DG: “I own 50 knickers shops – not 50 oil wells.”
During an interview the co-chairman told me as we discussed the lofty ambitions held by all of us – including himself – he said: “It’s important to remember I own 50 knickers shops – not 50 oil wells.”
The co-chairman has a find of amusing – but very insightful one liners – such as “Oh dear call the police!” when James Tomkins pulled his silly stunt at Everton earlier in the season.
In every case he makes his point with good humour and a lot of grace lost on the miserable Twitter trolls who use his good nature to goad him on too many occasions.
That he has issued just two tweets this month announcing the Winston Reid and Morgan Amalfitano contracts suggests he’s pulling back as he turns more and more to Facebook.
Back to the point: Many seem to believe that as we enter the market for a new manager – where they name every top world boss – endless funds are available when in reality we are probably looking at around £3 million a year.
The oft mentioned “Allardyce is the world’s 13 best paid manager” was first reported in 2013 and although things have changed since then, the £2.95 million mentioned puts him in the same league at the time as:
15 Roberto Mancini, Galatasaray, £2.92m
15 Rafa Benitez, Napoli, £2.92m
17 Luciano Spaletti, Zenit, £2.75m
18 Claudio Ranieri, Monaco, £2.5m
18 Laurent Blanc, PSG, £2.5m
18 Antonio Conte, Juventus, £2.5m
18 Cesare Prandelli, Italy, £2.5m
22 Massimiliano Allegri, Milan, £2.34m
23 Felipe Scolari, Brazil, £2.3m
24 Ottmar Hitzfeld, Switzerland, £2.17m
25 Mircea Lucescu, Shakhtar, £2.14m
26 Diego Simeone, Atletico Madrid, £2.09m
26 Harry Redknapp, QPR, £2.09m
26 Joachim Low, Germany, £2.09m
29 Walter Mazzarri, Inter Milan, £2m
30 Vecente del Bosque, Spain, £1.96m
If – as is the case with some – aspirations are much higher, here’s what the very “best” would have cost you:
1 Pep Guardiola, Bayern Munich, £14.8m
2 Jose Mourinho, Chelsea, £8.37m
3 Marcelo Lippi, Guangzhou, £8.34m
4 Arsene Wenger, Arsenal, £6.89m
5 Fabio Capello, Russia, £6.51m
6 Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid, £6.26m
7 David Moyes, Man United, £4.92m
8 Tata Martino, Barcelona, £4.5m
9 Jurgen Klopp, Borussia Dortmund, £3.59m
10 Manuel Pellegrini, Man City, £3.47m
11 Jorge Jesus, Benfica, £3.34m
12 Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool, £3.25m
Fifty knickers shops will get you, it seems, a middle of the road manager based on those costs and the higher the owners go for their chosen man, the less there will be for new players.
They continue to carry a debt burden which has been alleviated by David Sullivan loans to the club but a financial reality needs to settle over us all as we contemplate how high we should go for a new man – a situation covered very neatly by the DG quote.
And let me hear nobody say “KNICKERS”
COYI