the boy’s got balls
You have to give it to Wayne. As many of Manchester’s elderly hostesses can confirm there’s no doubting the boy’s got a pair on him. There he is, playing like a numbskull, his personal live splashed all over our morning red-tops, a corporate ‘brand’ in the gutter, intent on bringing down the house of cards that a modern day football club represents, and yet he has the audacity to put in a wage demand that would double his already more than inflated salary. The boy’s a good ‘un. Priceless.
He reckons Manchester United should pay him £200,000 a week. If they don’t then he’ll vote with his feet and ply his dubious trade elsewhere. And this time, rumour has it, he won’t even have to move house, unless Coleen decides the costa is going to cost her. Ol’ Fergie however isn’t as convinced of his worth as he obviously is and in no uncertain terms have pointed out that his demands are not quite worthy of a footballer as tarnished as he is. Further than this, Ol’ Fogie even has the temerity to point out to the young upstart that now may in fact be the time to show a little contrition, a pinch of humility and perhaps even a good old fashioned protestant work ethic. Eh? Hitting the sherry too early in the morning me-thinks, Alex! As ‘Wazzack’ openly seeks pay ten times in a week what the average worker will earn in a year, wider reality and common sense has no bearing on his sense of his own (or his agent’s) worth.
So, is Wayne the exception or the rule? Sadly he’s the latter and it doesn’t matter one jot how shallow, superficial or irrelevant their achievements, it has to be pointed out that all players expect this manner of return. Joe Cole has banked a million his move up north; Peter Crouch has a staff of seven; Astons and Bentleys are seen at EVERY club across all divisions; footballers’ wives writ large.
But is it sustainable? I’m a persistent doom-monger who has been predicting the demise of ‘the beautiful game’ for certainly the last and latest generation and I couldn’t have been more wrong. Learning from this lesson I’d be wrong to predict its imminent demise, highlighting this current set-to as a catalyst with far-reaching consequences. However the tussle being played out before our eyes does undoubtedly portray the conflict between the old-school strong independent and authoritarian management style of the likes of Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Tommy Doherty, Matt Busby, Brian Clough, Bill Shankly, Martin O’Neill, David Moyes and the sport’s new breed of stars who believe it is they that call the shots. Unlike the players of the past, the ‘stars’ of today believe they are a commercial entity, a worldwide ‘brand’ with an influence surpassing that merely of football. And one deserving of its own rules. The forces and the power have fundamentally and irrevocably shifted. We play by Wayne’s rules, no-one else’s.
Sadly, my money’s on Wayne.
Just wanted to add: I work at a major NYC hospital and we just received a huge donation from the Tisch family (a really rich family that owns like a quarter of Manhattan lol) for pediatric brain cancer research! I know neuroblastoma is not brain cancer but the important thing is more pediatric cancer cases are getting funding. Little by little more aws83neas&#r2e0;next September there will be gold ribbons everywhere, I promise.