Today Rooney has his, but all the money to go to charity (thats a good thing). Are these an outdated thing, have you ever been to one? .................. Wayne Rooney is marking 12 years at Manchester United with a testimonial match against his former club Everton. But, considering the traditional aim of testimonials has been to raise much-needed money for players as they leave the game, why do we still need them in the era of multi-millionaire footballers? It may seem hard to believe now but footballers haven't always been super-rich, in fact many today still aren't. The aim of the testimonial, traditionally held after a player had spent 10 years at a club and was therefore likely to be coming to the end of their career, was to raise some money for them for life after retirement from the pitch. While for players in the lower leagues that is still one purpose of such matches, as the economy of the top leagues has changed so too has the reasoning for testimonials. "Testimonials are no longer really about earning a lump sum for the player," said Trizia Fiorellino, chairman of the Chelsea Supporters' Group. "Now it's more important to the fans than to the players as it is a chance to show our appreciation for what a player has done for us and the club. "The relationship between fans and players has changed, they are no longer the working class heroes who you would see in the pub after a game, now they are multi-millionaires and disconnected from the fans' lives so this is a chance for us to be bit more personal with them." How money took over football How much do footballers earn? Average basic annual salaries 2014-15 £1.7m Premier League £324k Championship £70k League One £40k League Two £39k Average UK household income Source: Mail on Sunday Paul Faith/PA There are two key moments that have allowed footballers'salaries to soar, according to Bangor University economics professor John Goddard, co-author of The Economics of Football. The first was in 1961 with theabolition of the maximum wage cap, then set at about £20 a week, which was £8 a week more than the national average wage but not "astronomical". Fulham's Johnny Haynes famously became the first £100-a-week player as soon as the cap was scrapped. The second moment came in 1992 with the emergence of paid-for satellite TV and the Premier League. Suddenly there was a global audience bringing with them higher advertising and sponsorship revenues for clubs and players individually. "These were the two big changes," said Professor Goddard. "But there has also been a big change in the relationships between clubs and players. In the 1960s the clubs owned the players, they held all the cards, but things have changed, such as the Bosman ruling in 1995, which has seen the balance of power tipped to the players." Testimonials started back in the day of strict wage restriction according to Dr Gary James, member of International Sport and Leisure History at Manchester Metropolitan University. "Sometimes one-off fixtures would be organised, but typically clubs would allocate a specific league game as the benefit match. "They would send stewards around the pitch holding a blanket for fans to throw money into from the stand. "In Manchester, United regularly picked Manchester derby games as they knew they would generate a large crowd, such as 1912 when they gave Billy Meredith a testimonial after only five years with the Reds. "He was their star player, and a former City hero, and was awarded the entire profit from the game. Unfortunately, the player and club were in dispute for years to come as Meredith felt he was never paid the full amount and cited this as one of the reasons why he later returned to Manchester City." please log in to view this image Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES Image captionBilly Meredith's Manchester United testimonial proved a bone of contention Nowadays charities are the big beneficiaries of such occasions. Sunderland striker Niall Quinn famously raised about £1m at his 2002 testimonial against the Republic of Ireland, and Wayne Rooney has said all the proceeds from Wednesday's game will go to various good causes. So though the purpose of the top-flight testimonials has changed, the importance hasn't, according to Ms Fiorellino. As a Chelsea fan she is disappointed at the lack of testimonials first for Frank Lampard, who became the club's record goalscorer in his 13 years at Stamford Bridge before his departure in 2014, and now for John Terry, who has spent his entire career with the Blues. Twelve years of Wayne Rooney's Man Utd career in numbers £26m Reported fee United paid Everton for him in 2004 245 Goals scored for the Red Devils in 520 appearances 10 Shirt number he has worn since 2007 (his first United number was eight) Five Premier League titles won Three Goals scored on his debut against Fenerbahce on 28 September, 2004 PA Terry's situation in particular is a sore point, she said, and her group is hoping to persuade Chelsea to organise a match for him. "It is a given that someone who has spent a long time at a club, at least 10 years, qualifies for a testimonial, but players who really deserve testimonials are those who have made a proper commitment to a club and who have acknowledged the fans, something John Terry does regularly. "As fans we understand there are huge temptations for players so for one to stay so long at a club is something we really appreciate, and Terry has also always been really good to the fans, it just doesn't get publicised much. please log in to view this image Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES Image captionNeither Frank Lampard nor John Terry have been given testimonials despite years of service at Chelsea and being popular with fans "For example, when he was a young player, a boy came to the training ground to get his shirt signed by another player but the player just drove past him. The boy was very upset, when John came out he saw the boy crying and asked what had happened, he then said he would take the boy's shirt to get it signed and offered to go to the boy's club's prize giving. "He also regularly gives a lift to one of the fanzine sellers and whenever he meets the fans is just so down to earth and happy to talk to them. "I am really disappointed that he has not had a testimonial yet and also that Frank Lampard did not get one." Five memorable matches please log in to view this image Image copyrightPA Image captionAlan Shearer was injured for his Newcastle United testimonial Dicks' brawl: West Ham defender Julian Dicks' 2000 testimonial match against Athletic Bilbao descended into a 17-man brawl after some rash challenges. Shearer's injury: Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer injured his knee three weeks before his 2006 testimonial against Celtic. He did take part though, kicking off the game and then coming on at the end to score a last-minute penalty to win the game 3-2. Quinn's side-swap: Niall Quinn played the first half of his 2002 testimonial for his club team Sunderland before switching at half-time to play for his country the Republic of Ireland, who won 3-0. It was also notable for being one of the first testimonials to raise money for charity rather than the player. Ballack's friends: Former Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack brought some pretty impressive friends along to play in his 2013 testimonial in Germany. Didier Drogba, Lothar Matthaeus, Andriy Shevchenko, Philipp Lahm and legendary Formula One driver Michael Schumacher were among those to play in the game between Ballack's Friends and a Rest of the World XI managed by Jose Mourinho. Hibbert's goal: Everton defender Tony Hibbert achieved something in his 2012 testimonial that he had failed to do in 308 games for the club - he scored a goal. Hibbert described scoring from a free-kick in the 4-1 win over AEK Athens as a "fairytale"
Jeez. Technology man. Wayne Rooney's testimonial match between Manchester United and Everton on Wednesday will make history as the first ever game between Premier League teams to be streamed live on Facebook. It will be available to 1.7bn people on the platform worldwide via Rooney's and the Manchester United Facebook pages. Proceeds will be distributed to Rooney's four chosen charities. ADVERTISEMENT The game at Old Trafford, between Rooney's only two professional clubs, marks his 12 years' service at United. Rooney said: "I am delighted my testimonial game will be streamed globally, which will hopefully raise awareness and increase donations." It is expected to mark the first home appearances for Jose Mourinho's three summer signings; Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly.
I think it's a nice idea to reward a decade of service to a club in an age of mercenaries. Would I go to one... Would I ****.
Well, I'm going tonight with my little lad. My cousin is down here from Washington as his little daughter had a serious operation last year at Alder Hey which is one of the charities Rooney is passing funds onto. Each to their own though.
I was at Benno's testimonial v Rangers. As for wages.............................. I was once knocking this Jock bird off whose brother played for Dumbarton. £200 per game on top of his electrician's wages. That's not bad beer money playing for a part time club. I worked with a lad who was good mates with Micky Barron who played for Hartlepool, (their wives were sisters). £3000 a week & £500 win & goal bonus - ****ing Hartlepool man!
Nothing wrong with Testimonial Games, they can be quite entertaining. Memory, a dodgy thing to rely on, tells me that Monty's in 1974 I think, had two games to watch. A short game with lots of old favourites (including Bob Stokoe) then a Derby. Our friends had just lost a Cup Final and the 'Song of the Day' was 'Where's the FA CUP' Some though are sad. It took the club many years to award a game to the best defensive half back I've ever seen, Jimmy McNab. He must have been about sixty but he still played all the game. But by then he was only remembered by a few and on a cold damp dark night the attendance of about seven thousand was pathetic. Beno's on the other hand had the ground bouncing and I couldn't even get a ticket for Kevin Ball's. Niall's was the favourite, not for the Game but for what it achieved. I recall Shearer (a man said to be on the tight side with his £££'s) being interviewed. He said what a good thing it was to give it all to charity, then with a wry smile he added 'I suppose we are all going to have to do this now'.
Well SNQ started a good trend in that case. So lets hope Rooneys is well attended. In no doubt it will be.
Benno's at roker park about 20 years ago, the were more Rangers fans than ours !, it was a mad night we lost 3-2 if I remember, they emptied Victoria wine in market square so must have been *issed. Niall quinns at SOl.
I think they're great, especially with the money genrally going to charity these days. They're getting rarer and rarer so more special imo.
I never saw any apart from one Jock lad getting a smacking outside the Wheatsheaf pub but I read about it all the next day. Apparently, a few of our lads got slashed. All I saw was a load of pissed up Glaswegians.
The big problem was that Terry Butcher, our Manager, having used his Rangers connections wanted to give them a memorable day out. 'Special events' were laid on for the travelling faithful including I believe, an afternoon at the Greyhound Stadium. As usual most of the Jocks got very happily newtish. The vast majority of them were no trouble at all but some were. The local glaziers benefited from some extra work in the town centre the following day. An Aside. A pre-season friendly at Roker Park, against Celtic, many years ago, before Fans were segregated, turned a bit nasty. Their supporters had, as usual, brought liquids into the ground and the bottles started to rain down. A lad next to me, wearing his green and white was ducking and weaving all over the place. I wouldn't worry fellah, says I, if it's got your name on it it'll get you. Aye, he said. That's OK for ye, but my names McEwan.
Seems like they should have them before they retire to me, but they are a nice idea. I especially like it when they play for their current team against their boyhood team like Rooney is. I was on PES 2016 the other day and it asked me to play a testimonial for John Terry, I usually skip them but instead I fielded an all black first eleven. ****er didn't even play in his own testimonial, too scared what he might say I presume.
There's a few hours I won't get back. At least my lad thinks Sunderland are still world beaters. My insomnia sorted. Quote of the night, some guy's son behind me was rabbiting on with questions all game, " Why is Rooney taking all of the corners". The dad, "cos Harry Kane isn't on the pitch". The son didn't get it but I appreciated it.
Bloody good crowd. All for charity. Fantastic. England forward Rooney, 30, played 52 minutes before going off to a standing ovation from the 58,597 crowd.
