It doesn't rain... it pours...... http://www.themag.co.uk/2017/08/newcastle-players-dispute-club-bonuses-newcastle-united/ It is not only Rafa Benitez who isn’t seeing eye to eye with the club hierarchy this summer. Tuesday morning brings news that despite the season now being two games old, the Newcastle players still haven’t been offered an acceptable bonus arrangement for this season. The Shields Gazette have revealed the news, saying that there is a final deadline of the start of next month by when agreement must be reached. The local newspaper reports that at the end of last season, the Newcastle players, along with non-playing staff, shared bonuses of £5m for winning the Championship. With the riches provided by the Premier League, the Newcastle squad are looking for a bonus arrangement which is in line with the top tier. Apparently a guaranteed giant Sports Direct mug for each player plus a pair of white sports socks per player for every point gained, didn’t impress the United players… In situations like this it is always the knee jerk reaction of many fans to think of greedy players but that is a daft way of looking at it. Of course football players get paid crazy amounts of money but realistically, the only way a club can ever have any hope of succeeding is if they treat their key people right and give them whatever is the industry standard. It isn’t the first time the Newcastle players have been in dispute over bonus arrangements. Back in summer 2010 (after a Newcastle promotion…), the Newcastle players committee famously went up against Mike Ashley. The likes of Nolan, Smith, Barton and Harper were the experienced players who represented the squad and wouldn’t bow to Ashley’s will, Chris Hughton backing them as well. It later emerged that Mike Ashley had allegedly taken it very badly and vowed to get rid of all of the main movers from the club, sure enough Hughton was removed a few months later with United safe in mid-table and none of the players involved got another contract at NUFC. The divide and rule by Ashley then saw him reportedly push Pardew into appointing Fabricio Coloccini, a player who the owner got on well with and was so weak as a leader, wouldn’t even give TV interviews on behalf of the team/club. Whilst doubts remain as to whether Jamaal Lascelles is one of Newcastle’s best 11 players, he has certainly impressed with his willingness to speak out and represent the squad as club captain. So you can assume that he must be a key person in this bonus dispute.
I have to say though.... the Mag really does have a big anti Ashley (and at times Anti NUFC) agenda..... that Michael Martin get's loads of ****e off Toon fans for his one track approach to 'reporting'.....
It's crap like that that will have agents telling players to go elsewhere. No transfer news, no payments to players. MA on a mission to make Rafas job untenable
Well it was about time we had some negative news. I haven't been able to cope with all this recent positivity!
There is no such thing as an industry standard, the only time players actively work together on money issues is this collective area of a team bonus, they only ever look after themselves in the normal run of events, any individual player will look to maximise his value without much consideration for any other individual or the team, if they want a team bonus then the qualifier should be something like 65 points.
Reporting all this crap is not what you need when we are trying to improve the squad before the end of the window. Can everyone leave out all the whinging until after it is shut at least.
