Early Doors dig at gaa.

[supersarsfields]

Didn't know which side to post this. But as it's mostly a soccer piece I'll stick it here. Kinda surprised GAA even getting a mention on Yahoo (Early Doors) even if it is a poorly attemted dig.


<sub>Football's worst-paid players
Tue May 18 09:04AM


Football has changed since Jimmy Hill campaigned successfully for the abolition of the maximum wage (£20 a week) in 1961.

Or at least, footballers' bank balances have. The average salary for a Premier League player has increased by a factor of around 1,000, making millionaires of even the most limited players (Early Doors is looking at you, Dean Whitehead).

In truth, ED doesn't have a problem with footballers earning a lot of money. Lots of people are prepared to pay handsomely to watch games, and ED would rather the cash went to the players than the suits.

Are £100,000-a-week wages any more obscene than a gaelic football match played in front of 80,000 at Croke Park, bringing in gate receipts of €2,500,000, for which the players are rewarded with four free tickets each? Not in ED's book.

Still, it is nice to see the occasional footballer rip up Pascal Chimbonda's "it's all about the money" script and give something back.

Like Oguchi Onyewu, who has signed a one-year contract extension with Milan during which time he will be paid nothing, so guilty is he at missing a full season through injury.

Roma's Damiano Tommasi did something similar in 2005. The crazy-haired midfielder showed his left-wing credentials (in politics, if not position) when he asked to be paid Italy's minimum wage of €1,500 per month. Tommasi had missed a year with a knee injury sustained in a friendly against (don't tell Arsene Wenger) Stoke City.

Another man of principle, Joseba Etxeberria, played the final season of a 15-year career at Athletic Bilbao for free. Club president Fernando Garcia Macua said: "From the club's standpoint there are not words enough to thank such a gesture." Well, how about some sort of financial reward?

Mido signed a deadline-day contract with West Ham in February, and it quickly emerged that the cash-strapped Hammers were paying the striker just £1,000 a week. He might have been the worst-paid senior player in the Premier League, but a return of no goals from nine appearances suggests the club still did not get value for their money.

Al-Saadi Gaddafi broke the mould early in the decade during a brief and ridiculous stint in Serie A. The son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was so bad he had to pay his clubs, not the other way round. He managed one Serie A appearance for Perugia, one for Udinese and one positive test for Nandrolone.

During Manchester United's latest contract dispute with Rio Ferdinand - who ended up trousering an estimated £110,000 a week - they used the best possible negotiating tactic. They got Paul Scholes in, put a contract in front of him, and roughly 37 seconds later the midfielder had signed a new deal. The contrast could hardly have been starker, and is one reason United love Scholes so much. Mind, his lack of negotiating ability has hardly cost him; his latest deal is believed to be worth about £4m a year.

Robbie Fowler was so excited on being offered the chance of a second stint at Liverpool, he completely forgot to ask about money. Fowler said he would have been happy to play for free, but ended up pocketing about 30 grand a week.

By popular agreement, Federico Macheda scored the goal that won Manchester United the 2008/09 Premier League against Aston Villa. Not that he was popping Cristal later that night; the Italian was on a youth contract worth a few hundred quid a week. Macheda has since turned 18, and signed a four-year-deal for 'proper' footballers' money.

And finally, let's hear it for England's pampered, over-paid prima donnas. The big-time Charlies flying the flag in South Africa have just announced they will donate their match fees to charity.

It's easy to sneer, but given the vast money-making machine built around England's World Cup campaign, it is actually thoroughly decent of them to play for free.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I remember an incident from his Berlin days. Kevin score his first Bundesliga goals one week before the game against Bayern. In the game Ballack stepped on his foot. When Kevin asked, 'What are you doing?', Ballack said to him, 'Shut up! Just because you scored against Frankfurt, don't think you're the greatest." Kevin Prince Boateng's dad on the previous with Michael Ballack</sub>

[gallsman]

Is this a blog? Or the official Yahoo news or what?

[supersarsfields]

Yeah it's a blog by Early doors that's on the yahoo home page at the minute.

[gallsman]

Is this person of some renown or something?

[supersarsfields]

Not really.

[Captain Black]

*PMs Mr. GAA*

[mikasas]

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/early-doors/article/246510/
Was just about to post this myself! Not a dig but the truth, hardly fair on players getting four free tickets while our organisation gets richer!

[NAG1]

Who exactly is getting richer? this arguement doesnt stack up, the GAA puts all the money from these gate receipts back into the organisation and helping it grow and development throughout Ireland and across the globe.

This is petty jealousy from a Soccer person who can no longer justify the obscene wages that are now the norm in the EPL. That is fair enough but leave the GAA out of it and dont be using us an puppet to bash another arguement.

[gallsman]

Who exactly is getting richer? this arguement doesnt stack up, the GAA puts all the money from these gate receipts back into the organisation and helping it grow and development throughout Ireland and across the globe.

This is petty jealousy from a Soccer person who can no longer justify the obscene wages that are now the norm in the EPL. That is fair enough but leave the GAA out of it and dont be using us an puppet to bash another arguement.

I'd also venture that the author of the blog doesn't have a clue about how the GAA works whatsoever.

[Zapatista]

It's like comparing Funderland to Disneyland.

[J OGorman]

Who exactly is getting richer? this arguement doesnt stack up, the GAA puts all the money from these gate receipts back into the organisation and helping it grow and development throughout Ireland and across the globe.

This is petty jealousy from a Soccer person who can no longer justify the obscene wages that are now the norm in the EPL. That is fair enough but leave the GAA out of it and dont be using us an puppet to bash another arguement.

I'd also venture that the author of the blog doesn't have a clue about how the GAA works whatsoever.

why would that matter one hoot? It aint a GAA piece. The GAA reference (which is true) is purely an example of another sport compared to soccer

[supersarsfields]

Who exactly is getting richer? this arguement doesnt stack up, the GAA puts all the money from these gate receipts back into the organisation and helping it grow and development throughout Ireland and across the globe.

This is petty jealousy from a Soccer person who can no longer justify the obscene wages that are now the norm in the EPL. That is fair enough but leave the GAA out of it and dont be using us an puppet to bash another arguement.

I'd also venture that the author of the blog doesn't have a clue about how the GAA works whatsoever.

why would that matter one hoot? It aint a GAA piece. The GAA reference (which is true) is purely an example of another sport compared to soccer

True, there's plenty of examples of people that make soccer comparisons on the gaa side of this board. Just thought that it was unusal to see it the other way about.

(Not that I agree with his statement as he's made it far too simplistic)

[Zapatista]

why would that matter one hoot? It aint a GAA piece. The GAA reference (which is true) is purely an example of another sport compared to soccer

No it isn't true, it's completely out of context making it false. It's an example of payment to players and justification for that not a comparison of the sports.

[NAG1]

Who exactly is getting richer? this arguement doesnt stack up, the GAA puts all the money from these gate receipts back into the organisation and helping it grow and development throughout Ireland and across the globe.

This is petty jealousy from a Soccer person who can no longer justify the obscene wages that are now the norm in the EPL. That is fair enough but leave the GAA out of it and dont be using us an puppet to bash another arguement.

I can't argue with you re the obscene wages etc in the premier league but I also don't think the GAA are putting all the money from these gate receipts back into the organisation certainly not at grassroots level anyway..

I also can never understand why people need to be classified as a soccer person or a GAA person??? Its possible to be both.

It is possible to be both but not when you are runing one down against the other.

Boycey tell us where you think the GAA or What you think the GAA are doing with this money that doesnt go to the grassroots in your opinion?

[mikasas]

He isn't running the Gaa down in my opinion, he is stating that the fat cats at the top of the gaa get all the money and not the players who are attracting the crowds. Its better that the players at the top level in soccer get money than those running it! He does not say anything to do with the fact that they put money back into the gaa!