Relegated London-based players--their children's schools

[Forever Fulham]

I wonder how many of the desirable players on relegated London-based teams have children in school, and seek continuity for their children, and whether that is a motivator in choosing which team to jump to.  The wives would rather stay in London, too, I think.  So, if I were looking at players to try to pick up from teams going down, I'd look at their family situations as something to stress when pitching.  Disruption on the kids and spouse following a transfer is an issue we don't often think about as fans, but I'll bet it looms large to the player.

[domprague]

Good point although the Benitez family stayed in the North West of England while he went off to Milan, London and so on.
I think that staying in the UK had an influence on Berbatov signing for us.

[In the Enclosure]

Think it helped us resign Hangers - I heard that his kids had got into
a really good (and expensive ) local school and the family were happy here.

Other than Remy is there anyone that we would want to sign from either QPR or Reading ?
Don't say Hoillet as their fans are have already Christened him Junior Toilet and say that he is fat and unfit.

[sipwell]

Think it helped us resign Hangers - I heard that his kids had got into
a really good (and expensive ) local school and the family were happy here.

Other than Remy is there anyone that we would want to sign from either QPR or Reading ?
Don't say Hoillet as their fans are have already Christened him Junior Toilet and say that he is fat and unfit.

Townsend was decent against us. Very threatening and lively.

[JBH]

Think it helped us resign Hangers - I heard that his kids had got into
a really good (and expensive ) local school and the family were happy here.

Other than Remy is there anyone that we would want to sign from either QPR or Reading ?
Don't say Hoillet as their fans are have already Christened him Junior Toilet and say that he is fat and unfit.

Townsend is on loan from Spurs and will most likely go back to them, if not I would like to see him in a Fulham shirt
Townsend was decent against us. Very threatening and lively.

[Meerkat]

I agree with sipwell think Townsend would be great but think Spurs will want to hang onto him.

[EJL]

Think it helped us resign Hangers - I heard that his kids had got into
a really good (and expensive ) local school and the family were happy here.

Other than Remy is there anyone that we would want to sign from either QPR or Reading ?
Don't say Hoillet as their fans are have already Christened him Junior Toilet and say that he is fat and unfit.

I think Hangeland's kids are halfway through primary school in Richmond. As you said, I don't think a father would want to drag their kids to the other side of the country (or Europe) in the middle of their education.

[hurricane_nz]

Think it helped us resign Hangers - I heard that his kids had got into
a really good (and expensive ) local school and the family were happy here.

Other than Remy is there anyone that we would want to sign from either QPR or Reading ?
Don't say Hoillet as their fans are have already Christened him Junior Toilet and say that he is fat and unfit.

Def was the case with Hangeland, my friend teaches his daughter at a very expensive private school and she said he came in every day talking about how much he liked London and the club so I always thought he would stay even when it looked like he might leave at times. Really nice guy she said as well compared to the other over paid footballers in London that make the papers regularly!

[Basil]

I have seen the Pog walking his kid to school in Imperial Wharf a few times on my cycle in so he obviously still lives around here..he will be on seriously inmflated wages for his ability though

[HatterDon]

Well as a career military guy, I have to say that I find this thread somewhat amusing. Professional athletes move to where they can land the best job. Either their family moves with them or they find a base and stay there. Players remaining in England have very little need to move their families, so that's even less of a threat to their family's stability.

I know hundreds of people whose children attended school in Germany, England, Japan, Korea, Greece, Italy, etc. I know several people who went through that experience as children.

Finally, I can't imagine someone on this site coming home from work and saying, "Well, if I stay with this job I have to take a 75% pay cut, but there's an opening in Brighton where I can make 90% of what I'm making here," and having his wife say, "What? And take the kids out of school? You stay here and we'll make do."

[Forever Fulham]

With respect, I don't think the choices are always as stark and extreme as you make out in your hypotheticals.  If Swansea comes calling, let's say, for one of our defenders, and offers 3 Mil for a single year, with options thereafter, and FFC comes close to matching it, family situations can make a big difference in a player accepting or not.  I don't know anything about Remy, but let's assume he is married with young school age children, all living with him in London. Assume there's no clause keeping him from leaving upon relegation.  He gets a 10 Mil offer from Man City and a 9.5 Mil offer from Fulham.  Which one does he choose?  His wife loves it here (assuming, again, he's married).  The kids are happy.  They don't want to move to Manchester.  It's a little more money, but...  I think there's a domestic dynamic which can be used as a carrot.  I understand about Army brats and constantly being moved about.  But these are players with families.  Influencers.

[HatterDon]

With respect, I don't think the choices are always as stark and extreme as you make out in your hypotheticals.  If Swansea comes calling, let's say, for one of our defenders, and offers 3 Mil for a single year, with options thereafter, and FFC comes close to matching it, family situations can make a big difference in a player accepting or not.  I don't know anything about Remy, but let's assume he is married with young school age children, all living with him in London. Assume there's no clause keeping him from leaving upon relegation.  He gets a 10 Mil offer from Man City and a 9.5 Mil offer from Fulham.  Which one does he choose?  His wife loves it here (assuming, again, he's married).  The kids are happy.  They don't want to move to Manchester.  It's a little more money, but...  I think there's a domestic dynamic which can be used as a carrot.  I understand about Army brats and constantly being moved about.  But these are players with families.  Influencers.

Well, see, the thing is that the thread is about London-based players who are relegated. The Swansea v. FFC thing really doesn't work in that respect. The QPR and Brighton thing just might, though. And, Army brats have parents who are, in the same sense, "players with families."

[In the Enclosure]

Except the players and their families are millionaires
and therefore have a lot more choice on how they lead their lives.
Not fair I know but they don't have to go where they are sent as they can normally always secure other lucrative
contracts to give them the lifestyle that they want.

[Forever Fulham]

Enclosure, I think that's right.  A career military person is apt to put far less weight to hyperlocal domestic/school issues when the pay differential is, say, 5%.  But if you are a top tier footballer deciding between happy wife and children at 9.5 million at Club A v. not so happy wife and children at 10 million at Club B, well, the money difference is less meaningful.  Either sum is enough to set you up for life.  H.D., agree?

[HatterDon]

Enclosure, I think that's right.  A career military person is apt to put far less weight to hyperlocal domestic/school issues when the pay differential is, say, 5%.  But if you are a top tier footballer deciding between happy wife and children at 9.5 million at Club A v. not so happy wife and children at 10 million at Club B, well, the money difference is less meaningful.  Either sum is enough to set you up for life.  H.D., agree?

Sure, if what you're talking about is 10 mil and 9,5 mill. You're talking about a "top tier footballer" and the thread was talking about someone who has just been relegated OUT of the top tier. I would imagine that QPR players who have a relegation clause may be losing a significant portion of their wages if they stay with that club as opposed to, say, transferring to Norwich or Swansea at a salary much closer to what they earned the previous season. THAT is the circumstance where I think that moving makes more sense than staying -- school/home disruption allowed.

You make a lot of sense with everything you've said, but none of what you've said has had anything to do with making a choice between staying with the relegated club or moving on to make premier league money -- which was the premise of this thread, or so I thought.

[Shredhead]

Finally, I can't imagine someone on this site coming home from work and saying, "Well, if I stay with this job I have to take a 75% pay cut, but there's an opening in Brighton where I can make 90% of what I'm making here," and having his wife say, "What? And take the kids out of school? You stay here and we'll make do."

Good point, well made. However, if it was Hove, rather than Brighton, I'd stay where I was!! :005: