Can't Argue With This

[StarBlade]

At training for 8am! Haha that's a good one, try 1 or 2 pm.

I said they'd pay off the interest on the mortgage in a few weeks/months not the entire thing.

Also someone who earns that kind of money will have a much bigger deposit and get much more favourable rates than you or I. Id also imagine that their house would be quite plush and in a good end of town so selling wouldn't be that much of an issue and selling immediately wouldn't be such an issue if your earning £80K anyway.

They should also be aiming to get out of this league and earn a hell of alot more than £80Kpa

And he didnt say they'd have to move immediately, it could be after 6 months or similar so the club gets to see the player properly and the player gets to decide if the club is right for him and if it is he shows his commitment by moving here.

6 months is nothing in terms of selling a house, moving family, changing school etc. I live in the nice part of a nice town. 1.5 years for the entire process, and that was selling chain free, buying with one link in the chain. By the time that is over for a player, he could be halfway through his contract, the club could be in a different division, he could have seen two managers come and go, he may even be on loan elsewhere. The short-term nature of the game means that asking players to commit long-term is unlikely to be met positively unless the club meets half-way, ie a longer, better paid contract.

I'm rehashing what I say so this will be my final post on the subject, but if an employer places obligations on people to put club before family, they will not get the best players possible. They'll get local players, with or without talent. The best players will choose where their family live, not their employer. If their potential employer says 'tough, you need to live within 30 minutes', then the player will go elsewhere if within 30 minutes isn't the right school or employment for their spouse or just maybe, he doesn't like Sheffield. The ones that agree it is their choice, but we would lose players in such scenarios and take second or third best alternatives. All for an obsession that Unitedites seem to have with youth and local talent. It's a red herring. We need good players regardless of the house they live in. Fin

 

[StarBlade]

Our squad is about 29 players including the academy players. An average of £80k at SUFC would suggest a first team squad player wage bill of £2.32 million. I thought we were spending a fair bit more than tha at around £4.3m, which would suggest the average would be around £150k (or maybe split something like average £4k pw for the first 16 and nearer to average £1k for the rest?). Just a guess, but I think £80k average looks on the low side for our current wage bill.

It's average, so who knows how much some of the high earners are still on that are skewing the figures for us. There was another survey (http://www.sportingintelligence.com...ll-wage-figures-for-the-past-25-years-301002/) from a different organisation that was 3 years old that said the average league 1 wage was £73k. So, I'd say they are in the right space.

 

[Ted Danson]

I see what your saying and dont really disagree Im just pointing out that moving house for a footballer isnt as big an issue as it is for us mere mortals, the club could have halfway homes across the city that they could live in while their affairs are getting sorted etc. I know they used to own atleast one house in Whirlow where 2 or 3 of our players lived when they first moved here. The principle of wanting your players to be apart of the local community is a very good one though as is the idea of getting them to want to stay here in the long term

 

[Pinchy]

The article mentions Swansea, what impresses me about them aside from the obvious is the seamless transition they keep making between managers. Starting with Jackett and going through Martinez, Sousa, Rodgers and now Laudrup each manager has continued with the good work of the previous one. No ripping it up and starting again for them. Do they have a more permanent post at the Club who ensures these smooth transitions and provides continuity, or is there board just much better at making decisions?

And is there any Young Turk on their coaching staff who wants to make a name for himself?

 

[Balham]

6 months is nothing in terms of selling a house, moving family, changing school etc. I live in the nice part of a nice town. 1.5 years for the entire process, and that was selling chain free, buying with one link in the chain. By the time that is over for a player, he could be halfway through his contract, the club could be in a different division, he could have seen two managers come and go, he may even be on loan elsewhere. The short-term nature of the game means that asking players to commit long-term is unlikely to be met positively unless the club meets half-way, ie a longer, better paid contract.

Any sensible player won't be buying house(s) to live in due to the transient nature of the game. They should be renting, like the London Welsh player who's lived next door to me for the past year.

Renting takes out the 18 month chain you've spoken about. The club should be encouraging players to live close by without demanding it: I'd suggest that it be used to differentiate between targets though; if one player is prepared to move and another isn't, doesn't that suggest a greater commitment to the cause?

 

[Ted Danson]

McCabe can get SUFC to buy/build the houses then buy them off us for a quid and then rent them out to the players.

 

[Worksop_Blade]

I would go with those figures. Didn't someone say that one of Wilson's gripes with McCabe was that he'd got the wage bill down to £4M and his reward was the sack. Much as post Christmas was a disaster and we weren't going anywhere with Wilson, McCabe backed him into a corner.

However, we still have some relatively high earning individuals who are not achieving. I'd be happy to clear out a lot of those.

I would love to know the exact wages figures for Doncaster, Bournemouth, Brentford, Yeovil and Swindon.

Certainly the season before last Brentford's total wage bill (not just players) was £5M. Their turnover was £3M ! They could do that the season before last but what have they actually done this season ?

Given what happened in the January transfer window, I doubt we now pay multiples more than everyone else in the league.

I can't believe the clubs towards the top of L1 pay an average of £80k for players

Just out of interest i see that the MLS posts all the players wages in a database viewable by the public.

In 2012 a lad called Graham Zusi for Kansas City got 15 assists in 32 games (League Best) and was payed £1715 a week.

It would be interesting to see what SUFC pay Ryan Flynn for his 7 assists in his 37 appearances. (League 22nd Best)

Why don't United ever look further than Scotland or the local OAP home for targets?

 

[KenMcnaughtsNuts]

to be honest any old fool could have wrote that.

its bleeding obvious what we should do.
its getting mccabe to actually do it thats the problem.

we wont get anywhere using a load of academy players.
we wont get anywhere signing old hasbeens.
we wont get anywhere signing hopeless twunts on loan.
we will get somewhere signing lower league players who can actually play.
its not fecking rocket surgery!

 

[Worksop_Blade]

to be honest any old fool could have wrote that.

its bleeding obvious what we should do.
its getting mccabe to actually do it thats the problem.

we wont get anywhere using a load of academy players.
we wont get anywhere signing old hasbeens.
we wont get anywhere signing hopeless twunts on loan.
we will get somewhere signing lower league players who can actually play.
its not fecking rocket surgery!

Seems quite apt on a day like today you put that...

 

[1889]

I'm not sure I agree. Where a player chooses to live is his private choice, and I don't think an employer can go down the route of forcing players to move to a house nearby. Players have families, most are of that age where they have young children or they have children in school, they have connections elsewhere just as most people here do. Secondly, as with professional football today, some players just won't work out at their club, or even if they do, they could be sold on a whim much to the benefit of the club. Players know this, there's very rarely a "long-term" decision made by player/club anymore so asking them to commit to a future that more than likely doesn't exist is unfair. Perhaps they'll get a 25 year mortgage and take the kids out of preferred school and move them away from their grandparents if the club reciprocates the commitment with an enhanced contract? Unlikely.



As long as they turn up for training and perform on the pitch then I really don't care the location of his house.

I think all of that is part and parcel of being a professional footballer. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect players to live within a certain distance of the ground. I reckon it's only right that they show some commitment, after all there are plenty of good primary schools and nice houses to rent within a thirty mile radius of Sheffield. It's not like you're asking them to buy themselves a plot up City Road FFS

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

I think all of that is part and parcel of being a professional footballer. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect players to live within a certain distance of the ground. I reckon it's only right that they show some commitment, after all there are plenty of good primary schools and nice houses to rent within a thirty mile radius of Sheffield. It's not like you're asking them to buy themselves a plot up City Road FFS

Thats a plan if we insist it is at the top.

Make 'em run home after training, they'd be a lot fitter.

 

[Hartley Hare]

Interisting about the hotel point. Does anyone know who in the current squad is currently living in a hotel? Seems a strange one to me.

I saw Murphy with his missus and babe having breakfast in the Copthorne after the PNE game. Maybe he was just hungry? or lives there?

I wouldn't mind living there if it was free. Maybe he gets a preferential rate?

 

[1889]

I saw Murphy with his missus and babe having breakfast in the Copthorne after the PNE game. Maybe he was just hungry? or lives there?

I wouldn't mind living there if it was free. Maybe he gets a preferential rate?

Fucking hell them Scots get up late don't they!

 

[Bergen Blade]

In which case we wouldn't have signed Michael Brown and would have deprived ourselves of one of the best midfield players we've had in the last 35 years..

Decent argument if true, are you saying he gave us an ultimatum that he wouldn't sign if he couldn't stay in Manchester? Did he keep that stance when he joined Tottenham too?

 

[oldblade]

Decent argument if true, are you saying he gave us an ultimatum that he wouldn't sign if he couldn't stay in Manchester? Did he keep that stance when he joined Tottenham too?

But why try and force him to move to Sheffield in the first place. Living in Manchester did not have an adverse effect on his performances, so why invite a potential problem?
As for his time at Tottenham I have no idea where he lived. What happens at Tottenham doesn't interest me. What happens at Sheffield United does.

 

[Bergen Blade]

But why try and force him to move to Sheffield in the first place. Living in Manchester did not have an adverse effect on his performances, so why invite a potential problem?
As for his time at Tottenham I have no idea where he lived. What happens at Tottenham doesn't interest me. What happens at Sheffield United does.

The idea is that it can help players connect to the city, fans, teammates, staff and club, and thereby getting the best out of them. As for Brown, I thought he was a great player for us, and a fantastic player for us in 2002/03. It's impossible to tell if there were ways of getting even more out of him though.

By all accounts Warnock was successful in creating a great team spirit, and I just have a feeling it's not been the same the last few years. Are you sure the reliance on loans and short term contracts, the Copthorne lads, hasn't played a part in that? Don't you also have the feeling that we've had too many players who've come, played a bit, received silly money, then left? Players who will hardly remember their time here? Isn't it peculiar how many experienced, well merited players we've had, dropping in, while we've slid down the footballing ladder. Doesn't it suggest a different strategy is needed, one where the club doesn't just look at the individual CVs of the players we sign up, but try to build something with good players who want to achieve something here?

 

[ghandi]

Average wage for a League 1 player is £80k per annum (http://soccerlens.com/finance-in-english-football-wage-disparities-between-the-divisions/92692/) , and remember that's average. Some will be earning much less than that. It's certainly a far cry from the £5k a week people have mentioned. Ok, it's a lot of money in Sheffield, but it's not a massive amount and certainly not anywhere near paying off a mortgage in a few weeks. It would be a long-term financial commitment. The wives of said players would/could also need to change jobs should they move. I have a mortgage already, it took me a year to sell my last place and 4 months to buy my new place. This idea that once the ink is dry, people instantly transfer from one part of the country to another is ridiculous, it's not even practical.

As for moving about if you were offered a job, no you wouldn't have to move, you have to choose. You could move near to work, you could commute daily/weekly, or you could stay in B&B's or rent. Your employer doesn't have the right to tell you where you will live your life outside of work. I don't live where I work.

Without going into the un-settling implications for a parent of moving their child around, if a person is contracted to be at training at 8am and does that and while there performs his duties, then I don't think for one second the employer can state where they live.

Average mean wages don't really give any idea of what people are earning. What is required is the median wages of League 1 which is far more accurate than just adding up everyones wages and dividing the total by the number people.

 

[oldblade]

The idea is that it can help players connect to the city, fans, teammates, staff and club, and thereby getting the best out of them. As for Brown, I thought he was a great player for us, and a fantastic player for us in 2002/03. It's impossible to tell if there were ways of getting even more out of him though.

By all accounts Warnock was successful in creating a great team spirit, and I just have a feeling it's not been the same the last few years. Are you sure the reliance on loans and short term contracts, the Copthorne lads, hasn't played a part in that? Don't you also have the feeling that we've had too many players who've come, played a bit, received silly money, then left? Players who will hardly remember their time here? Isn't it peculiar how many experienced, well merited players we've had, dropping in, while we've slid down the footballing ladder. Doesn't it suggest a different strategy is needed, one where the club doesn't just look at the individual CVs of the players we sign up, but try to build something with good players who want to achieve something here?

I agree wholeheartedly with much of what you say.

Whatever the merits or otherwise of Warnock as a manager, it is blindingly obvious that team spirit since he left has been virtually non existent by comparison with what it was like when he was here. I just feel there is a lot more to it than how close a player lives to Sheffield. I don't know, but would hazard a guess that Brown wasn't the only player living outside the city during that time and yet the team spirit was colossal.