For the 01/02 season they got 560k sterling, the 70k was the bonus. Thatâs about 10% of the average players salary back then. They only had finite careers. 500k would for most have been for 3 or 4 years back then in their prime. It is only footballers in the last 10 years who can properly piss away their money and not have to think about it, As a matter of fact, according to the Indo back in 2011 it was more;
In 2002, the Irish squad in Japan and Korea took 50pc of the net profit from the World Cup adventure â a figure in excess of âŹ3m â that was divided equally among the 22 members of the squad.
For the boys back in 1990 getting Italia 90 qualification was very nice for their bank accounts. Picking up the match fees was nice as well.
Read the note at the bottom with regard appearances and bonuses, itâs about 5%.
Iâm sure if they didnât really want to be there then theyâd trade that 5% for an extra 5 weeks holidays. Iâd also imagine there were plenty of players who could have played international football in that era who just didnât have their heart in it and couldnât be bothered with the hassle of going away during their holiday period.
Houghton is on record as saying that Scotland would have been his first choice international team to play for. It was a career decision for him to play for Eire.
A reply that was as predictable as it was inaccurate.
Of course you donât consider things that you donât agree with to be relevant.
Thatâs the way you âdebateâ. You run away when something doesnât suit you.
Houghtonâs decision to represent Eire was every bit as career-motivated as any rugby player you can name. His own words prove it. His first choice was Scotland.
I think Iâve said it here before and I canât remember the details properly now, but around that time there was a lad who had the fourth fastest 1500m in the World in the year at the time and was only the 3rd fastest in Munster!!!
It was probably early enough in the year or something but it shows the depth of Irish running around then.
Not even you can seriously believe that an average professional footballer would rather mooch round at home than play in a major international tournament. Comparing your job, or almost any other, to playing in a World Cup is laughable.
Ill back up ray bought on (predictive text :-)), if Scotland was his first choice, he should not be playing for Ireland. Grandparent rules are a fucking joke entirely, and far more farcical than residency ones. That kiwi prop being case in point, straight from the airport to the Irish base.
I said to some people, playing for your country is a chore - eg. Stephen Ireland and Roy Keane who had little interest in being on international duty. To others it is the greatest honour that can be bestowed on them.
My point was that financial reward is a frivolous factor for most footballers when it comes to playing international football.
So if you never got something that was first choice then you would abandon all pursuit of any alternative. If you didnât get the job you want that youâd never work?
Thatâs nonsense, Houghton has Irish roots in him and if he feels Irish and wants to help the country by all means do so.
âHelping the countryâ, well thatâs a broad church. International competition is , in principle, adversarial is it not? The ramifications are obvious.
He would prefer to have helped another country, and it would have been his stated preference to play for said country, and give of his best to beat everyone he played against.
My point is obvious.
