Doncaster is probably not as bad as many think..........

[AndyJR 0]

Strange what certain people appear to think of Neil Doncaster.  Take a read of what''s written below, I bet 90% would agree with it, yet if he wrote it, he would get slated by many on here,  this line tends to stand out for me......"I think there is a lot to admire in a chairman running his club with a very definite eye on the bottom line."

Madejski right to hit out at wages

• Paul Fletcher
• 19 Aug 08, 08:49 PM

Reading chairman John Madejski

once said that the best way to make a million in football is to invest

10 million, the suggestion being that for whatever reason the other

nine disappears along the way.

It would be a fair assumption that the Royals chairman had players'' wages in mind to at least some degree.

After all, as far back as May 2003 he opined from his luxury home:

"There are three things wrong with football: players'' wages, players''

wages and players'' wages. If you sort that out, you sort football out

as far as I''m concerned."

As such I guess nobody should have been all that surprised when the 67-year-old recently told BBC Radio Berkshire that footballer''s wages are "obscene".

"I

think players are paid quite enough already and they don''t need to be

as high as they are," said the man who made his substantial fortune as

the founder of Auto Trader.

"I''m pleased they get good salaries - that''s only right - but it''s gone off the Richter scale."

I''ve spoken to a couple of Reading fans about this and I wouldn''t

say it was exactly the news they wanted to hear. They are more than

familiar with Madejski''s fiscal prudence and his theories on the

salaries of his key assets.

What they what to hear is that most of the £8.5m raised from the sale of David Kitson to Stoke and Nicky Shorey to Aston Villa will be reinvested in the transfer market.

It isn''t going to happen.

Reading received a parachute payment of £11m but Madejski reckons

relegation from the Premier League cost his club £22m. What''s more, he

has made it clear that plenty of funds have been used in extensive

"remedial work" on the stadium. Add to that the large squad of players

at the club and reduced season ticket sales of 14,000 and the owner has

a strong case for suggesting that the club need to "cut our coat

according to our cloth."

I''ve been told that the staff at the club took a substantial pay cut

as a consequence of relegation, while the cash raised from the sale of

players will be used to underpin the deficit incurred as a result of

Reading dropping out of the Premier League.

I think there is a lot to admire in a chairman running his club with

a very definite eye on the bottom line. Football is littered with tales

of boom and bust, ridiculous overspending and chronic mismanagement.

Fans want to hear about exciting new arrivals, though surely not as

much as they don''t want to hear about their club entering

administration.

But is Madejski correct when he suggests that the biggest problem in football is players'' wages?

I have trouble computing the supposed figures involved in Frank Lampard''s new contract at Chelsea. Can any sportsman be worth a reported £150,000 per week?

Some would suggest that football is now entertainment, not to

mention a business of supply and demand. Footballers are the stars of

the show, the reason people pass through the turnstiles and buy replica

shirts and all the other merchandise that is now available, and if a

club is generating huge sums of money as they mine ever-expanding

markets then why shouldn''t players be paid their slice of the pie?

And to an extent I think the aforementioned argument holds water.

The top players in the Premier League are the faces of global brands,

superstars. Whether they are cosseted, pampered and spoilt with no idea

of what it is to be a normal human being is another argument entirely.

But what about wages in the Football League?

A survey in 2006

revealed that the average Championship footballer earns £195,750 per

year, or to put it another way £3,764 a week. The figure dropped to

£67,850 in League One and £49,600 in League Two.

I would be absolutely staggered if there were no footballers in the

Championship earning at least £20,000 per week - just over £1m each

year.

You could argue that if your club brought in a top player who made

the difference between promotion and a near miss, then he would

certainly be worth every penny of a £1m a year contract. But how many

of these are there in the Championship? Not many.

And as I have read story after story over the summer months of

managers talking about their frustrations in the transfer market

because players are waiting on deals, hoping something better will come

along, it underlines the belief that for most footballers, or their

agents or a combination of the two, cash is a prime motivation. Yes,

footballers have short careers and must look after their own interests,

but the relationship between club and cash is one that often ruptures a

player''s loyalty.

Looking at the bigger picture can it really be right that a

footballer in the second tier of the English game earns so much for

playing football when so many other people in unquestionably important

professions, people who save lives, or educate children or serve the

public in so many other ways, earn a pittance in comparison? It is part

of the reason why my Dad no longer bothers to watch the team he

supports, the price of admission being another key factor. The argument

sounds a bit worthy but that doesn''t mean it isn''t right.

I think Madejski is right when he says that salaries have gone off the Richter scale. Do you?Paul Fletcher Blog - BBC SPORT

[Beauseant 0]

[quote user="AndyJR"]Strange what certain people appear to think of Neil Doncaster.  Take a read of what''s written below, I bet 90% would agree with it, yet if he wrote it, he would get slated by many on here,  this line tends to stand out for me......

"I think there is a lot to admire in a chairman running his club with a very definite eye on the bottom line."

Madejski right to hit out at wages

• Paul Fletcher

• 19 Aug 08, 08:49 PM

Reading chairman John Madejski once said that the best way to make a million in football is to invest 10 million, the suggestion being that for whatever reason the other nine disappears along the way.

It would be a fair assumption that the Royals chairman had players'' wages in mind to at least some degree.

After all, as far back as May 2003 he opined from his luxury home: "There are three things wrong with football: players'' wages, players'' wages and players'' wages. If you sort that out, you sort football out as far as I''m concerned."

As such I guess nobody should have been all that surprised when the 67-year-old recently told BBC Radio Berkshire that footballer''s wages are "obscene".

"I think players are paid quite enough already and they don''t need to be as high as they are," said the man who made his substantial fortune as the founder of Auto Trader.

"I''m pleased they get good salaries - that''s only right - but it''s gone off the Richter scale."

I''ve spoken to a couple of Reading fans about this and I wouldn''t say it was exactly the news they wanted to hear. They are more than familiar with Madejski''s fiscal prudence and his theories on the salaries of his key assets.

What they what to hear is that most of the £8.5m raised from the sale of David Kitson to Stoke and Nicky Shorey to Aston Villa will be reinvested in the transfer market.

It isn''t going to happen.

Reading received a parachute payment of £11m but Madejski reckons relegation from the Premier League cost his club £22m. What''s more, he has made it clear that plenty of funds have been used in extensive "remedial work" on the stadium. Add to that the large squad of players at the club and reduced season ticket sales of 14,000 and the owner has a strong case for suggesting that the club need to "cut our coat according to our cloth."

I''ve been told that the staff at the club took a substantial pay cut as a consequence of relegation, while the cash raised from the sale of players will be used to underpin the deficit incurred as a result of Reading dropping out of the Premier League.

I think there is a lot to admire in a chairman running his club with a very definite eye on the bottom line. Football is littered with tales of boom and bust, ridiculous overspending and chronic mismanagement. Fans want to hear about exciting new arrivals, though surely not as much as they don''t want to hear about their club entering administration.

But is Madejski correct when he suggests that the biggest problem in football is players'' wages?

I have trouble computing the supposed figures involved in Frank Lampard''s new contract at Chelsea. Can any sportsman be worth a reported £150,000 per week?

Some would suggest that football is now entertainment, not to mention a business of supply and demand. Footballers are the stars of the show, the reason people pass through the turnstiles and buy replica shirts and all the other merchandise that is now available, and if a club is generating huge sums of money as they mine ever-expanding markets then why shouldn''t players be paid their slice of the pie?

And to an extent I think the aforementioned argument holds water. The top players in the Premier League are the faces of global brands, superstars. Whether they are cosseted, pampered and spoilt with no idea of what it is to be a normal human being is another argument entirely.

But what about wages in the Football League?

A survey in 2006 revealed that the average Championship footballer earns £195,750 per year, or to put it another way £3,764 a week. The figure dropped to £67,850 in League One and £49,600 in League Two.

I would be absolutely staggered if there were no footballers in the Championship earning at least £20,000 per week - just over £1m each year.

You could argue that if your club brought in a top player who made the difference between promotion and a near miss, then he would certainly be worth every penny of a £1m a year contract. But how many of these are there in the Championship? Not many.

And as I have read story after story over the summer months of managers talking about their frustrations in the transfer market because players are waiting on deals, hoping something better will come along, it underlines the belief that for most footballers, or their agents or a combination of the two, cash is a prime motivation. Yes, footballers have short careers and must look after their own interests, but the relationship between club and cash is one that often ruptures a player''s loyalty.

Looking at the bigger picture can it really be right that a footballer in the second tier of the English game earns so much for playing football when so many other people in unquestionably important professions, people who save lives, or educate children or serve the public in so many other ways, earn a pittance in comparison? It is part of the reason why my Dad no longer bothers to watch the team he supports, the price of admission being another key factor. The argument sounds a bit worthy but that doesn''t mean it isn''t right.

I think Madejski is right when he says that salaries have gone off the Richter scale. Do you?

Paul Fletcher Blog - BBC SPORT
[/quote]

 

Really interesting post,Andy.Now get down....INCOMING!!!!!

[AndyJR 0]

Fear not, my Cyber Tin-hat is ready. [;)]

[Badger 0]

A bit sensible for some on here I''m afraid but well found.

I''m sure that we are about to be told about how none of this applies to Norwich!

[Carlos Valderrama 0]

Exactly!!!  This post is 100% bob on, answers the question when someone inevitably asks ''where has the money gone''.  Unfortunately this is just too sensible for the percentage who think we should be rubbing shoulders with the very best and playing in europe etc...

[Badger 0]

Thanks.

[AndyJR 0]

I thought it might raise quite a bit of debate, hence putting it in it''s own thread but it seems to have attracted little interest.

[Badger 0]

It got merged into the other Doncaster thread Andy but then got unmerged.

I think that there are a number of points of interest here - not least the way that transfer revenue is expected to be used to cover revenue deficits arising from relegation.

Some of the posters here think that all the money is available and just lining Delia''s pockets - hence references to her "stealing" from the club. You must recall people doing lists of players sold, with estimated revenue and contrasting this with similar lists of players bought.

[Mello Yello 2,572]

[quote user="Badger"]

It got merged into the other Doncaster thread Andy but then got unmerged.

I think that there are a number of points of interest here - not least the way that transfer revenue is expected to be used to cover revenue deficits arising from relegation.

Some of the posters here think that all the money is available and just lining Delia''s pockets - hence references to her "stealing" from the club. You must recall people doing lists of players sold, with estimated revenue and contrasting this with similar lists of players bought.

[/quote]

God, you''re boring[|-)]

"IT WAS THE WARRIORS! THEY DID IT!".........

[Camuldonum 0]

The Girl Upstairs chatted to him a couple of times about the Cullum business and claims: "As CEO''s go, he''s pretty straight to deal with - bit like Marie (Colchester).  Their off the record stuff has been proved to be right so far."

Neither as much fun as Barry at Peterborough though.

"I love this boy.  He''s going to be greater than his ******* (sorry about the language, gal)  Dad, you heard it here first.  I''m in love.  Know what I mean?"

Perhaps, if Mr Cullum takes over, he could install Mr Fry as Director of Football?

We''d like that.

 

 

[Pete Raven 276]

[quote user="Badger"]

It got merged into the other Doncaster thread Andy but then got unmerged.

[/quote]

No it didn''t.

[norfolkbroadslim 225]

The main part of that article is player wages and especially those in the Premier League and how upon relegation you MUST reduce your wage bill if you are to survive.

Now forgive if I have got this wrong, but weren''t we told when we got promoition to the Premier League something along the lines of our wages were structured  for relegation i.e. we wouldn''t be struggling with wages if we got relegated.  I can''t remember the precise words. 

The article also mentions the loss of 14,000 season ticket renewls, another thing that did not affect us upon relegation.

Strange what some people read into things eh!!!!

[. 0]

[quote user="Carlos Valderrama"]Exactly!!!  This post is 100% bob on, answers the question when someone inevitably asks ''where has the money gone''.  Unfortunately this is just too sensible for the percentage who think we should be rubbing shoulders with the very best and playing in europe etc...[/quote]

Are you really that daft?........

You can''t be surely.........

[SWP = Poor Mans Ruel Fox!! 0]

I''m certainly no board apologist but cannot disagree with much of that post.Also not at all surprised that no response has been received from the ardent negatists (is that a word or have a made up a new one??).  Far too sensible for them to argue against.

[norfolkbroadslim 225]

[quote user="Carlos Valderrama"]Exactly!!!  This post is 100% bob on, answers the question when someone inevitably asks ''where has the money gone''.  Unfortunately this is just too sensible for the percentage who think we should be rubbing shoulders with the very best and playing in europe etc...[/quote]

Bless

[norfolkbroadslim 225]

[quote user="Badger"]

A bit sensible for some on here I''m afraid but well found.

I''m sure that we are about to be told about how none of this applies to Norwich!

[/quote]

Not quite Badger, but see my post above

[Arthur Whittle 0]

FAO SWP

Hang about mate, our wages were structure around us getting relegated. So where does this point come into it? Also how many season tickets have we retained? Oh bu don''t let the way Reading are Run get in the way of some home truths hey??

[Arthur Whittle 0]

[quote user="norfolkbroadslim"][quote user="Badger"]

A bit sensible for some on here I''m afraid but well found.

I''m sure that we are about to be told about how none of this applies to Norwich!

[/quote]

Not quite Badger, but see my post above

[/quote]

Sorry mate just read it [:$]

[Badger 0]

[quote user="Sports Desk - Pete"][quote user="Badger"]

It got merged into the other Doncaster thread Andy but then got unmerged.

[/quote]

No it didn''t.

[/quote]

Sorry

[AndyJR 0]

[quote user="Badger"][quote user="Sports Desk - Pete"][quote user="Badger"]

It got merged into the other Doncaster thread Andy but then got unmerged.

[/quote]

No it didn''t.

[/quote]

Sorry

[/quote]lol, much ado about nothing.   [:D]

[Badger 0]

[quote user="norfolkbroadslim"]

The main part of that article is player wages and especially those in the Premier League and how upon relegation you MUST reduce your wage bill if you are to survive.

Now forgive if I have got this wrong, but weren''t we told when we got promoition to the Premier League something along the lines of our wages were structured  for relegation i.e. we wouldn''t be struggling with wages if we got relegated.  I can''t remember the precise words. 

The article also mentions the loss of 14,000 season ticket renewls, another thing that did not affect us upon relegation.

Strange what some people read into things eh!!!!

[/quote]

Reduced to 14,000 not by 14,000 I think you will find (I don''t know how many losses this represents).

There certainly was a great deal of attention to wages, but as was stated in the article, even though these were reduced by Reading with relegation, they are still dependant upon player sales to meet the shortfall in revenue.

[Badger 0]

[quote user="Mello Yello"]

God, you''re boring[|-)]

"IT WAS THE WARRIORS! THEY DID IT!".........

[/quote]

I''ll have to go along to some of your "natural interestingness classes" that seem to have made such an impact on you.

[ellis206 0]

[quote user="Badger"][quote user="Sports Desk - Pete"][quote user="Badger"]

It got merged into the other Doncaster thread Andy but then got unmerged.

[/quote]

No it didn''t.

[/quote]

Sorry

[/quote]Don''t apologise to them mate, they banned me after Wiz accused me of sending a virus, and they never apologised to me!

[ellis206 0]

[quote user="Arthur Whittle"]

FAO SWP

Hang about mate, our wages were structure around us getting relegated. So where does this point come into it? Also how many season tickets have we retained? Oh bu don''t let the way Reading are Run get in the way of some home truths hey??

[/quote]But the season after we got relegated, I do believe that it was publicly stated at the time that Norwich and Leeds were paying the most wages in the league? and we have 20k Season tickets Arthur, what''s your point? how much do you think our wage bill is? let alone the running of Carrow Road, Colney etc, but hey, lets ignore the fact that Norwich isn''t in administration and is a well run club huh!

[Michael Starr 571]

good and interesting post, thanks for posting!

[Arthur Whittle 0]

[quote user="ellis206"][quote user="Arthur Whittle"]

FAO SWP

Hang about mate, our wages were structure around us getting relegated. So where does this point come into it? Also how many season tickets have we retained? Oh bu don''t let the way Reading are Run get in the way of some home truths hey??

[/quote]

But the season after we got relegated, I do believe that it was publicly stated at the time that Norwich and Leeds were paying the most wages in the league? and we have 20k Season tickets Arthur, what''s your point? how much do you think our wage bill is? let alone the running of Carrow Road, Colney etc, but hey, lets ignore the fact that Norwich isn''t in administration and is a well run club huh!
[/quote]

Again ellis it is a well run buisness but not FOOTBALL club.

[ellis206 0]

They come hand in hand Arthur, you''ll rarely find a badly run football club doing well on the pitch, unless they have sugar daddys. The football side of things is down to the managers we have as well, not the board, people may say its down to the money that the board offer our managers, but we spent more than Hull and Stoke last season, as well as Bristol City and I don''t think WBA or Palace spent a lot either, biggest spenders I believe were Sheff Utd. I don''t think this board gets enough credit for the superb job its doing here! Hence why many of the negative sods on here haven''t replied to this topic, because they don''t like seeing the facts in there face!

[Mello Yello 2,572]

[quote user="Badger"]

[quote user="Mello Yello"]

God, you''re boring[|-)]

"IT WAS THE WARRIORS! THEY DID IT!".........

[/quote]

I''ll have to go along to some of your "natural interestingness classes" that seem to have made such an impact on you.

[/quote]

I''m afraid you''ll have to start with the creche and "unnatural spellingness classes".....and initially, you might find it hard going.

[Badger 0]

[quote user="Mello Yello"][quote user="Badger"]

[quote user="Mello Yello"]

God, you''re boring[|-)]

"IT WAS THE WARRIORS! THEY DID IT!".........

[/quote]

I''ll have to go along to some of your "natural interestingness classes" that seem to have made such an impact on you.

[/quote]

I''m afraid you''ll have to start with the creche and "unnatural spellingness classes".....and initially, you might find it hard going.

[/quote]

You''ve been along again today I can tell!

I have to say whatever they cost you it''s worth every penny! Sign me up please.

[Mello Yello 2,572]

[quote user="Badger"][quote user="Mello Yello"][quote user="Badger"]

[quote user="Mello Yello"]

God, you''re boring[|-)]

"IT WAS THE WARRIORS! THEY DID IT!".........

[/quote]

I''ll have to go along to some of your "natural interestingness classes" that seem to have made such an impact on you.

[/quote]

I''m afraid you''ll have to start with the creche and "unnatural spellingness classes".....and initially, you might find it hard going.

[/quote]

You''ve been along again today I can tell!

I have to say whatever they cost you it''s worth every penny! Sign me up please.

[/quote]

Sorry, I refuse to ''sign anyone up'' who''s incessantly boring. Who also spends every hour of the working day plus evenings, being even more incessantly boring and a trifle dull - on a t''internet football forum.