Who's Next....?

There are so many things wrong with the game today that I don't know where to start.

The game has become unaffordable for most people and I just about had a heart attack at my last rare visit to AG and found out I had to fork over 30 quid for a lousy seat to watch a lousy game. The player's salaries have reached insane proportions and when I see average players showing up at AG in their personal plated Bentley I get angry.

The rich get richer but the grass roots of the game are struggling to survive and yet we allow more foreign ownership that fail to meet the criteria set by the league itself. Doesn't make sense does it?

 

Even though I HATE Aresnal. I believe they are doing things the right way..
Very good manager.
Do not buy or pay players way over the odds unlike the Man C's & Chelsea's alike.
Fantastic Stadium built, but keeping the bills down.
And still doing well in the league, even though most of their fans moan more than us!!

When the riches of the boards that buy players for fun get fed up with their toys the **** will hit the fan.

Ideally, Local Football Academys are the only way forward.

 

All of the money is going to players (and agents).
I can understand why a wage cap in the Premier League would not work as they have to compete with other nations, but what about a wage cap in the Championship?

 

So long as it aint us im not worried

 

Wont be long till SL get's fed up with a bunch of under achieving wasters who can't get a stadium because of a few dog walkers

Dark times ahead for you gents.

 

you want it just as much as we do, that's why you sat in the college green for 2 hours listening to the debate 2 years ago

 

Well said. Players just dont care anymore its all about the money. The key is to find players that want to pull on a red or blue shirt.

 

I do hope you get it better for whole of Bristol but it's a joke you can't beat a few dog walkers SL will soon get bored of loosing million and millions of pounds.

 

Those days have long gone manga. We no longer get teams full of Bristolians, or even local players from eg Cardiff who have a bit of pride about playing for Rovers/City. It's all about the money and IMO there is no way back to those days now. I cant even motivate myself to watch England anymore. It's a shame as I used to love watching England, but Euro 96 was the last time I had any passionate feelings towards my national side.

 

What when you was 2?
No I agree players have only one thing on their mind now and that's the money. I was talking to my boss a Cardiff fan Joe Ledley was a local lad who supported Cardiff all his life, got his dream to play for them then when the chance to get some money left them on the free when he refused a contract.
Footballers should remember that it is a gift that most people can work for what is a hobby is a privilege.
They should all be made to spend a day a week doing what we all call working to see what the real world see. And remember that if they drive the wages up, admissions need to rise hence the drop in attendance.
The sooner this new rule comes in the better!

 

Couldn't agree more than with Mike. The money being literally thrown at the players in just plain silly and it has been caused by rich owners with no real love of the game and greedy agents. When you look at the cash that Man City and Chelsea throw around, it's just ridiculous. The Premier League welcomes foreign owners as it boost their image but IMO it has done nothing than harm our national game. Even the wealthy clubs cannot sustain their current business models and the day when the oil and gas rich owners decide that horse racing is really much more suited to their tastes, these clubs will also have no option than to follow the likes of Rangers and Pompey unless another egomaniac owner comes along.

We are extremely lucky to have a "local lad done good" owner who has some passion invested in the club. Whilst we still haemorrage money, at least we are trying to keep it under contral and in the long run with a better stadium amd more revenue generation opportunities, we will be on a sound footing.

I think an interesting qiestion would be "does the British footballing public actually give a toss about the Champions League?" This is the sole reason why clubs go crazy on players salaries and at the end of the day, who cares? I'd rather see a strong domestic league where any club in the top division has a chance of success, not the 3 or 4 regulars that we see now. It's boring.

I know it's not an international sport but we could learn a lot from the salary cap in the NFL over here where EVERY team can only spend a set amount of money and EVERY team has a chance to win to ultimate championship. It really works gents but only if we give up trying to win European trophies.

 

Thanks for the support manga and tampa. I can't remember who did the thread about a month ago after he was allowed to spend time with the players prior to game time and was shocked by what he witnessed.

The dressing room was clearly divided in to 3 distinct cliques and the vast majority of the players were more concerned about what was said about them in the programme. Discussions about the upcoming task at hand (i.e. THE GAME) were non-existent and tweeting was the order of the day. Sorry but social media has no place anywhere on match days and the only focus should be on the imminent match.

Excuse me if some of my facts are off base,if anyone can remember that thread it makes interesting reading and highlights the source of some of the problems at Ashton Gate and other places.

A posting earlier mentioned Gerry Gow and a proposed testimonial on his behalf, and if you want a role model of the days when people were proud to wear our shirt - he was it!

 

Some clubs have been hanging on by their finger nails for years and it's been predicted many times that if one club actually folds and ceases to exist, it will cause a domino effect and there will be other casualtys.

Rationalisation and regionalisation might work again ? When the likes of Exeter and Gillingham have to make a 700 mile round trip to Carlisle which must cost loads of money in fuel, to be watched by 4,000 people, it beggars belief and that's no disrespect to any of those clubs, it just doesn't make sense.

 

Picking up on one of your points A16, a return to the concept of L1 North and L1 South
has its attractions. Not only would travel and hotel costs come down but there would be
more 'local' derbies so attendances should increase.

 

Spot on pirate. The league should spend more time helping the lower league teams rather than waiting in the wings to penalise them.

The idea of a League 1 north and south must be visited again and as you say pirate it would create more local derbies and cut back on travel expenses in such a manner it would reduce overall costs and probably raise income.

Do the league governors just sit in their ivory towers and make rules for the plebs or do they actually listen to the clubs as to what they think would help a seemingly deteriorating situation?

Reality at all levels seems to have disappeared more rapidly than rats leaving a sinking ship. A major meeting needs to be held with all levels of the league clubs represented to discuss how the game we love so much can survive and prosper. Economic reality should also be a major topic on the agenda because if certain clubs are allowed to continue the wage escalation ad nauseum the long term future of the game will continue to be at risk.

 

I repeat what I have said previously. If the wages for staff and club administration were capped by the estimated amount of the money which comes into the club through gate receipts, clubs would be protected from these financial problems. If outside bodies, such as the supporters clubs or rich uncles with deep pockets wish to supplement the player's wages then then that should be put in place as separate individual contracts which do not directly involve the football club. The contractural risk of the other bodies' commitments would remain solely with those bodies not the football club. Nothing need appear to change in practise other than the football clubs would not be permitted to overcomit themselves. We would also see clubs playing within their means, not overcommitting; reaching an unfair and false position in the leagues; then going broke and taking the ten point deduction when it suits them!!

 

Looks like Pompey may be unable to fulfil their remaining fixtures, and their parachute payments are going straight to their former owner

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17219854