What a strange world football is...

[Kevin Hogg]

Totally unlike any other and particularly the "real" world.

A player (employee) signs a contract. For arguments sake a three year deal. It does not matter how poorly he performs his job as a player - he gets paid and not sacked. His boss, the manager who gave him the opportunity (not neccessarily the contract) can be fired because the player he employed does not put in the effort and commitment...but the boss cannot fire the employee even though he knows the employee might cost him his job and reputation.

Another player can try to get a job with a "superior" employer locally and while the negotiation is going on he is able to go home and not work..on full pay. Most "gardening leave" is taken once the employee has resigned. He can even not go to work for weeks and weeks..on full pay. No problem. Turn up when you like son.

A football club expects it's customers to buy..regardless of the quality and presentation of the product - and many do continue to buy the inferior product but at an increased price.

If a football club is in danger of folding, it's clients have a whip-round to help save it. Often, clients of a competitor chip in to save the company they do not regularly buy from.

In football, many of the most disappointed customers form forums in order to moan...and discuss options to improve the product of the business they buy from....no matter how awful that product is.

Don't you just love it?!

 

[Shrimperette]

Alreet Kevin,
Understand your points although got to pull you up on a few points, what with all this doom and gloom being thrown on football at the moment with the olympics etc:

A player (employee) signs a contract. For arguments sake a three year deal. It does not matter how poorly he performs his job as a player - he gets paid and not sacked. His boss, the manager who gave him the opportunity (not neccessarily the contract) can be fired because the player he employed does not put in the effort and commitment...but the boss cannot fire the employee even though he knows the employee might cost him his job and reputation.

- Footballers and managers can both be sacked/made redundant - it just happens more with managers. Both get part of their contracts paid off when this happens. Obviously happens more to managers because transfer fees are relatively much less (or non existent) for managers. Clubs understand that it's not in their interests to release a player in contract when they could get a fee.


Another player can try to get a job with a "superior" employer locally and while the negotiation is going on he is able to go home and not work..on full pay. Most "gardening leave" is taken once the employee has resigned. He can even not go to work for weeks and weeks..on full pay. No problem. Turn up when you like son.

- Really? some clubs might do this, often they don't and players have to get on with it. On the other hand players can be pretty much obliged to drop everything and move the length of the country to have a chance to do their profession (if they have the right attitude). Not saying footballers don't have an enviable life, but there are two sides to this.
A football club expects it's customers to buy..regardless of the quality and presentation of the product - and many do continue to buy the inferior product but at an increased price.

- Like this doesn't happen in the real world, ever been to Mcdonalds? Define, quality of a product. People always complain about the quality of football, but it's one of the purest forms of meritocracy, this is a high level we're seeing, just not the highest and it can be rather ugly. Football clubs have many faults but can't be criticised for using gate money as an income if people are prepared to pay it.

If a football club is in danger of folding, it's clients have a whip-round to help save it. Often, clients of a competitor chip in to save the company they do not regularly buy from.

- Really? Well it's well worth the while of other clubs that rival football clubs stay in business, look what'#s happening up in Scotland with Rangers. Football clubs are not normal businesses and a good thing too most of the time, a lot of the people in football are outstandingly inept, but the clubs should not suffer for this.

I see where you're coming from but I think general negativity towards football is always a bit over the top/ Now, if you were to talk about the football creditors rule....that's ridiculous...

 

[onceknownasrab]

There are a number of points overlooked on this thread. 1) Football , like all sports, gives each of its customers the opportunity to engage in tribalism, which for many is far more important than the product and 2) Football clubs do not sell a tangible product. A ticket does not buy you the chance to watch a football match or buy a dodgy burger or ogle at majorettes. A ticket buys you the opportunity to dream and to share in a dream with thousands of others. often it appears closer to a nightmare but it is a dream nonetheless.

 

[Kevin Hogg]

Alreet Kevin,
Understand your points although got to pull you up on a few points, what with all this doom and gloom being thrown on football at the moment with the olympics etc:

A player (employee) signs a contract. For arguments sake a three year deal. It does not matter how poorly he performs his job as a player - he gets paid and not sacked. His boss, the manager who gave him the opportunity (not neccessarily the contract) can be fired because the player he employed does not put in the effort and commitment...but the boss cannot fire the employee even though he knows the employee might cost him his job and reputation.

- Footballers and managers can both be sacked/made redundant - it just happens more with managers. Both get part of their contracts paid off when this happens. Obviously happens more to managers because transfer fees are relatively much less (or non existent) for managers. Clubs understand that it's not in their interests to release a player in contract when they could get a fee.


Another player can try to get a job with a "superior" employer locally and while the negotiation is going on he is able to go home and not work..on full pay. Most "gardening leave" is taken once the employee has resigned. He can even not go to work for weeks and weeks..on full pay. No problem. Turn up when you like son.

- Really? some clubs might do this, often they don't and players have to get on with it. On the other hand players can be pretty much obliged to drop everything and move the length of the country to have a chance to do their profession (if they have the right attitude). Not saying footballers don't have an enviable life, but there are two sides to this.
A football club expects it's customers to buy..regardless of the quality and presentation of the product - and many do continue to buy the inferior product but at an increased price.

- Like this doesn't happen in the real world, ever been to Mcdonalds? Define, quality of a product. People always complain about the quality of football, but it's one of the purest forms of meritocracy, this is a high level we're seeing, just not the highest and it can be rather ugly. Football clubs have many faults but can't be criticised for using gate money as an income if people are prepared to pay it.

If a football club is in danger of folding, it's clients have a whip-round to help save it. Often, clients of a competitor chip in to save the company they do not regularly buy from.

- Really? Well it's well worth the while of other clubs that rival football clubs stay in business, look what'#s happening up in Scotland with Rangers. Football clubs are not normal businesses and a good thing too most of the time, a lot of the people in football are outstandingly inept, but the clubs should not suffer for this.

I see where you're coming from but I think general negativity towards football is always a bit over the top/ Now, if you were to talk about the football creditors rule....that's ridiculous...

I was not intentionally negative. Football will be fine, though might want to PR itself a tad better. As I read in the press. Is easier to make a positive impression in one nation/city over 16 or so days every four years..than thousands of games across the globe every week.

As for players being sacked. They are sacked if they break club rules. Generally, nobody gets sacked for continually performing poorly in the first year of a contract. Dropped? Yes. sacked? No.
A manager, invariably breaks no club rule but gets sacked because he and his team perform poorly ..or simply do not get the required results.

Not negativity but sarcasm and irony.

 

[Shrimperette]

Fair enough, I think you'll see a fair amount of players getting released during their contract when things aren't working out (which is essentially being made redundant), but the main thing stopping this from happening more often is the immediate loss of possibility of transfer fees and also I suppose footballers wages are prohibitively high at least in the top few divisions, so it simply doesn't make financial sense to sack/make redundant