New Newcastle

[CCTV]

We have more players at the top end on more advanced contract extensions. I don't think they had 5 in the top 10/20 18 months ago. We did.

Anyway, this argument is self-refuting. On the one hand you're saying they have more players on high wages than us. You're getting this from reports on wages. On the other hand we're saying our wages add up to more than theirs. We're getting this from reports on wages.

Either we're paying our players more or we aren't. You'll have to explain if you think they are being under paid. If Sterling is only on a paltry £250k per week, or whatever is amounts to, you'll have to say he should be being paid more than Mané or something.



It isn't paradoxical if we accept that transfer fees are different to wages. People really only talk about transfer fee inflation - that's why they convince themselves that we are falling behind Villa and Everton. In reality we are currently driving wage inflation. And it's not because we are profligate - it's because we have excellent players who we want to hold onto in a market that values them highly. All it took was a wonder goal from Salah and there is a chorus of 'give him whatever he's asking for'. No-one is calling for that, currently, with Jesus, Mahrez, Havertz or Mason Mount.

I agree on your second point here, for example real Madrid over the last 5-6-7 seasons have a net spend less than ours.
It is also less than Leeds Uniteds over that same time frame.
In net spend terms we are bigger than Leeds, Leeds bigger than real (largely due to pl promotion) over that time frame - under that viewpoint.
Leeds haven't won a cl in that time frame. Real have but would be below us on net spend, above us on wages.

Wages and ours are high are a consideration when looking at net spend. But ours are in the healthy range as a percentage of turnover so there is room to be more aggressive with transfers.
I believe Jurgen has a lot of say and is probably entrenched in his views and its not all JWH.

With Everton/Leeds/Villa they are kind of operating in the spaces we operated in when signing all of our players bar VVD/Alisson.
Vvd arrived on a near double what other cbs here got paid. Alisson only 30 kpw more than migs.

They are signing good players on good wages but they are not signing players in the same league as the other 3 clubs we are talking about.
When we have done that we have paid for it. But they are incapable at present of competign for those players signatures so they don't see the same wage demands.
Exclusion from cl or squad reductions aren't a real concern for them, ffp/uefa can be flexible for a while in enforcement particularly with CAS being a stumbling block.

Whereas with United, City and Chelsea they have been signing players who the player and their agent know are joining the top clubs.

Chelsea have had a few stumbling/faltering issues in recent years. Missed out on Europe had a big impact on them, Romans visa and a transfer ban. They have blooded a few youth players as well. But I suspect they will get back to where they were.

As I look at it, I would say the biggest senior wage bill in the league is

1 City
2 United
3 Chelsea
4 Liverpool

Now we know wages are accounted differently that is established as best we can, and we can speculate about not fully ethical behaviour on the part of certain clubs when it comes to dealing and operating within a ffp compliant environment.

[miller0863]

Typical of today’s general hypocrisy and lack of self awareness redebreck mate.

[Taksin]

BBC sport are reporting that 19 of the 20 premier League clubs have objected to the Saudi take-over of Newcastle.
Yes, that means Man City have objected to state ownership of a premier League club.
You couldn't make it up, could you?

Who didn't object?

[Taksin]

Which state would you like to buy your club?

that's an interesting quiz for a long car journey

[CCTV]

All it took was a wonder goal from Salah and there is a chorus of 'give him whatever he's asking for'. No-one is calling for that, currently, with Jesus, Mahrez, Havertz or Mason Mount.
---------

What relevance has this got ?

Jesus shit hot Brazilian talent, Mahrez an incredible season at Leicester, Havertz not only a German wunderkid but 19 approved too, Mount a good breakthrough season adding a goal threat from midfield.

Mount aside each of these joined a higher ranked and richer club/owner. Their agents knew it and they would have got paid accordingly, any of them sign for Everton and they are likely not the players to get these wages.

Sterling joint City in 2015 on 250kpw.

Salah to date at Liverpool hasn't earned that much and at no point has he been a worse player than Sterling.

If life was truly fair, Salah would have earned more than Sterling since about 3 months into his lfc career.
But he was at the wrong club, started off on a lower wage. Got a great bump in his wages and still earned less than rahoo.
It is only now in his next extension that he will surpass the wages City paid Sterling back in 2015.

When he joined us he would not have expected the wages he would have gotten back then if City were interested in him.

If city had been interested in him, he would have gotten more money from them as he did with Chelsea when we tried to sign him before then.

[huyrob]

When talking about mbop for the kop, I have speculated that Nike might prefer to see Mbop in a Nike Kit and could incentivise Mbop to move to Anfield.
Essentially offsetting loses or increasing his yield compared with a bigger contract from Real.

That would be a benefit to us due to Nike being our kit sponsor through the interests of other parties, namely Nike.
The only difference between that proposed reality and the ones at hand here, is that the owners of man City could use their 3rd party in a similar manner. Whereas we don't own Nike.

Nike have a more established interest in footballers than emirates, but essentially if JWH owned Nike he could be the one suggesting the above proposal and could be doing so to alleviate the burden of ffp regulations.
The emirates not having a traditional interest in footballers could reasonably argue they want a slice of these global icons in their brand association.

Psgs airline iirc has run adds with numerous top footballers and a lot who play for psg. So it isn't something I think that ffp/unfair have much hope in preventing.

I agree.

[Taksin]

What relevance has this got ?

It’s relevant because we have players whose wages are going up higher all the time. There is a chorus from inside and outside the club calling for it, it’s part of where we are and what our model is.

The same chorus does not exist for those other admittedly good players who you imagine to be in squads of higher value (wage value not transfer value).

You can say Jesus is shit hot but they are trying to offload him or replace him, not to pay him whatever he wants.

[CCTV]

But that would have to be a contract. that's your first problem.

Secondly, the money has to go from somewhere and end up in Sterling's possession. That's not as easy to keep under the radar as you seem to believe.



Cash in hand would be a possibility. But it wouldn't be in a contract - so he and his agent would have to trust that it would show up. I get the feeling that Sterling believes he is worth it so would expect the highest rewards possible for his services.

And then what does he do with that cash if the govt are tracking large payments / transactions?

I meant cash in hand work for some more normally paid folk. Like you do a weekend of work and don't contact revenue.

It's not a contract it an agreement.
You sign this contract for 25 kpw less, we give you more money via for example this ambassadorial role.

OK I sign the ambassadorial role and instantly the contract from City.
These deals can be struck and be tax compliant.
There are 2 parties seeking a similar goal.

The way you are coming at this seems to be an attitude of incredulity that there are

1) means of subverting ffp (see articles on roman and youth spending to subvert ffp impacts)
and 2) it can be done and be tax compliant

Which precludes the radical possibility of actual tax evasion in the UK, USA or EU

[huyrob]

But that would have to be a contract. that's your first problem.

Secondly, the money has to go from somewhere and end up in Sterling's possession. That's not as easy to keep under the radar as you seem to believe.



Cash in hand would be a possibility. But it wouldn't be in a contract - so he and his agent would have to trust that it would show up. I get the feeling that Sterling believes he is worth it so would expect the highest rewards possible for his services.

And then what does he do with that cash if the govt are tracking large payments / transactions?

I agree that if that’s in City’s contract. But lo and behold said player suddenly gets a gilt backed contract from a third party ( obviously no connection to city ! ), saying appear on our tv ad , or be agreeable to do so over the next 3 years and we’ll pay you £££££. If he appears on the first advert to set the scene and never appears again…..how can that be challenged.
Totally off piste but Sterling’s smug face at the end of the advert summed it up !!

[Taksin]

The way you are coming at this seems to be an attitude of incredulity that there are

I would have no incredulity if it came to light. But it’s currently only a theory that all their players are being deliberately underpaid. No one else seems to have noticed it.

Just because your league able of players wages is different to the official one does not mean it isn’t a figment of your imagination. Our players are highly paid.