Plug-face Bale

[Jenny]

If you were offered £300,000 would you turn it down?

[BillyStubbsTears]

Bob Jim

Nail. Head.

For those bored with the Thatcher angle. Consider this v

In 1975, the average FTSE100 CEO earned 20 times the average wage in his firm. Today the multiplier is 200x. Do we have a healthier economy as a result?

Footballers' obscene wages are a reflection of that same societal shift vwr've had a generation brought up on the premise that those at the top are do different, so special, that they should be allowed to make their own rules. And we've doffed out caps and said, "ok Sir."

In the case of football everyone of you who laps up Sky Sports has paid for that situation to emerge. Are you happy with the overall state of football that you have produced? A state where only 2 or 3 clubs are serious contenders in each country, and only 8 or 10 are serious contenders for the Champions League? Is that what sport is about?

Because if that is the sport you are happy with, the word "sport" means different things to thee and me.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Jenny. With respect, that is a pointless question. Of course people would accept it.

The blame lies at the door of a community, a society that has allowed organisations the free rein to offer such obscene sums.

And the fact that it is happening in Spain, where unemployment is over 25%, where over 50% of under 24s are unemployed and where old folk have been throwing themselves off balconies because the bailiffs were moving in to re-possess the flat that they could no longer afford, just makes the obscenity worse.

[Sheepskin Stu]

Everything counts in large amounts...

[eastender]

Jenny. With respect, that is a pointless question. Of course people would accept it.

The blame lies at the door of a community, a society that has allowed organisations the free rein to offer such obscene sums.

And the fact that it is happening in Spain, where unemployment is over 25%, where over 50% of under 24s are unemployed and where old folk have been throwing themselves off balconies because the bailiffs were moving in to re-possess the flat that they could no longer afford, just makes the obscenity worse.

What makes the obscenity even worse is that  some of his wage and transfer fee will be partly or largely funded by the Spanish royal Family. 

[bobjimwilly]

And the fact that it is happening in Spain, where unemployment is over 25%, where over 50% of under 24s are unemployed and where old folk have been throwing themselves off balconies because the bailiffs were moving in to re-possess the flat that they could no longer afford, just makes the obscenity worse.

I was thinking about this earlier BST. There seemed to be a lot of happy Real fans, a lot of them in their early 20's. A good proportion of those fans will be unemployed, yet they seem to be happy spending what little money they have funding one person on money they could only dream of. Doesn't make sense does it?

[Jenny]

You only have to look at this forum to realise that the fans (and their unrealistic expectations and demands) are part of the problem in football.

We want everything, we want it now, and generally we don't care what it costs.

[ponte_ricky]

makes me sick. its disgusting money.

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

You only have to look at this forum to realise that the fans (and their unrealistic expectations and demands) are part of the problem in football.

We want everything, we want it now, and generally we don't care what it costs.

The same thing could apply to a lot of chairmen - see Portsmouth etc....

I don't agree that Bale's salary is ridiculous, you're worth at the end of the day what somebody is willing to pay you....

[Jenny]

And he will be losing about 50% of it in tax... So the Spanish government will be seeing some return on their investment.

[graingrover]

Spanish income tax bands .. doesn't it make the heat bleed !!
Income band                           Tax rate
€0 - €17.007                           24,75%
€17.007 - €33.007                    30%
€33.007 - €53.407                    40%
€53.407 - €120.000                  47%
€120.000 - €175,000                49%
€175.000 - €300.000                51%
over €300.000                           52%

[BillyStubbsTears]

You only have to look at this forum to realise that the fans (and their unrealistic expectations and demands) are part of the problem in football.

We want everything, we want it now, and generally we don't care what it costs.

The same thing could apply to a lot of chairmen - see Portsmouth etc....

I don't agree that Bale's salary is ridiculous, you're worth at the end of the day what somebody is willing to pay you....

BFYP

Again, you're kind of missing the point that I am trying to make. "What someone is prepared to pay for you" is not some fixed constant defined as a Law of the Universe. It is a function of the freedom that society gives to very rich people to a) become very rich and b) do what they want with their money.

As I have said, we're at the culmination of 35 years of free market revolution, where the shackles have been removed from the richest in society. They have been free to accumulate as much wealth as they can, and do what they want with it.

It wasn't always like that. We used to impose restrictions on these issues. There are strong arguments that a) society and b) football were both healthier as a result. Certainly, 30-50 years ago, you had a vibrantly competitive national and international football scene, where smaller clubs like Forest, Derby County, Leeds, St Etienne, Panathinaikos, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bruges etc could get to the semi or better of the European Cup.

Clubs like that will NEVER be competitive again in the current set-up. The competition has been squeezed out. Now, the finalists of the Champions League can be picked out for the next 5 years, from a group of maybe 10-12 mega-clubs.

That is as healthy for football as the emergence of mega-wealthy and mega-powerful super banks like RBS was for society as a whole in the 90s and 2000s. And all through that time, we heard the mantra "These organisations should be free to pay Bob Diamond/Fred Goodwin whatever the market says he is worth."

That turned out well for us all didn't it?

[BillyStubbsTears]

Jenny. As an accountant, do you REALLY think that Gareth Bale SpA will be paying 50% income tax?

Really?

[graingrover]

BST .  Price Coopers will do alright out of shielding him from that.

[drfcbenny625]

Honestly I don't see a problem with huge transfer fees and wages. Clubs are businesses at the end of the day. People dont really bat their eyelids when facebook buys instagram for £1b etc. There seems to be this belief that clubs should be using their money to cure the evils of the world

[GallagherLad]

Capitalism needs to constantly consolidate (in whatever state) to carry on. It is on the never never and football will go the same way.  Premiership Footballs becoming the saturday afternoon XFactor and the Premier League are the Simon Cowell.  Self interest is always the core, surrounded by massive greed

[Dimples-D]

Best topic on here for ages.

[SpaceShowerTeleVision]

You only have to look at this forum to realise that the fans (and their unrealistic expectations and demands) are part of the problem in football.

We want everything, we want it now, and generally we don't care what it costs.

The same thing could apply to a lot of chairmen - see Portsmouth etc....

I don't agree that Bale's salary is ridiculous, you're worth at the end of the day what somebody is willing to pay you....

BFYP

Again, you're kind of missing the point that I am trying to make. "What someone is prepared to pay for you" is not some fixed constant defined as a Law of the Universe. It is a function of the freedom that society gives to very rich people to a) become very rich and b) do what they want with their money.

As I have said, we're at the culmination of 35 years of free market revolution, where the shackles have been removed from the richest in society. They have been free to accumulate as much wealth as they can, and do what they want with it.

It wasn't always like that. We used to impose restrictions on these issues. There are strong arguments that a) society and b) football were both healthier as a result. Certainly, 30-50 years ago, you had a vibrantly competitive national and international football scene, where smaller clubs like Forest, Derby County, Leeds, St Etienne, Panathinaikos, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bruges etc could get to the semi or better of the European Cup.

Clubs like that will NEVER be competitive again in the current set-up. The competition has been squeezed out. Now, the finalists of the Champions League can be picked out for the next 5 years, from a group of maybe 10-12 mega-clubs.

That is as healthy for football as the emergence of mega-wealthy and mega-powerful super banks like RBS was for society as a whole in the 90s and 2000s. And all through that time, we heard the mantra "These organisations should be free to pay Bob Diamond/Fred Goodwin whatever the market says he is worth."

That turned out well for us all didn't it?

BST what a boring old fart you are turning out to be.

Bale - good luck lad, I hope you keep playing well and entertain some people like Di Stefano and Pushkas did before you.

[BigColSutherland]

I hope no one has got a landline either. Putting money in bloody BT's pocket.

[CraigyBoy]

Sometimes I honestly think about stopping watching football at all - and I never ever watch premier league or champions league or international football games. It's the fact that people like beckham can play no games at a club and get two hundred grand a week and then promise to give it all to charity - except did he? - and some people said that the charity angle was to get him a tax break? Maybe I'm wrong? And to watch idiots run and kick a ball about doesn't give you joy when you know they get more money than a policeman or a nurse or the prime minister! The problem isn't then, it's the idiots who worship them. Watching the stupid behaviour of some fans even at our level pandering after our players and wanting titbits of news or gossip or just to see them in the street is just ridiculous. These young men are mostly a bit thick.

[The Red Baron]

Spanish income tax bands .. doesn't it make the heat bleed !!
Income band                           Tax rate
€0 - €17.007                           24,75%
€17.007 - €33.007                    30%
€33.007 - €53.407                    40%
€53.407 - €120.000                  47%
€120.000 - €175,000                49%
€175.000 - €300.000                51%
over €300.000                           52%

So people who earn between nothing and 17,000 euros a year are taxed at nearly 25%? No wonder their economy's f**ked!

[ravenrover]

Just a thought prompted by Aidrian Durham on Talksport, the next time you pay your £20 or whatever it is watch the Rovers play 90 minutes, Mr Bale will have "earned" over £2500 pounds in that same amount of time 

[BillyStubbsTears]

Spanish income tax bands .. doesn't it make the heat bleed !!
Income band                           Tax rate
€0 - €17.007                           24,75%
€17.007 - €33.007                    30%
€33.007 - €53.407                    40%
€53.407 - €120.000                  47%
€120.000 - €175,000                49%
€175.000 - €300.000                51%
over €300.000                           52%

So people who earn between nothing and 17,000 euros a year are taxed at nearly 25%? No wonder their economy's f**ked!

TRB
Those are taxable income figures. IE AFTER allowances, which, as far as I can tell, are broadly similar to ours.

SpaceShowerTV. Ta for that. Useful contribution. For the record, I've always been a boring old fart. Nearly as boring as top flight national and European football has become now that it is the domain of a slack handful of mega-wealthy clubs and competition has been throttled off. You enjoy that? Grand. I'm dead chuffed for you. Me, I used to really enjoy seeing a Malmo or a Forest or an Ajax get to a big final. Each to their own spadger. 

[Viking Don]

Bale looks like a SIM. Has anyone actually seen him in real life?

My *cough* mate has got Sky so he created me a Sky username so I can watch all the Sky crap on my PC. I've got BT broadband so I gave them his Sky viewing card number so he can watch all the BT Sports crap. That's the way forward - share subscriptions as far and wide as you can.

[DonnyNoel]

Good trivia one for you BST on the theme you are mentioning (same clubs/countries dominating Europe).

(I don't know the answer yet as its been posed on twitter but the answer not posted yet)

Who are the only 4 clubs who have won the European cup who are the only club from their country to have done so. (ie more than one English, Italian, Spanish club have won it so none of them can be the answer)

So far I've some up 3 I'm confident with and one possible without resorting to google.

[BigColSutherland]

Tough one this, as according to profane Billy, these should all be village teams no chuff has ever heard of - assuming they all won it before tele was invented or summit.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Donny Noel

Celtic
Red Star Belgrade
Marseilles
Steaua Bucharest

At a guess.

[Chris Black come back]

I have always thought that the most amazing run was English clubs total domination of the European Cup in the 1980s seemingly at a time (so we are told by cretins like Tim Lovejoy and 'Spoony') that football in this country was 'on its knees'.

English clubs won the European Cup for SIX consecutive seasons: 1977 (Liverpool), 1978 (Liverpool), 1979 (Forest), 1980 (Forest), 1981 (Liverpool) and 1982 (Villa). To add to this Liverpool won in 1984 and finished runners up in 1985.

Glad all this money from Sky has improved the crap performance by English clubs in Europe during the 1980s.

[DonnyNoel]

Donny Noel

Celtic
Red Star Belgrade
Marseilles
Steaua Bucharest

At a guess.

Correct. Marseille was the one I didn't get as I had a suspicion Ajax were the only Dutch team to have won it.

[ponte_ricky]

The premiership is barely even english football now.does my head in.