Greedy Players football (Soccer) go on strike

[The PIT]

In the UK the players football union has decided to take industrial action do a reduction of fees from TV revenue.
They claim that this is justified because they have a short playing career and that they're only doing it for the players on a lower pay scale.

Anyway since many of them earn more than the average joe in a week than does joe for the year they could make up a shortfall by paying a greater percantage of there own wages.
David Beckham reportaly only pays £75.00 into the fund.
I think the players will be surprised by the general lack of support they'll get from supporters who see them as overpaid lazy gits who don't give a shi£ about the club they're playing for at the time.

[mdhome]

Pit
I believe that this fund also goes towards some of the lesser well known and paid football players that get hurt and injured. And it has been instigated by the players union. Dont know if the funds are shared equally though.

regards Michael

ps I wonder if there are a lot of union reps driving around in expensive cars

[Ant]

I totally disagree. Yes the top players get that much but this money goes to the players union and not directly to the players and will go to support players from all leagues not just the premier. The money is used for a variety of reasons one of the top ones being to help players who have lost their livelyhood through injury, they are helped with living costs and retraining etc.

What is needed is for the top players like Beckham to show solidarity with his fellow players, if Joe Bloggs from a third division club goes on strike who will care? Many people will if Beckham goes on strike, non more so than Sky who will be losing one of their top attractions.

The PFA are not asking for any more than they have always had, that is a flat 5% of the income the FA receives from TV rights. Why if this has always be fine in the past is it no longer so? The FA are profitting from TV rights, that money comes from the viewers who pay to see the footballers playing football and not the FA being a bunch of arses. If anyone is being greedy it is the FA and not the players. I'm a very keen (Nottingham Forest) supporter and I personally back the players and their union all the way on this one.

[omegaRED]

There`s WAY too much money in soccer. Loyalty is almost non-existant nowadays (in bigger clubs that is).

[mdhome]

Originally posted by omegaRED
There`s WAY too much money in soccer. Loyalty is almost non-existant nowadays (in bigger clubs that is).

Unfortunately that seems to be the way of most things in the modern world.


regards Michael

[Wombat]

omega,
It's not like the players are causing <I>all</I> the problems. Those clubs have owners, and they're the ones running it like a business rather than a labor of love.

[Ant]

It's certainly true that there is far too much money going into football and some of the players wages are obscene. But the issues at stake here actually revolve around some of that money going to the needy and various good causes, it is not a case of the money involved going into the pockets of already rich superstars.

[The PIT]

The point I'm making is that players who earn 20,000 pounds a week should be prepaired to pay more via a fixed percentage. Not that the players were taking a part off it. Rather they're not considering to make up a the shortfall themselfs.
The money in the game is obscene. The Government scrapes together a few million for a famine relief while Man utd go out an buy a player for 15 million a slight imbalance is it not.

[omegaRED]

I`m not blaming it all on the players, i was just saying that, in some ways, soccer is becoming more of a business than a sport.

There are still loyal players, but it seems they are a minority ... Maldini, for example, Guardiola, Kiko ... basically players that spent their careers in the club they begun playing in ...

On the other hand, you have the likes of Figo. Great player etc, but a damn SOB if you ask me. Loyalty=money ...

[Novdid]

Greed is probably not the primary reason why players like Figo, Zidane etc etc change teams, and it's absolutely not lack of loyalty.

If you want to play in the best teams you have three countries to choose: Spain, England, Italy. If you are a Portuguese, Swedish player or from any other country except the mentioned three, and you're to good for your team in which you started to play for as a kid you have to move to progress as a player. That's why it's hard to find top english player outside Premier League, top italian players outside Serie A and ofcourse most top spanish players, they simply stay in their teams and do not have to move to another countryto progress as players.

It's hard to develop loyalty to a team that is not in your own country were you grew up...

Me myself am a loyal fan to Man Utd (something carried over from my dad who has been a Utd fan for more than 35 years), but a big part of my hart is in Malmö FF, (they runner up in Champions League in 1979, lost against Forest int the finals btw...Ant ) but if I were a very talanted player I would choose to play in a much better team and league.

But that is probably not THE reason they move, the main reason is probably just money...

[omegaRED]

No no ... i named Figo because he was nobody before he came to Barca, he played good, was the fans favorite player, was even captain of the squad (in the absence of Guardiola). And before he went, he talked about "never leaving for Real", "the fans would be dissapointed" etc. And what does he do? He goes to Real. For what? No other reason than money really.

With Zidane it was different, Juve put a very high price tag on him, but never said he wouldnt be sold. Zidane also wanted to play in Spain.

The thing i`m talking about is like Beckham going to play for Arsenal just for the money, or Owen for Man Utd.

I have no arguement about the players that play in smaller leagues, and wanting to move to bigger clubs for success ...

BTW have you ever heard of Jonas Lunden? Plays for IFK Goteborg. Just bought him for my Barca side in CM01/02.

[RedRed]

92% of footballers voted on industrial action

99% of players who responded, voted for industrial action

Figures released today (breakfast TV)....

RedRed

[The PIT]

Next question are clubs going to honour your tickets if the players go on strike?
Our club is running a five ticket special over Xmas which I think you have to buy to see the local derby match. A stupid idea to cut down on known hooligans which they then escort to the ground. (Can't understand that). If it doesn't include the derby match it will be a three ticket purchase for the derby match anyway which is now stanard practise.
I ain't going to risk fifty quid plus.

[RedRed]

I thought the strike was only on games which were being recorded by video.

Regards
RedRed

[The PIT]

At the moment it is but the sides seem to be getting further apart.
One of the games is Sheff UTD v Man city I don't know whether thats on digital TV or not. I lost the card which told which games are booked or not.