Smith - I know my reputation is tarnished

[MILLERSTALE]

This cringeworthy policy of trying to sign other local clubs' players and managers is nothing new, Roly, and it goes right back to Brian Dean and Jimmy Hagan. On both occasions United agreed to sell to Wednesday, but neither player would move across the city on the grounds that they wouldn't be able to walk the streets any more. But they were different times, and in fairness to TS he has in the past attempted to thwart the Owls' advances but this time could do nothing.

In my opinion Bannan, who's been referenced several times on the site, is far worse than Smith. Baz has been on £2 million a year for the past 7 years, is an international, yet he would rather languish in the Third than take a pay cut and play at a higher level. I just cannot imagine doing that, had I made all that money. Smith's situation is quite different, as this is his first (and probably last) big pay day. His wage of circa £1.5 million a year is that of a decent Championship striker, one who scores perhaps 10-12 goals a season. Winnall came in on £17K a week a few years ago, and although a different sort of player to Smith was that sort of striker (he got eleven for the Reds). It's fair to say that his career didn't improve after leaving Oakwell, even if his bank balance did.

I don’t see how Smith is worth anywhere near 15K a week ? tripling his wages in one sideways move ? He will never replicate last seasons tally for you, it was a one off ? What he will produce is work rate and availability’s, I don’t understand how you can accommodate Smith, Gregory and Windass up top, they are a bit similar ? If Icky is getting the same then you have been mugged, just a decent league one player with not much quality on the ball, who makes mistakes !
The problem is these types of move’s massively over inflate the market with everybody else wanting pro rata wages, with a massive knock on for all lower division clubs !
When I started, footballers earned a wage not much more than a good steelworkers pay now looking at Smith for example it’s up to 15 times more and still rising !

[Grumpy King of the West]

The financials around the Smith move are interesting given that a League 1 club has seemingly been able to offer more to a player than a Championship club. When laid bare, and without the emotion, it's quite stark and shines some light on just how crazy football finance is.

The following are facts which are in the public domain, and happened under the same ownership that is still in situ:

* SWFC was recently unable to meet its payroll demands (the most basic of all company liabilities)
* SWFC was FORCED by civil court claims to refund season ticket money for the covid hit season
* The latest set of published accounts show that SWFC loses £500k p.w

Rotherham Utd FC has been identified as a "model" football club in terms of its business model and how it conducts itself financially [source Price of Football podcast]. The time before last in the Championship RUFC posted a year end profit. A modest profit (circa £200k), but a professional football club to trade in the black is almost unheard of.

I saw a Tweet from Leon Wobschall where, following the Smith move, he stated "this goes to show just how difficult it is for Rotherham to compete financially". And that didn't sit easy with me. What a perverse way of looking at the situation. Is that what the incident has highlighted? Should it not be that SWFC is continuing down a path towards financial ruin? Is it not that one club knows its limits (possibly as a result of past experience) whereas the other is yet to learn them?

Who's richest?

- the guy who takes out a loan, maxes his credit card and goes on a 4 week world cruise. He drives an absolute top of the range executive car. But he leases the car.

or

- the guy who saves all year, just about manages to pay for a 10 day break to Benidorm. He drives a 13 plate Skoda Octavia, which he owns and is paid for.

We're constantly told that football is a business. Really?

[Derbymiller]

Your only mistake smudge lad was going to the pigs. It is the ultimate kick in the teeth for millers fans. ANY other club jn the country would have been acceptable. The prob for millers fans is this has made their delusional fans even more obnoxious than ever towards little old toytown. Call it naive if you want but your image has been tarnished and those goals you scored against the pigs mean little now. On the plus side it is brave of you to come out and say this. Not so sure the other lad who left us will.

I agree with that

[harpo88]

I agree it stinks in principle. But weird things go on in the business world too and things are often done on expectation or potential. Some of the most famous modern tech companies in the world that have huge values and share prices but made huge losses for years after founding but investors kept putting in.

But obviously it's not the same cus if a company goes bust, its owners and employees and customers go on to work or buy somewhere else. Fans don't really have an equivalent in that sense and won't want to just go and support someone else. That's partly why I'm so in favour of TS's model of prudence and hopefully keeping steady and succeeding while bigger clubs above us overspend and get deductions and we end up more solid in the Championship.

However all this does suggest our club could do with a big push to get a bigger fanbase from somewhere, but don't think that's likely...

[Brin]

The financials around the Smith move are interesting given that a League 1 club has seemingly been able to offer more to a player than a Championship club. When laid bare, and without the emotion, it's quite stark and shines some light on just how crazy football finance is.

The following are facts which are in the public domain, and happened under the same ownership that is still in situ:

* SWFC was recently unable to meet its payroll demands (the most basic of all company liabilities)
* SWFC was FORCED by civil court claims to refund season ticket money for the covid hit season
* The latest set of published accounts show that SWFC loses £500k p.w

Rotherham Utd FC has been identified as a "model" football club in terms of its business model and how it conducts itself financially [source Price of Football podcast]. The time before last in the Championship RUFC posted a year end profit. A modest profit (circa £200k), but a professional football club to trade in the black is almost unheard of.

I saw a Tweet from Leon Wobschall where, following the Smith move, he stated "this goes to show just how difficult it is for Rotherham to compete financially". And that didn't sit easy with me. What a perverse way of looking at the situation. Is that what the incident has highlighted? Should it not be that SWFC is continuing down a path towards financial ruin? Is it not that one club knows its limits (possibly as a result of past experience) whereas the other is yet to learn them?

Who's richest?

- the guy who takes out a loan, maxes his credit card and goes on a 4 week world cruise. He drives an absolute top of the range executive car. But he leases the car.

or

- the guy who saves all year, just about manages to pay for a 10 day break to Benidorm. He drives a 13 plate Skoda Octavia, which he owns and is paid for.

We're constantly told that football is a business. Really?

Grumps trust your well pal. You've not posted for a while but what you' have today highlights just that! Weds are a club heading for collapse just like Derby, only difference is Chansiri can do a runner and leave it all behind and flee back home without a second thought.

The sheer greed in football needs reeling in but the FA/EFL will do nothing while their high powered well paid roles are in place for them.

Leon Wobschall is bang on with his points. Those that gamble for the inevitable dream of glory are killing the game and massive penalties and sanctions are now asked for if clubs are to survive. The problem is the game is awash with both greed and corruption from the top to the bottom. It needs an independent body of people to step in deal with the massive over spending that is killing the beautiful game.

Decisions are taking far too long and clubs should be dealt with 'swiftly' and to the point if we are to rid this game of those out of control.

Tony Stewart is a prime example of what a Chairman is all about when running a football club. Maybe those in charge should use his blueprint/methods to set the example. Far too many 'big' clubs are getting away with over spending knowing it takes an age to challenge them or to deal with them with points deductions so is it any wonder that football is in the mess it's in.

[daveeed]

I ................However all this does suggest our club could do with a big push to get a bigger fanbase from somewhere, but don't think that's likely...

Well If the piggies do go bust I am sure we will all welcome the Rotherham owls back with open arms and no hard feelings lol

[Townerslovechild]

Credit to Smith for coming out and addressing the situation, good luck to him,still a top player in my eyes.
As others have said, it's the system that's wrong.

[LesHiboux]

I don’t see how Smith is worth anywhere near 15K a week ? tripling his wages in one sideways move ? He will never replicate last seasons tally for you, it was a one off ? What he will produce is work rate and availability’s, I don’t understand how you can accommodate Smith, Gregory and Windass up top, they are a bit similar ? If Icky is getting the same then you have been mugged, just a decent league one player with not much quality on the ball, who makes mistakes !
The problem is these types of move’s massively over inflate the market with everybody else wanting pro rata wages, with a massive knock on for all lower division clubs !
When I started, footballers earned a wage not much more than a good steelworkers pay now looking at Smith for example it’s up to 15 times more and still rising !

I don't say it's a good move for Wednesday; as you say, it's unlikely he'll replicate what he did at the New York, as he's never done it anywhere else. I'm saying that it's a good move for him personally, as he's getting the wages of an established mid-range Championship striker, and some top ones at that level too. I mean, when you consider that 3 years ago Sharp was on £14K a week at the Lane, it puts things into some sort of context. I know some Millers consider the move to be a betrayal, but frankly he'd have been stark raving mad to turn it down, especially at his age. I don't know what Icky's earning, but I guess it will come out at some stage. Bearing in mind that Owls fans have been financially bled white by Chansiri, coupled with the cost of living crisis, if Smith doesn't perform then things will turn very sour for him very quickly.

[LesHiboux]

Grumps trust your well pal. You've not posted for a while but what you' have today highlights just that! Weds are a club heading for collapse just like Derby, only difference is Chansiri can do a runner and leave it all behind and flee back home without a second thought.

The sheer greed in football needs reeling in but the FA/EFL will do nothing while their high powered well paid roles are in place for them.

Leon Wobschall is bang on with his points. Those that gamble for the inevitable dream of glory are killing the game and massive penalties and sanctions are now asked for if clubs are to survive. The problem is the game is awash with both greed and corruption from the top to the bottom. It needs an independent body of people to step in deal with the massive over spending that is killing the beautiful game.

Decisions are taking far too long and clubs should be dealt with 'swiftly' and to the point if we are to rid this game of those out of control.

Tony Stewart is a prime example of what a Chairman is all about when running a football club. Maybe those in charge should use his blueprint/methods to set the example. Far too many 'big' clubs are getting away with over spending knowing it takes an age to challenge them or to deal with them with points deductions so is it any wonder that football is in the mess it's in.

But there's also another viewpoint, Brin. Any club which wants to get promoted into the PL has to compete with the parachute clubs, who're given a fortune to spend and told not to come back until they've spent it. Chansiri had the money to take them on, but wasn't allowed to spend it. The same is true of Derby. It wasn't so much that both clubs gambled, but rather that they weren't allowed to gamble enough. Had they both been given a free hand, then they'd have bought their way out of the Championship...like the parachute clubs do. True, the Blades and Leeds did it with exceptional managers, as did Forest, but those sort of managers come around seldom. And both Leeds and Forest have fallen foul of the financial rules in the past.

[Ericsladkilnhurst]

I would like to give him the traditional good luck message used in the acting profession

That's a bit below the knee Grist