It’s finally here. Welcome to Young Guns’ inaugural Blogger Idol Final. Below is one of three articles from the finalists Ben Jones, Nick Love and Nick Doherty. Read them all carefully and remember to check the criteria we asked for Here. When completed, visit the Blogger Idol section of the blog and vote for your winner. It couldn’t be simpler.
You have until midnight on Friday the 31st of July to get your votes before the poll will be closed. You may only vote once.
An interesting article on the FourFourTwo website this week revealed that Jermaine Pennant’s move to Real Zaragoza has rewarded the former Young Gun with a £40k a week contract. Surprising, this is a figure that works out to roughly the same wage as a player earning £80k a week here in the EPL –Thanks to the British governments new 50% tax bracket. You can read the article here.
Now, I believe that puts him in the same company as Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie in terms of wages. So a player with a fraction of Cesc’s ability gets the same wage. Sound fair? No, It’s absolutely mental!
This whole situation has consequences on Arsenal’s future ability to attract and keep top class players. Good news is that Arsenal won’t be alone in facing this challenge – Everyone barring Man City you’d think. Wenger, a man of high economic understanding responded to questions about the recent domination of the EPL in Europe, saying…
“Don’t worry, that time will soon be over, because with the new taxation system, and the collapse of Sterling, the domination of the Premier League on that front will go. That is for sure. It will be a financial problem for all the English clubs.”
You don’t have to have Arsene’s knowledge of economic matters to understand that players by nature will choose destinations where they can maximize their income. We all hate paying tax and would probably make a similar decision in our normal everyday lives. The truth is, teams will have to stump up even more money to keep their players in the EPL, otherwise La Liga will suddenly become a very appealing destination.
It may seem like its all doom and gloom but Arsenal are better positioned than any club to tackle this situation, and the reason why? Our ‘Young Guns’ of course.
In an interview given by Gilles Grimandi the Arsenal scout talks about our approach in tracking young players and gives some insight into the scouting network as a whole. The interview can be read here.
The curly haired legend touches upon an interesting point regarding the personal touch and assurances the club offer to both the players and their families during the recruitment process. I guess the signing of Aaron Ramsey from Cardiff epitomised this idea. When Manchester United were courting the youngster, they sent… wait for it… Gary Neville to speak to Ramsey and convince him that his future lies at Old Trafford. Arsenal? Well they flew Ramsey and his family first class to Switzerland to have lunch and a personal chat with Mr Wenger.
When Arsenal sign a youngster it’s done so with great consideration and it’s given the time it deserves by the highest rungs of the clubs hierarchy. Grimandi also had this to say…
“If young people are recruited, it is because one believes in their progression within the team. The trainer promises something to them which is realizable”
You can’t argue with that. It’s all about quality, not quantity with Arsenal. I certainly believe that the promises made to players and their families are going to be Arsenal’s greatest investment for the foreseeable future. That is of course, provided these promises are kept.
Building a team full of players that owe Arsenal a debt, a respect for the manager and who have grown to love the club, this is Arsenal’s best weapon against the silly amount of money going around. Its about creating an environment where loyalty can flourish.
Cesc and RVP are just the latest players that could have picked up more than double their current salaries elsewhere, but it’s the investment in these players as young men which has so far been critical in keeping them in the red and white.
Arsenal fans are now entering an exciting period in the clubs history. We are about to witness the first generation of players since Wenger took charge, that will complete the full development cycle by joining the club at the age of nine and going on to play first team football (Wilshire, Lansbury etc)
It’s been too long since Arsenal had their own Totti, Scholes or Maldini; players you could never see playing for any other club. Playing first team, for a club you’ve been at since the age of nine, surely you can’t have any more loyalty, love and respect for a club than that. Money becomes a side issue.
Seriously, could you imagine Paul Scholes or Ryan Giggs having a contract dispute?
Ok, we were stung by Ashley Cole, but for Arsenal and our youth players it’s the best thing that could of ever happened. Obviously it has contributed towards the development of Clichy and now Gibbs, but even more importantly, any Arsenal youngster can look at Cole’s example and see that following money doesn’t always bring happiness; it also brings widespread derision and great nicknames like “Cashley” and “C**tly C**t.”
As teams are presented with the challenge of being expected to pay higher wages to compensate for the new tax hike, and stronger competition from Spain for the title of ‘Best League in the World,” teams will be forced to reassess and look at returning to a more sustainable model. Of course this starts by developing your own players at grass roots level, something that puts Arsenal in pole position.
Article By – Ben Jones
Great article! I agree with all of it. (“C**tly C**t” ha ha ha ha ha!)
Great article, people seem to be short sighted, I don’t fear our future at the top, Chelsea and Liverpool should be worried! Abimhavic is now reluctant to spend another 100 million to replace his ageing squad and any half decent youngster buggers off. Liverpool’s owners don’t have the money and Rafa doesn’t have the patience for youngsters.
Another factor is the quota rules; it seems perfect timing that we have a bunch of top class youngsters coming through now!
nice work! Enjoyed this article and how I was able to read articles you referred to
Not a bad article, just so poorly written.
nice work! Enjoyed this article and how I was able to read article you referred to
Interesting, although not too sure about the inclusion of C**T!
Sanderson, your insightful analysis and balanced style should see you writing for a mainstream media behemoth or at least .com! Well done and said mate!
Sorry,I mean Ben!!
Thank you gents. Although I wouldn’t agree that it was poorly written :)
I think that may of been the competition talking, if not I respect your opinion. Please vote.
sorry mate, that did come across a bit harsh. Im not the competition. Just think it sounds a bit as though im down the pub with me mates, rather than an actual news article. My opinion tho, im sure others disagree
I think most people prefer to read a ‘pub-like chat’ article rather than read articles by proper journalists who are more intent on raising their profiles rather than saying what really needs to be heard.
So hats off to you Ben,enjoyed the article.
That’s fair enough. I did try and be a little informal as I have the comfort in knowing that we all have something in common, being Arsenal fans. If it sounds like talking to my mates down the pub, great!
I believe I’ve written an opinion piece based on recent Arsenal news, which I thought would be best approached by expressing my own personality.
Obviously writing a straight news article when the content is based on 100% fact there is little room for such informalities to get in the way. All I know is that Charlie Brooker and Arseblog take a similar approach in their respected blogs and I enjoy them immensely. If I’ve failed in achieving that, then I’m obviously disappointed but it won’t stop me from being myself.
I hope you understand where I was coming from? I do really appreciate your feedback.
I enjoyed this a lot. Good mix of fact and opinion and I really liked the slightly less formal writing style. The subject was a surprising and welcome change from the usual articles that we see on Young Guns.
Overall, a great opinion piece that really underpins the reason why blogs like Young Guns exist. Ben, you have my vote!
“We all hate paying tax” – Umm, no we don’t. Taxes are an essential part of society and I personally am thankful for the NHS, roads, police etc. etc.
Also, this is an English website, no need to be putting Zs into words like an American.
It is too informal for my liking but I like the idea and the research that’s gone into it. An opinion piece doesn’t have to be written in such a style – I much prefer ‘A Cultured Left Foot’ to ‘Arseblog’ in that manner.
I think you have some talent and if you were to hone your skills on a regular blogging basis then I think you could be quite enjoyable to read, just a bit too rough around the edges atm.
I think that was a great article. I love the “cashly c**t” but suppose you cant please every one with your writing, but I think it was a great job and I really enjoyed it. I cant stand when the articles get to up there own arse & if I wanted that id only go to sky sports or BBC. Keep up the good work mate
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it Samuel. By much preferring ‘A Cultured Left Foot’ to ‘Arseblog’ we was never going to agree :) Although I’ve just noticed the Z you was referring too.
I think you took the tax comment a little strongly though. Of course I appreciate the NHS, roads and the police etc, but at the same time I don’t like paying for MP’s 2nd homes, bombs, bailing out banks and whatever else they waste our money on. I pay and accept the fact that I have to pay tax, but it would be nice if you didn’t have to. I’m sure you feel the same but its obviously not going to happen. It wasn’t a comment which was meant to spark a debate.
Cheers for reading and sharing your options.
Left this comment earlier but for some reason it is awaiting moderation and hasn’t appeared yet.
Anyway, try again!
I enjoyed this a lot. Good mix of fact and opinion and I really liked the slightly less formal writing style. The subject was a surprising and welcome change from the usual articles that we see on Young Guns.
Overall, a great opinion piece that really underpins the reason why blogs like Young Guns exist. Ben, you have my vote!
wouldn’t worry, Samual must be one of those unfortunates who had their sense of humour painfully removed at birth and replaced with an ass bug.
nice article and I like the informal tone, more journos should stop acting like they are addressing the queen when they write and get real.
Ha, it’s just a natural response to people complaining about taxes from me. Of course I hate the abuse of my hard earned money when it goes back to the state but there is very little I can do about that. Wasn’t supposed to be a big deal, I just felt like commenting.
Also, yeah, babelfish can make otherwise well structered writing and research seem lazy and messed up, if you win (and good luck, I may have voted for the guy who wrote about JW/FM but you are also talented), I think you’ll be good enough to focus on these things in the future.
My problem with arseblog is that Chris Moyles-ication of British mentality. The idea that drunkenness and light heartedness etc. can’t go hand in hand with sophistication is frustrating. (Hell, just look at Goonerholic to find a blog that is drunk, sophisticated and loves writing about le arse in an engaging manner!) However, not liking checking newsnow or the back pages, arseblog still is essential reading just to find out whats going on with the club we all love. It’s just we are a club of moral fibre and tact – an organic club, almost – and I think we should treat it more like that. Young Guns and certain other blogs do, but if we want to be the ones on the top looking down, why lower the tone? (Well, unless the joeks are that good :) )
Not a bad try, but seriously bad writing and punctuation….
it’s clear you have done your homework in relation to the article hyperlinks, well done.
Good article, especialy liked the diversion from the usual topics. You got my vote….
Chipo: I think if you can read the articles from JS and the comments here, you can handle his punctuation :)
The tax doesn’t exactly cuts the players’ wages to half. The UK government adopts a progression tax system – i.e for every different bracket of wage, u get taxed at different rates. The more u earn, the more you’ll get taxed. I’m not a UK resident, so I don’t know what are the tax brackets.
Obviously football players fall into the highest tax bracket, meaning they are exposed to the 50% tax rate, but the first few hundred thousand(s) are taxed at a different rate. Hence, their salary won’t exactly be slashed to half. But you could say it’s quite close to it.
Nevertheless, it’s still an issue for them. There is a clause in Spain’s taxation system which allows them to pay considerably less in tax. This, coupled with their fine weather, could mean the end of the dominance of EPL. Unless, the British government can manage their economy without the need for a 50% tax rate, which looks very unlikely.
Apart from that, great article. I hope you write more stuffs like this. I like how you managed to relate the non-football stuffs to Arsenal. Good luck mate
FANTASTIC! JUST FANTASTIC! BETTER THAN THE OTHERS… GIVE HIM THE MONEY NOW!
ben, did you win?