Stephen Ward - Albion unwilling to match salary

[perseus]

The first thing that came to mind was to get rid of one of the other two left backs and then pay him the dosh, perhaps with promotion bonuses and goal bonuses.

 

[perseus]

13K a week is £676K a year. This in turn equates to 1500 X £450 season tickets.

You can see the clubs issues but then someone with parachute payments or a PL club will pay it. Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

A goal to get us to the play-offs must be worth half that on its own.

 

[Superphil]

People keep talking about his wage "demands", but if he's already on £13k, they're not really "demands" are they? He's already guaranteed to be paid that for the next year, so he's hardly going to take a lower wage than that... Or am I missing something?

I guess the only thought is that if we offered him a *3 year deal at a lower wage, then he is guaranteed more in the long term.

*Did I suggest the Albion offer a player a deal longer than 12 months, what on earth am I saying?

Your write, heel go to Forrest, were loose.

 

[Ecosse Exile]

In these days where clubs are having to reduce costs to meet ffp, players are going to have to get used to the idea that the days of getting paid millions of pounds over the course of a 3/4 year contract, to play second tier football are gone.

Well done Brighton stick to your guns!

Brighton seem to be getting the high earners off their books either by selling or not renewing their contracts, certainly not on the terms they were previously on. They are not doing that just so they can bring on more high earners, footballers need to wake up to the fact that times have changed.

 

[ewe2]

If Chickson is ready,play him. If he is nearly ready,get another loan.If he will never be ready sell him.Ward IMO will never get the deal he is on now .

 

[Gritt23]

I imagine it would make him close to our most highly paid player, the club would have to be very confident that he's the right man for the job.

That's my point, I really don't think it would at all. You'd be surprised what some of them are on.

 

[S'hampton Seagull]

If Chickson is ready,play him. If he is nearly ready,get another loan.If he will never be ready sell him.Ward IMO will never get the deal he is on now .

All the more reason he makes sure he earns that salary for another year come what may.

 

[carteater]

surely he would accept slightly less than 13k, maybe 10k

 

[Bwian]

That's my point, I really don't think it would at all. You'd be surprised what some of them are on.

What some of them are on, at the level they play (and in most cases-the highest level they are ever likely to play at) is bloody ridiculous. Ward was good for us last year but to pay him the equivalent of 1500 season ticket's revenue is suicidal.

More proof of how the PL and parachute payments are fecking up football to the point where it is nigh on impossible to build a squad the 'old' way. That Academy TB has provided needs to become productive very quickly...

 

[Deleted member 22389]

13k a week, remember that is before tax. It's still over 30k a month, that's more than some people earn in two years. Here is the reality of wages. Much as I like the player I think the club are right.
The sooner clubs put the foot down on wages outside the Premier League, the sooner wages will become more realistic.

 

[S'hampton Seagull]

surely he would accept slightly less than 13k, maybe 10k

Why? Would you take a £156,000 pay cut?

 

[jamie the seagull]

If Chickson is ready,play him. If he is nearly ready,get another loan.If he will never be ready sell him.Ward IMO will never get the deal he is on now .

Chicksen is 23 in September. He has had his 12 month settling in period at the club and should now be 1st choice.
We have Masimenko who is also 23 and should be our cover for left back/centre back.
These players are past the development squad stage and should be utilised or sold/let go to free up wages for not.

 

[carteater]

Why? Would you take a £156,000 pay cut?

I suppose, but if you look at it the other way he'd still be earning 520k a year, which is more than most people would earn in five years.

 

[kevo]

People keep talking about his wage "demands", but if he's already on £13k, they're not really "demands" are they? He's already guaranteed to be paid that for the next year, so he's hardly going to take a lower wage than that... Or am I missing something?

Very good point. I also have no idea how much our other players earn and whether this in comparison is excessive or not. He has been excellent for us, though - and this does seem indicative of the budget constraints we have at the moment.

 

[S'hampton Seagull]

I suppose, but if you look at it the other way he'd still be earning 520k a year, which is more than most people would earn in five years.

True, but if I was earning that much TBH I wouldn't care what other people were getting, only what I was being paid. Footballers operate on another level to us normal folk!

 

[Hotchilidog]

I suppose, but if you look at it the other way he'd still be earning 520k a year, which is more than most people would earn in five years.

It's more than most would earn in 20 years or even more! 520K is more more money than anybody needs. I like Ward, but I do think the club are correct in sticking to what they feel they can afford. I will have to accept that this means we may miss out players.

 

[Deleted member 22389]

This is exactly the reason why we nearly lost our club first time around, money. I'm glad the club is not going to be pushed over, and I do beleive the way we are running the club will eventually benefit us in the long run because we need to become financially secure.

 

[El Turi]

Ward did really well last season and is a good player but I agree with others that £13k a week is too much to pay for a left back at this level. I do think the club are often too cautious with their transfer policy but think they are right on this occasion not to pursue a deal on those terms.

 

[Machiavelli]

I guess the only thought is that if we offered him a *3 year deal at a lower wage, then he is guaranteed more in the long term.

*Did I suggest the Albion offer a player a deal longer than 12 months, what on earth am I saying?

Your write, heel go to Forrest, were loose.

This is the key point. He's only on £13k for another year. We should play hard ball and offer him something like £10k on a three year contract. If some other club step in with something higher and he'd prefer to go there, then so be it. If we do sign him on a three-year deal, then we're effectively waving goodbye to Chicksen who impressed with his first team performances last season. Calde can play at left back too.

 

[nwgull]

Sadly, I think wages in football have moved on more than some of us realise, and £13k per week may seem like a vast wage, but I think that probably what you need to spend for a player of his pedigree.

Average wage for a Championship first team player is 6k a week according to Burke ( when interviewed on The Albion Roar). Given that you'd expect this to be skewed by the salaries of star strikers and midfielders, I'd say that 13k is too much for left back, even though he did do well for us last year. I'd bet that we'd be able to get someone as good for less in the current market as the realities of FFP bite.