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Let`s hope he recovers fully as we do with everyone who has this bastard disease.

Well done to Jos Buttler selling his WC winning cricket shirt on ebay with money going to NHS. 6 days to go and already at 65k.

Players wages = Emperors new clothes. Everyone in football, especially agents, continually justifies as to why they have to be at the level they are. Most fans , outside the really big clubs, know that wage levels cannot be really justified, and especially at our level when the majority of clubs are running at substantial losses, caused primarily by the wage budget. How many owners, in their businesses outside of football, would pay staff wages that exceeded the business income? Prior to the virus, there were already signs, through ffp issues, that clubs were starting to reassess their financial management, and perhaps when we eventually come out of this crisis, we might be pleasantly surprised by the direction that wage negotiations take. Then again it is April 1st!

We certainly were a different breed back then. Can you imagine one of today’s generation of “cornflake” managers being capable of successfully steering the magnificent vessel which is Bristol Rovers whilst ..... Launching the career of the Fab Four (Jarman, Biggs, Hamilton & Jones) Solving the Cuban missile crisis by writing a stern letter to the FA And still have time for a protracted bedding of Christine Keeler without her ever squealing. (To the News of the World)

Best defender Ive seen in a City shirt.

Because funnily enough we are Bristol City fans, on a football forum.. that is why shock horror we are discussing football players wages! I would have the EXACT same view of the Mclaren F1 team if they were financially bending over backwards to continue to pay Hamilton’s top whack wages but were only prepared to pay their mechanics 80% of their wage. Stan Collymore has hit the nail on the head for me. It is morally disgusting, and even more disgusting that individuals seem ready to defend the situation.

Dial up internet is much better after 7pm

So I’m concluding your solution is that those who earn loads of money I.e. footballers should continue to do so so they can continue their high spending lifestyles, and those who earn very little in comparison can take a cut? Really? Wow! I’m happy for footballers to earn the big bucks in an industry that earns big bucks, but in the current global crisis for the whole of society including football fans, non playing staff etc to take the financial hit but footballers shouldn’t be impacted cause they have expensive lifestyles is on a completely different page to me. https://apple.news/AuOTX8u7dS42hdtoa6BiuZA

Honest question, why would a football club furlough non playing staff but not the players? Is the reason they don’t want to annoy the players (god forbid), or is it because of contracts (or bad contracts), just seems massively unfair

Gerry Francis lives long in North Bristol.

By your thinking the rich people benefit the poor people have to suffer! If footballers have 5 year mortgages like you mention that have high payments then they should have appropriate protection insurance (as I do) and they should also have appropriate income protection (as I do)

Tough shit, they should have budgeted better before. Are we as a country 'All in it together'? Like **** we are. Football players seem to be an exceptional case and I hope we see a significant correction.

No, I think you need to recognise that the outgoings of someone in a very time limited career will be significantly higher than those who spread their major life expenses over 25 years or more. To expect someone who might find their current account credited with 30 or 40k a month find themselves trying to meet the same commitments on 2.5k a month isn't a recipe for success, it's a disaster waiting to happen. If you earn 30k a year, the chances are you live a modest existence with an average house and car and possibly a holiday every year, but you will likely be able to support that lifestyle until you retire at 65 or so. The same as if you earn 100k a year, only you'll likely have a bigger house, a newer car, a larger pension and a couple of breaks a year, safely thinking that you will maintain a similar income until you are 65. A footballer will likely spent 5 years of their career working their way up to the big money, maybe 5 years on top money and then their income will drop significantly. So they are under pressure as well. A different pressure to the majority due to the nature of their jobs, but at the end of this season, they will all be another 12 months closer to their retirement date and in some cases, 12 months further away from reaching their potential whilst also being a year closer to retirement. So I can see why clubs might be reluctant to insist on deferment and why players might not be welcoming of the idea.

That shirt must mean the world to him so to do that - wow.

The non-flower day was the Saturday before Mother`s Day. You don`t expect them to actually pay for a bunch for their mother/sister do you?

No, the "non-flower" days were after we visited them i a Glos cup game in the late 60's !

Gary Gollier what a football player he was. if he was playing football now he would be worth millions.

You can't expect people earning hundreds of thousands a year to have a lifestyle similar to someone on the national average. They probably have 5 year mortgages for example, repaying a 25 year commitment for most people in a really condensed period, that won't be cheap! Neither will be building up a sufficient pension pot.

I thought the 80% was capped at £2,500 per month. Which probably won't pay for the monthly car insurance premiums some of them pay.

Also see. @Nbafc Do you think that debate will be on catchup? Shall look forward to listening if so. Found on Twitter- Simon Jordan nails it!

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/brentford-stars-agree-wage-cuts-21795661 Brentford. Those who move first or early are always worthy of greater praise tbh. It'd appear to be a deferral granted, but it helps a club in their hour of need. The article doesn't make it clear though if it's a cut or deferral. So it's a qualified clap but at least they've done it. Credit to their players...

Early last season I commented that Webster was the closest I'd seen to Collier. Playing in today's top flight I think Webster could go on to be as good, if not better, but as always, it's difficult to compare players from different eras.

Although I'm old and rickety, I'm blessed that I was able to watch The Cheese playing for BCFC. Man was awesome, just had his career ended too soon. I'm convinced that he'd have been a full England regular if he hadn't got crocked. As someone else said, an improvement on Paul Mariner at that time. It was nice to be in the Lansdown lounge hearing him speak a couple of seasons back at the Hull (5-5) game. Legend, and a status that was well earned. Looking at the attachment, the geezer drove a Cortina 1600E. The stuff that dreams are made of, eh!

a post that’s on slagchat,,,,,, Why go to the circus when you can support the gas.... Only I don't think our tents are as good and our clowns ain't that funny....

Who?

I was thinking more William Hartnell.

You know in some barbers they have pictures on the wall of male models from the 80s with different haircuts? That particular picture can be found in black and white on walls of Gents barbers around East Bristol and the style is called ‘the Saghead’.

If they really wanted to show solidarity they wouldn't take 500k a week contracts. I did (some time back) ask questions on here of the club as to why they paid minimum wage and not living wage. But there was no cry then of all being in this together or solidarity.

Seems pretty apt...

That boat we sank down torquay ??? what a weekend

Torrey Canyon? Exxon Valdes? That rowing boat we sunk down Torquay that time?

The actions of a proper ‘community’ club when it’s actually desperately needed. Actions rather than words. Good on them.

Just asked one of the Sainsbury's checkout girls at Avonmeads ... she had absolutely no idea about any Sainsbury / BRFC Mem negotiations so on that basis I'm minded to treat the rumour with a degree scepticism.. Could still be credible though... considering the blanket of silence thought to have been agreed by both parties..

It was announced with the first list of criteria for the Furlough status.

Strong rumour that Sainsbury and the Gas will resume talks on the future of The Memorial Stadium Bristol later this morning. It's believed an urgently convened video conference has been arranged between bosses of both organisations for 11am today. No official confirmation has been forthcoming from either party a brief announcement is expected around midday... No details of the shock move will be released following the debacle of false speculation and misinformation during previous negotiations on a similar project a few tears ago. Those proceedings ended acrimoniously, and a virtual news blackout is expected this time around. Potentially this could be great news for fans and connections of BRFC.

It wasn't obvious to me, but if you say so!

Couldn't agree more. Aside from the 1 in a million chance of having both the ability and desire to want to be a footballer, their lives are pretty much on hold for the duration of their careers. Fancy a curry Friday? No. I am within .4% of my body fat limit. Taking the kids swimming Sunday morning? Depends how we do Saturday, if we have a shocker, then we might get dragged in Sunday morning.. Okay, let's have a pint Monday. Sorry, no can do, got a game Tuesday. What about a drink at Christmas? You joking? 3 games in 9 days. Well, come over NYE.......

That went well then! ?

There were periods when there were flowers behind the goals at Eastville, and periods when it was just grass. Nothing has ever changed with Rovers, as they’ve always been hard up. I guess the non-flower periods were when they couldn’t afford the seeds.

Will never forget the sight of Bert Tann having to ask the Eastville gardener for his ball back after it destroyed a prized rose bush... and the irate gardener telling him and his mates to go and ''play up yer own end''.

No they get 80% of basic commission and bonuses not included

Granted. My initial point was other people not meaning that footballers should shoulder guilt over being paid. There are options for self employed people to get by - with guaranteed income funding due, it’s not reckless to get a loan or get by on credit cards until that comes through. Banks are offering interest free over draught extensions. Half the risk of being self employed is getting through slow periods. It’s always a struggle to an extent, by nature. At least this time around there’s guaranteed income due in June. I hope they sort out getting by until that comes their way.

Good summary of some of the major jobs performed by previous Rovers managers, but you’ve missed the most important one - weeding the flower beds behind the goals. The younger OTIB readers will probably be unaware of Rovers having flower beds at Eastville. This is probably their only real claim to fame. Much more so than da famous quarters. Liverpool had the Kop. Arsenal had the North Bank. Rovers had flower beds

Except for those unlucky ones laid off in the week or two before the measures announced... In the queue for Universal Credit- saw on the news someone was 9,000 (!?) in the online queue. 475,000 applications for it in that week. I digress but ex employees of companies who made swift and brutual yet probably necessary decisions...bad luck.

I don't. I have been self employed in the last few years and am now employed. So I get both sides of the argument in that respect, none of my previous roles have involved private health care. I think it's great that Burnley have the revenue and capacity to support their staff and donate tickets. It's a lovely gesture. But to expect a club losing millions a year to follow suit is naive. Do NHS workers deserve to be paid more? I would suggest that yes they do. Do NHS workers 'earn' money for their employers in the way that a player might earn a football club a play off spot or a lucrative replay? No. They are paid from a pre determined budget. Which might explain the 80,000 vacancies. They two industries are not a reasonable comparison. Should Uber drivers get a massive spike in their take home because Lewis Hamilton gets 25 million a year from Mercedes because he can drive in a circle quicker than most people? You need to find a similar comparison and you can possibly change my view on this, but so far you have come up with a lovely idea that has no basis in reality.

Broadly agree with this. Collymore a funny one as you say. Part of a reason I've been quite loud (on here anyway) about cuts is that little heard term- Solidarity. Possibly I'm overestimating things but my view is that if staff etc at a club have to take deferral, furlough etc- plus the small matter of the income of a club taking a hit, then players shouldn't be exempt. I'm 'pricing in', taking it as a given that much lower paid staff will take a hit, plus of course a proportion of fans will, therefore so should players. How often do we hear that 'We're all in it together'? Heard it on the radio just now in fact. Well I doubt it and this does little to prove otherwise.

Just a reminder to keep this sport related, hop on the other thread to digress.....

Anyway, here's my attempt. The sags on about da famous quarterz, can anybody on here remember seeing them play in them back in the day? I don't know when it was mind, but the earliest shirt I can remember them in was blue and white stripes. Harold Jarman, Doug Hillard, (yes him in the sports shop, nice man) Ray Mabbutt and the like. They were a different breed back then!