With all these inflated wages and the like, lads that were decent pro's in their day (10 or so years ago) resent the fact that some of the players nowadays get paid 15-25+ grand a week. Remember when Keegan came to play for the toon and he was on 5 grand a week. I for one couldn't believe how much it was, amazing I mean what is he gonna do with 5K a week. Nowadays players like Robinison won't even get out of bed for under 10K. Do players get paid for the offseason too?

-- Anonymous, July 27, 2000

Answers

A lot of decent pros in the first division ten years ago would not be able to make the top two divisions now with cheaper foreign palyers around, I'd guess they were grateful for the career they had. There's more money at the very top but less elsewhere.

-- Anonymous, July 27, 2000

As much as I loved, just loved KK, I couldn't help thinking he was a bit of a money-grabbing b**tard at times. Almost every other line in his autobiography was about his salary.

-- Anonymous, July 28, 2000

Should we believe all these salaries thrown around. Again, its this idea of players' rights being infringed. If I got a new job or pay rise I'd be pissed if my company leaked my salary to the papers or to everyone else in the company. I wonder if lot of it is just sheer speculation. Obviously they all get a lot more money, but perhaps not as much as is rumoured.

-- Anonymous, July 28, 2000

I think that the greatest resentment is felt by those old professionals who played in the days when the "maximum wage" was in operation and held down by a cartel between clubs.

When we lived in UK our next door neighbour was an ex-pro (Johnny Fantham - Sheff Wednesday and an England cap). Great bloke. Now recycled into a shrewd businessman but looks longingly at the wages earned by players for the date when the maximum was abolished.

We still correspond but I daren't broach the subject of current levels of remuneration.

-- Anonymous, July 28, 2000