The English Football Thread

[music_collector]

I'm well aware of the Yankees or Sox taking stars from other teams. It's crazy that it's allowed, but the dollar is mighty attractive. The Jays have had trouble competing because they don't throw blank cheques at players.

I see the NFL has some of the same problems as in hockey. Let's compare the Packers and Maple Leafs. The Packers are paying Aaron Rodgers a ton of money, so much so that it hurts their ability to field a team around him. With the Leafs, they have almost half of their salary cap invested in four players. The team has 22 players. Both teams are not winning championships anymore.

It stands to reason that teams with young stars have a better chance of winning, because they make less money. The teams can afford to add more depth players.

[Trollheart]

Originally Posted by music_collector

Player loyalty to any team, in any sport, is gone. In our hockey league, it's not uncommon for a player to appear on a dozen teams. Players can pick any team they want after they hit 27, as long as their current contract is up. Even before then, players can tell a team they refuse to renew their contract, at which point they get traded.

I'm not complaining about it. It's the name of the game now. In hockey's case, players often don't want to play in Canada, where media and fan scrutiny is high. If Man U was a hockey club, there would be few Canadians playing on it. They would rather be in a place like Florida, where they can play without anyone knowing they exist.

Do football players do this? Do they demand to be transferred to a city where they can be anonymous?

Bolded one: not here. Most players are very loyal to their team, their manager and especially their fans. Many players have turned down moves to bigger clubs because either they saw their future - for the time being, anyway - with the smaller club, or because they could see how badly it would hurt the club if they left. Bigger isn't always better.

Bolded two: If you're asking me, then again no. For one thing, with social media and the internet, and everyone with a phone (ie everyone) a potential amateur paparazzo, anonymity is no longer a concept for even the slightly famous. Mostly, English players (or, more likely, foreign players in English clubs) prefer to be somewhere at least close in climate to their home, eg a Spanish player would be in no hurry to move to rainy Newcastle. There's also their wives/girlfriends to consider.