Real Wages

I found myself puzzled recently over the opprobrium heaped upon the shoulders of Wayne Rooney for attempting to screw as much money as possible out of the Mighty Reds for the work he does. Whilst it is obvious why the ordinary man in the street gets a bit aeriated over footballers' wages, it surely doesn't take long to figure out that this sort of thing simply follows the not terribly pleasant logic of capitalism. Why is it that footballers get particularly singled out for criticism when it's obvious that at least what they do requires genuine, and exceptional, talent, whilst highly paid bankers and their ilk only come into the firing line when we realise just how badly their talents have screwed up the lives of the rest of us? Trust me, if the Rooon is seen to completely fail to deliver his wages will drop alarmingly and his bonuses dry up. And the line of guys who have tried and failed to deliver what the top players manage to give is a very, very long one. It's really a high risk to enter their profession.

To be honest I know perfectly well why footballers get singled out for special criticism. And so do you. It's because they are predominantly working class young men and are looked down on for that reason by those who regard themselves as their betters.

I caught the back end of a programme on the World Service the other day looking back on the days of the maximum wage in football (still operating when I was born.) A great player like Jimmy Armfield happy to get twenty quid a week because it was more than he could have earnt in a factory or down the pit. The good old days. Yeah, right.