News

Saints squad defer 30pc to aid club

|

Well at least one group of footballers get it – those at Southampton clearly believing that charity starts at home!

The  defer players have agreed to a 30 per cent deferral of wages long with manager Ralph Hasenhuttl and his staff, as well as the board of directors.

Premier League clubs previously said they would ask players to take a 30% pay cut in order to protect jobs.

However, the Professional Footballers’ Association said that would hit tax contributions to the NHS and on Monday Premier League players launched the #PlayersTogether initiative to generate and distribute funds to the NHS.

PFA boss Gordon Taylor

All very worthy on the face of it but however much we may dislike owners and the ultra rich, the reality is that with no money coming into clubs and no ideas whatsoever when it may do again, the players may be biting the had that feeds them.

The reality here is simple: Our taxes are paid to fund the NHS and the like- it should never be a case of charitable donations doing so…that takes us back to the Victorian days when the rich threw a few bob at worthy causes.

Football clubs need funds to continue operating and they have the right, like every other firm, to ask employees to make sacrifices in days which are incredibly difficult and not brought on by anything to do with themselves.

Football is in a mess and despite all the shouts of praise for  the #PlayersTogether project many players may have no club to go back to in the League and those in the PL may be shooting their futures in the foot.

It’s they who are taking 60 per cent of the cash out of clubs and as far as I’m concerned they need to wake up along with a Union which is leading them by the nose.

Share this article

Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!"

Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon