Am I the only one who thinks testimonials are outdated in this modern era?

[bringbackandyhughes 0]

Please don''t take this as a slight on Adam Drury who has been a very good player for Norwich in his time at the club however the whole testimonial thing does not sit comfortably with me in this modern era of hugely inflated wages in football.

I could understand if a large percentage of money was going to charity however I am led to believe that this is not the case. The player in question has been earning huge wages compared to the vast population for many years and an event like this that lines his pockets yet further seems somewhat outdated given the financial climate we are living in.

This is only compounded by the fact that all the players that are playing are being given a small gift namely a Rolex watch!

Testimonials in olden days were a great way of helping loyal servants through the rest of their lives when football wages were inline with normal civilian jobs. However someone like Adam should have made vast sums of money out the game and with his footballing pension will not need to work again if he has been sensible.

Only my views and before the keyboard warriors slate me I''m entitled to my opinion.

[Webbo118 0]

No, I expressed a similar view on the "Holt and Drury''s night" thread on 20/5.   

[JF 694]

Agree with every word of that, Nothing more to add really.

[Branston Pickle 4,150]

I certainly see what you mean. Footballers nowadays, at this level, get paid a fortune by any other standard. The idea that they need ''a last payday'' is rather ridiculous, unless it is a promising-career-cut-short-by-injury type situation. I guess there''s always the likelihood that local charities will benefit, but it is otherwise all a bit odd.

That said, I''d have happily gone tonight if I could!

[Devils Advocate. 0]

For players at the highest level, testimonials are wrong .However I doubt that Adam Drury has been earning the mega bucks that other Premier league players are on. We must not forget that Tax and National Insurance remove a large slice of a players wages. It was not many weeks ago that a certain striker mentioned that he was thinking of becoming a Policeman when he retires, maybe he isn''t as flush as we think he is. I suppose that given the itinerant lifestyle of a player, there is also the possibilty that buying and selling houses around the Country could swallow up funds as well?.

 

[priceyrice 133]

I like the concept of testimonials and its good to see a player who has been at the same club for 10 years get some recognition for that, especially when loyalty is dead in today''s game, as the recent episode has shown us. I do however have problems with the money aspect. I was sure the money went to charity until i heard about G Neville spending his to build a hotel at old trafford, then heard that a fair few players keep the money - with the amount of money they earn this really shouldn''t be the case and i wish more players did give their earnings to charity.Imagine how much Drury will make from today''s game, because he receives all the gate receipts.

[Hugh J Wurzell 0]

Actually Adam is using the loot from tonight''s match as a down payment on a newsagents in North Earlham. He''ll be starting the paper rounds on his bike I the first week of July. He''s got me Dow for the Mirror each morning and Readers Wives each month.Apparently he''s going to be keeping quite a library of special interest DVDs under the counter. 

[whistleblower 0]

no issue with Adam who has been a loyal servant but i have no wish whatsoever to further line the pockets of a very well paid professional. Plus of course my deep seated hatred of testimonial and friendly games that dont mean anything....

[K Lo 246]

I agree. I''d defiantely like the proceeds to go to a worthwhile charity of the player''s choice. Even earning ''just'' £2k a week is a fantastic amount of money.

[yellow blood 0]

There would also be a fee to pay to Celtic for appearing that would have to come out of tonight''s receipts.

[Ruddygore 0]

It''s a tradition to recognise loyal players with a Testimonial which in this case is thoroughly deserved btw.

Football doesn''t need to lose too many more traditions imo.

[William Darby 0]

I went tonight, and it was ace imo.  I have absolutely no problem Drury getting a golden handshake.  Of course he''s been paid well, but he hasn''t had years of EPL money has he.  After all we haven''t just given him £15 each for nothing, we''ve watched a football match.

[BroadstairsR 2,273]

I view it as a recognition thing really, so maybe there should be some guidelines as to who should get a testamonial. Perhaps ten years of service (not including coming through the youth ranks.) This would be a significant achievement by today''s standards.

 

If all the player''s tonight got Rolex watches then this expense, along with the other costs of staging a football game (night,) indicates that the overheads must have been quite high.

 

The Rolex bit reminded me of the colourful golfer John Daley''s excursion into pop. I hope that one of his songs, "All My Exes Wear Rolexes," does not apply to NCFC and Grant Holt. Or to PL for that matter, if the managers got one too.

[scrappy33 0]

We''ve only been in the prem 5 minutes and the clubs already pi$$ing the money away on fooking Rolex''s. Great that is..

[Lord Horn 0]

[quote user="Ruddygore"]It''s a tradition to recognise loyal players with a Testimonial which in this case is thoroughly deserved btw. Football doesn''t need to lose too many more traditions imo.[/quote]

I have to totally agree with this.  How many more players are we likely to see nowadays that have stayed with a single club for 10 years or more.  So in my opinion it was thoroughly deserved and as far as I''m concerned Adam is fully entitled to do what he likes with the money.  Who is our next longest serving player now???........King of Spain?????????

[yellow blood 0]

[quote user="scrappy33"]We''ve only been in the prem 5 minutes and the clubs already pi$$ing the money away on fooking Rolex''s. Great that is..[/quote]

The club didn''t pay for them, Adam did...They were gifts from him. [:^)]

[Scooby 0]

I really do not believe this thread, how pathetic. To begrudge one of our greatest players his moment, a thank you from loyal supporters to a loyal servant, is beyond petty.

If you think he doesn''t deserve your gratitude or your hard earned pennies then it''s simple, don''t bloody go!!

The same applies be it multi-millionaire Ryan Giggs or John Smith from Accrington Stanley. If you don''t agree, don''t turn up, but obviously 18,000 odd last night disagree with you.

[whistleblower 0]

don''t think anyone begrudged him the moment - the thread was around whether testimonials were still relevant in the days of players earning 10 -100x the average income of supporters.

If you went then good luck to you and hope you enjoyed it. I didn''t and choose not to - think this was a thought provoking thread and its somewhat blinkered to call it pathetic...

[Power Hamster 0]

[quote user="Scooby"]I really do not believe this thread, how pathetic. To begrudge one of our greatest players his moment, a thank you from loyal supporters to a loyal servant, is beyond petty.

If you think he doesn''t deserve your gratitude or your hard earned pennies then it''s simple, don''t bloody go!!

The same applies be it multi-millionaire Ryan Giggs or John Smith from Accrington Stanley. If you don''t agree, don''t turn up, but obviously 18,000 odd last night disagree with you.[/quote]As a matter of interest, do Man Utd give people like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes testimonial matches? Surely two examples of people who don''t need the money?

["""""""""Ben """"""""""" 0]

The players all got iPads, not Rolex watches [:)]

[bringbackandyhughes 0]

Not sure that''s the case as don''t think Windsor Bishops do iPads! Also I''ll bet you 99% of players already have iPads.

[Scooby 0]

I think in today''s game it is even more relevant! As many people have said it is extremely rare for a player, especially in the EPL, to remain at a club for 10 years or more. No, they don''t need the money, but it is a way for a club and it''s fans to show their appreciation for a player who has shown such loyalty. Imagine if Ads had gone the same way as Hucks, let go in the close season without a chance to say goodbye to the fans and club after 11 years.

How my opinion is "blinkered" is beyond me.

[lake district canary 0]

Nothing wrong with testimonials in my view.   A recognition of good loyal service.   A fun occasion for everyone and a chance to raise some money. My only issue would be with the money.   I don''t know what AD will do with tthe money but it would seem that  a condition of a testimonial should be that a proportion of the money raised should go to a charity.  Say 50% to ther player, 50% to a charity of his choice.    Maybe something like this happens anyway, but it would make it more acceptable to people if this were to be a condition.

 

 

 

[Son Ova Gunn 165]

  A financial reward for loyalty to a club on the face of it does sound wrong if said player is already quite wealthy because he''s played a game he loves at a club he loves, however, I  dont think its been mentioned but had Adam moved clubs every three years on a free he would of no doubt earned more money over the 11 years with signing on fee''s and potential wage improvements. I would rather compensate a player for loss of earnings after a decade than see them move on personally.