Modern football

[deecay]

This was written by a Liverpool fan but i'd say it sums up how a lot of people feel just now!

"My brother has been to more games than I could ever wish to and has probably spent more money on the club than he has on the two houses and four cars he's had in his lifetime. One of my abiding memories I have as a child is him going missing for days, off to follow the Reds through any means he could. When he finished school, he moved out of our house and moved in with a couple of the lads he went to the games with. I always remember my Dad's reaction when he found out he had sold a chest of drawers that had been in the family for years in order for him to fund a trip to Finland. He may have been old enough to have moved out, but he wasn't old enough to get a clip round the ear. I'm pretty sure he received another one upon returning when we had lost the game 1-0, as well!

I won't lie I was green with envy when he'd tell me tales of him and the lads traveling to some far corner of the earth to see The Mighty Reds. I myself went through a period of not missing a single game over a number of seasons, but I could never match his shoeboxes full of ticket stubs that took pride of place under his bed. The way he was so carefree about it always makes me smile but it just goes to show that it was merely a part of life for him.

He married in 1985, but still wouldn't miss a game. His wife must have been the most understanding of women on the planet, because when we went round to his house, he lived in practical poverty and still he'd be up early on a Saturday morning either down to Anfield for a pint of seven before the game or off to be picked up by a coach to be taken to a ground somewhere in the country.

When he had a kid in 1989 things changed. He still managed to attend an impressive number of games but priorities shift in life. As his little lad grew up, he began taking him to the odd game and a picture of the two together on The Kop just after it became all-seated takes pride of place in his front room (don't worry, I always tell him he is a whopper for taking a camera to the game).

In 1996, my Mother was diagnosed with encephalitis, a disease that, in some cases is known to have just a 30% survival rate. Naturally, priorities shifted once again. Understandably, mine and my brothers contact with Liverpool Football Club during this period waned. I found out 6 or 7 results at a time as my mind was on more pressing matters. My Mum was treated in hospital for roughly seven months and thankfully survived. Since then, my brother hasn't been to Liverpool games regularly. He moved out to Southport with his new wife (I knew his ex couldn't take it much more) and he had another baby, this time a girl who demands more time and attention than any football club ever could!

Before the start of this past season, however, he rang me up one evening. He said he always felt sorry that his lad (now 17/18) hasn't had the same opportunities of being able to go to Anfield like he did when he was growing up and asked me how he went about getting a ticket these days. I said he would need a fan card and that he might have to be patient on the phone-lines one morning. He agreed, initially saying it's a good idea being able to phone up. Any of you who have attempted to attain tickets by this route will know how naive he was.

So September comes and he rings me again. "I couldn't get through on the phones" he said, "but I managed to get through online after refreshing the page a thousand and one times" I laugh, but he's not actually speaking in a jokey manner. "There were no tickets in The Kop, so we're in the Anfield Rd". Despite the reputation it has these days, I keep schtum. I figure it'd be funny for him to find out how what was once the cult Kop is now a haven for the jester-hat wearing, "Easeh" chanting brigade for himself. He continues, "Guess how much it cost?" Considering I, quite honestly, had never bought tickets online before I take a shot in the dark, "Fifty quid?" "Seventy-seven" comes the reply and you can hear the astonishment in his voice.

He proceeded to tell me how much it would cost if he and his son went to every home game of the season with that cost (and because I've forgotten, I've had to do it myself now). �1,463. And that doesn't take into account typical match-day expenses.

There is a part of me that enjoys how I've become the bearer of knowledge in our family now in how you attain tickets, but it's just wrong isn't it? This is somebody that would, and that covers past and present. do pretty much anything within his limits for this club. This is a man that worked shifts in the local grocers every night of the week just so he could go to the game. This is a man who has past the turnstiles more times than I've had hot dinners. Who has been there through the good and bad. More cup finals than some have been full stop. And now he goes to the game as a tourist simply because he's priced out. And what was the game he managed to see? Liverpool 0-0 Birmingham, sat in a seat in the Anfield Rd end that cuts off The Kop goal.

Don't get me wrong, you can possess passion while sat a million miles away from Anfield. You can feel so much pleasure sat in the comfort of your own home watching your side play, but where has the connection gone? When did it become an honour for us to see our players rather than it being an honour for them playing in front of their fans?

The decline of English football is apparent for all to see, and what has it seriously achieved? What good has the money done? The National sides are a million miles away from the perceived potential spoken of in the media. It seems the only English players to progress through the academy find themselves in limbo for a number of years before never matching their hype, incapable of breaking into the team because an expensive foreigner the club bought plays in his position. Maybe I'm just an old fart that hasn't moved with the times, but these are questions that need answering.

Why does it cost �6.50 to sit behind the goal at the San Siro to see AC Milan, �9.50 to see Bayern Munich, but it is �40 minimum to go and watch Chelsea? Funny how both Italy and Germany have reached more finals since the turn of the Millennium than England have in over 40 years as well isn't it?

Why do policemen and firefighters earn roughly �25,500 a year when Wayne Rooney thicker than a dockers butty earns �1,670 a Premier League MINUTE!! The sad thing is people don't even bat an eyelid to this anymore. It's become accepted and whether it's nancy-boy Ronaldo whoring himself out to Real Madrid for more money or Joey Barton being welcomed out of prison with open arms by his new manager, I don't know. But I'm quickly falling out of love with the game. This summer - in the break after a season of off-field tussles and political statements being published every second in the media - has just seemed to highlight the negatives so much so that I have to squint to see the positives.

In this current climate, how long will it be before people say enough is enough?

I can't help but cast an envious eye over to German football. FC Schalke charge under five pounds for their cheapest ticket. Their former manager questioned, "How can we expect unemployed supporters to subsidize high-earning players?" People scowl at the Bundesliga. The Premier League and La Liga are the best leagues, they say. For entertainment, maybe. But what is the use in entertaining us when all we can do is clench our fists in delight in front of a computer screen or television. I declare the Bundesliga the league to watch, because it is one of the few in Europe that is in touch with reality. No Sky Sports, no round the clock news on sweet **** all and no godforsaken kick-off times. It aims to please its fans. Good, pure, honest football as it should be.

The thing I neglected to mention about that story of my brother buying those tickets was that his lad came back with a beaming smile on his face. Football goes hand-in-hand with passion, but it's about time we directed that away from the primadonnas and media-driven frenzies that occur with every tabloid article published and attempt to claw back the game so we are no longer pathetic sheep herded in wherever we're told to.

We must act. Before it is too late. "

[OwlsFan]

I remember going to football games and almost getting crushed to death on the terraces and in the narrow alleyway at the time in to Dalymount Park. Now to go and see Ireland I seated in this futuristic stadium and pay large money. These stadiums and the players who play in them cost a fortune. Therefore you have to pay the market price.

Football, like anything, is about supply and demand. If the prices are too high, people won't go. But I don't see too many empty seats in the Premiership and definitely not at Liverpool or Chelsea. Pay peanuts and you get monkeys. Prices for players in the old days were kept down by the "maximum wage". Life, the stadiums, football, the players have all changed. Cest la vie.

The sentiment of the article is a bit like the old Hovis bread advertisement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOWJECdobqk

[Pike B]

That's a great article Deecay. It says it all about where 'The Beautiful Game' is heading. I know blokes who are drifting away from it, and taking more intrest in Munster Rugby than Football anymore. It's such a pity really but The Dollar is King.
Just right now I'm reading this months Four Four Two and there's a great piece on which decade was the greatest for football in Britain. I read in awe at the Players travelling to games with the fans and Tom The Plumber Finney fixing the sink of the head of the football league! I'm 26 so my memories of the game go back to around 1988 but, even then the game seemed better. More honest and certainly played by ordinary working class hero's. I dread to think of what the game is going to be like in ten or twenty years time.
What does your ordinary factory worker have in common with Cristiano Ronaldo? He has more in common with Tom Cruise than us. And yet we're supposed to buy his shirt and call him hero?? I don't think so. Give me a break.

[Macy]

Scousers cop on (no pun intended) at least 10 years after everyone else. :rolleyes:

Owlsfan, that load of toss document called the Taylor report said that seats shouldn't cost more than terracing. Football used the excuse of seats to price people out. And the price increase obviously effects home and away fans more than day trippers.

[Bohemian1890]

I remember going to football games and almost getting crushed to death on the terraces and in the narrow alleyway at the time in to Dalymount Park. Now to go and see Ireland I seated in this futuristic stadium and pay large money. These stadiums and the players who play in them cost a fortune. Therefore you have to pay the market price.

Football, like anything, is about supply and demand. If the prices are too high, people won't go. But I don't see too many empty seats in the Premiership and definitely not at Liverpool or Chelsea. Pay peanuts and you get monkeys. Prices for players in the old days were kept down by the "maximum wage". Life, the stadiums, football, the players have all changed. Cest la vie.

The sentiment of the article is a bit like the old Hovis bread advertisement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOWJECdobqk

Bolton,Wigan,Sunderland,Blackburn,Man City i have seen plenty of empty seats at these games.

The reason you don't see many empty seats at Chelsea,Liverpool well how many of them would be locals??I would say at least a few thousand every week are not from London or Liverpool.

[Bohemian1890]

You can get a season ticket at Roma for 120 euro,they play lovely football just as good as Arsenal IMO.Big plus is the atmosphere.

How much is a season ticket to see Arsenal??

IMO football clubs should be owned by the fans.

[gustavo]

So its Modern English football really then

[Bohemian1890]

So its Modern English football really then
Yes bang on.Barcelona season ticket is cheaper than a Wigan one apparently:o

[John83]

Yes bang on.Barcelona season ticket is cheaper than a Wigan one apparently:o
I think you have to be a member of the club, so I don't know if that's counted in that statistic. Their matchday tickets aren't cheap, anyway.

[Dodge]

I think you have to be a member of the club, so I don't know if that's counted in that statistic. Their matchday tickets aren't cheap, anyway.

Cheapest season ticket is €84 (for league and Spanish cup fixtures). Goes all the way to €711 though. Membership costs about €180



http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/socis/avantatges/gaudeix_espectacle/camp_nou/abonament_lliga.html

[superfrank]

Just heard on the radio there, that Blackburn are offering "junior" season tickets for £80 (approx. €100).

[Bohemian1890]

I think you have to be a member of the club, so I don't know if that's counted in that statistic. Their matchday tickets aren't cheap, anyway.


Memership is separate from the season ticket.
You can become a member and not have a season ticket AFAIK.

[Dodge]

Memership is separate from the season ticket.
You can become a member and not have a season ticket AFAIK.

Correct. Anyway, if those liverpool lads are too upset with their Corporate English game, tell them to move to Ireland for hardcore punk, rock/n/roll football

[jebus]

It's pretty obvious the shine has come off top flight football. When the fans can't relate to their heroes they won't be their heroes for too long. There's a big movement of fans in England drifting away from the Premier League and taken on a lower or non-League club as their second team provisionally.

Who's to blame for the woes of these fans? The FA to put it simply, they should never have rubber stamped the formation of the Premier League. If the clubs threatened to leave then they should have been reminded that they wouldn't have been allowed enter the lucrative European competitions, their players wouldn't have been allowed play for their national teams and they would have had to start from scratch in the non-leagues had the wished to re-register with the FA after a few years. I think a lot of the clubs would have seen since if the FA had taken that stance, sadly the FA were, and are, bottlers

[Closed Account 2]

Approx ticket Cost to 8 Man Utd / Liverpool / Arsenal matches = £800

Approx cost of return flights to Argentina 2 weeks accomadation, tickets to 4 matchs including the Libertadores final = < £800

English football is pricing itself into oblivion... Even the likes of Sky Sports and all its hype wont be able to save it.

[seanfhear]

Approx ticket Cost to 8 Man Utd / Liverpool / Arsenal matches = £800

Approx cost of return flights to Argentina 2 weeks accomadation, tickets to 4 matchs including the Libertadores final = < £800

English football is pricing itself into oblivion... Even the likes of Sky Sports and all its hype wont be able to save it.
excellent post

[old git]

This was written by a Liverpool fan but i'd say it sums up how a lot of people feel just now!

"My brother has been to more games than I could ever wish to and has probably spent more money on the club than he has on the two houses and four cars he's had in his lifetime. One of my abiding memories I have as a child is him going missing for days, off to follow the Reds through any means he could. When he finished school, he moved out of our house and moved in with a couple of the lads he went to the games with. I always remember my Dad's reaction when he found out he had sold a chest of drawers that had been in the family for years in order for him to fund a trip to Finland. He may have been old enough to have moved out, but he wasn't old enough to get a clip round the ear. I'm pretty sure he received another one upon returning when we had lost the game 1-0, as well!

I won't lie I was green with envy when he'd tell me tales of him and the lads traveling to some far corner of the earth to see The Mighty Reds. I myself went through a period of not missing a single game over a number of seasons, but I could never match his shoeboxes full of ticket stubs that took pride of place under his bed. The way he was so carefree about it always makes me smile but it just goes to show that it was merely a part of life for him.

He married in 1985, but still wouldn't miss a game. His wife must have been the most understanding of women on the planet, because when we went round to his house, he lived in practical poverty and still he'd be up early on a Saturday morning either down to Anfield for a pint of seven before the game or off to be picked up by a coach to be taken to a ground somewhere in the country.

When he had a kid in 1989 things changed. He still managed to attend an impressive number of games but priorities shift in life. As his little lad grew up, he began taking him to the odd game and a picture of the two together on The Kop just after it became all-seated takes pride of place in his front room (don't worry, I always tell him he is a whopper for taking a camera to the game).

In 1996, my Mother was diagnosed with encephalitis, a disease that, in some cases is known to have just a 30% survival rate. Naturally, priorities shifted once again. Understandably, mine and my brothers contact with Liverpool Football Club during this period waned. I found out 6 or 7 results at a time as my mind was on more pressing matters. My Mum was treated in hospital for roughly seven months and thankfully survived. Since then, my brother hasn't been to Liverpool games regularly. He moved out to Southport with his new wife (I knew his ex couldn't take it much more) and he had another baby, this time a girl who demands more time and attention than any football club ever could!

Before the start of this past season, however, he rang me up one evening. He said he always felt sorry that his lad (now 17/18) hasn't had the same opportunities of being able to go to Anfield like he did when he was growing up and asked me how he went about getting a ticket these days. I said he would need a fan card and that he might have to be patient on the phone-lines one morning. He agreed, initially saying it's a good idea being able to phone up. Any of you who have attempted to attain tickets by this route will know how naive he was.

So September comes and he rings me again. "I couldn't get through on the phones" he said, "but I managed to get through online after refreshing the page a thousand and one times" I laugh, but he's not actually speaking in a jokey manner. "There were no tickets in The Kop, so we're in the Anfield Rd". Despite the reputation it has these days, I keep schtum. I figure it'd be funny for him to find out how what was once the cult Kop is now a haven for the jester-hat wearing, "Easeh" chanting brigade for himself. He continues, "Guess how much it cost?" Considering I, quite honestly, had never bought tickets online before I take a shot in the dark, "Fifty quid?" "Seventy-seven" comes the reply and you can hear the astonishment in his voice.

He proceeded to tell me how much it would cost if he and his son went to every home game of the season with that cost (and because I've forgotten, I've had to do it myself now). �1,463. And that doesn't take into account typical match-day expenses.

There is a part of me that enjoys how I've become the bearer of knowledge in our family now in how you attain tickets, but it's just wrong isn't it? This is somebody that would, and that covers past and present. do pretty much anything within his limits for this club. This is a man that worked shifts in the local grocers every night of the week just so he could go to the game. This is a man who has past the turnstiles more times than I've had hot dinners. Who has been there through the good and bad. More cup finals than some have been full stop. And now he goes to the game as a tourist simply because he's priced out. And what was the game he managed to see? Liverpool 0-0 Birmingham, sat in a seat in the Anfield Rd end that cuts off The Kop goal.

Don't get me wrong, you can possess passion while sat a million miles away from Anfield. You can feel so much pleasure sat in the comfort of your own home watching your side play, but where has the connection gone? When did it become an honour for us to see our players rather than it being an honour for them playing in front of their fans?

The decline of English football is apparent for all to see, and what has it seriously achieved? What good has the money done? The National sides are a million miles away from the perceived potential spoken of in the media. It seems the only English players to progress through the academy find themselves in limbo for a number of years before never matching their hype, incapable of breaking into the team because an expensive foreigner the club bought plays in his position. Maybe I'm just an old fart that hasn't moved with the times, but these are questions that need answering.

Why does it cost �6.50 to sit behind the goal at the San Siro to see AC Milan, �9.50 to see Bayern Munich, but it is �40 minimum to go and watch Chelsea? Funny how both Italy and Germany have reached more finals since the turn of the Millennium than England have in over 40 years as well isn't it?

Why do policemen and firefighters earn roughly �25,500 a year when Wayne Rooney thicker than a dockers butty earns �1,670 a Premier League MINUTE!! The sad thing is people don't even bat an eyelid to this anymore. It's become accepted and whether it's nancy-boy Ronaldo whoring himself out to Real Madrid for more money or Joey Barton being welcomed out of prison with open arms by his new manager, I don't know. But I'm quickly falling out of love with the game. This summer - in the break after a season of off-field tussles and political statements being published every second in the media - has just seemed to highlight the negatives so much so that I have to squint to see the positives.

In this current climate, how long will it be before people say enough is enough?

I can't help but cast an envious eye over to German football. FC Schalke charge under five pounds for their cheapest ticket. Their former manager questioned, "How can we expect unemployed supporters to subsidize high-earning players?" People scowl at the Bundesliga. The Premier League and La Liga are the best leagues, they say. For entertainment, maybe. But what is the use in entertaining us when all we can do is clench our fists in delight in front of a computer screen or television. I declare the Bundesliga the league to watch, because it is one of the few in Europe that is in touch with reality. No Sky Sports, no round the clock news on sweet **** all and no godforsaken kick-off times. It aims to please its fans. Good, pure, honest football as it should be.

The thing I neglected to mention about that story of my brother buying those tickets was that his lad came back with a beaming smile on his face. Football goes hand-in-hand with passion, but it's about time we directed that away from the primadonnas and media-driven frenzies that occur with every tabloid article published and attempt to claw back the game so we are no longer pathetic sheep herded in wherever we're told to.

We must act. Before it is too late. "

excellent article with some great points ,, but you notice not to many complaints above his beloved liverpool :confused: probally the best most loyal fans on the kop .. why :confused:then don't 2 local boyhood fans every couple of years have no problems accepting big new contracts .. when a lot of supporters are struggling to attend matches and clubs increasing ticket prices , new gear every season to claw back some of these big contracts . gerrard in particular who nearly even left for chelsea a couple of seasons back but stayed on the back of a new contract.. and new signing robbie keane a boyhood fan who had to sign when liverpool came looking for him the same boyhood fan who turned them down at 17 and signed for wolves :confused: i personaly think it is crazy money for fluck sake you are doing something you love and how much money can you spend then again if i was offered 150 thousand a week would i take it !!! .

[superfrank]

new signing robbie keane a boyhood fan who had to sign when liverpool came looking for him the same boyhood fan who turned them down at 17 and signed for wolves :confused:
AFAIK, Keane signed for Wolves because he wanted to play first team football, instead of rotting away in the reserves for a few years.

[OwlsFan]

Bolton,Wigan,Sunderland,Blackburn,Man City i have seen plenty of empty seats at these games..

Man City had 47K last Saturday. Wigan (rugby league town), Bolton and Blackburn never had much support and it's nothing to do with the price of admission. The following just isn't there. Sunderland is usually sold out. Look at the price of our own international tickets. If the demand is there, the price will be sky high.

[old git]

AFAIK, Keane signed for Wolves because he wanted to play first team football, instead of rotting away in the reserves for a few years.

c'mon now you are 17 and the team you supported since you were a child wants you to sign... sign and take your chances for a couple of years and then move on if still in reserves ... dont come out at 28 with all this sh*ite about a boyhood dream finally happening :mad:

[superfrank]

c'mon now you are 17 and the team you supported since you were a child wants you to sign... sign and take your chances for a couple of years and then move on if still in reserves ... dont come out at 28 with all this sh*ite about a boyhood dream finally happening :mad:
I'm pretty sure, he's said before that he's been a Liverpool fan all his life.

[gaiscíoch]

I'm pretty sure, he's said before that he's been a Liverpool fan all his life.

That's not the point he is making. He is saying that if Keane was such a huge Liverpool fan then why would you turn them down when your 17?
He could have fulfilled his dreams there and then but choose his personal well being over his club?

Keane is average at best anyway he aint good enough for Liverpool!!

[superfrank]

That's not the point he is making. He is saying that if Keane was such a huge Liverpool fan then why would you turn them down when your 17?
He could have fulfilled his dreams there and then but choose his personal well being over his club?
The way I see it, he'd rather drop down a division to get first team football rather than waste around in the Liverpool youth teams and reserves for a few years.

[newbie]

ofcourse youd pick your own well being over a club at the age of 17!! he was advised correctly IMO.
Gerrard took LESS money than Chelsea offered him. Torres took a pay-cut to join Liverpool. Berb took less money at United than City had offered him. the players cant help it if the game is offering them this kind of cash.
would any of you say "ah jasus no - i dont want any more money thanks"? NOBODY would.

money is ruinin transfer prices and wages but you cannot blame the players.

Keane had high hopes as a player and had enough confidence in himself to think something along the lines of "i wont get into that team for a few years but il get into Wolves and get my career started early"

took alot of balls if ya ask me. look at Partridge,stayed a reserve until he was 25 or something. waste!

[pete]

It didn't start this year but English football will ultimately be destroyed by money. The more money the top clubs have the less English players will play top level. In 5 years it will be hard to find an English player in the top 4 sides. The gap between the Premier League & Championship will get bigger so relegated sides that can't get promoted within 2 seasons will slide down the leagues in sea of debt.

[old git]

ofcourse youd pick your own well being over a club at the age of 17!! he was advised correctly IMO.
Gerrard took LESS money than Chelsea offered him. Torres took a pay-cut to join Liverpool. Berb took less money at United than City had offered him. the players cant help it if the game is offering them this kind of cash.
would any of you say "ah jasus no - i dont want any more money thanks"? NOBODY would.

money is ruinin transfer prices and wages but you cannot blame the players.

Keane had high hopes as a player and had enough confidence in himself to think something along the lines of "i wont get into that team for a few years but il get into Wolves and get my career started early"

took alot of balls if ya ask me. look at Partridge,stayed a reserve until he was 25 or something. waste!

personally i think he should have joined at 17 and taken his chances with reserves for a couple of seasons if no luck then move on ... he has been extremley lucky to get a second bite at liverpool :ball:
will agree not to many players will turn down the money they are being offered

[gaiscíoch]

personally i think he should have joined at 17 and taken his chances with reserves for a couple of seasons if no luck then move on ... he has been extremley lucky to get a second bite at liverpool :ball:
will agree not to many players will turn down the money they are being offered


Why shouldn't the players get what they deserve from football. The amount of hard work it takes to get to that level maybe 100s of 1000s of hours of training and a hell of alot of sacrifice.

The club's are making a fortune off TV monies and merchandising. Why shouldn't they take their share? They deserve it.

Fair enough the prices have gone through the roof but it's no more than any other thing in life. Fuel, Telephone, Television License, Food, a half decent car, the price of a good night out...

The best players will get paid the best money that's how life works whether your a top class lawyer or a shipping clerk. You will want to get paid what you think you deserve and what the company are willing to offer you.

My arguement to those two scousers would be. How much have your wages increased over the 30year period?
Had you a family when you were galavanting off to "every corner of the world"?

I seriously doubt it....
Because at no time was it possible to do that with a family....

[Bohemian1890]

Man City had 47K last Saturday. Wigan (rugby league town), Bolton and Blackburn never had much support and it's nothing to do with the price of admission. The following just isn't there. Sunderland is usually sold out. Look at the price of our own international tickets. If the demand is there, the price will be sky high.

Yea but how many will City have when they dont play a big team??

Now they have money it may well be sold out every week.

I have seen more than a few Sunderland games and it was not sold out.

Ireland tickets are rip off IMO,I would not pay what is it 55 euro?? i think last game i was at Ireland v Slovakia it was 55 match was crap so was the atmosphere,apart from the Slovakia fans.

[Bohemian1890]

I'm pretty sure, he's said before that he's been a Liverpool fan all his life.


He said the same about Celtic and Leeds AFAIK.

[brianw82]

In 5 years it will be hard to find an English player in the top 4 sides.

It's hard as it is. The team that usually fields the most has a British manager. Co-incidence? I think not.

[jebus]

Why shouldn't the players get what they deserve from football. The amount of hard work it takes to get to that level maybe 100s of 1000s of hours of training and a hell of alot of sacrifice.

The club's are making a fortune off TV monies and merchandising. Why shouldn't they take their share? They deserve it.

Spot on. Don't get me wrong, I think money has ruined top flight football, but if a player is offered that type of cash who's going to turn it down? Do you think CRonaldo turning around and telling United he only need 10k a week instead of 125k would bring the ticket prices down? United would just pocket the other 115k and have a laugh about what an idiot CRonaldo is.

Keep in mind how short a footballer's career is in comparison to the rest of us as well

[gaiscíoch]

Just heard a lovely story on Revista De La Liga.
Joseba Exteberria is negotiating his own contract with Athletic Bilbao. He wants to negotiate a new contract that will earn him 20,000euro Per Annum.
He says he owes the club alot and wants to give something back.
Exteberria was great player (not at the peak of his powers anymore) and has set a fine example. Bilbao are a lovely club and are a model to what can be done if things are done right.

[see's it]

He said the same about Celtic and Leeds AFAIK.

no he didnt

[Bohemian1890]

no he didnt
Yes he did.


http://www.spurspies.tv/2008/04/see_robbie_keane_and_damien_du.html

Here he is following Celtic,he has also said "i have followed Celtic since i was a kid".

Leeds fans sing a song about him being a Leeds fan all his life,apparently he said it when he signed.