Why football should change...

...but why I'm not convinced anything positive will emerge when the Coronavirus pandemic is over.

Toxic is a word I would use which perfectly describes football and the environment it is. If we stem away from the bull sh*t often involved then it's definitely not the 'Beautiful Game' as it was once dubbed or any of that nonsense - yes, we all love it, but it's political, it can be nasty, bitchy and back-stabbing, it's pressure-driven, it's intense, it takes a toll on your mental health (hence why those issues are rife) and a crisis of some sort is never too far around the corner at most clubs.

In my opinion, it's important to separate the two parts of football clubs - there's the footballers and what happens on the footballing side of things. Then, there's also boardroom/directors - those involved in the day-to-day running of clubs, chairmen who want to own a club as a status symbol, etc. The two shouldn't be mixed together too much but often those in suits want to indoctrinate their views on others when, quite often, it's not the best way to go.

During this pandemic, many players have been slammed for not taking pay cuts and not doing 'enough' to help the country, which is wrong, unfair and rubbish. Why should the players get criticism? Now I think some of them get paid too much, especially in the Premier League where wages are bloody stupid, but it's club owners who have agreed those contracts/deals on X amount per week, so therefore they should honour the contracts. Arsenal's Mesut Ozil is one player who has been battered in the press for refusing to take a pay cut. However, lets not forget there's a snake within that club who has leaked this information out for the press to get hold of - something which would be more of concerning, for me, if I were in that environment.

Too much of this 'help' being muttered is just about the PR game when in reality, all it does is help the multi-millionaire owners (who exist at all levels of the game, by the way, not just in the Premier League) to save a few quid when, ironically, several owners themselves have gone quiet when it comes to helping the country, the NHS or others during this crisis - instead swimming in their own self-indulged world of how 'cancellation of the season' may affect them. It's worth remembering some clubs (especially the top ones) dictate players' lives to the nth degree even when they're not 'at work' - basically telling them what they can eat/drink, what they can do in their spare time, where to go, who to speak to, what to say, what not to say, etc. If it were a relationship, these clubs would be done for coercive behaviour! Danny Rose, the England left-back, has said he 'can't wait' to be done with football - why is that? There's also examples such as Derby County who bombed Richard Keogh on a whim following the car crash incident last year but kept the other, more saleable, players on their books. Then, there are managers at some clubs who'll try all manner of dirty tricks to get someone out the door, whether it's attacking a player's character, forcing him to train with the kids (an attempt at humiliation amongst his peers) or by getting him to come into the club for isolation training at stupid o'clock - in a hope the player will crack under pressure, forfeit wages, and leave the club.

So why the hell should any footballer take a pay cut right now? Yes, many players could probably live on just a set percentage of their weekly wage for a few months - but if they want to donate it to anyone, it's entirely down to the individual. The clubs, who are perhaps trying to renege on some contracts - even though they have wealthy owners, should be totally ashamed of themselves. As has been pointed out, these players on huge amounts do contribute phenomenal amounts, individually, through income tax - something which has been forgotten by the Tory government.

And how dare that two-faced Matt Hancock (who, by the way, needs to be held accountable for some of the nonsense he has spouted - such as 100,000 tests per day) have a pop at players and try to 'hang them out to dry' by twisting public opinion against them. Lets remember, he was one of the MPs who voted AGAINST giving NHS staff a pay rise not too long ago, yet now he's trying to sit on his perch and point fingers. So he can do one!

Amidst the endless squawking about 'what will happen with this season' then I've reached the point where, frankly, I couldn't care less anymore how it's sorted out. There'll be ramifications, arguments and fall-outs either way (that's just football), but it won't change the fact that nothing much will be different in regards to the fundamental problems within football. On the whole, it's still going to be a loss-making industry, clubs will still overspend and get themselves into problems and supporters passing through the turnstiles will feel it most when they still pay excessive ticket prices every week.


What I'd propose, hypothetically (and in an ideal world), is the following:

1) A salary cap of £5,000 p/w in the Championship, £2,500 p/w in League One, £1,250 p/w in League Two and £1,000 p/w in the National League. I don't know how you sort out the ginormous, mega-money problems in the Premier League!

2) Squads to be limited to no more than 25 first team players, 11 'Development Squad' players (aged 18-21) and 18 youth team scholars.

3) A 50+1 model, similar to Germany, to both give supporters a meaningful voice in the running of their club and to do away with 'club owners' as we know them at present.


If all of this were to be implemented then I've no doubts, as has occurred time and again, some clubs would do their level best to bend the rules - and it'd probably be to do with bonus payments or 'signing on' payments so further legislation would be needed here to prevent financial armageddon.

Anyway, to back up some of my points.

The specified caps (if used to their maximum with 25 first team squad players) would mean an annual wage bill of £6.5M in the Championship, £3.25M in League One, £1.625M in League Two and £1.3M in the National League. In some cases, these figures aren't too far away from reality at present and it'd still be down to each individual club to manage their own finances. Obviously, there'd be an immediate problem with some current contracts on higher amounts than what I've specified - but this is a short-term issue which would be sorted when all the current deals have expired. Until that point, they need to be honoured accordingly.

Restricting squad places to just 25 might also help to eradicate the mentality which exists amongst some footballers - the types who'll sign a deal and be happy to collect a wage because they enjoy the lifestyle of 'being a footballer' but not the hard graft in training or on a matchday. They'll know if they want one of these positions - especially higher up and with more money, then they're going to have to work hard and achieve it - or have a good agent. Furthermore, it might help to eradicate some of the bad agents in football who'll get players on their books but when they're needed by that player, they don't have the connections to set them up with moves. Those sort of agents exist 'en masse' and need to be eradicated anyway, regardless of what happens in the aftermath of this pandemic.

If a player believes they're worth more than what they're getting paid but don't like the hard graft then they can always go abroad and find a better deal (even though these wage figures would compare well when pitted against many other countries). If a manager doesn't think he can work with a squad of 25 first team players, plus a 'Development Group' then maybe whatever club he's at should consider looking for a new manager. At some clubs, it might also help to narrow the pathway from development to first team football - especially during an injury crisis!

With regards to ownership, the fact at the moment is too many clubs have too many owners with their self-interests or 'egos' at the forefront of their activities. Look at Sheffield Wednesday, who were taken over by Dejphon Chansiri and the first thing he did was ripped up the seats in one of the stands and replaced them with white ones to spell out 'Chansiri'. Does he really have the best interests of that club at heart, or is it just he wants to own it as a status symbol to impress people with? The same could be said of the owners at Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, Cardiff City, Blackburn Rovers and many more - owners who'll come in with zero connections to that town/city, chase a dream and rack up massive losses, yet when it all goes tits up, they're long gone.

The finances amongst Championship clubs are amongst the worst in any of the EFL's divisions because too many clubs are all chasing the dream; the golden ticket of promotion to the Premier League and the massive financial windfall that comes with it. The finances of second-tier clubs right now are unsustainable in the long-term and the EFL's pitiful attempt at 'financial fair play' simply hasn't worked - no matter how they'll attempt to dress it up! So a salary cap, in an effort to provide sustainability, is arguably more essential here than in any other division.

As stupid as football fans can sometimes be with their ridiculous partisan attitude, their loyalty to whichever clubs they support cannot be questioned and I doubt they'd be willing to risk the long-term future of their own club in comparison to a spend-thrift owner who'll cover losses (racked up by themselves) with loans. So giving the supporters a meaningful voice and representation at boardroom level, as opposed to token gestures that happen now like deciding the matchday music, would help in ensuring the sustainability of their club in the long run. Who knows, it might even help to reduce ticket prices over a period of time too, if the football industry was to change from generally loss-making to generally profitable.

There are a whole lot more things other than what I've outlined which need to change in football, but I won't hold my breath too much because the reality is, once this is over, I can't see anything changing - it might just push one or two clubs closer to breaking point!