Is it time the players woke up to the situation?

**The Rebel Ram** · 09/10/2008, 11:02 PM

With Drogs now showing they are in trouble and the rest of the league in crisis is it not time for the players to wake up?
The whole world is in financial turmoil. Players are taking pay cuts but on the condition that they get back paid at the seasons end.
The league is obviously not able to cope with the current full time, even part time wages demanded.
The League will cease to exist unless wages are cut dramatically.

**Duffman** · 09/10/2008, 11:08 PM

TBH the players will always push it, its totally down to the clubs to cut their cloth. The league are doing what they can with wage caps so its really up to the clubs to come together and come up with something.

**BohsPartisan** · 09/10/2008, 11:15 PM

Players have mortgages, families, cars etc. like the rest of us. Its not their fault the clubs have pushed their expectations up over the last few years.

**The Rebel Ram** · 09/10/2008, 11:17 PM

Originally Posted by BohsPartisan

Players have mortgages, families, cars etc. like the rest of us. Its not their fault the clubs have pushed their expectations up over the last few years.

Yes and so do the rest of us, I can't afford to give the club any more money.
The whole league needs to go part time with realistic wages and try to build again before it's too late!

**BohsPartisan** · 09/10/2008, 11:38 PM

Originally Posted by The Rebel Ram

Yes and so do the rest of us, I can't afford to give the club any more money.
The whole league needs to go part time with realistic wages and try to build again before it's too late!

I'm not disagreeing, just saying you can't blame the players for the situation. If you're offered the money you're gonna snap their hands off. The clubs got themselves into this mess.

**thischarmingman** · 10/10/2008, 1:13 AM

Originally Posted by The Rebel Ram

With banks now showing they are in trouble and the rest of the economy in crisis is it not time for insert your job here to wake up?
The whole world is in financial turmoil. Insert your job here are taking pay cuts but on the condition that they get back paid at the years end.
The economy is obviously not able to cope with the current full time, even part time wages demanded... and will cease to exist unless wages are cut dramatically.

Changed. Slightly.

Would you voluntarily turn down a better contract of your job offered it?

**gufcfan** · 10/10/2008, 2:34 AM

I am completely at odds to why this thread was stared.

If your boss gives you and your colleagues contracts for amounts, which may in time, put the business in jeopardy, by accepting those terms, should the business fall upon hard times, does some of the blame and responsibility fall upon your shoulders? I don't think so...

Plain and simple in my book.

**don ramo** · 10/10/2008, 2:55 AM

it is debateable if any university in the world has produced even one qualified economist that actually saw this coming, think of the league as the economy, these problems were known about years ago and just like the ecomomy were never addressed, no matter how many player leave more will come,
the league will probably have to drops its standards next year, one of two things have to happen either the players accept lesser wages (and guarantee a smaller sum per week rather than bet on a large one), or they will simply have to play elsewhere, and if one club want to pay the premaddonas let them, no player in this league should be earning over E3000 a week or even E2000, its simply not viable, but really who are we to tell the people running the bankrupt clubs how to run there business

**bigmac** · 10/10/2008, 7:07 AM

In fairness, lots of people have been warning that the banks' exposure to bad debts in the property market would come home to roost. Any economist in any university int he world could tell you that it's a bad idea to give loans to people and companies that you know won't be able to repay them, even if you reckon you can make a short term profit by selling on that debt to another company.
The levels of debt that escalated during the cheap credit era were created without any hedged position against a rise in interest rates and this was also flagged. There were plenty of economists out there who predicted that a rise in interest rates would have a huge snowball effect, particularly once the sub-prime market in the states started to go belly-up.

From a league point of view, yes the clubs need to sort it out themselves, but it doesn't help when the PFAI comes out stringly against any form of wage cap - even in the greater economy the trade unions realise that it's better to keep wages realistic than to have them astronomical for a year or two after which all the employers are bankrupt.

**ifk101** · 10/10/2008, 7:59 AM

If clubs are going to offer players full-time contracts, the wages the clubs offer must surpass what the players could earn by working full-time and playing part-time.

Additionally a footballer's career is short-lived and any full-time wages offered must take this into account.

**jinxy lilywhite** · 10/10/2008, 8:25 AM

Whats needed is strong management from boards to give an accurate wage figure. If I got a pay rise I'm not going to turn it down because " I may put the company in jepordy" F*ck that their problem, same with clubs.
Clubs got themselves into this mess by not having the balls to stand up to players and give them an honest wage. in some cases they are offering English Championship wages to conference players. Players are over paid but you can blame them for getting the best for themselves and their families

**don ramo** · 10/10/2008, 11:35 AM

245,469 EUR avearage championship wage

85,156 EUR average league 1 wage

62,615 EUR average league 2 wage

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/4898392.stm

even in england there to unrealistic, so i cant see an end to the problem,

**neutrino** · 10/10/2008, 11:42 AM

Cant blame players for getting the best deal - it's not for them to worry where the money comes from.

It seems that no club in the league can do basic financial management. If you dont have the money then dont spend it. The projected budgeting is farcical too. Some clubs budgeting on random figures pulled out of the sky. take your income from last year and budget on that.you can always release more money into the club if your making it and things are going well. The league has improved but that has been done on the back of incurring large debts. Speculate to accumulate is all well and good but it has never worked in this league and I cant see why any club would ever see it working.

**dublinred** · 10/10/2008, 12:16 PM

Not all the players are to blame, we lost Hughes and Faz to Drogheda recently , both players were well paid but were offered double your money deals with free rent apartments , it was Drogs rather than the players who were doing the pushing.

**Dodge** · 10/10/2008, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by londonred

Not all the players are to blame

As above, none of the players are to blame.

**jebus** · 10/10/2008, 12:25 PM

I'll add to this and say the main thing I despise about a club's fans when they have money trouble is the amount of them that call one of their own player's a Judas or scum for not accepting a pay cut. He has a contract and can understandbly expect that contract to be fulfilled, no matter the cost to the club. I've always asked people like that if they would accept (say) a 70% pay cut on their legally binding contract if their boss asked them to

**jinxy lilywhite** · 10/10/2008, 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by jebus

I'll add to this and say the main thing I despise about a club's fans when they have money trouble is the amount of them that call on of their own player's a Judas or scum for not accepting a pay cut. He has a contract and can understandbly expect that contract to be fulfilled, no matter the cost to the club. I've always asked people like if they would accept (say) a 70% pay cut on their legally binding contract if their boss asked them to

Here Here

**pineapple stu** · 10/10/2008, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by thischarmingman

Changed. Slightly.

Would you voluntarily turn down a better contract of your job offered it?

Excellent post. Club directors are to blame, pretty much solely.

I'd've banned Ronan Seery and Ollie Byrne from any involvement in the eL for five years (not sure when from; probably when the club went burst (sic) ), and would do the same now with Walsh at Cork and Hoey at Drogheda. It's slightly off topic, but the trail of debt left by these clubs is nonsense and could well threaten evey one's existance (bar Dublin City obviously).

**Trainee** · 10/10/2008, 12:32 PM

All clubs should sit down and agree on a cap on the amount a player is paid weekly ie all clubs agree that that they will not pay a player more than 1000 euro a week

It could work as only a few players are good enough to play in england(left them go) and the rest will have to accept if the want get payed for playing soccer.

**OneRedArmy** · 10/10/2008, 12:35 PM

If we say that players will always look after their short-term self-interest (as we all do) and that clubs will always look after their short-term self-interest (being as successful as possible), then what we need is an outside agency looking after the longer term interest, by say, introducing some kind of limit on spending.

Wait a minute........