‘Furlongs and Horses’ vs ‘Furloughs and Liverpool’
The Education
Firstly, I’m not embarrassed to say I had never heard of the word furlough before the coronavirus outbreak and the only word like it was furlongs which I new had to do with lengths in horse racing..kind of. I like both words. They seem to have an unusualness about them and not your standard words in the English language. But there is a seriousness to furlough in regards to the UK and coronavirus and the more I dig into this the uglier it seems. What does Liverpool has to do with this you say? Well, I support a fierce rival (a London based team) but I have nothing but respect for Liverpool in realising the mistake they made to take up the furlough and then backing down after the backlash from many across the landscape including their passionate fans and former players.
Football and football celebrity is so high in our psyche in everyday news it acts as a barometer of information. From lavishness to scandal we cannot get enough it seems.
The Message
First, let’s remind ourselves of what this furlough thing really is. It has nothing to do with horse-riding (from what I’ve seen) and everything to do football.
You get furloughed, you don’t work for your company but its like a leave of absence. In this coronavirus crisis your company can claim 80% of your salary up to a maximum of £2500 from the government and if you value your employees and can afford it you can top up the remaining 20%. That’s what Liverpool F.C. originally did.
But this is serious stuff. It’s about the livelihood of workers at these football clubs. The next best thing to not becoming a professional footballer if you are so passionate about the game is to work for a clubb, and usually one you’ve supported from a child. It’s much, much deeper than working in marketing or insurance. It’s part of your being and this is none more so than at Liverpool, probably the most iconic of clubs in many peoples eyes across the world.
So back to the money. Last year Liverpool FC made a £42m pre-taxprofit or thereabouts. They were going to furlough 200 staff (not including the footballers). Take £10m for those 200 employees and you get £50K a year for all of them. I’m pretty sure the average wage amongst those 200 is way less than that. That’s for one whole year of full-pay. Yes shareholders will lose out and have to wait to see what’s left of the £32m pre-tax profits.
They backed down and rightly so. The strength, passion and respect the Liverpool fan has for the club, its current squad and manager and more importantly the club, Bill Shankly and its history cannot be underestimated. I commend the club for reversing the decision.
The Footballer
They have been vilified. In a no-win position in terms of taking a pay cut, the football union, lack of clarity etc. This is where I think there is an opportunity for the premiership footballer to take control of this situation. The focus of the footballer is on the game and rightly so. It consumes them but football is also a business and I believe the footballer (not the board as they control this) needs to fully understand in simple terms how the business works, how the club works, what their agents really do etc. The notion that the stereotypical footballer is uneducated is ridiculous and it has to change. If it means they get less money then pay less tax and so the NHS get less money then work it out so it does not happen. Shout about it so that the media (and ministers — how they could even use them as scapegoats is beyond me) do not crucify them. In this self-isolation we have, training at home is a must but they can also take the time to to get on top of this situation and turn it around.
The Result
Firstly, Liverpool are premiership champions 2019–2020. Let us not beat around the bush and consider the stats even though the season did not end. They are the true champions and I take my hat off to them 100%.
The result of addressing the furlough issue and football will result in showing what footballers already give back to the community. They work in a business but it’s ‘just kicking a ball’ for many and they are right. It is just that but at every level the vast majority of people do not need the excess they currently have. Do we all give back? Comfortable because you give a little to charity but still have a lovely holiday every year?
The only result is that the key workers fighting and supporting this crisis win. The current average is £19,923 per year for Nurse to £53,748 per year for a Nurse Consultant. I think increasing this by 20%, 30%, 40%, you choose — is probably not enough, but don’t blame the footballers but the other clubs need a little blame unless they all follow the lead of Liverpool F.C who have become two-time champions in one season.
