Robinho has the Easiest Job in the World

I went into work today, and my performance wasn’t up to scratch. I was not really working as hard as I could, I wasn’t really interested in impressing anyone, and to be honest, I thought, they aren’t going to sack me, I get my wages anyway, so I’ll just chill out, pick my wages up on Friday, maybe watch the football on Saturday and go out on Saturday night.

Its ok though. I’m getting paid £160,000 a week to do it. My names Robinho.

Surely no other job in the world would implore such an attitude, but up and down the country teams are be ridden with such professionals, happy to pick up the wages agreed to them, and when they eventually attract a bidder, can demand a fee to leave, such as the case with Kenwyne Jones who moved to Stoke recently, receiving a £2m payoff to get him on his way. Not a bad parting gift fo a player who was moved on for his poor attitude at the club. A far cry from the testimonial handed to players in years gone by rewarding a players loyalty to a club.

Ian Holloway was in the news this week commenting on his attitude to the “monsters” the game is creating with money being so easily given to players yet to prove themselves at the top-level. Much like these players, Holloway would be the first to admit that he to needs to prove himself at this level but he believes the Premier League top-earners are failing to live up to their status as role models.

“I’m not trying to make a monster,” Holloway told Sky Sports News in a press conference.

“These lads that are given far too much, too soon are monsters in my opinion.”

“They behave wrongly, they don’t portray what a professional footballer should be as a role model and they get far too much too soon and they waste it.”

“So my job’s to produce a proper player and a proper person first.”

It seems that many would agree with this philosophy, something similar to that adopted to Alex Ferguson in his grooming of the golden generation that he guided through the ranks at Old Trafford, with the likes of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs still reaping the rewards of his guidance.

Just across the road on the other side of Manchester comes Mario Balotelli who readily admits the struggle a young player faces trying to adapt to world of super-stardom.

“I’ve recognised my mistakes, but I think I’ve often been under pressure and on the receiving end of criticism that at times has irritated me.

“I’m going where I hope to find the space I need to play which is very important to me: I need to play, to make mistakes, to learn and to play again. As well as a calm environment around me.”

Former manager Jose Mourinho – now manager at Real Madrid – said after a match last season: “I can’t motivate him, I can’t educate him, this or that – next year it’s best if Mourinho goes and not Balotelli.” And on he went.

It’s hard to see this being the case if Holloway was looking after him at Bloomfield road. “He’ll be on £250 a week, scrubbing boots, and living above my mum’s garage until he’s scored at least 25 goals for the club” is a quote we didn’t get from Holloway. But you get the drift.

For the new chairman coming into these clubs with big earners well past their sell by date picking up these big wages, for them its like inheriting an ex-wife, who they never married in the first place. Whilst Keiron Dyer continues on his payroll, David Sullivan came out last year and suggested such players should retire, as they will never play consistently again.

“There is one player who hardly plays at all who might have to accept retirement”

He added that the player earned between “£60-70,000 a week”.

However for Dyer, 32, and still the West Ham number 7, it remains a no-brainer to continue to arrive at training and pick up the wages given to him by the Sullivan’s predesscor.

It seems Randy Lerner has learned from the mistake of giving out big contracts to players not playing in he first team by recently adopting the sell to buy policy which Martin O’Neill eventually saw as enough reason to leave the club. With signings such as Steve Sidwell, Nigel Reo-Coker, Habib Beye, Curtis Davies and Emile Heskey at a combined price of over £25m before wages, the entrepreneur has realised that to run the club as a successful business, these high earners need to be moved on before the gamble is made on further big money buys.

After the quietest summer the Premier League has ever seen, it seems like the whole of the division, City of Manchester stadium aside, have highlighted the importance if running the club as a business, and it may have taken the experience of Portsmouth last season for this to happen.

So what’s the lesson from these expensive players happy to pick up these wages, and sitting around in the back ground of these clubs who have never reached the highs the once ambitious owners craved? Some chairmen have previously adopted “pay-as-you-play” deals for players joining their clubs. This has worked well for Bill Kenwright at Everton with Louis Saha playing an influential role on such a deal.

This was perhaps more prevalent than ever before in one signing this week. The multi-billionaire owner of Birmingham city, who promised big signings on his takeover sanctioned a move for a new striker; former Blackburn man Matt Derbyshire on loan from Greek side Olympiacos. It turns out the football might not be exempt from the recession after all. Although if you asked Robinho he may say quite the contrary.