30-01-2019, 13:30
I could live very comfortably and luxuriously on (say) £50k pa, although that's insulting to my Dad and Grandad etc etc who would have dreamt of earning 1/2 that amount (at Yesterday's rates).
How people manage to spend £1m pa is really beyond me, and I don't believe they're happier than me, as the only time you see the mega-rich smile is when they're showing off their new Porsche/boat/mansion etc. or when they find another way of Tax-dodging.
That's enough about minimalist me, though. I'm not a Communist, but I lean more towards the Left than I do towards the Right, and I appreciate being lucky enough to live more comfortably today than my Grandad ever did. He was happy enough, though.
So when I see the obscene salaries paid to Footballers (and their Agents!) that we worship, I really despair. It's a short career - I know - but so was it 50 years ago for the Jeff Astles, who started up a window-cleaning business when they retired; not many ex-players have regrets about their short careers, and wouldn't have swopped their life for a factory/office job, so I'm sure they'd be more than content to earn a tenth of what they do now, if they had lived in a different era.
I'm thinking of suggesting to Jeremy Corbyn that he gets a Plan issued to Nationalise Football. He'll no doubt agree that the multi-multi-millions earned by Football Stars, mainly from abroad, who probably haven't even walked the High Streets of West Bromwich or Newcastle - nor care how their adoring fans 'go without' just to follow them Away - is a horrific example of a Them-and-Us-Society.
It's just a pipe dream, because the Lawyers would earn a fortune saving footballers from this nightmare. But, if the Government paid Club Shareholders whatever they invested (+ 10%, say) - and thus owned every League Club, Ministry of Sport could ensure every Club just ran within their means - and that would probably mean NO MORE MILLIONAIRE PLAYERS (let alone £20m pa).
(My next letter to Corbyn is Nationalise the Legal Industry).
Hopefully the 70% (or whatever) foreign players would f**k off to Spain and Italy, and so would the best British players - just how it was in the last Century when Football was not as good..... but real fans didn't mind the quality - just loved the local pride! Slowly, but gradually, Sky (and BT) would clear off because "Footy" would no longer be "on trend", and thus Clubs (supervised by MoS) would have to reduce salaries as Sky drop their sponsorship.
Even 5 years ago we were saying the money in Football couldn't get even more ridiculous - so what might we even see in another 5,10 years??? It's only going to get worse, and those running The Premiership are loving it, because their salaries are linked to the finance provided by Sky/BT.
Only 1/2 dozen Prem games kick-off at 3pm on a Saturday......
....."well, sod the silly fans who watch it live.....there are a million Sky sets being switched on at all other hours of the week by armchair fans, and the daft real fans still take Monday afternoons and Tuesday mornings off work to go see it live, so let's pretend they must like it!"
Plenty of stuff there to be criticised, but I can't be the only fan who far prefer the Old Days. One snag might be the Treasury being unable to afford the odd Billion to repay Shareholders, but economists will argue that if everyone gave up their Sky subscription they could then afford to buy other goods, keeping British Industry better off, instead of Billions ending up in Murdoch's slimey pockets.
Football Clubs would naturally learn to live within their means. And whether attendances might drop is debatable - they fluctuated up and down years before Sky stole The Game. I'd just be happy not to see smirking multi-millionaires poncing their goal celebrations in front of opposition fans after they've taken a dive in the Box - then swanning off in their Lamborghinis without a glance at their adoring autograph-hunters.
Some might argue that Government shouldn't interfere with such matters. But why not? The Public can't do anything at all to stop Sky - and Lai - taking over The Game, and it's an important part of many people's lives (who, like me, can't stop the addiction). So Government should intervene on behalf of their Public, and return The Game to the People, how it was. I've given up hoping that people will turn against the arrogant players by taking the Dishes to the Recycle Skip, and can only think of Nationalisation, which sounds daft, but they'd get my vote!!
How people manage to spend £1m pa is really beyond me, and I don't believe they're happier than me, as the only time you see the mega-rich smile is when they're showing off their new Porsche/boat/mansion etc. or when they find another way of Tax-dodging.
That's enough about minimalist me, though. I'm not a Communist, but I lean more towards the Left than I do towards the Right, and I appreciate being lucky enough to live more comfortably today than my Grandad ever did. He was happy enough, though.
So when I see the obscene salaries paid to Footballers (and their Agents!) that we worship, I really despair. It's a short career - I know - but so was it 50 years ago for the Jeff Astles, who started up a window-cleaning business when they retired; not many ex-players have regrets about their short careers, and wouldn't have swopped their life for a factory/office job, so I'm sure they'd be more than content to earn a tenth of what they do now, if they had lived in a different era.
I'm thinking of suggesting to Jeremy Corbyn that he gets a Plan issued to Nationalise Football. He'll no doubt agree that the multi-multi-millions earned by Football Stars, mainly from abroad, who probably haven't even walked the High Streets of West Bromwich or Newcastle - nor care how their adoring fans 'go without' just to follow them Away - is a horrific example of a Them-and-Us-Society.
It's just a pipe dream, because the Lawyers would earn a fortune saving footballers from this nightmare. But, if the Government paid Club Shareholders whatever they invested (+ 10%, say) - and thus owned every League Club, Ministry of Sport could ensure every Club just ran within their means - and that would probably mean NO MORE MILLIONAIRE PLAYERS (let alone £20m pa).
(My next letter to Corbyn is Nationalise the Legal Industry).
Hopefully the 70% (or whatever) foreign players would f**k off to Spain and Italy, and so would the best British players - just how it was in the last Century when Football was not as good..... but real fans didn't mind the quality - just loved the local pride! Slowly, but gradually, Sky (and BT) would clear off because "Footy" would no longer be "on trend", and thus Clubs (supervised by MoS) would have to reduce salaries as Sky drop their sponsorship.
Even 5 years ago we were saying the money in Football couldn't get even more ridiculous - so what might we even see in another 5,10 years??? It's only going to get worse, and those running The Premiership are loving it, because their salaries are linked to the finance provided by Sky/BT.
Only 1/2 dozen Prem games kick-off at 3pm on a Saturday......
....."well, sod the silly fans who watch it live.....there are a million Sky sets being switched on at all other hours of the week by armchair fans, and the daft real fans still take Monday afternoons and Tuesday mornings off work to go see it live, so let's pretend they must like it!"
Plenty of stuff there to be criticised, but I can't be the only fan who far prefer the Old Days. One snag might be the Treasury being unable to afford the odd Billion to repay Shareholders, but economists will argue that if everyone gave up their Sky subscription they could then afford to buy other goods, keeping British Industry better off, instead of Billions ending up in Murdoch's slimey pockets.
Football Clubs would naturally learn to live within their means. And whether attendances might drop is debatable - they fluctuated up and down years before Sky stole The Game. I'd just be happy not to see smirking multi-millionaires poncing their goal celebrations in front of opposition fans after they've taken a dive in the Box - then swanning off in their Lamborghinis without a glance at their adoring autograph-hunters.
Some might argue that Government shouldn't interfere with such matters. But why not? The Public can't do anything at all to stop Sky - and Lai - taking over The Game, and it's an important part of many people's lives (who, like me, can't stop the addiction). So Government should intervene on behalf of their Public, and return The Game to the People, how it was. I've given up hoping that people will turn against the arrogant players by taking the Dishes to the Recycle Skip, and can only think of Nationalisation, which sounds daft, but they'd get my vote!!
Start every day off with a smile and get it over with
