All Things Footie | Friday, November 16 | Jordan
Strike a Light
I've already had a say on the impending strike action but I have to speak again or I'll explode.
Football (or more accurately the FA) is the only organisation that financially supports it's employers union, and it's not just a few pennies in a box either. The fact that football is a very unusual career path, with a shorter working lifetime is not in my opinion relevant. People play football primarily because they enjoy it; most professionals get paid well above the national average and (even lower league players) get treated like minor celebrities.
When a pro reaches 35 and the legs are going, the back's a bit creaky and there's a funny click coming from his knee every time he climbs some stairs, perhaps he should look back on his last 20 years and be thankful he hasn't been stocking shelves in ASDA. It sounds harsh, and to be fair it is—some ex–pros do have a hard time of it and that�s what the PFA is there for. But if Gordon Taylor feels he needs £26m to pay for this then perhaps the likes of David Beckham should put a bit more than £75 a year into the kitty. And perhaps the greedy self–righteous toe-rag (Taylor not Beckham) should take a cut in his £450 000 a year salary.
I object to him taking the moral high ground when he's milking the situation for all it's worth, clubs and TV revenue rewards players enough as it is, wages are getting ridiculous and it's all about to spiral out of control. If Mr Taylor has a problem with third division centre–halves getting screwed then the only sensible option is to take a slightly larger cut of the very highly paid players wages.
There's no doubt at least some of you disagree with me, and some of you who are thinking ‘Why is he banging on about player strikes when he should be sorting out that bloody navigation problem’. To help with the former please feel free to direct abuse (or constructive comments if you're feeling adventurous) at me using the comments system. As for the latter, all I can say is I'm working on it and maybe it'll be sorted out soon. Maybe.