The end is nigh.

[old man villa fan]

I do feel that any "fan" that is willing to boo there own team after 45 mins of the season as for the wigan game last season must feel some responsibility.

Totally and utterly complete load of bollocks.

This is something which confuses me. The readiness of seemingly rational people to believe that the booing at 45 minutes against Wigan was purely about the previous 45 minutes.

I didn't boo, but I did remark to my match-attending friends that it was a continuation of the entirety of the previous season at home.

It wasn't the entirety of the previous season but how we tailed off towards the end of the season and people thought the first half of the Wigan was a continuation of that.

I, myself, wouldn't consider booing the teams performance in anything other than the most extreme showing of the players not trying.  The Wigan game was just simply a poor performance, these things happen.  I have seen some dreadful performances over the last 40+ years but I cannot remember many times I have booed the team off the pitch.

For somebody to boo the team after 45 minutes of a new season off the back of the end of the previous season, were just waiting for a poor performance to vent their dissatisfaction.  That's my opinion, anyway, whether it is right or wrong.

[KevinGage]

I do feel that any "fan" that is willing to boo there own team after 45 mins of the season as for the wigan game last season must feel some responsibility.

Great! you even managed the inverted comma around fan.
But you missed out the 'DOL was right...'  Groundhog Day yawnfest, so points off for that.

So we're suggesting anyone that booed that day isn't a fan, is that it?
Were they just Bluenoses or Japanese tourists passing through?

I didn't boo, but I fully understood the frustration of those that did.
It looked like nothing much had changed following five solid months of iffy home form the season previous.

The bit about Everton might have more credence if they weren't so quick to turn on their own players. Never seen a rabble get so agitated as their lot.

[old man villa fan]

Wages are a separate entity to image rights, win bonuses and all the rest of it.

I'd find it hard to believe that players keen on earning as much money as possible would forgo or take a lower wage for something variable like increased  image rights and bonuses.

But I'm sure Risso will be happy to clarify for the 200th time.
Maybe we can sticky this one, as it never seems to die.

Apologies if it has been done to death before but I hadn't seen anything on here about the difference in employee numbers between the two clubs, only the difference in expenditure in the two clubs accounts.  Just exploring the difference in expenditure from a different angle to see if there is another reason rather than the often implied 'we pay our players more than Spurs do'.

Regarding bonuses, didn't this almost bankrupt us after winning the League in '81.

[Dave Cooper please]

This fact has been quoted quite frequently on here.  It puzzled me as to why we are spending considerably more on wages and then I read this http://astonvilla-views.com/2010/08/02/the-wage-debate-and-especially-in-comparison-to-spurs/.

It would appear that one of the reasons why we spend more than Spurs is that we employ over 60% more staff than Spurs, although 14no. less playing and football staff.

Looking at that link, the fact it's from a blog run by teh man taht has taken over teh internetz, I would take the figures with a full Cheshire amount of salt.

I see absolutely no links or evidence to back up the figures given which leads me to think he's either made them up himself or taken the word of someone else who has.

[KevinGage]

Big Mouth Strikes Again.

One man on a lonely crusade to infect teh entire internetz.

Nothing can stop him.

[old man villa fan]

This fact has been quoted quite frequently on here.  It puzzled me as to why we are spending considerably more on wages and then I read this http://astonvilla-views.com/2010/08/02/the-wage-debate-and-especially-in-comparison-to-spurs/.

It would appear that one of the reasons why we spend more than Spurs is that we employ over 60% more staff than Spurs, although 14no. less playing and football staff.

Looking at that link, the fact it's from a blog run by teh man taht has taken over teh internetz, I would take the figures with a full Cheshire amount of salt.

I see absolutely no links or evidence to back up the figures given which leads me to think he's either made them up himself or taken the word of someone else who has.

Ok, if you say so.  Some people are devious, aren't they!  Well, that's one take on it.

[Risso]

We do have a lot more admin staff it seems.  However, most of those won't be on any more than £20K a year, which doesn't go anywhere near to explaining teh difference.

[Chris Smith]

Wages are a separate entity to image rights, win bonuses and all the rest of it.

I'd find it hard to believe that players keen on earning as much money as possible would forgo or take a lower wage for something variable like increased  image rights and bonuses.

But I'm sure Risso will be happy to clarify for the 200th time.
Maybe we can sticky this one, as it never seems to die.

It's quite common, I believe. Clubs do deals with individuals based on image rights so as not to break the wage structure.

[Concrete John]

Didn't I hear somewhere that the majority of Sol Campbells wages come in the way of image rights?  Does this have a possitive tax impact on the player?

[Chris Smith]

I don't think anyone thinks we couldn't do any better

You have to be joking.

Well, each side of any argument will have it's extremes, but I'd like to think that even those most adamant MON supporters see 6th as a midway point between where we were and where we're trying to get to.

Randy seems to have come to a similar conclusion to those in the former camp and that is why MON will be our manager this coming season.

What action on Mr. Lerner's part gives you that impression?

The fact that we have the same manager as we did last season, surely if he had serious misgivings he'd have done something about it.

[Dave Cooper please]

Didn't I hear somewhere that the majority of Sol Campbells wages come in the way of image rights?  Does this have a possitive tax impact on the player?

I believe so, it's this that has put Portsmouth into another bucketload of trooble with HMRC.

[Concrete John]

Just playing devil's advocate, but wouldn't those deals be signed when Harry Redknapp was in charge?  The same Harry Redknapp who is now in charge of Spurs, whose wages in the posted accounts we constantly debate the validity of?

[pauliewalnuts]

Just playing devil's advocate, but wouldn't those deals be signed when Harry Redknapp was in charge?  The same Harry Redknapp who is now in charge of Spurs, whose wages in the posted accounts we constantly debate the validity of?

God, not that done-to-death conspiracy theory again.

[Concrete John]

Sorry, but I think what's happening at his previous club is a valid point when discussing Redknapp/Spurs/wages.

[pauliewalnuts]

Sorry, but I think what's happening at his previous club is a valid point when discussing Redknapp/Spurs/wages.

Well, other than the fact that they are two entirely different football clubs, one of which is a PLC, the other which seems to have been run shambolically.