A breakdown of what QPR were paying players

You may have seen that QPR paid 78 million pounds in wages last year, which was more than Borussia Dortmund - but let that sink in for a minute.... that's well over $100 million dollars, and by well over, I actually mean $130 million.

Think about that for a second. I'll do this in pounds, but it's more than half again if you want the dollar conversion (1=1.65, but this isn't a maths or currency website!).

Let's say there is a squad of 30 players (most of who were very average players at QPR last year) each earning an average of 50,000 pounds a week.

That's 50,000 x 30 players x 52 weeks of the year.

That totals 78 million pounds.

Are you kidding me?

Not one of those players was worth 50,000 pounds a week - $80,000 a week is more than what the majority of MLS players earn in a year. And most of them couldn't have been worse than Armand Traore, Jose Bosingwa, Bobby Zamora or Stephane Mbia.

Looking at that whole squad from 2012/13, maybe Loic Remy and Julio Cesar (possibly Chris Samba) could expect more than 50,000 a week, but none of the others could. And the fact is QPR paid 30 players an AVERAGE of 50 grand. There are only 25 players on that list too (although I bet they paid for Joey Barton and Djibril Cisse to go on loan).

I am guessing the most a ticket can be at Loftus Road is 50 quid, so if a fan goes to 20 home games (19 league, 1 cup) then that's 1000 pounds from the average punter. A programme, beer and pie maybe, but not much more. Do the maths, or don't. It takes 50 fans a whole season to pay one player's wages for a week. 50 fans a SEASON, for 1 PLAYER for 1 WEEK!

TV and sponsorship may pay almost all the bills these days, but it's no surprise QPR are 177 million pounds in debt.

They won't be the only ones to go broke if this stupidity continues.

How long will we stay interested if the gap continues to grow?

City smashed West Ham 9-0 over two legs in the League Cup, and it's not just West Ham who have been put to the sword this year.

I could slaughter Allardyce and his team as they were woeful (and have been most of the season), but the real issue is the strength of Manchester City, and to some extent, Chelsea, Manchester United and even Blackburn before them.

Winning isn't easy. It's much easier when you can buy everyone as your owner is so rich that he just doesn't care about money. I presume it's like playing a football manager game on the easy mode. If Aguero, Negredo, Kompany etc, can't beat a team including Matt Taylor, Roger Johnson and Carlton Cole, then they don't deserve their 200k+ a week.

West Ham have loads of free transfers, average players and maybe 3 'stars'. Even those aren't top level stars, if they were, then one of the bigger teams would have signed them already - even just to be a sub, as it means no one else can have them.

Financial Fair Play is a nice concept, but if teams can pay fines to avoid it, then they will. There's no way FIFA or UEFA are stopping Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea or Man City playing in the top tournaments because they don't balance the books. They just won't. And if they do, the big teams will set up their own competitions.

And it begs they question 'How long will we keep watching?' if there is no real competition.

The fact everyone is losing their mind over Manchester United being average is amazing. Fans of West Ham, Stoke, Newcastle etc, would love to be as average as Manchester United are this year. Not every team can be owned by a multi-billionaire, but those that are will continue to win everything. Youth teams are almost pointless as the bigger clubs will just poach the players when they want them.

It may just be a bitter rant, and new owners do emerge which allows the power to shift a bit, but it's not much fun to watch anymore. Beating a team in your division 9-0 over two legs isn't just dominance, it's an unfair fight. There may be the occasional upset, but are we just watching year after year for the chance of an upset?

A level playing field isn't possible anymore, and it takes some of the fun out of being a fan - and this post isn't about being a sore loser. I'm sure City fans love winning, but I bet some of them miss the days when they actually thought they may be made to work for it.

So why did Spurs let him spend all the money?

There are a lot of average footballers in the picture above. But they cost well over $100 million, and are probably not as good combined as Gareth Bale was individually. Paulinho can play, Eriksen is very good, but Soldado has looked poor, Chadli is average, and Lamela must have a great agent - as he cost $40 million, yet isn't good enough for the bench? There's also two or three others that really haven't improved teh squad, let alone the team, so you have to question why they were bought.

AVB is not a bad manager, but he's been out of his depth at Chelsea and Spurs. He can't dominate a dressing room like his mentor Jose Mourinho, hasn't got enough experience to pull him through a tough period, but ultimately, didn't seem to have a plan B. Spurs got beaten at home by a poor West Ham team with no striker, were embarrassed away at Man City, and humiliated at home to Liverpool. He needed more time, but there weren't even signs he was getting his message/tactics across.

Players have to be accountable, and none of Spurs' players have been. If Andros Townsend is the bright spark this season, it's going to be a long time until May. But AVB didn't get the best out of them, and maybe Gareth Bale's magic lst year was simply papering over the cracks.

Who wants that job? I'm sure plenty of people do, but AVB may have to wait a while to get a position in England again - should he even want one.

***

But let's not take anything away from Liverpool. They were outstanding - probably as good as they have been under Brendan Rodgers. He's had a bit of time, and is forming a team that competes - having Luis Suarez helps, he's a joy to watch, but it still brings a smile when he's kicked. It's nice to have a villain - and a good one at that.

Man City v Arsenal was a fantastic game of football unless you're a defender. There were so many chances that it could have been 11-8. It's not schoolboy football though, so both teams may have to tighten up if they are going to win the title. But I'm fine if they don't - watching a goal every 10 minutes is a great way to start the weekend.

It's better than watching West Ham v Sunderland or Hull v Stoke. Two awful games that show the gulf in quality between the top teams and the hangers-on. These 4 can't compete at the top, but they would all be lucky to be allowed into the Championship after this weekend's results.

***

After Inter lost to Napoli on Sunday, I lost interest in the European review - there's only so many Rafa Benitez plaudits I can take. Real Madrid drew ("Nothing without Ronaldo"), Neymar scored a couple ("The Next Messi"), Juve won ("Tevez Wants Messi Role in Brazil"), Bayern Won ("Steak Extends to 76"), PSG won ("Made Up Headlines Continue")...

What should be done with athletes facing jail time?

Hernandez facing murder charge

Ranger facing rape charge

My West Coast connection 'Necksy' has a beef. He wants to know why Nile Ranger can play for Swindon in League One (that's English soccer), but Aaron Hernandez can’t play for the New England Patriots (that's American football) despite both facing major jail time.

Ranger is facing a rape trial for an alleged incident in Newcastle, while the former England Under-19 striker was with the Premier League team.

Slightly different, but Hernandez is in prison for the alleged murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-pro American football player.

Yes, one is in England and one is in America; one is alleged murder and one alleged rape; one is Swindon and the other a big team; but it begs the question, should athletes be allowed to continue playing sport while facing any type of criminal charge?

This interesting article on the BBC highlights the plight of Ilombe Mboyo, a young Belgian footballer who was convicted of rape, but then missed out on a move to the Premier League after serving his time. If a player (or any person) has completed the punishment for their crime, shouldn’t they be allowed to go about their life? But what about someone who is arrested and accused of a crime?

Innocent until proven guilty? Or trial by media?

It’s obvious that Nile Ranger is no saint, he calls himself 'Da Realist' for a start, and has convictions for assault and robbery among others, but he’s allowed to play and earn as a professional athlete. Hernandez is not, but is that due to the overwhelming evidence? The intense media scrutiny? Varying image issues/standpoints across the pond?

It’s an interesting debate, and unfortunately one I think will remain in the public domain while young men are paid stupid amounts of money to play sport, the majority of whom are undereducated, overhyped and on the rise.

It's a discussion that is much bigger than a blog post, that's for sure.

Not to accuse referees, but this needs to stop

Aston Villa are denied a penalty when Vertonghen dragged Helenius down by his shorts, then Real Madrid are awarded a spot kick in the 97th minute when it looks like Elche may hold them to a 1-1 draw.

Two decisions that changed football matches, points, participation in cups and ultimately, money and success.

Spurs probably would have beaten Villa anyway, but Real Madrid couldn't beat newly promoted Elche, who had been out of the top flight for 24 years.

It was no surprise that Pepe 'won' the penalty, as he's used to getting his own way, or kicking out until he does. Losing to him would have been a loss of face, so it was either a red card, or cheating to win.

But there are plenty of players that cheat (Ashley Young is back in the spotlight), but we need stronger referees.

Just because Manchester United, Real Madrid etc. are expected to beat the smaller teams, referees can't have different sets of rules for different teams/players.

We deserve consistency, honesty and professionalism. There is more than money and success on the line. There is integrity. There is no doubt that Real Madrid win is tainted. And while they will still finish in the top 2, Elche could get relegated by a point and have to wait another 24 years to play in La Liga.

Let's pay the referees more, make them (and the cheats) more accountable, and make it an even playing field.

Pretenders or real challengers to Bayern's Champions League title?

Bayern Munich start the defense of their Champions League title today against CSKA Moscow, in a group with Manchester City and Victoria Plzen of the Czech Republic. Bayern and City should advance, with not too many wild cards expected to get out of the group stages. But the knockout stages should be really exciting this year - the usual suspects should be joined by teams like Napoli, Athletico Madrid, PSG and Shalke 04.

Napoli have the toughest group, with Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille, but they have looked fantastic in Serie A so far, with Gonzalo Higuain and Marik Hamsik bound to be a handful for any of Europe's top defenses, let alone Arsenal's.

It's hard to look past Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but the English teams may prefer the underdog tag after years of being the teams to beat. Juventus and Napoli have really strengthened over the summer and should compete at the latter stages, and PSG really have to reach the last 8 to even begin to justify the money they have spent.

And here's the beauty of the Champions League. All these big teams expect to advance. Their Chairmen pay huge salaries and transfer fees to reach this stage, and anything less than the knockout stages is a huge failure. But they can't all get to the last 4, and it usually means a manager will lose their job, and even more money will be thrown at the 'project' the next year.

It can't survive the way it is without someone going bust soon. But that's a story for another day.

Today, let's sit back, enjoy the music and see some top quality football. Bayern may have a tough task ahead to try and defend their title, but don't rule them out - they have to be the joint-favorites along with Barcelona, for now.

Not all professionals earn a fortune

The American spotted this on the Pacific Standard website. Very interesting article on the sacrifices we make to follow a  dream. It's about Clint Irwin, a goalkeeper for the Colorado Rapids, who makes $35k a year (about 23,000 pounds).

I think it would make a few bigger names stop to think - a certain Ashley Cole could do with remembering this conversation with his agent Jonathan...

"“I’m here in the office and David Dein (former Arsenal vice-Chairman) is saying they aren’t going to give you £60k ($92k)  a week. They’ve agreed £55k ($84k) and this is their best and final offer. Are you happy with that?”

When I heard Jonathan (Barnett) repeat the figure of £55k, I nearly swerved off the road. “He is taking the piss, Jonathan!” I yelled down the phone. I was so incensed. I was trembling with anger. I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. I suppose it all started to fall apart for me from then on. I’d trusted Mr Dein to push the deal through.

That's if Ashley could read! Here's the link again The Life of a Non-Millionaire Professional Athlete