NFR - Toney.... it's being reported

[bog]

All very well earning all that money, but has Toney got a trade behind him?   

Yep....he's a professional gambler

What are the odds of that?

[bog]

All very well earning all that money, but has Toney got a trade behind him?   

So true Bog & people shouldn't forget that professional football is such a short career!

That's right. I bet his missus is worried sick.

[alfie]

His Saudi deal is worth £84m to him...what is Mr Khan Jnr thinking, we should of jumped at this bargain opportunity... Bargains like this don't come around very often

Have you thought that perhaps MS didn't want him in his squad?

Have you thought that perhaps the OP was being sarcastic?

Nope I had no reason to think that, was he ?

Of course he was being sarcastic, I would have thought that was fairly obvious.

Hell I'm sorry, if it was obvious I would not have asked, goodness me I'm happy to laugh at it, but why did you have to make a comment like that, that is certainly putting me in my place.

[Grassy Noel]

Do you think he'll be allowed a bet in Saudi?

Nobody is allowed to bet in Saudi, it's haram

They're not supposed to drink neither, but I did a some of work for a Saudi Prince and he had two bottles of Dom Perignon sent up to his room every night.

Those bottles were only for bathing purposes.

[Hugh Janus]

https://x.com/me4dws/status/1830988550080229888?s=48&t=syTnP82iQKyGdpcibUP_tQ

Lovely to see Ivan settling in well. And that chant is magic.

[General]

It's a crap league and having watched our former CF at international level his game has gone backwards playing at that standard quality wise.
Think in 2 years toney will back at PL level.

I'm not so sure about that.. Henderson hasn't come back, Zaha.. money driven players don't make it back. Normally if you just chase money there's a disconnect between actual worth vs expectations.

Toney is also 28 now, so he's in his peak and will have little resale value in a year or two.

I think people underestimate how hard it can be to go back to a higher standard once you've set your sights lower and accepted it, it changes your competitive edge and general ability and I don't see him getting better from here. He's at his peak and any player who goes to Saudi now I reckon will struggle to readjust if they tried to come back and compete.

I'd definitely think twice re mitro and he scores two goals a game at the moment over there.

[SP]

Good points General.

In Toney's case it might work out ok if he returns in a few years as the Bees will be back in the Championship which by then will be his level.

[Lighthouse]

On the verge of an International place. Probably able to command whatever fee he wanted to remain at the top level. Decides instead to make a quick buck in a poor league and end his days as a forgotten nobody.

Who knows who will want him back in the future. He may well come back and rekindle his career. But the idea that when you are a millionaire footballer on top of your career yet choose to make more money is somehow linked to a short career. Is frankly very sad.

[RaySmith]

On the verge of an International place. Probably able to command whatever fee he wanted to remain at the top level. Decides instead to make a quick buck in a poor league and end his days as a forgotten nobody.

Who knows who will want him back in the future. He may well come back and rekindle his career. But the idea that when you are a millionaire footballer on top of your career yet choose to make more money is somehow linked to a short career. Is frankly very sad.

Completely agree lighthouse, but playing Devil's Advocate, you could say that the phrase 'make hay while the sun shines'  might be what players who do this think.
Though, obviously, top players are likely already wealthy enough to invest so that they and their family are financially secure for at least the next generation.

Also,  we pick on footballers, but what about all the other very rich people, who seem to want to go on making more and more money, like ex- British prime ministers who earn millions after retiring  through public speaking, or current politicians with their lucrative  second jobs as 'consultants' - their  MPs salary not being enough for them, and that's apart from such as Rupert Murdoch and Elon Musk etc.

I think it is a mystery to most fans, why players go to Saudi, usually at their peak, or just past it, sacrificing honours and status in the game - attaining such honours is what most fans think as a major  reason being a top Prem player, for extra, tainted, riches, earning condemnation from fans, as well as pretty well giving up on their 'proper' playing careers.
 
Personally, as someone who has never had any money to speak of, I don't have too much anger in me for players who do this, though I certainly don't think much of them either, but for the Saudi regime itself, and  how we in the west seem to endorse and legitimize this, so that players don't seem to feel shame about taking the Saudi dollar, or whatever the appropriate currency is.

But I obviously understand the feelings of those who condemn the players who do this, and I  certainly think it says something about  our society and values today, where  'greed is good,' however you come by your wealth.

The recent Grenfell and Post Office and Inquiries demonstrate this - greed at all levels, cynically making millions above human lives, has become acceptable it seems, and  these footballers seem to endorse these  values.

Just putting it our there as an opinion, anyway, people can disagree.

[LittleErn]

It's a crap league and having watched our former CF at international level his game has gone backwards playing at that standard quality wise.
Think in 2 years toney will back at PL level.

I'm not so sure about that.. Henderson hasn't come back, Zaha.. money driven players don't make it back. Normally if you just chase money there's a disconnect between actual worth vs expectations.

Toney is also 28 now, so he's in his peak and will have little resale value in a year or two.

I think people underestimate how hard it can be to go back to a higher standard once you've set your sights lower and accepted it, it changes your competitive edge and general ability and I don't see him getting better from here. He's at his peak and any player who goes to Saudi now I reckon will struggle to readjust if they tried to come back and compete.

I'd definitely think twice re mitro and he scores two goals a game at the moment over there.

This is nothing new - and Fulham have been involved as long ago as 1951. Look up Charlie Mitten. He was paid £5000. (about ten times his maximum salary in the UK, and maybe more taking tax into account, plus a weekly wage of 4 times the English maximum), to leave Man Utd and play in Columbia back in 1950. Colombia were not part of FIFA but a year later they joined and Mitten was forced to return to MU. He was ostracised by Matt Busby and sold to Fulham Dec 1951. He was past his best at 31, but was still a class player. I saw him in my early years supporting the whites. He was an old school winger like Matthews and Finney; beating full backs with his skill rather than his pace. When Haynes became established it was obvious that their styles didn't mix. He retired in 1956 (?) and went into management, notably with Newcastle,

[Asotosyios]

(Apologies in advance for using an old thread)

Toney starts tonight for England having spent the last couple of years in the Saudi League. Not sure if that's a sign that the Saudi League is stronger than what we think or it just shows the lack of English forwards behind Kane.

I am surprised with Tuchel's decision anyway - I would have gone for Watkins. 

[FulhamKC]

Tuchel thought highly enough of him to take him to the WC and he (Tuchel) doesn't seem to be the sentimental type

[Holders]

I wonder what odds he got on 6-4.