Back in the late 70's and early 80's I was good friends with many of the first team players
Their cars then were fairly normal in comparison to the regular guy in the street
Ian Walsh had a Capri
David Fry a Granada Ghia Coupe
George Graham a Morris Marina GT Coupe
Steve Lovell a Cortina Mark 2

No one had a really "flash " car
So that photo of Wickham in a mini this week was kinda weird
Not that he was in a mini
But parked next to the supercars around him
Rolls Royces and Bentleys etc

The disparity between fan and player gets bigger and bigger each year.

Check his instagram, he must of had that mini for a laugh. He's got a mercedes 4x4 lol

Well, the money follows who's big on TV.

When I was a kid, the pop stars had all the power (and wealth) as there was loads of money to be made selling millions of vinyl records at a huge mark-up to kids and soak up their pocket money every weekend.

Now, with the advent of streaming and, worse (for the music stars), free sharing, the bottom's dropped out of that market such that the only real money for most of them these days in in touring (which used to be such a pain for the poor luvvies to the point that most of those at the very top didn't want to do it at all) and merchandising.

Instead, all the money (and TV coverage) is in football these days. And, although you have to have Pay TV to see premiership football but they still bombard you with adverts. Talk about having their cake and eating it.

The trouble is that, because of the vast amounts of money thrown at teams at the very top, there is a huge amount of pressure to try and keep your team at the top (of the top level). And the only way to do that is to recruit the very best of the best. Footballers of the very highest calibre. And that's where the wage inflation comes from, there just aren't enough people with that much talent to fill all the slots necessary.

Compare that with, say, being an airline pilot. It used to be a very well paid job (still not too bad, but nowhere near what it once used to be, especially given the working conditions compared to previous generations of pilots). But the fact is, you just don't need to be the best of the best to be a pilot. All the airline companies need is someone who's competent enough not to get it wrong and end up killing their customers. The 'ace of the base' or best 'top-gun' pilot (when they used to be in the Air Force or Navy) in the world doesn't get the chance to prove it in his daily airline job and do anything better than all his (or her) colleagues. Except, of course, for that once in a hundred million flights occasion like Sully in the miracle on the Hudson. The airlines won't (can't) pay stupid salaries to all their pilots all year to ensure they've got the calibre of people to cope with that scenario because its such a rare event.

The need to be be a top goalscorer and be able to beat the top defenders (or vice-versa) is not a rare event. They have to prove themselves (hopefully, if they're on your team) every single week.

It's pure bums on seats (even at home on the sofa) and money in the bank.

Can't see it changing in the foreseeable future unfortunately.

Edited by The_Aviator (18 Nov 2016 10.52am)

The self-loathing must kick in when they are getting their third blow-job within two nights from three different gorgeous gals.

Big chest and massive boobs

[Link]

The nearest I got was watching two dogs shagging on the pitch while playing on the purely way

"If you wana get ahead............Get a hat.....
Malcom Allison 1975-76 the glory year.

That bit of class possibly mitigated by blowing the thick end of £20k on a bottle of champagne whilst at Sunderland