silk sheets

[shade]

Not necessarily disagreeing with the sentiment, but I don't think the players can be accused of not trying or lacking motivation, we are just lacking a little quality in front of goal and concentration at the back. We have fought and scrapped for every minute of every match I've seen, apart from 20 minutes at Charlton where we just switched off.

From a personal point of view, throughout my working I have fluctuated between very well paid and shite pay, and all sorts in between, but what motivates me is good management and being appreciated for the work I've done more so than how much money I receive.

without a doubt, good man management is a more effective motivator than money, but I would suggest that these unsustainable, ridiculous modern wages actually impact negatively on motivation.

I like Lloyd dyer, and maybe I'm a cynic, but when he was talking about Leicester being his club and not wanting to leave, did nobody else think: of course you wouldn't leave when you have a four year contract on silly money which you're guaranteed whether you perform or not? how does that security motivate you?

[Charl91]

without a doubt, good man management is a more effective motivator than money, but I would suggest that these unsustainable, ridiculous modern wages actually impact negatively on motivation.

I like Lloyd dyer, and maybe I'm a cynic, but when he was talking about Leicester being his club and not wanting to leave, did nobody else think: of course you wouldn't leave when you have a four year contract on silly money which you're guaranteed whether you perform or not? how does that security motivate you?

I've seen nothing on the pitch in most games to suggest a lack of motivation though.

Poor performances does not equal lack of effort.

[Corky]

Motivation is not the issue, quality is.

[BrummieFOX]

some wise guy once said "it's hard to get motivated when you wake up every day on silk sheets".

maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to the casual observer that the majority of players nowadays just can't really be bothered. they're celebrities who log on to their online bank and see another £12,742.54 has just been deposited.

so what if they have a bad game? they kinda want to win, naturally, but so what if they don't. money is a poor motivator, that's been proven, so basically, do you think our obscene wage structure is actually damaging us?

The opposite has actually been proven. All over the world you are statistically likely to be more successful as a club if you pay your players more. The money spent in player transfers actually has little correlation to success. However wage bills are, in almost every case, linked to success.

I don't have a link but have a read of Kuper and Szymanski's 'Why England Lose' or 'Soccernomics' as its known elsewhere. Brilliant stats driven book with some really interesting theories and facts about football.

I'm sure there are flaws within the research but it's an interesting find.

[ozleicester]

Seriously, does anyone actually believe these players play ONLY for money?

Whilst i believe the corporatisation of the game is damaging it and taking it away from the fans...i dont believe that players arent comitted and i honsetly believe that virtually all of them do their best every week.

Of course they grab all the money they can, i dont blame them for that, but if i ever reach a time when i believe that my team is not trying, then i think that will be the day i find another game/team to support.

[shade]

The opposite has actually been proven. All over the world you are statistically likely to be more successful as a club if you pay your players more. The money spent in player transfers actually has little correlation to success. However wage bills are, in almost every case, linked to success.

I don't have a link but have a read of Kuper and Szymanski's 'Why England Lose' or 'Soccernomics' as its known elsewhere. Brilliant stats driven book with some really interesting theories and facts about football.

I'm sure there are flaws within the research but it's an interesting find.

Really? well that means that football as a business goes against everything I have read on the subject. most odd.

to paste straight from a book on the subject it's been consistently shown that once people have a base level of money that makes them comfortable, using monetary incentives to get them to do creative work fails. Not just fails, but leads to worse performance.

not only does higher wages, potentially lead to malaise, it can also cripple performances with unrealistic expectation and pressure.

it's lucky that only weak people feel pressure I guess.

[Captain...]

Really? well that means that football as a business goes against everything I have read on the subject. most odd.

to paste straight from a book on the subject it's been consistently shown that once people have a base level of money that makes them comfortable, using monetary incentives to get them to do creative work fails. Not just fails, but leads to worse performance.

not only does higher wages, potentially lead to malaise, it can also cripple performances with unrealistic expectation and pressure.

it's lucky that only weak people feel pressure I guess.

But that is only if you consider that we are using money as a motivator, we used money to acquire their services, but that shouldn't be their motivation, that should come from the club, from the manager, from the fans, and more importantly from the players themselves.

This is the difference between now and Sven, under Sven you go the impression Sven thought the money would motivate them, ad didn't understand why it didn't, that could be wrong, but looking at Sven's history he tends to follow the money, and not get the best out of his team.

[BrummieFOX]

Really? well that means that football as a business goes against everything I have read on the subject. most odd.

to paste straight from a book on the subject it's been consistently shown that once people have a base level of money that makes them comfortable, using monetary incentives to get them to do creative work fails. Not just fails, but leads to worse performance.

not only does higher wages, potentially lead to malaise, it can also cripple performances with unrealistic expectation and pressure.

it's lucky that only weak people feel pressure I guess.

Football is most odd though isn't it. It often goes against what we would normally perceive to be natural.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-England-Lose-phenomena-explained/dp/0007301111

It's honestly a really good read and the economist and football statistician that wrote it find that in nearly every single case, the more a team pays it's players, the more successful they will be.

[Royston.]

Seriously, does anyone actually believe these players play ONLY for money?

Whilst i believe the corporatisation of the game is damaging it and taking it away from the fans...i dont believe that players arent comitted and i honsetly believe that virtually all of them do their best every week.

Of course they grab all the money they can, i dont blame them for that, but if i ever reach a time when i believe that my team is not trying, then i think that will be the day i find another game/team to support.

Surprised you didnt quit long ago.

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

Big money, is the name of the game, and most players imo, do not have either the pride or the passion.

It truly is a shame, but how do we get back to "Value for money"?

[Basildon Fox]

Big money, is the name of the game, and most players imo, do not have either the pride or the passion.

It truly is a shame, but how do we get back to "Value for money"?

Wage cap with the chance to earn big money through win/success bonuses. Will not ever happen though.

[AKCJ]

I think they are exceptions to the rule. You can't just name four players who try hard and then say you've proved this 'silk sheets' idea wrong - such a small number doesn't really give an impression of all the high-earners in football.

I know, I was only giving the example of (probably - only my guess) the top 4 earners in world football.

I really do think that for every lazy overpaid earner there is a workhorse.

As there also is with every underpaid footballer. I don't buy into the stereotype and I believe it to be a cop out.

[shade]

Football is most odd though isn't it. It often goes against what we would normally perceive to be natural.

http://www.amazon.co...d/dp/0007301111

It's honestly a really good read and the economist and football statistician that wrote it find that in nearly every single case, the more a team pays it's players, the more successful they will be.

I'll have a read of it. couldn't you just conclude that by paying players more you can get better quality players than other teams though? of course quality & motivation is the best combination, but quality alone will often prevail over well motivated, less well rewarded players.

Martin O'neill's team may have been well organised and motivated, but a team of strop throwing, money grabbing Carlos Tevez-alikes, would beat them more often than not ?

We shouldn't mistake a natural talent and years of precision training for effort/motivation.