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In almost a decade at Manchester United, it’s fair to say that Roy Keane has stamped his mark on English football and indeed on a few dozen opponents foolish enough to get in his way too. But, unwittingly, in the autumn of this wonderful and sometimes turbulent career, the Old Trafford rottweiler may have taken a stance that will bring an end to one of top-flight football’s greatest obscenities- the testimonial match.
Keane’s decision to turn his back on a lucrative testimonial match which could have added as much as two million quid to his bank balance is a message which needs to be absorbed and acted upon by every football club in the Premiership. The message Keane has sent out purposely or not is brutally simple. At any level of the football pyramid, testimonial matches for players are a rip-off of the supporters.
At Premiership level where the salaries are astronomical, testimonial matches for highly paid superstars are more than a rip-off, they are an abuse of loyal fans. Why should any football club ask its supporters to cough up their cash to provide a golden handshake for a footballer that completes ten years’ service at one club? Loyalty and length of service are rare and worthy attributes, but surely they should be rewarded by the employer and not by the customer. When the day comes for me to retire many years from now, I would expect my service to my employers be rewarded by the employers themselves, not by the employer’s customers! So why do professional football clubs expect their customers to pay for the players’ retirement fund?
Years ago before the wages of players got completely out of hand it WAS the responsibility of the club to reward their long-serving players. The sums of money given weren’t massive amounts, but it gave the players security and something to fall back on while searching for a new career after retiring from the playing field.
Somehow over the years and without anyone really noticing, the clubs craftily shifted that responsibility onto the fans in the form of testimonial matches. Now, thanks to Roy Keane’s decision and respect for the fans that have helped pay his wages for all these years, and his personal lack of greed, testimonial matches for Premiership players may finally be consigned to the history books where they belong.
Keane’s decision to turn his back on a lucrative testimonial match which could have added as much as two million quid to his bank balance is a message which needs to be absorbed and acted upon by every football club in the Premiership. The message Keane has sent out purposely or not is brutally simple. At any level of the football pyramid, testimonial matches for players are a rip-off of the supporters.
At Premiership level where the salaries are astronomical, testimonial matches for highly paid superstars are more than a rip-off, they are an abuse of loyal fans. Why should any football club ask its supporters to cough up their cash to provide a golden handshake for a footballer that completes ten years’ service at one club? Loyalty and length of service are rare and worthy attributes, but surely they should be rewarded by the employer and not by the customer. When the day comes for me to retire many years from now, I would expect my service to my employers be rewarded by the employers themselves, not by the employer’s customers! So why do professional football clubs expect their customers to pay for the players’ retirement fund?
Years ago before the wages of players got completely out of hand it WAS the responsibility of the club to reward their long-serving players. The sums of money given weren’t massive amounts, but it gave the players security and something to fall back on while searching for a new career after retiring from the playing field.
Somehow over the years and without anyone really noticing, the clubs craftily shifted that responsibility onto the fans in the form of testimonial matches. Now, thanks to Roy Keane’s decision and respect for the fans that have helped pay his wages for all these years, and his personal lack of greed, testimonial matches for Premiership players may finally be consigned to the history books where they belong.
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In almost a decade at Manchester United, it’s fair to say that Roy Keane has stamped his mark on English football and indeed on a few dozen opponents foolish enough to get in his way too. But, unwittingly, in the autumn of this wonderful and sometimes turbulent career, the Old Trafford rottweiler may have taken a stance that will bring an end to one of top-flight football’s greatest obscenities- the testimonial match.
Keane’s decision to turn his back on a lucrative testimonial match which could have added as much as two million quid to his bank balance is a message which needs to be absorbed and acted upon by every football club in the Premiership. The message Keane has sent out purposely or not is brutally simple. At any level of the football pyramid, testimonial matches for players are a rip-off of the supporters.
At Premiership level where the salaries are astronomical, testimonial matches for highly paid superstars are more than a rip-off, they are an abuse of loyal fans. Why should any football club ask its supporters to cough up their cash to provide a golden handshake for a footballer that completes ten years’ service at one club? Loyalty and length of service are rare and worthy attributes, but surely they should be rewarded by the employer and not by the customer. When the day comes for me to retire many years from now, I would expect my service to my employers be rewarded by the employers themselves, not by the employer’s customers! So why do professional football clubs expect their customers to pay for the players’ retirement fund?
Years ago before the wages of players got completely out of hand it WAS the responsibility of the club to reward their long-serving players. The sums of money given weren’t massive amounts, but it gave the players security and something to fall back on while searching for a new career after retiring from the playing field.
Somehow over the years and without anyone really noticing, the clubs craftily shifted that responsibility onto the fans in the form of testimonial matches. Now, thanks to Roy Keane’s decision and respect for the fans that have helped pay his wages for all these years, and his personal lack of greed, testimonial matches for Premiership players may finally be consigned to the history books where they belong.
Keane’s decision to turn his back on a lucrative testimonial match which could have added as much as two million quid to his bank balance is a message which needs to be absorbed and acted upon by every football club in the Premiership. The message Keane has sent out purposely or not is brutally simple. At any level of the football pyramid, testimonial matches for players are a rip-off of the supporters.
At Premiership level where the salaries are astronomical, testimonial matches for highly paid superstars are more than a rip-off, they are an abuse of loyal fans. Why should any football club ask its supporters to cough up their cash to provide a golden handshake for a footballer that completes ten years’ service at one club? Loyalty and length of service are rare and worthy attributes, but surely they should be rewarded by the employer and not by the customer. When the day comes for me to retire many years from now, I would expect my service to my employers be rewarded by the employers themselves, not by the employer’s customers! So why do professional football clubs expect their customers to pay for the players’ retirement fund?
Years ago before the wages of players got completely out of hand it WAS the responsibility of the club to reward their long-serving players. The sums of money given weren’t massive amounts, but it gave the players security and something to fall back on while searching for a new career after retiring from the playing field.
Somehow over the years and without anyone really noticing, the clubs craftily shifted that responsibility onto the fans in the form of testimonial matches. Now, thanks to Roy Keane’s decision and respect for the fans that have helped pay his wages for all these years, and his personal lack of greed, testimonial matches for Premiership players may finally be consigned to the history books where they belong.