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After you bust a gut to get promoted to the PL, what happens. 21 new signings. That's considerably more new players coming in than a team who had only a handful of contracted professionals a couple of months ago have brought in.
What motivates players therefore, if you know that if you are successful, you are surplus to requirements?
Its an interesting thought and one I've mentioned before on this Forum. Of course not all clubs do a Forest or indeed a Fulham, who spent in excess of £100 million but still got relegated along with Norwich whose net spend was £5 million that season.
Seems to me that clubs which add a bit of quality and retain the team spirit do best.
I guess to answer your question its what motivates all players when they step out on the pitch they are being paid to do what they love and want to to do, after the all the majority of players won't get a sniff of promotion.
I suspect also that a lot of players think that they might just make it big in the Prem, some will and for the others they can at least pick up their 25% wage uplift and promotion bonus.
I think winning promotion is big for a player even if they don't know they will be part of it, look at the Derby Squad in 2006 that won promotion, the players celebrated big style, on the city tour ending at PP the likes of Pesch and more so Seth Johnson who probably knew his career was done celebrated massively despite knowing they would be gone the following season.
No different to many professions: eg for a driving instructor, if people fail you may get a few more pay days, but if people pass and you become surplus to their requirements, you become attractive to others, and may even command a higher fee - not to mention better job satisfaction.