off and the talent is spread around, making for a more level playing field.

[SFC Forever]

He won't be alone.

Generally speaking players are checked by the likes of Fergie for far more than their footy skills. Character is also a big factor on his list of player requisites.

Though in a much lower league we need a manager who can pick players with adequate skill and lots of character. The money we'll have won't be great so it is far more important that everyone we buy is prepared for the task ahead.

Contracts should show a steady rise according to our means and position. This is something our club has failed to do as indeed have several others.They must also show a cut if we were to go down again. Players play for money and will not want to play for nought which is what a lot of ours were worth this season.Any bonuses should be paid at the end of the season as well which could make the team play even if nothing to play for relatively speaking.

[SFC Forever]

There should be a salary cap outside the Premier League, it'd soon stop clubs from over-spending in a league where the clubs can't generate the revenue to line the pockets of very average players who think they deserve Prem wages.

 

Only disadvanage would be the gap between the Premiership and the rest of English football.

 

Sod it, salary cap the lot, worldwide, Blatter and Platini would love it.

 

 

 

 

The last sentence is the best way forward in my opinion if clubs are not going to go to the wall on a regular basis.

[david in sweden]

No need for a salary cap. Just limit first team squad sizes to 16 players. Less wages not restricted wages.

Kills too birds with one stone. Clubs are financialy better off and the talent is spread around, making for a more level playing field.

 

Your suggestion is good, Docker

...but what happens when you end up in mid-season (as Saints have several times in the last 10 years)....with ALL 5 strikers injured at the same time..forgot season but it was early Strachan I think) or last season with SIX central defenders injured at the same time..not to mention the effect of suspensions and disciplinary measures ..oh and that other factor....players being " off -form ".......and all this when their is no open transfer window. Ay least years ago , you could go out and buy someone mid-season if you had a serious injury/ performance problems Saints did it several times, most famously season 1962/3 - and several times in Lawrie Mac's time.

 

I agree - The idea of having huge squads is a joke - but many top clubs have players with shirt numbers above 50..and even higher-where are all those players?..and what are they doing every week. Some clubs just buy certain players so as to stop their rivals from having them. Man.U / Chelsea seem to buy every loose-footed midfielder around just to keep them OUT of other peoples teams, and only use them as subs. in case of injury, or for a 20 min.run-out when they're 3-0 up ! Disgusting!

 

I agree with the general tone of this thread but most people in (any profession) want recognition in their wage packet (sorry - salary cheques). Most players have agents - (who also want bonuses) because many players don't have the financial acumen to handle anything bigger than hamburger money - even when they get paid 20/30/40K a week.

 

It's a vicious circle. Every club needs a " Jack Walker ". He sold the family steel business for £300 million in the early 1990's when he retired, and invested in the club he supported as a boy. In his case BLACKBURN. He bought every top player the manager (Kenny Dalglish) wanted..( it was Alan Shearer,Tim Flowers and Jeff Kenna from Saints) ...and won the Premier League title in 1994/5. One of the few times one of the big four - didn't win it.

 

For the rest of us - it's just bl**dy hard work on shoestring economy every season..and hope you can get a Walcott /Bale every other year. All this on a squad of 16 - sorry it won't work. Especially when FIFA /UEFA bring in the rule on 5 home players in every squad. Arsenal and Chelsea find it hard to select English players to sit on their bench sometimes, and it's meant to be the ENGLISH Premier League...no wonder we have such a mediocre National squad.

Edited 19 May, 2009 by david in sweden

[John B]

When you add in the cost of wages, the cost of football is astronomical. And Saints are a generally prudent club!

 

I don't know the figures on wages, these are just guesses, but it goes to show there is no such thing as a 'free' transfer.

 

Rasiak - £2m purchase, £17K per week wages, 3 year contract - circa £5million.

Euell - Free - £14K per week wages, 2 year contract - circa £2.2m

..... BWP, John, Saga, Skacel.

 

Can anybody make a guess at our total weekly wage bill on the last day of last season?

 

When you do the maths it is no wonder we had to resort to playing kids who'd play for a bag of cola bottles and a play with Mr Lowe's puppy.

 

Jesus. No wonder we're ****ed. Mike Ashley must be bricking it.

 

You could well ask why John and Euell were bought knowing that it would be difficult to pay for them.

 

 

Those two signings I feel may have led to our downfall

 

 

We needed either as we had Rasiak BWP and Saga as strikers I know we had lost Jones and loads of midfield players

[Fan The Flames]

You could well ask why John and Euell were bought knowing that it would be difficult to pay for them.

 

 

Those two signings I feel may have led to our downfall

 

 

We needed either as we had Rasiak BWP and Saga as strikers I know we had lost Jones and loads of midfield players

 

Its no surprise you think that the final straw weighed more than the rest of the load itself.

 

Back on topic, football has been pushed beyond its means by the big few. The only way forward to force them to **** off a form a european league and leave the domestic league completly.

[Rebel]

I still have no idea why we signed John and Euell

 

at that time we probably should have sold Skacel and Rasiak as well Jones and Bale - not brought in more high earners - to balance our books

 

leaving us with BWP and Saga upfront - with the addition of a couple of younger abd cheaper players on loan fron the premiership or bought from League 1 clubs!

[londonsaint1604]

No need for a salary cap. Just limit first team squad sizes to 16 players. Less wages not restricted wages.

Kills too birds with one stone. Clubs are financialy better off and the talent is spread around, making for a more level playing field.

 

I agree with the idea but 16 would be too small I reckon. More like 22-25 would be reasonable.

[madsent]

No need for a salary cap. Just limit first team squad sizes to 16 players. Less wages not restricted wages.

Kills two birds with one stone. Clubs are financialy better off and the talent is spread around, making for a more level playing field.

 

Surely the first team squad is limited to 16 already - 11 starters and 5 subs. What happens is one or more get injured, especially if the 16 contains someone like Richard Wright who holds some kind of record for warm-up injuries ?

[Ex Ringwood Saint]

I think if the number of first team players was fixed, and then as back up you could add at any time products of your own youth policy, I think you would have some kind of halfway house. It would also encourage clubs to adopt a good yout policy, and if restrictions on overseas numbers were imposed it could only be a good thing....

To be honest I think the sooner Euro league is formed and the game goes back to being a saturday 3.00 game with no live tv coverage the better.. but its not going to happen anytime soon.....

[sandwichsaint]

Never going to happen; the big clubs have debts that make Saints' problems look like my overdraft.

 

The big clubs have the money and the power and they will not reform themselves, nor have the outside bodies the will to reform them or upset them.

 

Football has become the ultimate free market, brands (they used to be called 'clubs') will do anything and everything to stay at the top, some will lose their houses 'chasing the dream' (no names necessary here), some will operate more prudently at a level they can afford (Reading have transfer listed 6 of their better players, they CAN'T AFFORD to keep them, irrespective of their potential contribution on the pitch). Unless you have a sugar daddy (Blackburn / Wolves) value-added can only come from a mad, mad gamble, or from steady accumulation of a club's capital (playing staff, diversified income, fan base, attendances etc). Key to building the club and adding value is ultimately having the right manager; in very large part the single biggest factor that's contributed to our demise is a 10-year managerial merry-go round?

 

Football won't change itself, it will only react to the opinions and the money of millions of individual consumers (used to be called 'fans'). Don't like it? Don't buy it! That certainly worked out well for us didn't it?

 

'Live football at 3 o'clock on a Saturday' you say?

It never went away, it's called non-league football and it's great, perhaps a few more will be trying it next season?

[lee_saint]

There should be a salary cap outside the Premier League, it'd soon stop clubs from over-spending in a league where the clubs can't generate the revenue to line the pockets of very average players who think they deserve Prem wages.

 

Only disadvanage would be the gap between the Premiership and the rest of English football.

 

Sod it, salary cap the lot, worldwide, Blatter and Platini would love it.

 

There is already a salary cap in League Two, hence the reason why Morecombe were not allowed to buy anyone recently, they overspent.

[ribbo]

Never going to happen; the big clubs have debts that make Saints' problems look like my overdraft.

 

The big clubs have the money and the power and they will not reform themselves, nor have the outside bodies the will to reform them or upset them.

 

Football has become the ultimate free market, brands (they used to be called 'clubs') will do anything and everything to stay at the top, some will lose their houses 'chasing the dream' (no names necessary here), some will operate more prudently at a level they can afford (Reading have transfer listed 6 of their better players, they CAN'T AFFORD to keep them, irrespective of their potential contribution on the pitch). Unless you have a sugar daddy (Blackburn / Wolves) value-added can only come from a mad, mad gamble, or from steady accumulation of a club's capital (playing staff, diversified income, fan base, attendances etc). Key to building the club and adding value is ultimately having the right manager; in very large part the single biggest factor that's contributed to our demise is a 10-year managerial merry-go round?

 

Football won't change itself, it will only react to the opinions and the money of millions of individual consumers (used to be called 'fans'). Don't like it? Don't buy it! That certainly worked out well for us didn't it?

 

'Live football at 3 o'clock on a Saturday' you say?

It never went away, it's called non-league football and it's great, perhaps a few more will be trying it next season?

 

 

^ post of the week.

 

personally ex-ringwood saint has the best soloution, but it will never be adopted while the prem league + fa have too much self intrest involved.

[Ex Ringwood Saint]

Ha agree about non league footy.. I am up in Fleet and am contemplating watching some local games next year if I don't get to visit St Marys.... Over the last 5 years I have probably watched 4 games on TV... Just not interested anymore in the big boys and their money... Roll on gates of 500, uncovered stands, and cheap pies !

[david in sweden]

I still have no idea why we signed John and Euell

 

at that time we probably should have sold Skacel and Rasiak as well Jones and Bale - not brought in more high earners - to balance our books

 

leaving us with BWP and Saga upfront - with the addition of a couple of younger abd cheaper players on loan fron the premiership or bought from League 1 clubs!

 

 

It seems to be clear that for all his (many) faults, Rupert Lowe had a tight hand on the purse strings. I'm sure his Board wouldn't have sanctioned these deals if only because he'd already established a salary policy - and even reduced players salaries after relgation from the Prem. I don't believe he would have sanctioned a £6 million overdraft. If we'd taken them on board they should have been used properly and others sold to cover the cost.

 

I'm sure it looked impressive at the time but Euell rarely showed much in the early days, though we should be grateful to Stern John for his 19 goal (?) contribution during his best season.

 

The interim Board had no capacity to control cash flow, and clearly didn't understand the " value " of money, and were playing Russian Roulette with the clubs finances. By the time RL returned, the next bullet in the gun was due to fire.

Bang ! - now were all dead.

[Alanh]

No need for a salary cap. Just limit first team squad sizes to 16 players. Less wages not restricted wages.

Kills too birds with one stone. Clubs are financialy better off and the talent is spread around, making for a more level playing field.

 

This has got to be the way to go, although your number of 16 is too low. Make it 25 - 28 players registered for the first half of the season followed by a new registration of the same number post the January transfer window and you have got a workable system. Man Utd have used about 29 players in the Prem this season so it shows that it is practical. The Champions League already has something like this in place where clubs have to register a squad for the group phase.

 

Liverpool have 62 players registered to their first team squad. Many of them are out on loan so the 'real' squad number is much less but even so many of those players won't see first team action all season.

 

I believe that this type of system would help keep costs under control, help spread talent around and balance up the competition a little without fundamentally changing the game as we know it.

[SFKA South Woodford]

It's a vicious circle. Every club needs a " Jack Walker ". He sold the family steel business for £300 million in the early 1990's when he retired, and invested in the club he supported as a boy. In his case BLACKBURN. He bought every top player the manager (Kenny Dalglish) wanted..( it was Alan Shearer,Tim Flowers and Jeff Kenna from Saints) ...and won the Premier League title in 1994/5. One of the few times one of the big four - didn't win it.

 

A member of the London Saints who knew Jack Walker, once told me that if Blackburn hadn't of been his childhood team, he would of invested his money in Saints.

 

Apparently he loved the atmosphere of the club and the passion of it's fans and was impressed at the way in which it constantly punched above it's weight and bloodied the noses of the big boys.

 

Shows that people used to have a fondness for Saints, and I very much doubt any Saints fan would of complained about buying the title in 95.