[Football] Bloom on Player wage dispute (Guardian article)

[beorhthelm]

FFP rules need to be suspended for now.

If a rich owner wants to pump money into his club to save jobs and save the taxpayer money, he should be allowed to with no penalty.

so what happens to the clubs without a rich owner?

 

[wellquickwoody]

Yes, the comment is pointedly about the players and sniping at them for not following the lead of others who have stated that their motivation is to protect wages of non-playing staff. But TB acted long before these other saintly players and less saintly clubs by committing to pay non-playing staff weeks ago.

So, whilst these others can be admired for taking action where their spineless clubs have not, it is silly to ask BHA players to do what TB has already done.

And, yes, TB is talking to the players but that is rather the point. He has given the reassurance that he will dig deep and is now working with them to find a solution that everyone is comfortable with. He is managing the situation and I for one would far rather trust him to figure out a solution being closed doors than butch about the players, especially when we know that they are already ‘doing stuff’ quietly in the background.

But the club have already inferred that non playing staff may well be furloughed in the not too distant future. The players behaving like those at West Ham and Southampton and acting collectively could ensure that this would not happen as soon as it otherwise might. You defend people receiving up to and around fifty thousand pounds per week whilst doing nothing, and who may be seeing their colleagues furloughed and receiving government handouts. Personally I find it immoral.

 

[Altered State]

I'm out of the country so don't keep up with all the UK media but is it only footballers being singled out? If that is the case it's not really fair is it. What about other wealthy sports stars, actors, musicians etc etc ......

“Actors, musicians etc” are self-employed. Many are taking a hit now because they can’t work. The wealthy ones are, in some cases, making donations to charity.

Premier league footballers are on lucrative contracts (although some will be sweating if their contract expires on 30 June).

 

[The Optimist]

so what happens to the clubs without a rich owner?

They will probably need to furlough staff, get the players to agree to wage cuts etc. I think the point is if a club owner steps in to keep all staff fully paid and not use government assistance and the clubs fails FFP as result then they are being punished for doing the right thing.

 

[The Optimist]

I'm out of the country so don't keep up with all the UK media but is it only footballers being singled out? If that is the case it's not really fair is it. What about other wealthy sports stars, actors, musicians etc etc ......

What about the billionaires? How many of these firms furloughing staff are owned by billionaires. Richard Branson for example is worth several billion, is a self described tax exile and Virgin Atlantic want taxpayer help.

 

[Me and my Monkey]

Unfair to speculate or judge when really none of us know the content or outcome of any discussions taking place at our club with the players.

 

[Perfidious Albion]

I confess to having had some times awake at night wondering what will happen to The Albion. Worst case scenario would be if Tony Blooms business failed due to the cessation of world sport . If he could no longer financially support us, players would be sold and relegation very likely..

O K , I am a worry guts but it could happen . However I know that , whatever league we were in ...as long as the club exists I and many others will always support it .....and get a real thrill out of doing so .

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Haven't AITC staff been furloughed? I know it may be a separate entity, but it basically exists to associate the club's name with good community action, so I would argue they are club employees by proxy.

 

[Goldstone1976]

Haven't AITC staff been furloughed? I know it may be a separate entity, but it basically exists to associate the club's name with good community action, so I would argue they are club employees by proxy.

Yes, but...

"... [AITC] needs to utilise the government’s Job Retention Scheme for those staff who are currently unable to deliver their programmes and cannot be deployed to other duties.

The trustees have committed to top-up the balance of these salaries for the period of the current UK Government Job Retention Scheme to ensure these staff receive their full salary for this period." My emboldening.

https://www.albioninthecommunity.org.uk/official-statement/

 

[sparkie]

Haven't AITC staff been furloughed? I know it may be a separate entity, but it basically exists to associate the club's name with good community action, so I would argue they are club employees by proxy.

Yes, there has been AITC furlough, but there is less community work possible now, and it perhaps seems perfectly reasonable for the government to contribute to keeping a charity ticking over in this period.

There is no reason to think the Albion contribution to the charity is less. The trustees have furloughed to stop the cash balance being depleted by paying staff when little charity can be delivered to beneficiaries. Good to see government money helping here.

 

[Shuggie]

But the club have already inferred that non playing staff may well be furloughed in the not too distant future. The players behaving like those at West Ham and Southampton and acting collectively could ensure that this would not happen as soon as it otherwise might. You defend people receiving up to and around fifty thousand pounds per week whilst doing nothing, and who may be seeing their colleagues furloughed and receiving government handouts. Personally I find it immoral.

TB has pro tem guaranteed stability for all by committing to cover all costs in the short-term. With regard to the medium-term and beyond, he and PB are actively discussing options with senior players so that they arrive at a plan that works for all. At BHA it isn't a case of players acting independently of owners like it appears to be at so many clubs. On the contrary, BHA appears to be in a fortunate position where the guy who makes unimaginable amounts of money is shielding all of his employees (from part-time match day stewards to established internationals) from any short-term issues whilst they collectively figure out what happens next. How that can possibly be considered immoral strikes me as peculiar.

As for the assertion that players are "doing nothing". Well, that's not quite true, is it? Everything we've seen tells us that they are working with TB/PB to find a solution. Given everything we know about TB, especially his preference to do things behind closed doors, the idea that he would furlough staff and receive government handouts at this stage is a bit of a stretch. Even he won't be able to fund everything indefinitely but right now he is, as always, working hard to do the right thing.

I simply disagree that there are grounds for accusing the players of being spineless or immoral under these circumstances. Whether or not a bunch of young men should be paid over £2m a year for kicking a ball around is an entirely different question.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I'm out of the country so don't keep up with all the UK media but is it only footballers being singled out? If that is the case it's not really fair is it. What about other wealthy sports stars, actors, musicians etc etc ......

Yes it is pretty much only footballers being singled out, including our players, fortunately only by a tiny minority of our supporters (at least on NSC).

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

TB has pro tem guaranteed stability for all by committing to cover all costs in the short-term. With regard to the medium-term and beyond, he and PB are actively discussing options with senior players so that they arrive at a plan that works for all. At BHA it isn't a case of players acting independently of owners like it appears to be at so many clubs. On the contrary, BHA appears to be in a fortunate position where the guy who makes unimaginable amounts of money is shielding all of his employees (from part-time match day stewards to established internationals) from any short-term issues whilst they collectively figure out what happens next. How that can possibly be considered immoral strikes me as peculiar.

As for the assertion that players are "doing nothing". Well, that's not quite true, is it? Everything we've seen tells us that they are working with TB/PB to find a solution. Given everything we know about TB, especially his preference to do things behind closed doors, the idea that he would furlough staff and receive government handouts at this stage is a bit of a stretch. Even he won't be able to fund everything indefinitely but right now he is, as always, working hard to do the right thing.

I simply disagree that there are grounds for accusing the players of being spineless or immoral under these circumstances. Whether or not a bunch of young men should be paid over £2m a year for kicking a ball around is an entirely different question.

This.

How can anyone's basic premise be that our players are immoral? I find it baffling how some people can get some things so horribly wrong, yet keep picking up the same spade to carry on digging.

 

[wellquickwoody]

TB has pro tem guaranteed stability for all by committing to cover all costs in the short-term. With regard to the medium-term and beyond, he and PB are actively discussing options with senior players so that they arrive at a plan that works for all. At BHA it isn't a case of players acting independently of owners like it appears to be at so many clubs. On the contrary, BHA appears to be in a fortunate position where the guy who makes unimaginable amounts of money is shielding all of his employees (from part-time match day stewards to established internationals) from any short-term issues whilst they collectively figure out what happens next. How that can possibly be considered immoral strikes me as peculiar.

As for the assertion that players are "doing nothing". Well, that's not quite true, is it? Everything we've seen tells us that they are working with TB/PB to find a solution. Given everything we know about TB, especially his preference to do things behind closed doors, the idea that he would furlough staff and receive government handouts at this stage is a bit of a stretch. Even he won't be able to fund everything indefinitely but right now he is, as always, working hard to do the right thing.

I simply disagree that there are grounds for accusing the players of being spineless or immoral under these circumstances. Whether or not a bunch of young men should be paid over £2m a year for kicking a ball around is an entirely different question.

Albion in the Community staff have already been furloughed,

I have not accused the club of being immoral.

Players doing nothing? Well so far they have not made any collective effort to help their colleagues.

Take off the blue tinted spectacles, sport overall sucks right now. Those involved are, in the main, seeking to minimise the damage to their own astonishing lifestyles whilst saying fxxk you to those further down the pecking order.

Over here, the man who runs Aussie Rules (yes it is shit) has been having live radio discussions telling fans why they should not want a refund on their season tickets. When a fan says that they need the money to feed their kids they are told that ‘we are in this together’, and that your kids will miss the memories made if everybody took their money back.

That is not BHAFC, but the players need to step up to the mark, as TB has himself said.

 

[Creaky]

Yes it is pretty much only footballers being singled out, including our players, fortunately only by a tiny minority of our supporters (at least on NSC).

How many other wealthy sport stars, actors, entertainers etc are continuing to be paid at the moment. Footballers are amongst the few who continue to be paid very highly. Most other members of organised teams are not in the same league when it comes to earnings. Those not members of teams, golfers, tennis players etc simply aren’t earning anything - nor are many entertainers and actors.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

How many other wealthy sport stars, actors, entertainers etc are continuing to be paid at the moment. Footballers are amongst the few who continue to be paid very highly. Most other members of organised teams are not in the same league when it comes to earnings. Those not members of teams, golfers, tennis players etc simply aren’t earning anything - nor are many entertainers and actors.

Sorry, you're right.

Burn them, those 'football players'!

They sneakily singed contracts, and then just collected their money instead of going back to practice the law, medicine or international finance they had parked in order to play footy.

And of course those contracts thay have that pay all that money, they go on forever, don't they. Ever and ever. A job for life is a footballer's life and a jolly happy fellow is he.

 

[Creaky]

Sorry, you're right.

Burn them, those 'football players'!

They sneakily singed contracts, and then just collected their money instead of going back to practice the law, medicine or international finance they had parked in order to play footy.

And of course those contracts thay have that pay all that money, they go on forever, don't they. Ever and ever. A job for life is a footballer's life and a jolly happy fellow is he.

What’s that saying about sarcasm

 

[father_and_son]

Agreed - disappointing though that our players have not yet stepped up to the plate

Much as I share this sentiment, if Uncle Tony is promising to keep the non-playing staff safe and honour the players' contracts in full then all credit to him and it will only make the club look good to incoming players in the future.

Having said that, if the players get 100% throughout this mess then I do hope they make a song and dance about an 'equivalent' cut to whatever the league norm ends up being and give that money to local charities/NHS/etc.

Show that both our owner *and* our players are a cut above.

 

[nickjhs]

This //pandemic would ultimately prove a catalyst for helping football recalibrate financially.// needs to happen, pay and transfer fees have gone to insane levels in the PL and to an extent in the CL. I also note that the players who get the least are cutting the most from their pay. The lower leagues are shedding 25% and yet some PL teams have agreed 10%. And they are not even talking a pay cut, they want deferrals, in other words the clubs are in debt to them. Unfortunately this level of greed, of not giving a shit, is putting a shiny varnish highlighting the stain that was already present regarding top flight pay.

 

[Weststander]

This //pandemic would ultimately prove a catalyst for helping football recalibrate financially.// needs to happen, pay and transfer fees have gone to insane levels in the PL and to an extent in the CL. I also note that the players who get the least are cutting the most from their pay. The lower leagues are shedding 25% and yet some PL teams have agreed 10%. And they are not even talking a pay cut, they want deferrals, in other words the clubs are in debt to them. Unfortunately this level of greed, of not giving a shit, is putting a shiny varnish on top of the stain that was already present regarding top flight pay.

Cynically imho, ultimately nothing will change after a year or two.

Manure, Chelsea and Citeh will still enter wages bidding wars for Koulibaly, Grealish, Maddison, Bellingham and Sancho. Their income from all sources remains vast. Transfer rumours throughout this pandemic indicate that its business as normal for Manure etc as they seek to outgun rivals.

That dog-eat-dog mindset and spending filters down the PL and to the Championship.

It will only change if there’s a strictly enforced lower wages to revenue ratio law in the sport, with no loopholes.