[quote author=crump link=topic=42049.msg1183017#msg1183017 date=1285514805]
[quote author=Frogfish link=topic=42049.msg1182972#msg1182972 date=1285509667]
[quote author=kingjulian link=topic=42049.msg1182964#msg1182964 date=1285507633]
All these petty pot shots on player wages of modern footballers is bit silly IMO...
If you had the talent that made millions of people watch you, i'm sure you would expect to get paid similar amount. After all movie-stars get paid as much or even more.
They deserve every penny, and this is really a pointless thread.
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No they don't. Like bollocks they do. What a quite pathetic statement. We are not talking about League Two players here.
And although I agree with the first paragraph of Count's post above, I profoundly disagree with him on the second - that bit about the issue also being partly the fans to blame.
The players, as per any good entertainer, should get paid a decent income, which would translate to vast riches to the great majority of people. But it certainly doesn't mean they should be earning 20k, 30k, 40k and upwards per week (not per match even, and this doesn't take into consideration bonuses and marketing), or that movie stars should be paid in the millions per film - when, to fund those ridiculous payments, it is the general population that have to dig deep into their pockets.
However the paying public have virtually no say in how much they have to pay to watch a game, buy a shirt, take in a movie or for virtually any other modern sport or entertainment media (DVD's, Blu-Ray, HD & video games are high on my list of rip-off merchants too) where the spectators have to pay for entry / to watch. As a % of average income this continues to rise disproportionately because the vultures are now demanding far more than their pound of flesh.
The entertainment industry is truly sick and what they indulge in would be called profiteering in any other generation of our recent past. I have zero sympathy with their bleating about wages & piracy (there are exceptions of course, new bands, low budget films etc. but they are in the minority since it is the cream of the football, movie and sports industries that are fleecing us left right and centre) or anything else related to their income or profit margins. Now excuse me whilst I go, get my vaseline, & bend over for the next one.
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A point to add to this is that even if you don't think it's morally questionable, the numbers don't stack up anyway.
You could only even make the point dispassionately, that they earn every penny, if Barca, Madrid, Inter, Milan, Manure, Chelsea, Citeh and us weren't losing money. The fact that all the biggest clubs around bar Arsenal are haemorrhaging cash shows that the race to feed these egos with bigger and bigger contracts doesn't make financial sense, and despite the increased costs to watch each match, the stars certainly don't earn their money.
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This is certainly a valid point.
As long as the clubs remain profitable - the prices the charge for the ticket and how they spend it in the form of wages etc is entirely up to them.
That is my take on it. As long as they are able to find 50,000 people to come and watch the game live paying X$ and millions of people turn on the tv and watch them for 90 minutes every week paying X$, everything is justifiable. These are "repeat customers" we are talking about. The holy grail of the corporate world. If because of their talent they are able to spin that kind of money in the world, then they deserve to get the Lion's share of it. Who else do you want the money to go to ....the suits?
Who are we to stand and argue that what they get paid is a ransom? If we don't like it, then we should stop watching the game. Stop paying X$. These are the rules.....either we fit in or fall out.
