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Wages At English Football Clubs

I was looking at Glassdoor and other sites to get an idea what staff make at clubs in England and it looks pretty dire. Many make just £5-7 per hour. Media employees at clubs make £500-600 per week, max. Even scouts at Arsenal (except the head scout) make only £500 per month. Physiotherapists make £12-20 per hour, unless they are head physios. Analysts make £400-600 per week. In The Championship and L1, assistant coaches are lucky to make £600 per week.

If these clubs are so valuable, why are wages so low? Is it just because so many people want to "live the dream" that the supply keeps wages low?

If clubs paid more, could they attract better talent behind the scenes and improve how fans are treated and possibly have a positive cascade thought the club leading to superior on-the-field performance, over time?

Or should all the money go straight to the playing field? That seems to be where it is going, regardless of league.

Interested in views on this.
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    Source?

    Wages for non- footballers are often low in football in comparison to similar roles outside the pro-game but there are 92 clubs and wages will vary.

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    edited December 2017
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    There was this story about Scottish football clubs http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-42269482
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    Aren't scouts often part time? That would explain £500 per month.
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    The wages will be a function of he fact that many want to work in football or their own club in particular.

    Also, many of the jobs in football are not terribly damanding on qualifications so it stands to reason that they will not be employing MBAs and paying them appropriately.

    What I don’t understand, Napa, is why you are interested in this subject or while you felt the need to bring it up.

    There are many people working in the NHS, for example, in highly stressful jobs that contribute a lot to the well being of their communities that earn less than those in football.

    Many jobs in ‘desirable’ industries pay less well than their comparable positions in less ‘exciting’ industries, why do you feel the need to point the spotlight on football?
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    It's an interesting debate imo

    I consider myself quite ambitious but would take a lower than average wage for the opportunity to work at Charlton. I'd be very keen to do some voluntary work on anything to do with the club tbh. I'd imagine they can get away with paying those behind the scenes less because the supply for the job is so high, most fans would want to work for the club.

    I read not long ago that F1 engineers are paid really badly when you consider the extremely long hours they put in. The glamorous lifestyle and the fact that it's most mechanical eng graduates dream means that they are able to get away with it.
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    Source?


    I was looking at Glassdoor...

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    edited December 2017
    Yaya Sanogo on more than Bellerin, Campbell and Chambers really
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    What I don’t understand, Napa, is why you are interested in this subject or while you felt the need to bring it up.

    Many jobs in ‘desirable’ industries pay less well than their comparable positions in less ‘exciting’ industries, why do you feel the need to point the spotlight on football?

    I find the business of European football very interesting. I find that great organizations tend to treat their employees well. If you look at reviews online, you find almost uniformly that employees don't find work at clubs to be very fulfilling. Most complain about poor pay and incompetent management. And I wonder if fans might find their experience would be better if the employees felt better about their jobs. So I was trying to understand why most clubs seem to pay so poorly. Unless you are a player, that is.
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    It's simply a question of supply and demand, in football you are talking about hundreds of people applying for every coaching job.

    Look at John Sitton when he was Manager at Orient in 1995 - he was on 14,500 PA at a time when the average wage was around 17,000 PA.

    Why was he so badly paid? Simple. He was an ex-player with no prospects whatsoever outside football (which is the case for 99% of people in football) so Orient could pay him whatever they felt like as they knew he needed them more than they needed him.

    It would be the same story for thousands of people in football outside of the rarefied atmosphere of the Premier League, football is all they know and their employers know it.
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    What I don’t understand, Napa, is why you are interested in this subject or while you felt the need to bring it up.

    There are many people working in the NHS, for example, in highly stressful jobs that contribute a lot to the well being of their communities that earn less than those in football.

    Many jobs in ‘desirable’ industries pay less well than their comparable positions in less ‘exciting’ industries, why do you feel the need to point the spotlight on football?

    Too right, stuff like this would be much better suited for a football foum, not PoliticsLife.
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    What I don’t understand, Napa, is why you are interested in this subject or while you felt the need to bring it up.

    Many jobs in ‘desirable’ industries pay less well than their comparable positions in less ‘exciting’ industries, why do you feel the need to point the spotlight on football?

    I find the business of European football very interesting. I find that great organizations tend to treat their employees well. If you look at reviews online, you find almost uniformly that employees don't find work at clubs to be very fulfilling. Most complain about poor pay and incompetent management. And I wonder if fans might find their experience would be better if the employees felt better about their jobs. So I was trying to understand why most clubs seem to pay so poorly. Unless you are a player, that is.
    Because they can!

    I seriously doubt that many, if any, of the other organisations you are thinking of pay more than they need to, They just don’t have people falling over themselves to work for them.
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    Yaya Sanogo on more than Bellerin, Campbell and Chambers really
    I think all the player salaries are "estimates" - I.e guesses.
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    "Like last time, I need to remind readers that while some figures are taken directly from Arsenal’s most recent annual accounts, most of them are estimates. One also needs to take into consideration that a small percentage of players/staff will have left/joined the club – not all of which I am aware of, while certain costs pertaining to bonuses/social security/pensions are subject to variances I cannot possibly account for as an outsider looking in.

    Naturally, the wage bill at a huge club like Arsenal, with so many employees, is in a state of continual flux, therefore this estimate needs to be treated as an educated snapshot rather than a 100% accurate analysis."

    So @NapaAddick it is a guess.

    You do realise that that is not an official Arsenal site just a fan blog who is making the numbers up.

    In another lifetime I had access to the Charlton wages spreadsheet and I was frequently told or would read that player X was on £££ a week. The figures were usually 50% or more out either way.

    People making up wages aren't evidence.

    @kings hill addick and others makes a good point that people work for football club because it is seen as more desirable, especially if you are a fan, so wages can be lower. Not right but it happens.

    But your source is a joke.
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    "Like last time, I need to remind readers that while some figures are taken directly from Arsenal’s most recent annual accounts, most of them are estimates. One also needs to take into consideration that a small percentage of players/staff will have left/joined the club – not all of which I am aware of, while certain costs pertaining to bonuses/social security/pensions are subject to variances I cannot possibly account for as an outsider looking in.

    Naturally, the wage bill at a huge club like Arsenal, with so many employees, is in a state of continual flux, therefore this estimate needs to be treated as an educated snapshot rather than a 100% accurate analysis."

    So @NapaAddick it is a guess.

    You do realise that that is not an official Arsenal site just a fan blog who is making the numbers up.

    In another lifetime I had access to the Charlton wages spreadsheet and I was frequently told or would read that player X was on £££ a week. The figures were usually 50% or more out either way.

    People making up wages aren't evidence.

    @kings hill addick and others makes a good point that people work for football club because it is seen as more desirable, especially if you are a fan, so wages can be lower. Not right but it happens.

    But your source is a joke.
    I remember in the last Premier League season and there was some clown on here claiming that JFH was on 50K per week!!!

    I don't know the figures but I would very much doubt Charlton have paid anyone much more than 15,000 per week and that would be pretty rare.
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    "Like last time, I need to remind readers that while some figures are taken directly from Arsenal’s most recent annual accounts, most of them are estimates. One also needs to take into consideration that a small percentage of players/staff will have left/joined the club – not all of which I am aware of, while certain costs pertaining to bonuses/social security/pensions are subject to variances I cannot possibly account for as an outsider looking in.

    Naturally, the wage bill at a huge club like Arsenal, with so many employees, is in a state of continual flux, therefore this estimate needs to be treated as an educated snapshot rather than a 100% accurate analysis."

    So @NapaAddick it is a guess.

    You do realise that that is not an official Arsenal site just a fan blog who is making the numbers up.

    In another lifetime I had access to the Charlton wages spreadsheet and I was frequently told or would read that player X was on £££ a week. The figures were usually 50% or more out either way.

    People making up wages aren't evidence.

    @kings hill addick and others makes a good point that people work for football club because it is seen as more desirable, especially if you are a fan, so wages can be lower. Not right but it happens.

    But your source is a joke.
    I remember in the last Premier League season and there was some clown on here claiming that JFH was on 50K per week!!!

    I don't know the figures but I would very much doubt Charlton have paid anyone much more than 15,000 per week and that would be pretty rare.
    A good example. Both you and the other guy are incorrect, but you are much closer : - )

    And I still have that spreadsheet somewhere. Maybe I'll leave it to the museum in my will : - )
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    Many football club staff do indispensable jobs,but it is obviously the players who will be paid the highest.Football is nowhere near alone in having a massive divide between top and bottom level salaries.Look at the overpaid,NHS,Charity,Police chiefs,University Heads e,Council Chiefs who trouser enormous salaries while pleading poverty and paying the front line staff a fraction of their worth.
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    I remember in the last Premier League season and there was some clown on here claiming that JFH was on 50K per week!!!

    I don't know the figures but I would very much doubt Charlton have paid anyone much more than 15,000 per week and that would be pretty rare.
    A former exec at the time told me it was closer to 38k pw with bonuses and signing on fees. You can only report back what you are told.


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    TEL said:



    I remember in the last Premier League season and there was some clown on here claiming that JFH was on 50K per week!!!

    I don't know the figures but I would very much doubt Charlton have paid anyone much more than 15,000 per week and that would be pretty rare.
    A former exec at the time told me it was closer to 38k pw with bonuses and signing on fees. You can only report back what you are told.




    Sorry but again way out.
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    TEL said:



    I remember in the last Premier League season and there was some clown on here claiming that JFH was on 50K per week!!!

    I don't know the figures but I would very much doubt Charlton have paid anyone much more than 15,000 per week and that would be pretty rare.
    A former exec at the time told me it was closer to 38k pw with bonuses and signing on fees. You can only report back what you are told.


    Sorry but again way out.

    If you are going to correct people just share the information, who was earning what? They are all gone now and unless you are planning to buy the club and bring back the old board I doubt they will lose sleep over it
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    I hadn't realised that Neil Banfield (our youth team manager between 92 and 97) was a 1st team coach at Arsenal, he's done well for himself.
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    edited December 2017


    Because they can!

    I seriously doubt that many, if any, of the other organisations you are thinking of pay more than they need to, They just don’t have people falling over themselves to work for them.

    Well, in the USA, there are many, many good companies that do pay more than they need to, usually by having outrageous benefits, even if demand to join is high. These include Patagonia, Google, Facebook, Zappos, Bain & Co, and above all, SAS. I can think of another dozen or two companies, right off the top of my head, including American Funds, where I use to work.

    Ludicrous benefits. But it pays off with zero turnover, millions saved on training and inefficiency and better service, all leading to higher revenues and more success. If it did not lead to better financial results, no one would do it.

    Here is a quick video of SAS, a company out of North Carolina. Companies like this are not THAT rare, honestly, anymore. After this aired on 60 Minutes a decade ago, it really spread and, at least in California, I don't know anyone who does not know at least 1-2 people who get treated like this by their companies.

    I just wonder what it would be like if a club did this. Some of this would be impossible for a small club, but the following would not be difficult at all....

    1. flexible hours (as long as work gets done, can set own hours)
    2. free good food on site (keeps people at work longer)
    3. have own doctors and maybe childcare, on site
    4. Very flat managerial structure
    5. No dress code
    6. pay bonuses to be thin and healthy (better productivity, lower healthcare costs)
    7. on-site concierges

    At any rate, if I was worth several hundred mil and could buy CAFC, I would institute stuff like this on day one.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki4t3ze0454&t=12s





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    edited December 2017



    People making up wages aren't evidence.

    @kings hill addick and others makes a good point that people work for football club because it is seen as more desirable, especially if you are a fan, so wages can be lower. Not right but it happens.

    But your source is a joke.

    You did not address the other source I used. You can go on Glassdoor or Indeed, where ex-and current employees put up their own reviews and wage data and see the similar numbers. I hyperlinked one of those, previously.

    And I am just checking, do you think wages are higher than the bloke on the Arsenal blog was saying? I just don't see what point you are trying to make about wages. Do you think the numbers are higher? If you think they are inaccurate (and they might be), then would you guess they are higher or lower?
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    I was looking at Glassdoor and other sites to get an idea what staff make at clubs in England and it looks pretty dire. Many make just £5-7 per hour. Media employees at clubs make £500-600 per week, max. Even scouts at Arsenal (except the head scout) make only £500 per month. Physiotherapists make £12-20 per hour, unless they are head physios. Analysts make £400-600 per week. In The Championship and L1, assistant coaches are lucky to make £600 per week.

    If these clubs are so valuable, why are wages so low? Is it just because so many people want to "live the dream" that the supply keeps wages low?

    If clubs paid more, could they attract better talent behind the scenes and improve how fans are treated and possibly have a positive cascade thought the club leading to superior on-the-field performance, over time?

    Or should all the money go straight to the playing field? That seems to be where it is going, regardless of league.

    Interested in views on this.

    At the top clubs, there's enough for the playing field and the directors' pockets. For example, Gazidis, the Arsenal chief executive, will earn £2.62million for his role in 2017 but they still don't pay the living wage to those at the bottom.
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    edited December 2017

    TEL said:



    I remember in the last Premier League season and there was some clown on here claiming that JFH was on 50K per week!!!

    I don't know the figures but I would very much doubt Charlton have paid anyone much more than 15,000 per week and that would be pretty rare.
    A former exec at the time told me it was closer to 38k pw with bonuses and signing on fees. You can only report back what you are told.


    Sorry but again way out.

    I'd have thought £20-30k for our top earners.
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    Because they can!

    I seriously doubt that many, if any, of the other organisations you are thinking of pay more than they need to, They just don’t have people falling over themselves to work for them.

    Well, in the USA, there are many, many good companies that do pay more than they need to, usually by having outrageous benefits, even if demand to join is high. These include Patagonia, Google, Facebook, Zappos, Bain & Co, and above all, SAS. I can think of another dozen or two companies, right off the top of my head, including American Funds, where I use to work.

    Ludicrous benefits. But it pays off with zero turnover, millions saved on training and inefficiency and better service, all leading to higher revenues and more success. If it did not lead to better financial results, no one would do it.

    Here is a quick video of SAS, a company out of North Carolina. Companies like this are not THAT rare, honestly, anymore. After this aired on 60 Minutes a decade ago, it really spread and, at least in California, I don't know anyone who does not know at least 1-2 people who get treated like this by their companies.

    I just wonder what it would be like if a club did this. Some of this would be impossible for a small club, but the following would not be difficult at all....

    1. flexible hours (as long as work gets done, can set own hours)
    2. free good food on site (keeps people at work longer)
    3. have own doctors and maybe childcare, on site
    4. Very flat managerial structure
    5. No dress code
    6. pay bonuses to be thin and healthy (better productivity, lower healthcare costs)
    7. on-site concierges

    At any rate, if I was worth several hundred mil and could buy CAFC, I would institute stuff like this on day one.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki4t3ze0454&t=12s



    The company set up you describe sounds great but I'm sure the perpetually outraged section of our society would have a seizure over a company paying employees bonuses to be fit and healthy. It would be likened to fascism and hashtag campaigns would ensue.
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    Because they can!

    I seriously doubt that many, if any, of the other organisations you are thinking of pay more than they need to, They just don’t have people falling over themselves to work for them.

    Well, in the USA, there are many, many good companies that do pay more than they need to, usually by having outrageous benefits, even if demand to join is high. These include Patagonia, Google, Facebook, Zappos, Bain & Co, and above all, SAS. I can think of another dozen or two companies, right off the top of my head, including American Funds, where I use to work.

    Ludicrous benefits. But it pays off with zero turnover, millions saved on training and inefficiency and better service, all leading to higher revenues and more success. If it did not lead to better financial results, no one would do it.

    Here is a quick video of SAS, a company out of North Carolina. Companies like this are not THAT rare, honestly, anymore. After this aired on 60 Minutes a decade ago, it really spread and, at least in California, I don't know anyone who does not know at least 1-2 people who get treated like this by their companies.

    I just wonder what it would be like if a club did this. Some of this would be impossible for a small club, but the following would not be difficult at all....

    1. flexible hours (as long as work gets done, can set own hours)
    2. free good food on site (keeps people at work longer)
    3. have own doctors and maybe childcare, on site
    4. Very flat managerial structure
    5. No dress code
    6. pay bonuses to be thin and healthy (better productivity, lower healthcare costs)
    7. on-site concierges

    At any rate, if I was worth several hundred mil and could buy CAFC, I would institute stuff like this on day one.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki4t3ze0454&t=12s



    The company set up you describe sounds great but I'm sure the perpetually outraged section of our society would have a seizure over a company paying employees bonuses to be fit and healthy. It would be likened to fascism and hashtag campaigns would ensue.
    I'd welcome it, and if I was an employer I'd embrace it.
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    People making up wages aren't evidence.

    @kings hill addick and others makes a good point that people work for football club because it is seen as more desirable, especially if you are a fan, so wages can be lower. Not right but it happens.

    But your source is a joke.

    You did not address the other source I used. You can go on Glassdoor or Indeed, where ex-and current employees put up their own reviews and wage data and see the similar numbers. I hyperlinked one of those, previously.

    And I am just checking, do you think wages are higher than the bloke on the Arsenal blog was saying? I just don't see what point you are trying to make about wages. Do you think the numbers are higher? If you think they are inaccurate (and they might be), then would you guess they are higher or lower?



    People making up wages aren't evidence.

    @kings hill addick and others makes a good point that people work for football club because it is seen as more desirable, especially if you are a fan, so wages can be lower. Not right but it happens.

    But your source is a joke.

    You did not address the other source I used. You can go on Glassdoor or Indeed, where ex-and current employees put up their own reviews and wage data and see the similar numbers. I hyperlinked one of those, previously.

    And I am just checking, do you think wages are higher than the bloke on the Arsenal blog was saying? I just don't see what point you are trying to make about wages. Do you think the numbers are higher? If you think they are inaccurate (and they might be), then would you guess they are higher or lower?
    I'm saying your sources render your argument invalid.

    The other source is averages of ADVERTISED posts but under 50% of posts are advertised. They also only reflect advertised salaries not what has been later negotiated at appointment or given to people in pay rises linked to qualifications or after probation.

    Point is I'm not, unlike you, guessing. I have no idea what Arsenal pay and neither do you or the guy on the blog.
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