To be fair to Defoe, there probably is something more than money going on. Looking at 07/8, when he was at Spurs he only started three games in the Prem (on the bench most of the time) and it was pretty clear that the manager didn't really rate him. As a result his England career was also looking in doubt - if you can't get into your club side sort of thing.....

OK he'll have made a fair bit of money too from signing on fees etc, but it seems to have been more about wanting to give himself the best chance possible of playing for his country.

Sky sports news was on about Scott Parker going to Man City on a reputed £!00,000 a month, nearly half a million a month for a run of the mill player ........... incredible, no wonder football appears to live on another planet

I never thought I'd see the day........ but I can see me distancing myself from all this greed in the not-too-distant future. Why should I pay an ever increasing percentage of my earnings to watch my chosen leisure pastime?
It's not like it's an essential to life such as food or heating or paying the mortgage - although Sky/Setanta/ITV/BBC and the Premier League would have us all believe different.
I've even thought of this scenario - the people who watch teams at the grass roots level such as Northern League probably enjoy it far more than we do as Pools fans.
Some might shoot me down over this - but if Pools ever landed up in the Unibond Premier or whatever I would possibly enjoy going to those games far more. It's just less serious, and less stressful. One thing we've all caught from the premier league is the virus of expectation and to demand success, even though someone has to fail!!!!
I went to a match years ago, Carshalton v Canvey Isalnd and the whole experience was excellent.
I would do that type of match again a thousand times before I ever, ever went to any single premier league match (even if it was free travel, free entry, free scran and free booze)

I have family live just outside Boston and for the 20 years i have gone to watch them when i.ve been visiting down there and when they were non league it was great to go but when they got in the league it changed.

Mad john you really are not mad well said

Basically, it's because so many of us have unfocussed, free-floating anger and dissatisfaction, and use football as a scapegoat for it all.





I think

but remeber Grabec


"Listen Transparancy is everything, even when its cloudy outside, just remember that"

You mean I should add some foot-notes?

I have absolutely no problem with players receiving exorbitant wages. It's a supply and demand issue but I'm not part of that demand so I don't give a toss.
Ultimately I see it only leading to self destruction. Football can only generate so much in the way of revenues. Local bars are already cancelling their Sky Sports subscriptions, which suggests prices have hit and even gone through their ceiling. There are only so many kids who will be delighted with receiving Manchester United slippers as a Christmas present. Opening an Arsenal purse in front of everyone is a pretty weak fashion statement. Premiership football in its present state is a limited life product, unsustainable. Yay!

I would just like to see the end of its wretched, greedy lifespan sooner rather than later

You may think I'm mad, but the shit days were fun sometimes, in the days before the football world went mad.

with the kind of backing we have now - if we could be transported back in time we could easily do a Watford, Swansea or a Wimbledon!!!

Even now, i still laugh when I used to regard an away draw as a good result....... a win away guaranteed a look of disbelief for a couple of days and out early to wait for the footy mail.