How do you think pro football is coming across during the crisis?

I don't really see it as the responsibility of football to set the moral tone or lead the nation through the crisis. That is the job of government
It also makes me nervous when people demand others effectively pay voluntary additional tax solely based on their profession. Ironically many of these are people who vote against the party that would increase taxes on the highly paid
Where are the demands that bankers, tennis players or entertainers earning similar sums should take pay cuts. Bear in mind that at least two of these can have such earning capacity for much longer
What is the threshold for taking a pay cut? Does it depend on the league you are in or whether your club is making a profit or use of the government's schemes.
What should happen to the money saved by pay cuts, should clubs keep it or donate it
Should highly paid execs at clubs take similar cuts or just the players?
Is any account taken of personal circumstances? Family size, financial commitments, time to retirement, prior earning history etc
As for clubs using schemes implemented by the government they should be subject to the same laws as other businesses. If they are somehow exploiting them they should be held to account for that as with any other business.
If there are loopholes that make this impossible the government should be held to account for incompetent drafting of legislation
 
The players are coming across as greedy money grabbers particularly in the epl. Their European counterparts are putting them to shame.

Similarly clubs including the separate entities are coming across poorly with decisions to furlough staff when they have millions in the bank
 
I don't really see it as the responsibility of football to set the moral tone or lead the nation through the crisis. That is the job of government
It also makes me nervous when people demand others effectively pay voluntary additional tax solely based on their profession. Ironically many of these are people who vote against the party that would increase taxes on the highly paid
Where are the demands that bankers, tennis players or entertainers earning similar sums should take pay cuts. Bear in mind that at least two of these can have such earning capacity for much longer
What is the threshold for taking a pay cut? Does it depend on the league you are in or whether your club is making a profit or use of the government's schemes.
What should happen to the money saved by pay cuts, should clubs keep it or donate it
Should highly paid execs at clubs take similar cuts or just the players?
Is any account taken of personal circumstances? Family size, financial commitments, time to retirement, prior earning history etc
As for clubs using schemes implemented by the government they should be subject to the same laws as other businesses. If they are somehow exploiting them they should be held to account for that as with any other business.
If there are loopholes that make this impossible the government should be held to account for incompetent drafting of legislation

Tennis players earn their money by winning tournaments. I presume they are currently not earning due to a lack of play. Entertainers similarly.

"What should happen to the money saved by pay cuts"? Maybe, reduce ticket prices. Give something back to the support. After all, we're repeatedly told how important we are to the game.

Football is the national sport and is in the country's psyche. The game should assist in the mood of the country. Repeats of Match of the Day are great but maybe something a little more tangible for individuals earning thousands per week.
 
Sickened with the whole lot of it. Absolutely outrageous that we've reached a point of premier League clubs especially furloughing staff and not a peep out of any of them RE: reducing players wages.
 
Utterly disgusted by it to be quite frank.

Clubs are signing players for ÂŁ50m regularly and they are now claiming they can't afford to pay their staff who will be on wages of around ÂŁ17k - ÂŁ25k a year , that's ludicrous and shameful, these players need a reality check , I'll be out at work potentially risking my life while they sit in their mansions not even working for their extortionate wages, these players aren't in the real world, they have never had a real job, never had to deal with bills etc all of this is done for them by people who have been furloughed !!

Sadly people will forget about all of this as soon as the season starts , after all half of this board forgave naismith and Whittaker.

Modern football and it's players are horrible people who need to take their stupid big sunglasses and headphones off and see what's really going on.
 
Tennis players earn their money by winning tournaments. I presume they are currently not earning due to a lack of play. Entertainers similarly.

"What should happen to the money saved by pay cuts"? Maybe, reduce ticket prices. Give something back to the support. After all, we're repeatedly told how important we are to the game.

Football is the national sport and is in the country's psyche. The game should assist in the mood of the country. Repeats of Match of the Day are great but maybe something a little more tangible for individuals earning thousands per week.
TV people are still working and getting paid- should they be taking pay cuts? Are there campaigns demanding this?

And the reason football players should be taking pay cuts is so fans pay less for tickets at some date in the future. I don't really see how the future price of tickets is a priority at the moment

I'm not convinced by vague generic arguments about mood and psyche. Never really understand what that means. But if seeing someone getting their pay cut is what lifts your mood I'd say time for some introspection. Football's job is to put on football matches. They can't do that just now for obvious reasons. It is now their job to manage their way through this and survive.
 
TV people are still working and getting paid- should they be taking pay cuts? Are there campaigns demanding this?

And the reason football players should be taking pay cuts is so fans pay less for tickets at some date in the future. I don't really see how the future price of tickets is a priority at the moment

I'm not convinced by vague generic arguments about mood and psyche. Never really understand what that means. But if seeing someone getting their pay cut is what lifts your mood I'd say time for some introspection. Football's job is to put on football matches. They can't do that just now for obvious reasons. It is now their job to manage their way through this and survive.


Exactly, they are still working, so why should people demand they take a pay cut? Football players earning millions aren't working right now, so it's only right that people should look for them to drop a fraction of their earnings in order to help out the less fortunate at their clubs.
 
TV people are still working and getting paid- should they be taking pay cuts? Are there campaigns demanding this?

And the reason football players should be taking pay cuts is so fans pay less for tickets at some date in the future. I don't really see how the future price of tickets is a priority at the moment

I'm not convinced by vague generic arguments about mood and psyche. Never really understand what that means. But if seeing someone getting their pay cut is what lifts your mood I'd say time for some introspection. Football's job is to put on football matches. They can't do that just now for obvious reasons. It is now their job to manage their way through this and survive.
My problem is if a club which is giving highest earners (players) full pay, where as they are using a government scheme to furlough an employee that say has 18k - 20k a year as they can't afford to fund the wages.
If higher earners could I'm sure take a pay cut which could be the equivalent of say 30k a week which could cover staff many non playing staff then surely by relying on the government to fund the non playing staff and fucking a smaller company that could really use the funding.

That is a slap in the face to all legitimate applicants of the scheme, the government, the ordinary workers, the tax payer (which would equate to the supporters)

So I would say they actually have a massive responsibility to get players taking wage cuts.
I would say the moral impact is higher than tax evasion that we were made an extreme example of and still reminded of constantly
 
The greed is astounding particularly in the EPL. Their self importance is staggering. 200k a week and nobody, player wise is taking the lead on this. I appreciate that lifestyles etc could be an argument however these millionaire, at times beyond average, football players should be protecting their parent club and staff. The security guard getting ÂŁ9 an hour shouldn't have to worry about 80%. Same as the cleaners, chefs, ticket office staff etc. Clearly happy to take as much out but very little back in. Itshows a number of them up for what they are.
 
Very badly but not surprising.

Clarke took a whopping 10% cut which is so embarrassing to be made public in all honesty. If I was him I would be regretting that decision.

EPL players should be falling over themselves to take voluntary 50% cuts but most have been strangely silent which maybe points to them being led by the PFA/agents.

EPL clubs have once again shown how badly run and out of touch they are with society that they are laying non-playing staff off and going to the government for a hand out all whilst paying other members of staff hundreds of thousands per week for doing nothing.

which EPL club have laid staff off?
 
Very very poorly. Clubs run by billionaire owners and paying players (many of them who are ordinary at best) millions a year, asking the government to pay the wages of the staff who keep the clubs ticking over day in day out and who need the money the most.

It's morally reprehensible. The players should be ashamed too. They shouldn't need persuaded to take cuts. They should have been offering it. They are financially secure enough to take the hit.

Any club using this scheme should be banned from buying new players until they've paid every penny back.
 
Football should take a long hard look at itself after this, sadly it won’t. If they are going to start the season ticket renewal process next week I would like to see some action from our players regarding cuts or deferrals to make sure we get through this pandemic as best we can.
 
The likes of Spurs shafting the guy that cuts the grass for a few hundred quid a month and will then go out in the summer and spunk ÂŁ100 million on new players. Greedy bastards the lot of them.
Aye and the taxpayer is picking up the bill for wages of all their staff while they’re still paying their players £100k a week.

Don’t get me started on lineker or Neville...need a good snack that pair of ignorant b*stards
 
It's disgusting really.

The big leagues and football authorities sold their souls to the TV companies. Now we have UEFA effectively blackmailing clubs so they can't make a sensible decision.

Football seems to think it should be immune from the effects of COVID-19 when every other business in the world faces a downturn or or even going out of business. They are not an exception and in any fair world football should expect a financial hit with some casualties along the way. However they are trying to hold what they have and it is not a sustainable position whilst the body count mounts.

Don't think I'd shed a tear if the TV companies and the EPL got their comeuppance - setting aside the virus it's been long overdue.
 
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As always, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. There have been some notable exceptions, but overall players are showing their true colours
 
My problem is if a club which is giving highest earners (players) full pay, where as they are using a government scheme to furlough an employee that say has 18k - 20k a year as they can't afford to fund the wages.
If higher earners could I'm sure take a pay cut which could be the equivalent of say 30k a week which could cover staff many non playing staff then surely by relying on the government to fund the non playing staff and fucking a smaller company that could really use the funding.

That is a slap in the face to all legitimate applicants of the scheme, the government, the ordinary workers, the tax payer (which would equate to the supporters)

So I would say they actually have a massive responsibility to get players taking wage cuts.
I would say the moral impact is higher than tax evasion that we were made an extreme example of and still reminded of constantly
Ok so in the case of Newcsstle because they use the scheme the players should take a cut so Ashley saves some cash
That's nuts
As for the argument they should take a cut because they are not playing, firstly they are losing out on appearance and win bonuses and secondly we don't do that in pre season

Serious question at what level of salary should cuts be required. A guy earning 1k a week at St Johnstone with two kids and a mortgage - should he take a cut?

I really don't get the argument that footballers should effectively be paying extra tax simply because they are footballers. I also don't get the argument that if they happen to be at a club that's badly run or has a chancer in charge who exploits poorly drafted legislation, none of which is their doing, they should give said chancer some relief on the contract they signed.

You can dress it up in all the faux mock moral outrage you like but what it comes down to is a lot of fans just don't like footballers, which is frankly wierd, and are jealous of them and love to see them somehow punished for daring to better than they were at playing football and making a nice living at it

It seems footballers are the new Muslims apparently to blame for all that's wrong

Which is handy for the politicians as they serve up another hate figure to deflect from the fact they are lazy, incompetent and irresponsible
 
My opinion is modern footballers are driven by greed an not much else. For every Barca wage cut there's a thousand Mike Ashley's so I'll try keep it closer to home as it's all that really matters to me.

I've been arguing with posters all week who are pressuring posters just to chuck money at Rangers to keep paying player salaries. Its an absolutely bonkers mentality. Before we even discuss their earnings, from a purely footballing point of view - we don't know if this season will even finish, what next season will look like, we're still owed 5 games from our ST, and we still don't have a definitive answer on how far the club are willing to go to stand by us in not simply rolling over and handing the beggars a title they haven't won. Too many unanswered questions just now.

If ST renewals are sent out on Monday it will be really disappointing. I understand the club needs money to function but we have made many millions more than budgeted with our European run, we are saving on player bonus payments, match overheads etc. Surely the club are in a healthy place for the next couple of months.

Luckily I'm on full pay for now, but my Mrs isn't. She's a barber and at the minute earning nothing until this Gov scheme kicks in with backdated wages. So we, like most other people in the world, are now having to tighten our belts. Why should we be expected to take a cut on our income and still fund a football players bank account that I can only dream of?
 
Barca players taking a 70% pay cut to help pay the non-playing staff. I think Juve players are taking no wages for 3 months. Bayern taking a pay cut etc.

Not everybody is a Mike Ashley.

Messi took a 70% pay cut. Not sure if the others did? Anyone know about the others?

Juve players “deferred” their pay, which translates to we’ll still take it but we agree to get it later.

Generally speaking, (and I’m not aiming this at any club as we may end up doing the same) the whole issue of putting low paid staff on furlough, whilst the players and directors and owners still line their pockets, feels a lot like taking advantage of the tax payers at a time of national emergency to fill their own pockets
 
Messi took a 70% pay cut. Not sure if the others did? Anyone know about the others?

Juve players “deferred” their pay, which translates to we’ll still take it but we agree to get it later.

Generally speaking, (and I’m not aiming this at any club as we may end up doing the same) the whole issue of putting low paid staff on furlough, whilst the players and directors and owners still line their pockets, feels a lot like taking advantage of the tax payers at a time of national emergency to fill their own pockets
Agree that it is totally taking advantage of taxpayers (which ironically includes football players)
The reason they are able to is because the legislation was poorly drafted
So for me that is where the responsibility lies
It would be wrong though to assume football clubs are the only ones exploiting this
 
Money harlots, kinda getting why rugby folk see football as scummy. If Rangers never existed i reckon i'd be not interested in football at all.

I am a big Rugby fan and to be honest Rugby at the professional level has gone the same way as football.

Big TV deals in England, Billionaire owners in France have unbalanced the playing field and pushed wages through the roof.

Fans as usual are the ones to pay through massive ticket prices hikes and expensive TV packages.
 
Would love to see Rangers players take a cut and pay for.the non football staff wages withought furlough and I don't think our board take money from the club.
I also think football and the governing bodies have come out of this badly as their interest seems to revolving around money and baubles rather than decisive action.
 
I'm done with wider football outside of us. that's not some blow hard knee jerk response. It is based on how clubs and governing bodies have conducted themselves since the pandemic really took hold.

Selfish, greedy, entitled and one eyed is how I would describe the response from football as a whole.

Any hold that football had over my interests has been broken by this enforced period of reflection.

No interest anymore in the pomp and posturing, the greed, the cheating and the lack of class.

Compared to me and you, what footballers have been prepared to give up for the most part is absolutely sickening.
 
People dying all over the world, millions out of jobs and businesses going bust and these greedy fuckers are having a meeting today to try and get a date for the season to restart. All they are worried about is their Sky money and are coming out of this looking like a bunch of mercenaries only worries about themselves.
 
People dying all over the world, millions out of jobs and businesses going bust and these greedy fuckers are having a meeting today to try and get a date for the season to restart. All they are worried about is their Sky money and are coming out of this looking like a bunch of mercenaries only worries about themselves.

Pretty much puts it all in perspective.

The suffering going on globally right now is almost biblical in it’s scale and the football multi millionaires are bitching away about when the gravy train is due to get going again

It’s truly immoral behaviour. Absolutely shameless.

And as for the banks who were denying companies loans under the govt grant scheme, and who were about to pay out £ billions in dividends and bonuses today :oops:. Don’t get me started on those fuckers.

They only exist because the British tax payers saved them.

My politics have changed for good during this crisis. (Not political party support, but actual political views). I’ll now base voting for any party on how well they get the massive multi billion pound companies and billionaire individuals to pay their proper fair share to the Exchequer. Our society is broken and this pandemic is exposing those fractures everywhere.
 
I'm done with wider football outside of us. that's not some blow hard knee jerk response. It is based on how clubs and governing bodies have conducted themselves since the pandemic really took hold.

Selfish, greedy, entitled and one eyed is how I would describe the response from football as a whole.

Any hold that football had over my interests has been broken by this enforced period of reflection.

No interest anymore in the pomp and posturing, the greed, the cheating and the lack of class.

Compared to me and you, what footballers have been prepared to give up for the most part is absolutely sickening.

Why do you exclude Rangers from all of that?
 
As I have said on another thread, any company applying to furlough salaries should do that with all staff. Picking and choosing what level of employee continues to receive full pay is not acceptable...particularly when it's the highest earners who're not suffering.

If this pandemic has highlighted one thing, it's how unimportant sports and celebrity are. Hopefully, when this is all over, the days of putting actors, sportsmen, etc. on a pedestal will be over...but I doubt it.
 
Not great as per usual.

People earning thousands per week should be able to stop or reduce their pay for a wee while and help those making a couple of hundred a week.

Then theres the pundits and commentators trying to make out that football is so important and we need to finish the season or the world wont be the same ever again.

The actual game of football I love, rangers I love. The rest is just noise and shit.
 
Pretty much puts it all in perspective.

The suffering going on globally right now is almost biblical in it’s scale and the football multi millionaires are bitching away about when the gravy train is due to get going again

It’s truly immoral behaviour. Absolutely shameless.

And as for the banks who were denying companies loans under the govt grant scheme, and who were about to pay out £ billions in dividends and bonuses today :oops:. Don’t get me started on those fuckers.

They only exist because the British tax payers saved them.

My politics have changed for good during this crisis. (Not political party support, but actual political views). I’ll now base voting for any party on how well they get the massive multi billion pound companies and billionaire individuals to pay their proper fair share to the Exchequer. Our society is broken and this pandemic is exposing those fractures everywhere.
I gave up having a political affiliation a while ago most parties have good ideas but they will be voted down just because it goes against the ideals of the other parties
 
Ashely acted as we all expected he would but I think Tottenham are taking a real kicking for their stance and have become the focus for alot of the negativity surrounding football.

The EPL as a whole is a damaged brand at the moment esp. if it takes govt to force them to rethink how they're managing things.
 
Why do you exclude Rangers from all of that?
It’s a fair question and something I’ve considered myself.

A crisis has the knack of highlighting the important things in life. Who really matters. What really matters. And who has your back.

The most vital things are to take care of yourself, mentally and physically, along with staying close to your loved ones and looking out for them.

Your football team doesn’t care about you nor will it support you when you’re in need. The whole game is riddled with self interest. I have no problem with the players themselves; they’re making a living like the rest of us. But is it something I want to continue to support in future? It’s a tough one but these unprecedented times are enough to make you think deep about it.
 
Not surprised greed is at the centre of the E.P.L.The country is in a mess at the moment we don't even know when it might end but the rumours of multi million pound transfers are still rife.
 
Would love to see Rangers players take a cut and pay for.the non football staff wages withought furlough and I don't think our board take money from the club.
I also think football and the governing bodies have come out of this badly as their interest seems to revolving around money and baubles rather than decisive action.
A bold statement!

But yes, I agree.
 
Modern football down to a T. Premier League thinking rules don't apply to them with talk about behind closed door games and players who only care about their bank balance and not the club.
So they play behind closed doors,the players still get paid,fans have contributed to said wages,see nothing,and fans have to struggle through this not knowing what the full outcome might be at the end of this pandemic,aye that sounds fair.
 
Ok so in the case of Newcsstle because they use the scheme the players should take a cut so Ashley saves some cash
That's nuts
As for the argument they should take a cut because they are not playing, firstly they are losing out on appearance and win bonuses and secondly we don't do that in pre season

Serious question at what level of salary should cuts be required. A guy earning 1k a week at St Johnstone with two kids and a mortgage - should he take a cut?

I really don't get the argument that footballers should effectively be paying extra tax simply because they are footballers. I also don't get the argument that if they happen to be at a club that's badly run or has a chancer in charge who exploits poorly drafted legislation, none of which is their doing, they should give said chancer some relief on the contract they signed.

You can dress it up in all the faux mock moral outrage you like but what it comes down to is a lot of fans just don't like footballers, which is frankly wierd, and are jealous of them and love to see them somehow punished for daring to better than they were at playing football and making a nice living at it

It seems footballers are the new Muslims apparently to blame for all that's wrong

Which is handy for the politicians as they serve up another hate figure to deflect from the fact they are lazy, incompetent and irresponsible

First point: Boo hoo. Those on furlough are getting 80% of their basic wage (could be much worse).
Second point: Footballers can't really take a proper holiday during the season if fit and available, so time off in June is not much different to a regular holiday allowance.
I do agree that it's not their fault and it's difficult to give particulars, but a gesture would be welcome, given that everyone has been affected by this pandemic.
 
In Scotland generally fine except shameless fc. More concerned in self gain than health of human beings. Disgusting.
 
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