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Calm Down Fishy Folk!!

By: ScottMcgarveysGreat
Date: 23/05/2002

ScottMcgarveysGreat posted the following on the Fishy Message Board saying he feels the situation might not be as bad as we first thought. We are keen to pass on any good news we get so here is his "rant of the day"

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There seems to be an awful lot of doom and gloom around, but I really think we need to step back and think about the financial and football situation from a wider perspective. We are entering a whole new era for Nationwide football with less money and consequently an even bigger gap between us and the Premiership

The situation has parallels with the booms and busts of the construction industry - when there is lots of work chippies of all calibres are in constant demand and are paid top rates. Come a bad winter or a recession opportunities for work drops right off, wage rates can drop by up to 50% and it's only the good quality, hard working reliable tradesmen who are kept in work.

See the similarities - there is a recession in Nationwide football and scores if not hundreds of players are without contracts - those players are going to be chasing a very limited amount of work as clubs cut squads and reserve teams.

Furneaux, I am sure has sussed this and is playing hardball. He knows he's got the whip hand - why offer new terms now to Allen and Butterfield? It's a calculated risk but he figures nobody's going to come in for them with offers of comparable wages in the next 6 weeks. Butterfield, Allen and the other out of contract players are all sat at home and it won't take long for them and their agents to realise that the phone isn't ringing and they've got a mortgage and loans to pay.

Furneaux comes back with perhaps a reduced offer, but a longer contract - what do you do? You know Bradford and Lincoln, 2 near neighbours are bust and you know from your mates/union/agent/journalists that wage levels are plummeting and there are still scores of players looking for new contracts who are willing to take what's on offer.

It's the same scenario when Furneaux tries to negotiate down existing players deals, the players have slowly realised by then that it's a completely new ball game and they now longer control the situation, now the Board is in the driving seat - you can bellyache all you like about reduced wages but you know you won't get any better deals elsewhere. I think it's called supply and demand and I reckon Furneaux is just stoking the fires with his talk of administration, sure big cuts have to be made but he knows the wage bill is where the cuts will be made.

I would also wager that you will see very few transfers through the summer, until a week or two before the start of the season and maybe even after the season has started, by then those desperate players will be biting the fingers off any club who makes them an offer. Sorry it's so long but as I said we are entering a whole new world.


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