And again to take each point in turn, you prompted my response so I'll finish: My last response too. Agreed, but there is a thread for politics on our boards somewhere should you wish to continue. First sentence I'll agree with. After that, well I am not an anarchist and the system is what the system is. Not perfect, but it is a mechanism. Sometimes it fails and believe strongly that this is one such time. I haven't bought any merchandise this season as I don't think the quality is good enough. That's it. Of course footballer salaries are on the whole unjustified, top paid footballers wholly so, in relation to those you've mentioned, and others. But I am entitled to feel a sense of injustice at the disparity and I feel strongly that the magnitude of the disparity is indefensible. To make more than the average annual UK salary in a week for playing football is more than plenty plenty methinks. To be paid 10 times that much is obscene. To defend it seems, well, a bit YEC. (I'll let you research "YEC", nothing to do with football or politics). Capitalism is, to a point, essential. It does need to be tempered with social justice. I'd say Rooney's pay settlement was an excellent example of rampant capitalism at it's worst and there is no justification. But it sets the bar ever higher and as good a player he is he is not worthy of the money, and nor are the others who'll be saying "if Rooney's worth £300k, I'm worth £400k" and so on. It's an unsustainable nonsense, a boom but how long before the bust? And the bust will be for all of us. The problem is, is that capitalism in football is unrestrained and it is killing the game and it is indefensible. Movie stars and musicians don't earn more than their generated income or they find themselves out of contract and having to up their game as a result: musicians are loaned money on potential record sales (took ages for Robbie Williams to come good on his EMI £80m and the industry is littered with expensive failures - I know cos I am one of them and it took me 10 years to pay off my debts) and movie stars make money or they don't make movies. I agree wholly with your last sentence about making those who are paid well be taxed well - I said as much in my previous post. We are not poles apart on what we believe but we are in terms of the reasons for how we (football) got into this mess (and if it isn't a mess, it'll do until the mess comes along) and how to get ourselves out of it.
Football League's FFP rules being challenged apparently - no prizes for guessing which clubs are involved... http://www.theguardian.com/football...-play-clubs-threat-football-league?CMP=twt_gu
As I understand it the FL is effectively a 'club' with members who agree to a set of rules. The FFP rules were set by the clubs, so if some wish to go against them they can try to gather support to have them altered, or leave the 'club'. The ones who have made efforts to adjust their budgets should not be that pleased that the few are taking this route that will cost goodness knows what if the lawyers become involved. The costs will eventually feed down and make those without the rich owners worse off still.
The rules should be the same for all clubs regardless of the size of the club The Americans play some ****e sports but have a much better way of going about signing players
It was a pleasure to debate this with you Fez - hopefully others will have been entertained too even if they have not joined in on this occasion.
I have really enjoyed the debate my initial comment started, thanks to all who contributed. I think most of us agree that capitalism is the system we would all like to live under but it's excesses give it opponents the opportunity to knock it down - that was the point I was trying to get across. We need humans to evolve away from excessive greed and selfishness which I am sure capitalism will readily adapt to. Put this one to bed?
Are you referring to the MLS where the contract is with the league or their other sports? If you want to follow the example of the other sports, our already stretched Universities would have to accept a load of people on sports scholarships for them to go into professional sport and our academies would disppear.
I'm not quite sure what you're getting at there - are you saying that the rules don't currently cover all clubs in the Football League? And if so, how?
There is a follow up to the piece yesterday. http://www.theguardian.com/football...s-threat-football-league?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487
Interesting to see how the guardian rates us: "... In recent years overseas owners have bought larger Championship clubs, including Leicester City, Watford, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United...." I'm not sure that I want us to be ranked with that lot.......
Did anyone else see Tan on telly this morning. According to him only a few per cent of fans are against him - the vocal minority - and in Kula Lumpur he said he sometimes wonders why he bought Cardiff - I suspect there are lots of fans out there who would echo that. He implies that Malky was a rubbish manager and only got promotion due to him (well it is obviously true that he invested millions in players etc but I think Malky's record suggests he played a little part at least). When the court case is settled he says he will reveal the truth - I doubt that. He seems to be a vindictive nasty little man
Seems as if the Leicester fans are failing to read the FFP rules and their own official web site. “We remain entirely committed to safeguarding the Club’s future and will ensure Financial Fair Play compliance ahead of 2013/14, regardless of our divisional status." One can only assume that they cannot comply, so are looking to try and get them scrapped.
This is the trouble when you let one guy have so much power.. Tan feels he can say and do what he likes because without the money he put into Cardiff they'd be bust and until somebody is willing to come in and take-over they are stuck. He's taken advantage of the original good will of the fans.
http://www.mbl.is/sport/efstadeild/2014/03/04/islendingarnir_lentu_i_23_stiga_frosti/ Not only cold here. The Ãsland national football team arrive in Astana in Kasakstan to find -23C.
