Future transfer fees and wages.

[Firthy]

With the obvious financial impact on all clubs because of the Coronavirus will this reduce the mind numbingly ridiculous transfer fees and wages that the top footballers get at present or are the big clubs backers that wealthy that it will have no affect on them and there will be an even bigger void between the wealthier backed clubs and the rest. I class the likes of Burnley, Sheff Utd, Norwich as the rest.

[Paul Waine]

With the obvious financial impact on all clubs because of the Coronavirus will this reduce the mind numbingly ridiculous transfer fees and wages that the top footballers get at present or are the big clubs backers that wealthy that it will have no affect on them and there will be an even bigger void between the wealthier backed clubs and the rest. I class the likes of Burnley, Sheff Utd, Norwich as the rest.

You can imagine some interesting discussions about wages when football isn't being played.... and the clubs income has dried up.

Any sensible person will be thinking," how can I pay that transfer fee" when there might not be any games and there might not be any tv money?"

Are football club owners sensible?

What has happened to ManU share price these last few weeks? £20,32 15-Jan (this year's peak) and £14.28 last night. Mind you, it fell to £18,99 the day after we won at OT - and has been heading downwards ever since.

[Stayingup]

When the wealth of a State is your backer as per Manchester City and maybe Newcastle soon it will probably have no effect. Its a shame some of this wealth cant be passed down to the needier clubs in the lower leagues. There may well be devastation there and in the Championship where some clubs are paying wages in excess of their income in search of the Holy Grail of the EPL.

It would be good to see a reckoning with agents who have taken too much out of the game.

[Paul Waine]

When the wealth of a State is your backer as per Manchester City and maybe Newcastle soon it will probably have no effect. Its a shame some of this wealth cant be passed down to the needier clubs in the lower leagues. There may well be devastation there and in the Championship where some clubs are paying wages in excess of their income in search of the Holy Grail of the EPL.

It would be good to see a reckoning with agents who have taken too much out of the game.

Pass it down to lower leagues? With lower transfer fees and lower wages in the top division?

[Tricky Trevor]

We have a wonderful starting position. Plenty of the clubs who are seen as “bigger” than us but carry debt will come out of this severely damaged.
Around the world good players will come available cheap.

[dushanbe]

When the wealth of a State is your backer as per Manchester City and maybe Newcastle soon it will probably have no effect. Its a shame some of this wealth cant be passed down to the needier clubs in the lower leagues. There may well be devastation there and in the Championship where some clubs are paying wages in excess of their income in search of the Holy Grail of the EPL.

It would be good to see a reckoning with agents who have taken too much out of the game.

It doesn't really matter if you have one or two wealthy owner backed clubs if all the others are struggling. Man City aren't going to pay £50m transfer fees and £200,000 a week wages if the only other offers on the table are £10m and £50,000 a week.

[tiger76]

Reality might be kicking in at last,wouldn't guarantee it'll last long though.

Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward says speculation about transfers for "hundreds of millions of pounds this summer" is ignoring the "realities that face the sport" because of the coronavirus pandemic.

United were linked with a £200m move for Tottenham striker Harry Kane and potentially spending a further £130m on England and Borussia Dortmund wide-man Jadon Sancho.

"Nobody should be under any illusions about the scale of challenge facing everyone in football and it may not be 'business as usual' for any clubs, including ourselves, in the transfer market this summer," Woodward said in his opening address to a United Fans' Forum on Friday.

"As ever our priority is the success of team, but we need visibility of the impact across the whole industry, including timings of the transfer window, and the wider financial picture, before we can talk about a return to normality."

Woodward has been a key figure in many of the discussions among the Premier League and in Europe about how the game is going to deal with the financial impact of coronavirus.

Billions of pounds in TV income is at stake if there is no resumption in the foreseeable future, with most figures within the game anticipating any resumption, when it eventually comes, will be without spectators.

United's commercial buffer
United's vast commercial operation has often been viewed with disdain, including by the club's own supporters, in the belief it shows their owners have got their priorities wrong.

However, Woodward said it was now shielding them from the scale of difficulties being experienced by some of their top-flight rivals as they are continuing to pay their players and staff, in addition to making a number of significant financial gestures to fans and the local community.

Woodward said "30,000 items of food and drink" had been given to local charities in addition to the £100,000 joint donation to the Trussell Trust with Manchester City "for use by 19 food banks across Greater Manchester".

In addition, club staff, including former players, have made 'welfare calls' to season-ticket holders, who are either disabled or aged 70 and over.

"We will continue looking for more ways of supporting those in need for as long as the pandemic continues," said Woodward.

"Everyone is grappling with the economic realities of the pandemic and we are no different. The longer the crisis continues the greater the impact will be for every club, including ourselves.

"But it is important to acknowledge the part played by our successful business in allowing us to fulfil our social responsibilities. We have always believed that our commercial model gives us greater resilience than most clubs.

"We are eager to see the team return to the field as soon as we are advised it is safe to do so. And while it may be that games need to be played behind closed doors in the shorter term, we all recognise that football will not be fully back to normal until supporters are once again in attendance."

[Dy1geo]

I said this a while ago we are in a new reality, we have quite a few players out of contract in June and I could see us let them all go.

[Blackrod]

Not sure it will sit well with clubs or fans having players sat on their arses not playing and being paid thousands a week. Not sure this sits as well with the public now.. More people will realise there is more to life than paying to watch every single PL game. I gave up on Sky years ago and don’t miss it. I think apathy can set in quite easily. Football matches without fans is also an inferior product. I would expect some clubs to curb spending and expect we will be one of them.

[Jamesy]

Not sure it will sit well with clubs or fans having players sat on their arses not playing and being paid thousands a week. Not sure this sits as well with the public now.. More people will realise there is more to life than paying to watch every single PL game. I gave up on Sky years ago and don’t miss it. I think apathy can set in quite easily. Football matches without fans is also an inferior product. I would expect some clubs to curb spending and expect we will be one of them.

It would have been a start if the players had helped our club by taking a Wage reduction for 3 months. The silence is deafening on this one.

[FCBurnley]

Big question is ..... what is our squad value today compared to what it was the day after we bought Brownhill ?

[tiger76]

Big question is ..... what is our squad value today compared to what it was the day after we bought Brownhill ?

Probably slighter lower,but it works both ways,any targets we have should be cheaper,we'll find out when the window opens.

The plus is our in demand stars McNeil,Pope,Tarks,Taylor are all tied to lengthy contracts,that might dissuade any potential suitors from coming calling.

What we might see next season is a lot more young talent being given a chance,look at how much the Chelsea youngsters have progressed in just a few short months,and clearly the other big clubs have academy prospects,that could be fast tracked into their 1st team squads.

[JohnMac]

In a nutshell, no!

[beddie]

Interesting read. I'll remind Ed of this statement in a few months time when he puts a £300m bid in for Harry Kane.

[Elizabeth]

On the subject of our out of contract players I hope that with all the current uncertainty in football that Jeff decides now to sign a new contract

[tiger76]

On the subject of our out of contract players I hope that with all the current uncertainty in football that Jeff decides now to sign a new contract

Hear!Hear! Soccer Saturday wouldn't be the same without him.

[beddie]

On the subject of our out of contract players I hope that with all the current uncertainty in football that Jeff decides now to sign a new contract

Unlikely if he's already been guaranteed a better offer.

[Jamesy]

Hear!Hear! Soccer Saturday wouldn't be the same without him.

I got it Elizabeth, however I think it went straight over Beddies head