Does Big money ruin the beautiful game?

[MPH]

It all depends what your interpretation of ' the beautiful game' is

 

 

There's no doubt in my mind that some of the players we have seen in the premier league, there is no way we would of seen them if it hadn't of been for 'big money'

 

 

 

I think it's ruined Leicester City, if thats what you mean, as i don't think our players have been able to reconcile the small team  ( in comparison) mentality with the money that was thrown at them.

[Izzy]

40 minutes ago, Mike Oxlong said:

Ashley Cole's immortal words on being offered a derisory sum of money per week in 2007

‘When I heard Jonathan Barnett (player’s agent) repeat the figure of £55K, I nearly swerved off the road. He (former Arsenal Director David Dein) is taking the piss Jonathan! I yelled down the phone. I was so incensed. I was trembling with anger. I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. I suppose it all started to fall apart for me from then on’

Case closed

And that was TEN years ago! 

[Guest Col city fan]

I've never got why so many people idolize footballers. And it's not only the kids. Their are grown men who do this too.

Footballers are simply doing what they are good at. And the best ones being paid obscene amounts of money to do so. I use the word obscene on purpose. I think the salaries at the top level are nothing short of disgraceful.

If you ever actually meet some of the players, you'll find that most are perfectly ordinary guys, some complete ass-wipes, some good lads....like in any walk of life. But that they get paid vis a vis what they do is extraordinary. There are many people on this forum who appear to love the Chinese Super League. I think what's they are doing over there is disgusting.

Here's the rub...people will SAY they are disillusioned, but if there weren't enough people watching football, talking about football, wrapped up in football, it wouldn't exist in its current guise.

You can't moan and complain about something, whilst at the same time supporting it and contributing to it. Well you can, but if you do you're hypocritical.

I say one more time...I think I could count on one hand, the number of people on this very forum who DIDNT think it was great that the club were offering the likes of Vardy massively improved and lucrative contracts.

In fact, most were welcomed with open arms because it meant that our 'superstars' (yes that was what Vardy was thought of only 6/7 months ago) would stay at the club.

You can't have your cake and eat it.

[WigstonWanderer]

18 hours ago, Karljohn said:

I run an under 11s team and get more enjoyment watching them than Leicester. Our pitch is a mud heap, the nets have holes in which we tie up and we have to work hard to get sponsorship for shirts and training tops. In comparison Jamie Vardy 'earns' 5 million pounds a year. The kids idolise these players but there is a huge disconnect and most of it starts with money and their aloof attitude after hitting the big time.

We used to dream of having nets....

[ozleicester]

pretty much all sport has been destroyed by money.

 

I stopped watching the olympics in the 80s

Cycling in the 90s

cricket in the 00's

im left with football...and that is getting harder to swallow.

 

[foxy boxing]

Big money and sponsorship has brought in huge pressures to footballers and clubs with even the bottom Premier league clubs guaranteed millions from the television money. there is just so much money for clubs now and they buy and sell players like they are at the supermarket and managers just are not given enough time to build a team.

[foxile5]

15 hours ago, foxinsocks said:

You are right 

 

Yet a club could be different.  Lcfc  get so much from sky they don't need to fleece their supporters.  A few years ago i was at an fcc mtg and questioned why we had to change the kit every year... forcing families to rebuy ...  the lame excuse was that all pl clubs do it.  I got shot down on here coz many fans like a new kit.... but it doesnt have to be 50 quid.

Its not money .... ... it is how folk react to it.

 

I think the bottom line is that we, as supporters, have allowed it.

 

We all decide enough is enough and stop watching : the game folds. Unfortunately we've allowed the clubs to wrest some control simply by being devoted. As alluded to earlier in the thread, grown men IDOLISE the players. Some grown men idolise the players because they are rich. Let that sink in. We're devoted to making people who play a game rich because we like the fact they are rich. It's a self perpetuating cycle.

 

We could stop the annual kit cycle by simply refusing to buy the slightly re-hashed kits. If the club started making significant losses on wasted updates they'd stop. But we won't. Our urges won't let us. Our kids won't let us. 

 

We do have masses and masses of power, but we've used it the wrong way. We've simply made the rich richer and served to distance those we idolise. It's endemic of human kind, I think. He's better at me at something that I want to be good at = he's a better person than me. The pedastol footballers have been raised onto is unbelievable.

 

 

[zealot]

You are absolutely right foxile5 but the thing is we can start to change those things!

Supporters do have a certain amount of power - especially if they push together on certain issues:
 - We could push as football supporters to improve or replace the FA

 - We could push to hold FIFA to account more 

 - We could push to properly christen our ground with a truly historic Leicester name
 - We could push for our kit to be rid of a big brand for one season or to carry a charity instead (like Barcelona a la UNICEF).
 - We could push for our ground to support local Leicestershire businesses only throughout rather than multinationals.