Jump to content

Player Loyalty


The Fish
 Share

Recommended Posts

The transient mercenary nature of footballers generates a great chasm between the fans and the players, mainly imo because the contracts are weighted in the player's favour (release clauses, Bosman ruling, etc.).

 

How would you incentivise loyalty from players?

 

End of season bonuses which grow proportionate to years served at the club? :dunno:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was reading nufc accounts from 1983 yesterday. The detail is far greater than these days in half as many pages (£42,186 on laundry for example)

 

One player had a loyalty bonus payable at the end of their contract and that was £7,500.

 

Mike Williamson wipes his arse on £7.5k every time he takes a shit.

 

I don't know what this says about the question. Probably that the game is beyond them being any concern to top flight players.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't understand loyalty questions from fans, football is not the same as it was even in the 80's. Players are just employees and who here wouldn't move jobs for better pay and benefits out of loyalty to their employer. Fuck it I would sell company secrets if I could find a buyer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's true enough. Why remain loyal when there's another club willing to throw tens of thousand a week at you for turning up?

 

Didn't we have to pay Joey Barton's 'loyalty bonus' in order to push through the deal to sign him? Says a lot about modern day loyalty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't remember who linked to the article I read but the journo that wrote it was saying one of his standard questions has always been "Who did you support as a kid?". More and more the answer is "I never supported anyone".

 

It stands to reason as well. What age were you when you built a bond with the club you support? Raheem Sterling was born in Kingston Jamaica, emigrated to London at 7, Started at the QPR academy at 9, and moved to Liverpool at 15. Where exactly should his loyalty lie?

 

Most players are whisked off to academy's far from home long before they can build any affiliation to a local club these days. Even if they do go to their local academy, they spend their lives on the inside looking out at fans rather than being fans on the outside looking in and idolising the players and what it would be to work with them.

 

Footballers are more like F1 drivers now. Winning the constructers championship is all well and good, but they want the personal glory.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't understand loyalty questions from fans, football is not the same as it was even in the 80's. Players are just employees and who here wouldn't move jobs for better pay and benefits out of loyalty to their employer. Fuck it I would sell company secrets if I could find a buyer.

 

Because fans want a connect to the club they follow? When managers can change every season, the owner is generally a cunt, all that's left are the players. I'm not so naive as to think football isn't a business, but if something could be put into the general model that improves relations between clubs and their fans, that can hardly be a bad thing.

 

You're right, most people would move to a bigger and better job if one were available, but would you swap one office for another just for the shits and giggles? You benefit from staying at a company for a while; promotions, pay increase, better benefits, greater regard from colleagues, clients, sandwich lady.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Because fans want a connect to the club they follow? When managers can change every season, the owner is generally a cunt, all that's left are the players. I'm not so naive as to think football isn't a business, but if something could be put into the general model that improves relations between clubs and their fans, that can hardly be a bad thing.

 

You're right, most people would move to a bigger and better job if one were available, but would you swap one office for another just for the shits and giggles? You benefit from staying at a company for a while; promotions, pay increase, better benefits, greater regard from colleagues, clients, sandwich lady.

 

I've always got a much better pay increase by switching jobs than staying in one place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I've always got a much better pay increase by switching jobs than staying in one place.

 

Congrats. But you see my point? Fans are disconnected from the club and one way to reduce that chasm is to encourage players to stick around longer, the only way to do that (if you're not one of the teams who are genuinely competing) is to incentivise loyalty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Didn't we have to pay Joey Barton's 'loyalty bonus' in order to push through the deal to sign him? Says a lot about modern day loyalty.

Aye, City wouldn't pay it so we bought him for £6.5m instead of £6m or something like that to cover it. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This was a pet topic of one of our oddball wind up merchants from back in the day, wasn't it? I can't remember his name

Was it that Polish Nick 'character'?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't remember who linked to the article I read but the journo that wrote it was saying one of his standard questions has always been "Who did you support as a kid?". More and more the answer is "I never supported anyone".

 

It stands to reason as well. What age were you when you built a bond with the club you support? Raheem Sterling was born in Kingston Jamaica, emigrated to London at 7, Started at the QPR academy at 9, and moved to Liverpool at 15. Where exactly should his loyalty lie?

 

Most players are whisked off to academy's far from home long before they can build any affiliation to a local club these days. Even if they do go to their local academy, they spend their lives on the inside looking out at fans rather than being fans on the outside looking in and idolising the players and what it would be to work with them.

 

Footballers are more like F1 drivers now. Winning the constructers championship is all well and good, but they want the personal glory.

Sterling's loyalty has proved to be he will sign for the club who offers him the most money and his agent gets over £2 million for himself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He sounds like an idiot tbf.

Or someone with loads of money who can't be arsed any more. It sounds quite appealing at first, i.e. bucking the modern trend but do you think he'd be doing it if he didn't have millions in the bank? Nee chance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

aye, we've had some quirky characters on here over the years :lol:

I think he had something wrong with him tbh. Not that that stopped him being a fucking tool :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think he had something wrong with him tbh. Not that that stopped him being a fucking tool :lol:

 

you could say the same for a few on here, leazesmag for starters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Or someone with loads of money who can't be arsed any more. It sounds quite appealing at first, i.e. bucking the modern trend but do you think he'd be doing it if he didn't have millions in the bank? Nee chance.

 

Applies to everyone else playing at his level too. Most of them are happy leeching off lesser clubs for years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aye, there's a few on holiday at the moment who'll be picking up a massive wage for the level of football, Gerrard, Lampard, Pirlo etc.

 

Gerrards is supposed to be £76,000 a week for fucks sake. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How many one-club players are there around today like there was in 'my younger' days. However must consider that the wages in those days were far from what they are today, and transfer fees not even close.

Sad part is, money doesn't always bring an end to a players loyalty. Wait a fucking minute, yes it does. but not always on the players part. Look at Steve Harper & loyalty. Harper would have spent his entire career at Newcastle had it not been for the management having no further use for him and kissing him goodbye.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.