Watford captain Troy Deeney has been one of the loudest voices against returning to the pitch so soon.

“I’m not even talking about football at the moment. I’m talking about my family’s health,” Deeney said on Instagram.

“I’m not going to put my family at risk. What are they going to do, take money off me? I’ve been broke before so it doesn’t bother me.

“They’re talking about not playing in front of fans until 2021. So if it’s not safe enough for fans to be inside a stadium, why should it be safe for players to be in there?”

Former Burnley midfielder Joey Barton claimed Deeney is acting out of self-interest.

Barton, who is manager of League One side Fleetwood, tweeted: “If Troy doesn’t want to play or doesn’t feel safe enough to, then that’s his choice.

“Let’s not kid ourselves about what is going on. Big money to be had in the Premier League, who wouldn’t want another year of that towards the end of your career? Got to admire the opportunism.

“Squad on huge bonus for survival. No wonder they want it null and voided.”

https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/ ... lan.792467

West Ham and Watford are becoming increasingly vocal about the consequences of a return:

https://www.skysports.com/football/news ... ing-return

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footb ... start.html

https://www.skysports.com/football/news ... on-resumes

Can't imagine why.....

West Ham again. They really are scared to death of it.

By 'it', I mean going down.

Makes you wonder what our stance would have been if we were down there...

And LG agrees cos he hates liverpool
I agree cos hes right and also dislike liverpool

Deeney is putting health before wealth. Fair play to him.

Not sure why Barton needs to comment on what Deeney is doing.

Not really the business of a lower league manager.


I do love Joey though

These guys of course don't need to play if they are concerned. I am sure their clubs will understand after all we have 25 man squads, just 9 games to go and up to 5 subs can be used
Just glad the likes of Deeney and Rose of Newcastle are not working in hospitals, working on the wages the NHS pays

It's a hell of a coincidence that most of the complaints seem to be coming from teams in a bit of relegation trouble. If they don't want to play furlough them. I reckon they'd soon change their tune if their wages dropped to 2,500 quid a month.

cricketfieldclarets wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 1:28 pm

Deeney is putting health before wealth. Fair play to him.

I bet he is still getting his full pay though

FA should allow them to amend their 25 man squad but order them no play, no points. The league MUST finish.

warksclaret wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 1:56 pm

Just glad the likes of Deeney and Rose of Newcastle are not working in hospitals, working on the wages the NHS pays

Why’s that? Are you embarrassed about Danny Rose giving £10,000 to domestic abuse charities? Or is it the £19,000 he’s given a local hospital that you don’t like?

jtv wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 2:16 pm

I bet he is still getting his full pay though

He’s said he’s not bothered about being paid. He also went on to ask if it’s right Prem footballers are getting tests in front of nurses and key workers.

If you read the full article instead of just the headline then he makes a lot of good points and is merely asking questions which no one can answer with confidence.

I saw Grant Hanley on telly talking about his pregnant wife. She’s due in July and he was worried about returning at the moment. Footballers are no different to the rest of us I guess.

Blimey £29,000 paid by Danny Rose to charities -thats got to be two days work at most hes given them. As someone said above, if they don't want to play let them be furloughed

Pearcey wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 2:31 pm

I saw Grant Hanley on telly talking about his pregnant wife. She’s due in July and he was worried about returning at the moment. Footballers are no different to the rest of us I guess.

He should be more worried that the kid might look like him.

Pearcey wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 2:31 pm

I saw Grant Hanley on telly talking about his pregnant wife. She’s due in July and he was worried about returning at the moment. Footballers are no different to the rest of us I guess.

Not the best example of a footballer that is 'no different' to other humans

cricketfieldclarets wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 1:28 pm

Deeney is putting health before wealth. Fair play to him.

Is he? He self isolate away from his family if he was so concerned about their health

Dyched wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 2:20 pm

Why’s that? Are you embarrassed about Danny Rose giving £10,000 to domestic abuse charities? Or is it the £19,000 he’s given a local hospital that you don’t like?

Only giving, at best, a days pay. Even I have given more than that!!

Winstonswhite wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 2:26 pm

He’s said he’s not bothered about being paid. He also went on to ask if it’s right Prem footballers are getting tests in front of nurses and key workers.

If you read the full article instead of just the headline then he makes a lot of good points and is merely asking questions which no one can answer with confidence.

There are enough testing kits to go round.

PremierLeagueClass wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 12:53 pm

Makes you wonder what our stance would have been if we were down there...

The same.

Before the Orient game, 1987, when oblivion was a real possibility, we were squealing. Our argument was that this was the first season of relegation to the non League and it would be a travesty if a founder member of the Football League was relegated. May be so but we were there on merit. I found it embarrassing but understandable.

warksclaret wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 1:56 pm

These guys of course don't need to play if they are concerned. I am sure their clubs will understand after all we have 25 man squads, just 9 games to go and up to 5 subs can be used
Just glad the likes of Deeney and Rose of Newcastle are not working in hospitals, working on the wages the NHS pays

While nurses and doctors undoubtedly deserve more pay and better conditions not sure it’s a valid comparison. Most people do such jobs because they are passionate about them rather than for the money. That said they’re equally as entitled not to turn up as deeney is.

jtv wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 2:16 pm

I bet he is still getting his full pay though

He probably is.

Burnley Ace wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:23 pm

Is he? He self isolate away from his family if he was so concerned about their health

Really? You’d do that? Isolate away from your family in order to go to work!?

cricketfieldclarets wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 1:28 pm

Deeney is putting health before wealth. Fair play to him.

You could quite easily argue he's motivated by wealth here

If the season ends now, Watford stay up and he earns a fortune in bonuses for avoiding relegation

warksclaret wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 2:47 pm

Blimey £29,000 paid by Danny Rose to charities -thats got to be two days work at most hes given them. As someone said above, if they don't want to play let them be furloughed

Doesn’t matter if it a days work or not.

£29,000 is a substantial amount of money.

Burnley Ace wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:26 pm

There are enough testing kits to go round.

How many test are we talking to put on a game of football?

Before the match? After the match? You could be talking tens of thousands before the season is complete.

cricketfieldclarets wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:42 pm

Really? You’d do that? Isolate away from your family in order to go to work!?

That is what NHS and care home staff have been doing since the beginning. On his salary it is a small price to pay over a 6 week period.

cricketfieldclarets wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:42 pm

Really? You’d do that? Isolate away from your family in order to go to work!?

On £100k a week, for 6 weeks staying in a luxury hotel so I can play football?? I’ll go tonight!

There are 100s if not 1000s of people who aren’t living with their families so they can work.

Dyched wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 4:07 pm

Doesn’t matter if it a days work or not.

£29,000 is a substantial amount of money.

No it isn’t, it’s the price of a cheap BMW. It can only be subjective.

Dyched wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 4:09 pm

How many test are we talking to put on a game of football?

Before the match? After the match? You could be talking tens of thousands before the season is complete.

And there will still be enough testing kits

I'm pretty sure calling Deeney a spade is not allowed!

If these players are purely concerned with their, and their families safety they'd want to return to football. They'll be the safest people in the country as they'll be in an environment where themselves and everyone they come into contact with will be tested twice a week. They'll also be in facilities that will be operating stringent safety protocols, professionally sterilised and will have highly paid medical staff on hand at all times.

No other work or public place will come close.

To the likes of most of us £29,000 donation is substantial. For Rose its a token or gesture.Just like Billy Joe Saunders agreeing to give £50k to abused victims after he saw the immense public reaction to his video on how to punch your wife or partner.

cricketfieldclarets wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:42 pm

Really? You’d do that? Isolate away from your family in order to go to work!?

“Work” ?.....mmmm !!

In all seriousness whilst there seems to be the odd player who is genuinely concerned about his health this seems to be mostly about protecting their livelihoods, their future careers, contracts etc.
I don’t really see much wrong with that - they are all grown men who can mostly think for themselves and those that can’t have their agents and other people to remind them what side their bread is buttered !

If football and players thought that there was going to be no impact financially on the clubs or individual contracts etc by cancelling the season and not starting till say next year and they were all given a choice to either play now with the risk in front of no crowds or wait till next year then the majority in my view would opt for the latter.

I am sure that when they say they are missing playing football there is some truth in that. But if it was purely about returning for the love of the game under the current circumstances few would do it.

If some footballers want to see this through and not return to training/playing until they are 100% safe then they'll have to wait until a vaccine is found.

The only issue is the timescale means the majority of towns in this country won't have a football team left to follow. Although that threat is less imminent for the Premier League teams it is still a real threat moving into the latter part of this year, the bigger the club the bigger their overheads are and the bigger the black hole is.

Burnley Ace wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 4:47 pm

No it isn’t, it’s the price of a cheap BMW. It can only be subjective.

The thing is Burnley Ace, we know about the 29 grand now, because it’s been publicised, but do you know what else Danny Rose has been up to recently? Do you know all the selfless acts, balanced against all the other self-interested stuff he might have been up to? I’m guessing you don’t. So isn’t it a bit difficult to pass judgment? I would have thought so myself.

Goody1975 wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 6:16 pm

If some footballers want to see this through and not return to training/playing until they are 100% safe then they'll have to wait until a vaccine is found.

The only issue is the timescale means the majority of towns in this country won't have a football team left to follow. Although that threat is less imminent for the Premier League teams it is still a real threat moving into the latter part of this year, the bigger the club the bigger their overheads are and the bigger the black hole is.

Good points!

It should simply be left to the individual. I personally would play even with some basic measures in place. If I lived with my gran maybe I wouldn’t. Just get the games played by those who are willing to do so... no outside pressure. I’d be surprised if Watford and West Ham didn’t actually field full strength teams. Cos if it was relegation or play they would play. Every single one of them.

cricketfieldclarets wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 1:28 pm

Deeney is putting health before wealth. Fair play to him.

********!! Joey is spot on. The only thing Deeney cares about is his bank balance and that goes for the rest of the clubs involved in relegation, who speak out against the re-start

Chuckypad wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:48 pm

You could quite easily argue he's motivated by wealth here

If the season ends now, Watford stay up and he earns a fortune in bonuses for avoiding relegation

That is exactly what Barton hinted at.

Funny but I thought one of the main reasons it was so important to complete this season is because of the financial costs that would be suffered if it was to be scrapped

Like others have said these premier league millionaires should go and live away from their families for the next 3 months to complete the season, just like millions of others do to put food on the table for their families

Mattster wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 5:13 pm

If these players are purely concerned with their, and their families safety they'd want to return to football. They'll be the safest people in the country as they'll be in an environment where themselves and everyone they come into contact with will be tested twice a week. They'll also be in facilities that will be operating stringent safety protocols, professionally sterilised and will have highly paid medical staff on hand at all times.

No other work or public place will come close.

. is fairly sure that they would be much safer stopping in their homes than going out playing football.

. wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 8:11 pm

. is fairly sure that they would be much safer stopping in their homes than going out playing football.

And yet Brighton have been shouting loud about their 3 players testing positive under lockdown.

I'd put money on there being more players test positive in the first round of testing than do so across the remainder of the season.

Foulthrow wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:04 pm

He should be more worried that the kid might look like him.

Someone told me Grant Henley wasn't human at all.
That he'd come free from a box of Sugar Puffs?

chekhov wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 6:53 pm

The thing is Burnley Ace, we know about the 29 grand now, because it’s been publicised, but do you know what else Danny Rose has been up to recently? Do you know all the selfless acts, balanced against all the other self-interested stuff he might have been up to? I’m guessing you don’t. So isn’t it a bit difficult to pass judgment? I would have thought so myself.

None, that’s why he’s publicised this one.

I'm getting a bit miffed by the concept that highly paid sportsmen have any duty to give their money away.
The tax that Boots has avoided runs to billions, and that is OUR money

Delivery drivers and supermarket workers are taking more risk than a footballer would be in an empty stadium. If they didn’t go to work out of choice I doubt they would be paid. When footballers are sat at home earning millions but not playing and then it comes to choice and they are not playing what’s the point of them. Nobody is watching any football and probably won’t watch live football for a long time. Are players going to be paid millions to turn out in empty stadiums over the next season and only if they feel ‘safe’ ? Fans have bigger priorities now and for the foreseeable than over pampered over paid players.

Let not kid ourselves what’s going on here. Brighton West Ham and Watford are worried about relegation and want to save their necks without playing.