Wages structures

[PAULCAFC]

Disappointing again as James Bailey has signed for Donny for considerably more money than we could offer, They used to be comparable to us in size etc at one time so how are they so much richer, know their crowds have gone up over the years but this is so disappointing in our respect!

[MikeSB]

Of course you cannot blame them for getting the best money they can but somehow the shine of supporting players whether that be local or national is not the same as it used to be and why money has virtually ruined the game.

Its the old violin again chaps but players at one time and certainly in the lower leagues were quite happy to get the average wage as kicking a football about was far better than a 12 hour shift underground at the coal face or local factory.

Nowadays young kids who are no better than they were and some worse, think 1000 to 1500 pounds a week is paltry and are miserable until they get the 'big' move. Comparing like with like, the average wage is around 23/24k and so we can see that won't suit at all. Please don't say their career is a short one as some mineworkers was even less.

We have some of the highest earners in the world in football in the UK and they couldn't even get past round 1 in the WC.

How fans can cheer City or Utd or Chelsea when most are import

[out0lunch]

Doncaster had a money man and sold their old ground to Asds for a small fortune.

[VindePays2009]

It was obvious that Bails was going in only one direction.

Donny were acquired by a consortium including OD singer Tomlinson, weren't they? (A post-Keepmoat situation?)

He has been good enough to turn out for Donny's stiffs (or else they've been smart enough to offer him a game anyway).

Funny thing is, there may not be oodles of his dosh in there, because he is taking the crowdfunding route of trying to encourage fans to stump up for players, and with his high media profile will no doubt be v. successful at this.

[supercrewe]

Doncaster were purchased by a wealthy owner about 10 years ago , John Ryan (from Northwich) he invested money in the club, sold the original ground to supermarket for huge money, and hence the Keepmoat stadium.

Their budget is way higher than ours and most clubs in the division.

I remember reading when they were last in League one and Dean Saunders was the manager (two seasons ago), they reportedly had the third biggest budget and ended up winning the title.

On that basis we were never going to compete on wages for James Bailey..

[Proggs]

We have to be the lowest in this division, and we'd be half-way in the league below I'd bet.

It looks like a tough season ahead and our own lads will have to be the deciding factor, one way or another.

[AstonAlex]

I think if we are going to compare wages then it's also appropriate to compare average gates. When Donny were in L1 two years ago their average League attendance was 7,238 and I would imagine their budgeted gates will be similar.

Our average that season was 4,903 and was 4,932 last year (I was surprised it wasn't lower too!!). So the clubs will budget on a difference of about 2,300 spectators at about A£20 per person over 23 matches - or just over a million quid. So yes, they will have a larger playing budget before things such as Academy status, better access to sponsorship and other things are taken into account.

As for individual players making decisions about where to play. The days of Tom Finney turning out for Preston for the whole of his career getting paid maximum wage and having to work as a plumber after retirement are long gone, and rightly so. If there is more money swilling around the game now then the bulk of that money should go to the players and NOT the club ow

[MikeSB]

It was right that the maximum wage of a tenner was abolished and it was Johhny Haynes I think that was the first 100 quid a week man. But its gone too far and even in the USA the land of the free and unlimited ambition, they had to bring in a maximum wage for basketball as that too was getting silly as is paying footballers 300 thousand pounds per week for kicking a pigs bladder about and contributing next to nothing to society.

Its inevitable that although that is mainly PL and some CC clubs that pay megabucks, the pressure is always on for the lower clubs to try and keep up a bit! I think someone worked out that had clubs ST's kept pace with inflation then ours would be around a tenner on the gate and not 23 pounds. And that is at our level.

Transfer fees of 70 million plus are just a load of bilge and wants seeing too right rapid. But that means some sort of wage control as well. I see ManU have just signed up for shirt sponsorship of 600 million...Yep 600 million smackers just

[AstonAlex]

Now here's a first - I agree with you Mike about the ridiculous amounts of money earned by footballers, although not so much the top players as those slightly lower down the spectrum as you intimate. A salary cap imposed by one League, however, just isn't going to happen.

We know that Real Madrid and Barca pay more than any other club, largely due to the way that TV rights are negotiated in Spain as opposed to England, France, Germany and so on. And they tend to set the mark for the next level and so on. The FFP rules from UEFA won't make a shred of difference to them so we are left with the current situation. At least the English top division divvies up its TV money on a more equitable basis giving us several clubs with a chance of winning the League and most clubs a chance of beating the top few - something the Spaniards would love I suggest.

The other thing that you alluded to around American sports is that of course they have a way of ensuring that the same teams don't win e

[brummiefan]

The age old question of how much is too much for a footballer in the free market. Why is there so much discussion on the wage of a footballer when there are more important things to worry about in the world.

As football fans we complain about the price of a ticket to watch a game of football be it at Premier League where as a fan you could expect to pay £60.00 per game, down to League 2 where you might pay £22.00. Even at somewhere like Nantwich or similar it can cost upward of £8.00 - £13.00 (Evostick to Conference North) to watch a part time team. Yet no matter who we support and watch we always complain about paying 'too much' yet come the next Saturday we will still be there supporting the team. The only way clubs might take note of the amount players are paid is if we as fans stay away not just for one or two games but for months so the club have no money coming in.

In the free market people can earn as much as they like so unless you want to install Marxist practice then if yo