"Steven Naismith, the Everton forward, has bought tickets for his team's home games to donate to unemployed people across Liverpool." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...to-buy-tickets-for-Liverpools-unemployed.html I'm sure that many people will believe this is a wonderful gesture from a well meaning player. However the more I think about it the more I think it stinks tbh. Everton will sell out many of their home games, this season, so who will benefit, from this gesture, and who will suffer? There are many people on low wages, who can't afford the layout for a season ticket, who attend matches whenever they can spare the money. They probably have to sacrifice other things to be able to watch Everton. They may have been regular match-goers until children came along or their hours were cut at work. Yet now the tickets they may have picked up will have already been 'doled out' to people who don't work on the whim of a job centre employee. I'll guarantee that this gesture will be abused and it will come back to bite Naismith. Either the job centre employees will allocate tickets to friends, family or themselves or the unemployed recipients will flog them off. In any case, who deserves them more ...... someone who doesn't work or a bloke proudly knocking himself out, in a menial job, when he would be better off sitting at home claiming benefits? Give the tickets to some old fella collecting trolleys at Tesco, in all weathers, or a hospital porter on a few quid an hour working shifts. To me this is just another Liverpool sob story from a city that invented mawkish sentimentality. I think Naismith means well but he's just been caught up in the Merseyside propoganda.
I'm with you on this one Smug. There are better ways that he could spend his money to help the unemployed. For example, he could sponsor a few unemployed kids into education or pay for day care so mothers can start working again etc.
It just smacks a little too much of 'look at me' ..... his outlay is a pittance and I wonder what his team mates will think. I wonder if his little band of unemployed supporters will boo him off the pitch if he has a stinker and is subbed Perhaps a local pub will give them free pre-match pints to enhance their match day experience.
And the local bus company free bus tickets. Then after the day at ''Willy Naismith's Condescending Football Factory'' they will go back home and sleep 4 in a bed.
Nothing against the unemployed, but there are far more worthy charities to give free tickets to (e.g. disabled, terminally ill).
Spot on, absolutely spot on - particularly like the "mawkish sentimentality" bit, couldn't agree more.
why not give them to the people who dont go to work and have decided that their job is caring for a loved one give the tickets to that person and the loved one give them a nice day out be alot better than people who are just claming benifts and sitting on a couch
good post Smug. Saccarin scousers. up there with deluded geordies for getting on ones tits. we'll see photos of naysmith hugging some scruffy homeless fella in a brand new everton top next.
If I was unemployed I would much rather him give me a job doing something so I could buy my own ticket. He should start his own business and employ some people, but lets face it thats a lot more difficult than just giving away some money when you have loads. What about the poor people who work their nuts off but cannot afford to go to the football?
So basically the whole of Liverpool... Offering free stuff to people who don't pay for anything anyway seems a bit of an empty gesture to me.
"There are many people on low wages, who can't afford the layout for a season ticket, who attend matches whenever they can spare the money. They probably have to sacrifice other things to be able to watch Everton. They may have been regular match-goers until children came along or their hours were cut at work." This is the issue. If the players didn't hold out for massive wages and agents didn't screw clubs for huge fees then the cost of going to football could be reduced for everyone, not just a few lucky recipients of this bloke's freebies.
Gone are the days when you could get a train from Boldon Colliery station, get a pie, a programme and stand in the fulwell.... all for 2 quid.
Luxury? British Rail?? In those days! I'd have rather taken the Northern bus but the train was quicker.
Smug, thats just too unnecessarily cynical. The guy does a lot of charity work and might well have preferred to have kept it quiet himself. I'm sure he'll be a little embarrassed its come out like this, but someone at the club has seen the chance for some feelgood publicity. Either that or someone at the dole office couldnt keep their trap shut. Either way, I think you do the guy an injustice.
You think wrong ..... your thinking is as flawed as his tbh, perhaps you didn't actually read what I said. "I think Naismith means well." It's a naive and simplistic idea that is poorly thought out and won't turn out well. How would you feel if you were a Sunderland supporter who saved his money for every match he could afford ....... come derby day you find you can't get a ticket because handfuls have been bought up and handed out to people who never go to the games. Would you be happy with that?
