‘Footballers should cut salary during virus crisis’
PLAYERS should be the first to bear the economic burden caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said.
Tottenham announced on Tuesday that they were looking to take advantage of the Government’s coronavirus job retention scheme, which pays employees unable to work due to the outbreak 80 per cent of their monthly salary up to a maximum of £2,500.
Spurs warned there would be an expectation that players and coaches would ‘do their bit to help the football ecosystem’, with the Premier League, the English Football League and the Professional Footballers’ Association continuing talks yesterday regarding a possible collective agreement on wage deferrals. It is understood the Premier League will first report back to its clubs at tomorrow’s shareholders’ meeting before confirming any agreement.
Khan believes those deferrals should have been the first link in the chain before clubs sought taxpayer assistance.
“Highly-paid football players are people who can carry the greatest burden and they should be the first one to, with respect, sacrifice their salary, rather than the person selling the programme or the person who does catering or the person who probably doesn’t get anywhere near the salary some of the Premier League footballers get,” Khan told BBC Sport.
“It should be those with the broadest shoulders who go first because they can carry the greatest burden and have probably got savings, rather than those who were in catering or hospitality who have probably got no savings and live week by week and who probably won’t get the (Government) benefits for five weeks.”
Julian Knight, the chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, said: “It sticks in the throat. This exposes the crazy economics in English football and the moral vacuum at its centre.”
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor suggested a task force could be established to assess wage deferral requests on a case-by-case basis, highlighting that even within divisions there was great disparity between clubs. Newcastle and Norwich have also joined Spurs in furloughing non-playing staff.
TOWN took a punt on striker Karlan Grant in January 2019 when signing him from Charlton Athletic.
Grant had only flourished in Charlton colours during his final half a season at The Valley, with the striker’s 2018 starting with a brief, yet prolific, loan spell in League Two with Crawley Town, scoring nine goals in 15 league appearances in England’s fourth tier.
That spell led to Lee Bowyer taking a chance on Grant when his loan spell at the Broadfield Stadium ended, just months after former Addicks midfielder Bowyer succeeded Karl Robinson as manager.
In his first full season in charge, Bowyer took Charlton up to the Championship last season.
However, after the opening half of the season that saw Grant net 14 times in 28 league matches to take Charlton up to fourth in the table, Bowyer lost his star striker, with the Terriers signing him in a bid to avoid Premier League relegation.
ONE of the great pleasures of a Huddersfield Town matchday this season has been the chance to run into Peter Jackson.
Jacko, pictured, is now 58 but as popular as ever around the John Smith’s Stadium, where he’s part of the staff welcoming one and all to Town on a matchday with a ready smile and some engaging chat.
He’s a character who has been winning battles throughout his career and his life - overcoming a diagnosis of throat cancer in 2008.
When he first walked into Leeds