Say the ‘big clubs’ in order to get FA cup replays cancelled. yet hours after the season ends: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/ce8206834q3o
Between now and the start of the season, Man Utd have games in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Denmark, 3 in America, then a home friendly the week before the season starts. Maybe that's why the ensured they weren't playing in any European competitions next season.
To be fair to United as fans looking from the outside we can’t have our cake and eat it. They have been vilified - correctly - for the job cutting and other cost cutting they’ve done due to their financial worries. A trip to play two friendlies at the end of the season which will bag them £10million direct profit - it will save jobs potentially, support an inflated salary they are already committed to - you can hardly blame the club. And on top of the £10million they bag directly, the goodwill will generate a lot of shirt sales etc. If they weren’t doing this they’d be making more tough decisions. They will probably still have to anyway. The players and coaches being unacceptably shi.te this season has led to them having no European football and finishing in fifteenth. Premier league prize money is on a sliding scale - Villa finishing sixth means they get over £25million more than United. United really should have finished at least top ten with the squad and budget they have - even Brentford in tenth get £15million more than they do. Had United finished sixth or seventh, and got europa league football next season - you’d be looking at least another £50million in premier league money and Europa league money next season even if they lost every game - plus gate receipts and concessions for the European games which would be £5million per game. Even with player bonuses they’d have had to pay, you’re still looking at £75million more coming in for next season had they had (for them) even an average season. They were crap, and so they aren’t getting that. Ratcliffe has been an absolute prat since taking over in my eyes - but I don’t blame the club for going this whatsoever. It’s the very least the players owe. In fact I’d argue the ones on four and five figures per week should offer to take a 10% pay cut, even if only for twelve months, to save the jobs of the people who need the money more than they do. They won’t. They’re under absolutely no legal obligation to do so - but if I was a multimillionaire and earning millions a year regardless of how poor my performance was, and my poor performance had led to people in much lower paid jobs losing their livelihood, I wouldn’t be having that.
All paid for by the club. The same club thats going to fleece their following next season to the tune of many hundreds of pounds. Do players in clubs like that ever get to spend their own money?
Are you suggesting that if the club insist the players travel across the world to play friendlies to generate money, the players should pay for their own travel too? That’s a bit too far even for me! They are expected to travel on club business. The club should front the cost - the club is financially benefitting from it ultimately otherwise it wouldn’t be happening.
The "We play too many games" is just an excuse, most of the big clubs played Weaker youth teams upto quarter final. The FA Cup simply doesn't pay the money and commercial opportunities that these games do.
"Eyup badger, it's your boss here. Yeah I need you to go and work in Malaysia for a couple of weeks next month. What do you mean are we paying for your flights and accomodation? Are we **** you silly ****. You can find your own way there and book your own hotel. What? You refuse to go then? You can't, it's compulsory. It's work. Fine we'll see you at an employment tribunal then. Yeah we know we'll lose"
