lake district canary 4,531 Posted July 17, 2013 We have moved into an era where we can afford to buy excellent players at over £5m. My question is are these kind of players much worse than the £25m - £30m+ players (Rooney etc). These top priced players and their top price wages rarely live up to their hype and it would be fitting if Rooney went to Chelski and their bottomless pit of money, but will he live up to it? We are in interesting times regarding the amounts of money that are being spent now, not just our club,but at all clubs. If the standard is going to be raised across the board, then the pressure on these top clubs buying he most expensive players is going to increase as the clubs underneath improve. In that situation those players are going to find it increasingly difficult to make an impression. The cracks are already there to see. All the top clubs lost last season to clubs they on paper shouldn''t have. The belief that we can all compete for a top place in the league is going to emerge over the next two or three seasons imo and ncfc is as well placed as any other club to do this. Our team with its up to £10m players could well match a team spending £10m - £25m on players. The difference in cost is staggering, but the difference in the ability level maybe is not. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
It's Character Forming 1,160 Posted July 17, 2013 This is a good point and it will be interesting to see how things pan out in the PL over the next 2-3 seasons with the new TV money. If you look at the top teams like Man U, Man C, Chelsea, will the extra TV money make much difference to the players they can sign ? They are already looking at the very top end and the TV money isn''t going to make much, if any, difference to who Man City or Chelsea can sign. Man U are slightly different where (despite their huge payroll) money has been a bit of a constraint with the interest they have to pay for the Glazers'' debt, but again I don''t see it making a big difference.Whereas for teams like us and the others around us in the Prem, an extra £30m or so is going to make a big difference considering our wage bill last year was around £45m. It''s clear to see in the calibre of players we are signing/chasing this summer. It won''t mean we are on an equal footing with the top teams - the difference between the very best in the world, and players nearly as good, is still a gap. But I think it will narrow the gap between the elite and the mid table. Which hopefully will make the league more entertaining. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mister Chops 7 Posted July 17, 2013 I don''t think transfer fees are entirely about ability. It''s obvious that a £25m player will not be 5 times better than a £5m player.Don''t agree that players "rarely" live up to the hype though. For every Torres, there''s an RvP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
It's Character Forming 1,160 Posted July 17, 2013 Yes I read a Freakonomics-type article a while back that in sport, the very top players are a lot more expensive than the ones just below them. So if your team are say 5% better than 2nd place, you''re going to pay a lot more than 5% extra to be able to win. Happily football can''t be quantified as precisely as sports like baseball though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
It's Character Forming 1,160 Posted July 17, 2013 Also according to Soccernomics, the big link is between the wages you pay and your league position, there is much less of a link between transfer fees and league position. Liverpool being the classic example in the ''00s when they were one of the bigger spenders on transfer fees but less so on wages, and the transfer fees didn''t translate into doing well in the league. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wings of a Sparrow 1,415 Posted July 17, 2013 I''ve often wondered what the difference is between a £5m player and a £25m player. Probably not a lot. More to do with media hype (take Rooney today) than actual ability. It could be argued that Rooney is past his best? Not been so prolific in the last couple of years.I personally don''t give a fig. Don''t like him based on what I''ve read/heard, over-rated and could flop spectacularly at Chelsea (hopefully). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tetteys Jig 830 Posted July 17, 2013 Think of what money a £25m player is designed to make a club.Take a squad of 25 playersSay we have a team of £1m players, we theoretically go down to the championship and finish about mid table - money to be made sat there? about £25mSay we have a team of £4m players, we theoretically languish around 17th for a few years like wigan - money to be made there? £100mSay we have a team of £8m players, we theoretically challenge for europe and a few cups every year - money to be made there? £200mSay we have a team of £25m players, we are now up there challenging for the title, dominating world markets with our shirts in every sports shop in the world, kids in the deepest amazon have heard of us... you get the drift - money to be made there? £500m £1bnObviously it''s simplified and there is more to it, but do you get why prices go up exponentially to ability now?Consider ourselves lucky we''re not in Spain and the money is reasonably evenly distributed in the premiership. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites