Football Focus

[peanuts]

Got to love our new owner and his half time interview 

 

[Ohmisterporter]

Anyone like to predict the first manager to be fired this season?

[Hobby]

If they do then they deserve to fail. The team needs pruning of the deadwood before they even think of getting rid of the manager.

Edited August 14, 2022 by Hobby
spelling

[SHMD]

3 hours ago, peanuts said:

Got to love our new owner and his half time interview 

 

 

I think he has done a good job of trying to alienate a lot of people who have a soft spot for Oldham (in Manchester).

(Rule #1 for CEOs/Owners/Chairs/etc, never discourage a potential revenue stream.)

 

 

Kev.

 

[F-UnitMad]

[newbryford]

And:

[newbryford]

[SHMD]

Bom bom!

 

 

Kev.

[Gareth Collier]

Stop the league now, I'll take second :)

[Hobby]

I do wish we'd stop giving the opposition a head start... Are Bournemouth the whipping boys this season, conceded 16 already? What's happening at Leicester?

[Claude_Dreyfus]

7 minutes ago, Hobby said:

What's happening at Leicester?

 

I don't think selling a number of their first team players and not making any outfield signings helps. Its not over yet either, I suspect they will lose at least a couple more before the window closes. Got to be a little worried for them this season.

Edited August 27, 2022 by Claude_Dreyfus

[KeithMacdonald]

40 minutes ago, Hobby said:

I do wish we'd stop giving the opposition a head start... Are Bournemouth the whipping boys this season, conceded 16 already? What's happening at Leicester?

 

You have to feel sorry for Scott Parker (Bournemouth manager). With a name like a character in Thunderbirds (perhaps the love child of Lady Penelope and Aloysius Parker), he certainly needs some International Rescue now!

[Gareth Collier]

2 hours ago, Claude_Dreyfus said:

 

I don't think selling a number of their first team players and not making any outfield signings helps. Its not over yet either, I suspect they will lose at least a couple more before the window closes. Got to be a little worried for them this season.

I can see Brendan Rogers walking if anyone else goes with no replacements. He won't want a relegation out of his control on his CV.

[cary hill]

10 hours ago, Hobby said:

 What's happening at Leicester?

 

Very easy to explain:

 

1. KingPower's main business and the owning family's wealth is largely based on airport duty free sales outlets. This has taken an absolute battering due to Covid's effect on tourism. Both the family's wealth and sales turnover are down to approximately a third of pre-Covid levels.

 

2. Massively bloated wage bill £192 million (86.63% of turnover). This is the highest wages to turnover %age in the Premier League and this has been the case for the past four seasons.

 

3. Leicester have far too many "squad" players on over generous wages and long contracts who contribute little or nothing on match days. They can't be moved on because these wage levels can't be matched by other interested clubs even if a fee could be agreed.

 

4. Rodgers has bloated the squad with a fair few dud signings who can't command or even compete for a regular starting spot - some examples below:

 

Ayoze Perez £30m.

Patson Daka £29m.

Dennis Praet £19m.

Bouba Soumare £20m.

Jannik Vestergaard £18m.

 

5. Communication must be dire in the club at the moment as Rodgers was droning on about signing five or six players in the transfer window but nobody upstairs seems to have told him the piggy bank is empty and I suppose he must have told several players that they were surplus to requirements - not good for squad morale.

 

6. It seems very odd to be recruiting without a Head of Recruitment - although thankfully there's nothing to for them to do at the moment.

 

7. It's almost criminal that Leicester haven't appointed a defensive set piece coach given that Rodgers has no clue in this area (remember Liverpool).

 

There's loads more but that's more than enough for now.

 

Oh for the days when you could win the Premier League with a squad costing barely £25m. and paid relative peanuts. Was that only six years ago....seems a like a lifetime already.

Edited August 28, 2022 by cary hill

[Kelly]

9 minutes ago, cary hill said:

 

Very easy to explain:

 

1. KingPower's main business and the owning family's wealth is largely based on airport duty free sales outlets. This has taken an absolute battering due to Covid's effect on tourism. Both the family's wealth and sales turnover are down to approximately a third of pre-Covid levels.

 

 

 

7. It's almost criminal that Leicester haven't appointed a defensive set piece coach given that Rodgers has no clue in this area (remember Liverpool).

 

 

 

I remember the Rodgers era Liverpool only too well. Some decent players and signings, but no direction and a number of useless signings. That was blamed on Rodgers not having much say in the transfer committee's dealings. Klopp soon sorted most of that out when he came in to put things right.

 

I expect Leicster need a Klopp type of manager (and appropriate director of football with a clue!) now, Rodgers I think has gone as far as he can, he's by far not a Champions League, let alone Premier League winning coach, about best for mid-table at most I'd think.

[Ohmisterporter]

There are too many players content to collect the fat pay cheque every month and not play a game; not only at Leicester. Remember when most schoolboys, and some girls, wanted nothing more than to play for their team when they grew up? I never heard any kid say they didn't want to play football they just wanted the money. I write this having seen Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney play for ten pounds a week. 

[kevinlms]

5 hours ago, Ohmisterporter said:

There are too many players content to collect the fat pay cheque every month and not play a game; not only at Leicester. Remember when most schoolboys, and some girls, wanted nothing more than to play for their team when they grew up? I never heard any kid say they didn't want to play football they just wanted the money. I write this having seen Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney play for ten pounds a week. 

Slave labour is no answer either!

[Hobby]

I still think that results orientated pay would make many players try a lot harder. If you've got quarter of a million quid or more coming in every week regardless of what you do what incentive is there...

 

Ask CR7! ;)

Edited August 28, 2022 by Hobby

[peanuts]

Several seasons ago  we (oldham) had an under 23 academy player on loan from Man city who had not played any first team games .he was on £22k a week from what the club fans trust dug up whilst researching club finances .he has since gone on to have career playing for teams in the championship 

[Kelly]

7 hours ago, Ohmisterporter said:

There are too many players content to collect the fat pay cheque every month and not play a game; not only at Leicester. Remember when most schoolboys, and some girls, wanted nothing more than to play for their team when they grew up? I never heard any kid say they didn't want to play football they just wanted the money. I write this having seen Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney play for ten pounds a week. 

 

Player saleries in general are astronomical in the top leagues these days. Given how short reletive to a persons lifespan a career might be though and how much hard work and talent it takes to get to the top levels of the game I don't begrudge them a good wage to live off to some extent. Not all of them can make it in coaching or punditry.

1 hour ago, Hobby said:

I still think that results orientated pay would make many players try a lot harder. If you've got quarter of a million quid or more coming in every week regardless of what you do what incentive is there...

 

Ask CR7! ;)

 

To some extent that already exists. Goalkeepers and defenders will get clean sheet bonuses. Midfielders will get assist bonuses and strikers goal bonuses as examples. There are other contract clauses that give bonuses for winning a competition, so reaching a number of games played or a number of goals/assists in a season. Their base salery is rarely what they actually get paid!

 

14 minutes ago, peanuts said:

Several seasons ago  we (oldham) had an under 23 academy player on loan from Man city who had not played any first team games .he was on £22k a week from what the club fans trust dug up whilst researching club finances .he has since gone on to have career playing for teams in the championship 

 

Very common with the top clubs, especially the financial black hole type of club like City and Chelsea. They typically have so many players on their books that are out on loan earning money and the players that don't make it to the first team typicall earn them money when they're sold on to lower division teams as they'll typically put sell on clauses to get a cut of sales later on in their career.

 

FIFA/UEFA have been mooting banning the loan systems used by the likes of Chelsea and City and other top clubs, but its yet to come into force. You'll see a lot of player sales quite quickly if it ever does!

[Ohmisterporter]

17 hours ago, kevinlms said:

Slave labour is no answer either!

 

To put this in context; ten pounds a week at the time was probably double what the average fan on the terraces would be be getting paid. 

[kevinlms]

One down, 19 to go! The Premier League hasn't even completed the first month.

 

How many managers will be sacked this year?

[Ron Ron Ron]

On 28/08/2022 at 17:08, Hobby said:

I still think that results orientated pay would make many players try a lot harder. If you've got quarter of a million quid or more coming in every week regardless of what you do what incentive is there...

 

Ask CR7! ;)

 

While I agree that performance related rewards are a useful motivational tool, CR7 is a terrible example to illustrate your point.

He was the EPL's third highest scorer last season (ahead of Kane for example and in fewer appearances than all his closest EPL rivals), despite playing in a terribly organised, underperforming and problem laden team.

You couldn't find a more determined and motivated player, despite age having caught up with him and markedly reduced his physical ability.

He's not primarily playing for the money either, but more the obsession with personal records and a determination to carry on as long as possible.

He's the ultimate born winner.

The wages are a reflection of his marketability and status at the time of the deal being negotiated.

 

Unfortunately for him, he joined a very flawed team and football club set up, with a very limited team manager in OGS who couldn't create a distinctive and effective style of play, nor man manage a team containing several players who brought their own problems into the squad..

That squad containing a number of substandard players for the level at which the club aspires to operate at, some older players who were passed their best, plus a number of problem children who needed to be shunted out.

Hence the team's collapse last season and the subsequent clear out of senior management and players and a rebuilding process, that is only just getting underway.

 

Ronaldo's frustration is more about the time he has left to finish off building his legacy and possibly his difficulty in accepting that his time is almost up.

He only has 9 months left on his contract (this current season) and there's no Champions League football for him.

If he wants to leave, as the press are speculating, it'll be because of this and nothing to do with money.

The only statement he has made, is that 95% of the press stories and rumours are untrue or total garbage.

 

.

Edited August 30, 2022 by Ron Ron Ron

[Hobby]

Just think how many more he'd have got if he'd tried a bit harder, though! Yes i suppose I could have chosen better but I don't feel that his level of wages were justified (other than for the amount of merchandising income he brought in), other forwards on a lot less gave much better value for money. 

[Gareth Collier]

5 hours ago, kevinlms said:

One down, 19 to go! The Premier League hasn't even completed the first month.

 

How many managers will be sacked this year?

It never pays for a manager to win promotion from the Championship, the sack is usually just around the corner when they will almost certainly struggle with the step up especially when there were hardly any additions to the squad of any note.

On this occasion though he beat Villa whom are the level Bournemouth would be likely aiming at whilst the next 3 fixtures were Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool. There's a fairly good chance 3/4 of the Premiership would have lost to them.

You have to wonder at some owners.