With the window open and the transfers about to start I ask a question, built on gossip I know. It is reported today that Adam Johnson is on 70k a week and we would not pay more than 60k, ruling us out, I did say built on gossip. We are reported to be on 20m a year with our new sponsor. If the above is true, I know it may be a big if, it brings me, a simple fan, into a do we or don't we situation. Me the fan says, come on Ellis, we can afford it so splash the cash, but... Me the long term fan who wants us to be stable says, well done Ellis, 60k a week is good money so stick to your guns, but.. Me the fan says, we need to compete if we want success so cough up, but... Me who wants a future thinks, look at other clubs who splashed the cash, bought success then went bust.. Help me out, who is right, just in your opinion mind, its only gossip.
Always a compromise, Syd. £60k is a lot of dosh and he gets first-team football every week. Bearing in mind 52% of the extra £10k would go in tax/NICs I would be inclined to stick to our policy.
Me the fan thinks - does a player deserve 60K. Not unless your a top top quality! Any sensible team would not pay Johnson 60K + ....just Man City. I agree with Sid, stick to our polic - if the kid was a true player & wanted to be a star in a team he would drop his wages. With regards to transfer funds, I read somewhere that Ellis is giving MON ALOT of money..... and from what he says wanting to be well in the top 10 I think it could be true. HAPPY TIMES ahead on Wearside.
If he wants to stay in the Premier League, not many other clubs will match £70k/wk wages, so I think the long term future you is right
It's all about the new FFP rules and trying to balance the books more than buying players who are on big wages. If Johnson is serious about first team football then he'll take a pay cut if not then he won't. To me as a fan 60k - 70k a week is a disgrace and, I'm not buying the oft trotted out excuse that they only have a limited work life as a footballer so they should earn that much, get a job doing something else everyone else has to. Having said that I would like Johnson to come to us as he would have a point to prove but, not on anything above our wage cap. This will in my opinion mean that teams will improve and then find their level and will be stuck at that level due to their wage caps while the top teams go on to bigger and better. The days of the Euro Super League will not be too far off.
Lets not get hung up on Johnson, I know I named him but its more the principle. Teams at the top ar paying 100k a week, I agree its silly money but it's what they are paying. Before the sponsorship deal w could not compete, now we can but should we, I'm not saying we should just provoking debate.
If Johnson cant accept a £500k a year reduction in his pay, before tax avoidance, then he's greedy, and we know greedy players never pass the ball to others and we want team players. No, he wouldn't be the man for me. However, I dont have £3 million a year to pay his wages anyway.
Is there not a way round Johnson 'wage' demands... as well as paying a fee to Chitty we pay a one of fee to him on signing for a lower wage which would have equaled what he would get if he had stayed with Chitty, i.e. his dad/family have really acted as his agent therfore we bung them some cash? As for the Financial Fairplay rules, I am sure there will be plenty of dodgy accountants/lawyers who have already explained to Chairman of football clubs have to get round them, not that they are a bad thing but as with Rugby's Premier League nobody really pays too much attention to them cos' they are easy to evade. Of course nobody wants us to do a Leeds or Glascow Rangers, but really it all depends how much Ellis Short wants to put in, if we are to be in football successful, I doubt we can 'live within our means' as good footballers will want high wages and there are bound to be ways aroudf the Turnover % wages ratios etc. that other rich ones will exploit to get their team up the league. The Fairplay rules may be used as an excuse not to put funds into a club by tight owners!
Guys you do know he's actually called Johnstone :-\ According to some ^^^^ With regard to Adam Johnson he isn't good enough to earn 60-70k a week and if we were to offer that I think alot of our current player would be banging on the door for a pay rise. Sessegnon took a wage cut to come so would surely want parity with the top earner at the club. It would also set a dangerous precedent this window with player recruitment. We break our wage cap for one player then any other player we sign will want the same. Id stick to wage cap of say 40k then offer performance related bonuses ie Adam your on 40k a week. An extra £5k per goal/assist take it or leave it. If he's worthy of 60k he'll earn it through merit
Never mind the wages. Did he not just extend his contract in January meaning he now has 5 years left. Cannot see him being allowed to leave for anyhing less than £15 million given this.
Any business, and we are a business after all, must operate inside its own fiscal parameters. For too long now, football has viewed itself as somehow able to operate in a totally unique fashion, spending more than it earns and still expect not to lose money. Bizarre thinking indeed. With the financial collapse of Leeds in the 90's and now Rangers & Pompey in the last year or two; coupled with the general demise of the financial industry in total, football is actually waking up and at last smelling the coffee. Its a very stale smell as well. We simply HAVE to stick to our plan and not bust the bank for ANYONE, even a Messi type of player came along, if we could even sign such like that is of course. Until we have finances in place to pay for them, we stick to our strict wages and transfer policy and if players/clubs wont budge then we look elsewhere. Simple as that. Ellis didn’t make himself a billionaire by throwing caution to the wind on a wing and a prayer. He is putting us in the path of some big hitting sponsors and partners now and we will generate money alongside the TV and attendance money. That will increase our ability to get better players in and lead to even more financial wealth generation. Its an upward spiral not a downward one and I back this 100%, even if it means we miss out on some of our top targets.
Johnson isn't worth that sort of money, it's that simple. Look at N'zogbia as to why you don't let the clamour from the Internet stand in the way of reality!
Haha , why worry about 10k A WEEK.....we talk about these figures as if they were nowt.... It's a mad world........
I expect some of the 20mill will be used to keep sess at the club. The "invest in Africa" sponsorship may also give him a reason to stay. Lets just hope for the best. Does anyone know what our wage cap is ?
