Oh My!

[Tom 13918]

T’S confirmed — money has finally driven English football mad.

 

The incontrovertible proof came with the news Birmingham’s Olivier Kapo had rewarded his bootboy for 12 months’ elbow grease with the keys to his £30,000 Mercedes.

 

When the 17-year-old lad in question said he couldn’t even afford the insurance, Kapo paid it himself.

 

For his part in Birmingham’s relegation, midfielder Kapo has been earning £1.5million a year — or the weekly equivalent of one Merc.

 

Not as good as Gaizka Mendieta up at Middlesbrough, though. The former Spain international, sitting out the last two years of his contract in the Boro reserves, has been “earning” £60,000 a week.

 

He last played for the first team on Boxing Day 2006.

 

Undeterred, Boro boss Gareth Southgate wants to replace him with Newcastle’s Alan Smith.

 

The same Smith who has distinguished himself by failing to score for Newcastle all season. Some return from a £62,000-a-week “striker” who cost the Toon £6m last year.

 

Then there is Smith’s team-mate Mark Viduka, who struggles by on £80,000 a week.

 

He stirred himself just enough to score seven times this season though it was hardly against blue-chip opposition — Boro, West Ham (2), Derby (2), Fulham and Reading.

 

No wonder Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has had enough.

 

Tough-guy Ashley, a man who earned his dosh through hard graft and a keen business brain, wants to save £2m a year by cutting Michael Owen’s £120,000-a-week wages to a paltry £80,000.

 

Owen, it is claimed, will move rather than suffer this indignity.

 

Full marks to Ashley, who wants to concentrate on producing stars of the future rather than pouring his hard-earned into the bottomless pit that is Newcastle’s mediocrity.

 

It’s high time someone tried to restore some financial sanity to the game rather than bowing to the insatiable greed of players and their agents.

 

In Newcastle’s case, a voracity that sees £70m of a £90m turnover going in wages to players — two of whom almost came to blows last weekend over who earned what.

 

Ashley has been astonished by the so-called business plan at a club which, in the past, has frittered away a fortune on players like Elena Marcelino, Jean-Alain Boumsong and Albert Luque (bought for £9.5m, sold for £2m).

 

This sort of madness left Newcastle with a £100m debt despite huge home attendances and a torrent of TV money.

 

Annual broadcasting revenue has increased from £464m to £758m. Biggest earners were champions Manchester United with £50m. Even relegated Derby and Brum received £29m.

 

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And what will happen to this money? It will be spewed out in a remorseless, reckless — and, no doubt, record — transfer splurge with most clubs putting themselves even deeper into hock just to stand still.

 

Premier League officials bang on about how their “product” is the best in the world.

 

But at what cost? The book-keeping of their clubs is so poor there is hardly one not carrying an enormous debt.

 

Look at the Big Four. Between them, United (£764m), Chelsea (£600m), Arsenal (£350m) and Liverpool (£350m) owe an incredible £2billion.

 

Arsenal’s debt, at least, went towards building the Emirates, which generates revenue of £3m a game, while Chelsea have Roman Abramovich.

 

Though what should happen if the Russian’s waning interest in his club becomes terminal no one at Stamford Bridge will want to contemplate — though we will all chip in a few bob to see the expression on Peter Kenyon’s face.

 

And then there’s United who, despite a record income of £210m and operating profits of £75m for the year ending June 2007, still produced an overall loss of £58m. I’m no financial genius but you do wonder where it’s all heading.

 

United have kept a close rein on Chelsea and prevented it being a simple case of the club with the biggest financial clout winning everything.

 

But how long before even they admit they cannot keep pace with the totally false economies practised by Chelsea and imposed — to near breaking point — on their rivals?

 

Each day, they raise the bar. After spending £24m on Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic in January, they have started the summer merry-go-round by outbidding United for Porto’s £16.5m Jose Bosingwa.

 

Crucially, Chelsea were willing to raise his weekly wage from £17,000 to £80,000 while United could “only” come up with £48,000.

 

This is where we came in. Money-induced mania leading in only one direction. Unless men like Ashley can make the others see some sort of sense.

 

As Paul Getty once observed: “A billion dollars ain’t what it used to be.”

 

[Tooj 17]

That was a hard read.

[Tom 13918]

That was a hard read.

 

Well if you're wrecked

[sammynb 2934]

That was a hard read.

 

Well if you're wrecked

 

Well it is past midnight so no doubt the bucket has been brought out from behind the couch!

[Tooj 17]

I'm sober as a judge here chaps. Just currently watching a bit of The Last Crusade.

[Andrew 4297]

once again on the owen subject " "

[Howay 12496]

I've noticed loads of articles start off about something unrelated then as soon as we get a mention it sets off a massive rant about us. "Footie players get loads of money" is hardly a new viewpoint is it.

[sammynb 2934]

I'm sober as a judge here chaps. Just currently watching a bit of The Last Crusade.

 

There's still time!

 

And Andrew until the day Owen leaves us or retires they will always be going on about "Owen."

Edited May 15, 2008 by sammynb

[Tooj 17]

I'm sober as a judge here chaps. Just currently watching a bit of The Last Crusade.

 

There's still time!

 

There's not when you don't have any!

[grasshopper 0]

doesn,t it just make you're direct debit piss you off

[Torres 0]

Most of what the article says is correct. Not well written but has a lot of truth in it.

[Guest alex]

Is T'S Confirmed meant to be 'Tis Confirmed?

[Tom 13918]

I dunno, It is from the sun!

[Guest alex]

I dunno, It is from the sun!

I assumed it was from some fans' website. Bad even by The Sun's standards.

[Tom 13918]

I dunno, It is from the sun!

I assumed it was from some fans' website. Bad even by The Sun's standards.

 

Kapo does a decent thing and shows remarkable generosity for a modern footballer - most who don't give a fuck and the sun make it out to be a bad thing and then that somehow gives them a right to have most of the article having a go at Newcastle.

 

Mark Viduka is on a lot yes - however he was a free transfer so it all adds up and makes sense I guess. Seven goals is a decent tally for a man who is instructed to hold the ball up and feed Owen/Martins.

 

Smith is on that much money for the sole reason he came form Manchester United.

 

Etc Etc

[Hadrian 0]

That was a hard read.

 

Well if you're wrecked

 

Well it is past midnight so no doubt the bucket has been brought out from behind the couch!

 

 

it should be out before midday , never mind midnight !

 

sick of this 100mill debt being thrown around like its fact !!! someone shoot me now !!

 

i firmly remember it being 70 when mort first opened his gob , then another 30 mill suddenly appeared ontop of it from sam's summer signings as a figure that had been invested on the whole .

now its 100mill debt everywhere you turn .

[ewerk 27120]

That was a hard read.

 

Well if you're wrecked

 

Well it is past midnight so no doubt the bucket has been brought out from behind the couch!

 

 

it should be out before midday , never mind midnight !

 

sick of this 100mill debt being thrown around like its fact !!! someone shoot me now !!

 

i firmly remember it being 70 when mort first opened his gob , then another 30 mill suddenly appeared ontop of it from sam's summer signings as a figure that had been invested on the whole .

now its 100mill debt everywhere you turn .

 

Well Mort has said it was £100m and that they had found unexpected debt so that could explain it.

[Hadrian 0]

That was a hard read.

 

Well if you're wrecked

 

Well it is past midnight so no doubt the bucket has been brought out from behind the couch!

 

 

it should be out before midday , never mind midnight !

 

sick of this 100mill debt being thrown around like its fact !!! someone shoot me now !!

 

i firmly remember it being 70 when mort first opened his gob , then another 30 mill suddenly appeared ontop of it from sam's summer signings as a figure that had been invested on the whole .

now its 100mill debt everywhere you turn .

 

Well Mort has said it was £100m and that they had found unexpected debt so that could explain it.

 

im not getting into this with you , as all you do is throw insults around and think your the dog's bollocks .

but we were told the debt was 70mill and ashley had stuck on 30mill of funding for player tranfers , thats where the 100mill number started , mort saying thats what ashley had spent ontop of the sale price .

now its been thown about so often it's as good as gospel that it was 100mill debt

[ewerk 27120]

That was a hard read.

 

Well if you're wrecked

 

Well it is past midnight so no doubt the bucket has been brought out from behind the couch!

 

 

it should be out before midday , never mind midnight !

 

sick of this 100mill debt being thrown around like its fact !!! someone shoot me now !!

 

i firmly remember it being 70 when mort first opened his gob , then another 30 mill suddenly appeared ontop of it from sam's summer signings as a figure that had been invested on the whole .

now its 100mill debt everywhere you turn .

 

Well Mort has said it was £100m and that they had found unexpected debt so that could explain it.

 

im not getting into this with you , as all you do is throw insults around and think your the dog's bollocks .

but we were told the debt was 70mill and ashley had stuck on 30mill of funding for player tranfers , thats where the 100mill number started , mort saying thats what ashley had spent ontop of the sale price .

now its been thown about so often it's as good as gospel that it was 100mill debt

 

Dry your fucking eyes. Mort said their was £100million of debt, simple as that. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport...icle1132376.ece

[Hadrian 0]

see there you go , you post an article from last fucking week like its gospel .

[Guest alex]

This article wasn't in the Nigerian Sun by any chance was it?

[Hadrian 0]

When he returns to his desk on Monday, Mort will know that while a fresh era is upon Tyne, the past hovers. It is just 45 days since his appointment and, aside from supplanting Shepherd and the Halls, three of the other issues to arise are raids by the City of London police, Kieron Dyer's on-off transfer to West Ham and a daily look at the books that has revealed Newcastle's debt is beyond Ashley's estimate when he first bought shares in the club on 23 May. The most commonly reported figure for Newcastle's debt is £80m – to go on top of the £133m Ashley paid for the club. Is that accurate?

 

"It's a bit more complicated than saying there's a debt figure of £x. In terms of money being spent by the club it is more convoluted than that. It's not that debt has been squirrelled away, it's spending some of the money before it comes in, which frankly, is not necessarily debt, it's just a means of investing money before you've actually got it. There's been a bit of that, the club has done that."

 

that was august , before that the figure was 70 mill .

[ewerk 27120]

see there you go , you post an article from last fucking week like its gospel .

 

Apart from the word of the chairman, what exactly are you looking for here as concrete evidence?

[Hadrian 0]

see there you go , you post an article from last fucking week like its gospel .

 

Apart from the word of the chairman, what exactly are you looking for here as concrete evidence?

 

 

the word of a chairman who had it down as 20 mill lighter a few month prior ?

[ewerk 27120]

When he returns to his desk on Monday, Mort will know that while a fresh era is upon Tyne, the past hovers. It is just 45 days since his appointment and, aside from supplanting Shepherd and the Halls, three of the other issues to arise are raids by the City of London police, Kieron Dyer's on-off transfer to West Ham and a daily look at the books that has revealed Newcastle's debt is beyond Ashley's estimate when he first bought shares in the club on 23 May. The most commonly reported figure for Newcastle's debt is £80m – to go on top of the £133m Ashley paid for the club. Is that accurate?

 

"It's a bit more complicated than saying there's a debt figure of £x. In terms of money being spent by the club it is more convoluted than that. It's not that debt has been squirrelled away, it's spending some of the money before it comes in, which frankly, is not necessarily debt, it's just a means of investing money before you've actually got it. There's been a bit of that, the club has done that."

 

that was august , before that the figure was 70 mill .

 

Aye, 45 days into the job, during the period in which they were examining the clubs finances, which took several months iirc.