We have a visitor staying with us and I watching Match of the Day. After that tutting, she asked how much the players were paid? I said there was a huge range, but the average was about £40,000 a week. But the best paid earned over £250,000 a week.
Which was the cue for a moan I've heard many times before of: 'that's disgusting, do you know how many nurses that would pay for' ?
I couldn't be arsed arguing the toss and didn't want to spark a row, but it's such a bogus comparison, if footballers were paid directly from the same NHS budget as nurses they may have a point,but they aren't. If Premier League players had their salaries cut in half, it wouldn't result in a single extra nurse being employed or a single existing nurse getting a single extra penny.
Yes footballers are lavishly well paid, but they aren't paid from the public purse and are paid what the market will stand, at that very top level, those with rare skills are in demand from wealthy business across the world.
And why only footballers and nurses? No one seems to get their knickers in such a twist over the similarly lavish rewards for Formula One Drivers, Tennis and Golf players earn or pontificate on how many teachers could be employed on the basis of Rory McIlroy's earnings, or even other aspects of the entertainment industry? Why do people not get her up by how many social workers could be employed on what Daniel Craig was paid for the last Bond film?