Thank you for your mails on Gary Neville, Newcastle United and much more. Keep them coming to theeditor@football365.com

The other end of player wage questionCompletely agree with Gary Neville on Peter Swanns comments on that players not be paid to be well, bad.

Players are not contracted for games, they are contracted for a length of time and as far as I know that includes breaks. It is one thing if they caused the shutdown, but they didnt. Their contracts far as I know, are not open contracts that can be ended anytime but guerenteed unless they do something horrible and void it. Im sure a virus pandemic isnt one of those breaking conditions too (which should have a backup clause sure, but negotiated by both parties before signing).

If youre mad that you didnt for see a century wide virus pandemic, then too bad for not signing it as a condition the first place. You didnt like then next time contract for games then, and see whether the player accepts it or not or maybe ask for higher base wage. These days, more and more money is tied to performances bonus anyways than base wage.

The PFA has screwed up in some areas, some of the stick they get is warranted, some not. But as a union, times like this are where they protect the players especially those of the lower leagues. That doesnt mean not compromise to keep clubs alive, but arbitrarily not paying them when the is tight contract stipulates so? Yeah thats another thing.

Its easy to think of rich multimilllionaire stereotype when it comes to footballers, that is certainly true of the EPL in general and maybe the Championship to some extent. But League One and Two players dont earn much as far as I know (League Two has a wage limit for gods sake) and have have the limitations of short career and uncertainties that come with it.

Not saying it is the worse job in the world (they are worst paying and more dangerous) but some players of this category earn little money on short contracts with little guerentees and certainly took some time/training to hone their skills. They have bills, mortgages and families to feed too.

Some sacrifice will be needed, even in the lower league players side but that will be their call to make together cos they dont benefit from the club going down either. Running a League Two club in the midst of a global economic crisis, I can sort of sympathize with Swann to some extent, but that to say dont deserve their salary cos theyre not playing? Then put it in the contract in the first place. You are running a professional legal entity, not a school clubhouse.Yaru, Malaysia

NUFC and WhatabouteryDear F365,

A lot of debate about the possible ownership of NUFC and as usual with any debate on the tinternetthese days, the usual whatbouterykeeps popping up. So, just to provide a personal view about this from a Newcastle supporter whos currently having to spend time pondering the morality of this (because Newcastle have spent 40 years coming up with new and ingenious ways of torturing me and wasting my time, this being the absolute pinnacle).

1. There is, absolutely, a moral difference between retailers, bankers, financiers, and people you just dont like and describe as loathsome on twitter, and a regime that regularly kills and oppressespeople in more or less direct ways. There just is. Mike Ashley, much as I despise him, never deliberately bombed a Yemeni hospital. Zero hours contracts are a disgrace that should prompt a revolution in how we think about industry. They are not the murder and dismemberment of a journalist. Owning a hedge fund makes you a twat. It doesnt make you an actual dictator responsible for beheadings. On that basis, then, there is only club in Britain that is owned by people anywhere near as morally compromised as the Saudis. And thats Sunderland. Only kidding. Its Man City, obviously.

2. It doesntmatterthat there are other owners, in Britain, or the world, that are as bad, or nearly as bad. Because I dont support them. Im not a fan of them. I dont give them money, wear their shirt, add my voice to theirs, make them an interesting commercial or cultural proposition. They dont belong to me. In fact, at least twice a season Ill call them twats and actively wish them to be beaten.

3. So, while being part of the whole circus of football compromises us all in the same way that buying fast fashion makes us distantly responsible for labour standards in bangladesh, its only when your club is actually bought by someone who puts women who want the vote in jail and keeps a large population of workers in a state of semi-slavery that this stuff becomes genuinely relevant to you. And you do, genuinely, have to make a decision about that comes down to, fundamentally, do you support that regime? Do you support the use of the money they have generated via their dictatorship to buy someone who can drop a ball onto a five-pence piece in the box? Are you going to cheer thatPROJECT on on a Saturday afternoon?

4. It doesnt matter what other clubs do, it doesnt really matter what the objective of the exercise is from the Saudi point of view. It matters that this is who they are and where they get the money from, and you are either supporting it or not. Its as simple as that, really. Anything else is just white-wash and self-justification for a decision that you are choosing to make, as an adult.

Which is fun.Simon (not likely for much longer) NUFC

No chance this is getting published in the mailbox (MC thats what you think!) but I thought I would write in with some views on the Newcastle takeover (still wont believe it is real until I see Amanda Staveley riding a camel round the pitch, burned too many times where takeovers are concerned) and the Twitter storm and moral outcry from various media outlets and football supporters over the last few days.

Ill caveat the below by saying the below is not a dig at Football365 specifically, love the site and have been a reader for many years. Your content is a lot more balanced than most where morality is concerned and is always thought provoking even if I dont always agree with it.

Personally, Im delighted that Mike Ashley looks to be on his way out and the club is being taken over by investors with a lot of resources and will hopefully make the club competitive again. All I want is a club I can enjoy supporting and does its best to try and win the competitions it enters which for me (Jeff) is the entire point of sport. If you arent trying to win why bother competing?

So, what about the nature of the potential new owners and their backgrounds. The alleged murder of a journalist, human rights abuses, the war in Yemen etc.

Honestly, I really couldnt give a shit and most NUFC fans probably dont either. Same as I dont care that my smartphone parts are made in China, my clothes are probably made in a sweatshop in Bangladesh, my car runs on petrol from the Middle East, animals are killed to feed me every day and my online shopping gets delivered by Amazon. Call that morally repugnant if you will, I prefer to think I live in the real world, where no one is perfect, I care about family and myself first, most other things a distant second and we all have to put up with things we dont like because thats life. I also think if it really came down to brass tacks the vast majority of people would be honest enough to admit they are exactly the same. Sure, there will be exceptions to that rule, good for you, Im honest enough to admit to myself Im not one of those people.

Now to the various pieces by journalists and media outlets saying how terrible it is that such a regime should become involved in Newcastle United and it shouldnt happen, its sports washing, etc etc. My response would be let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Your employers are part owned by Saudi Arabia, you all use a smartphone and laptop, your websites are covered in betting adverts. You make a living commenting on the Premier League, that bastion of good moral standing, and youll all be covering the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. For a lot of you, your country and mine (the UK) has done worse things over the last 300 years of colonialism, slavery, wars in the Middle East etc than Saudi Arabia has ever done.

But thats just whataboutery Whataboutery is what hypocrites use to deflect from their hypocrisy. If it is of such importance to the sport then use the position of influence you have and do something about it. Stop buying goods and services from companies that are considered morally questionable, stop showing betting adverts, fight for the rules on ownership to be changed, dont write about the Premier League, dont cover the 2022 World Cup etc etc. Campaign against it, encourage others to do the same and practice what you preach. You certainly have a greater ability to affect the football world than a regular fan does.

But thats not my responsibility, Im just doing my job or its different in my situation, I have a career to think about etc will be the response.

Its easy to criticise but responsibility and choice start with the individual. If you dont take responsibility for yourself and your choices then dont complain about being called a hypocrite and try to deflect. Or be honest enough with yourself to admit that you might think these things are bad but if they meant making a change, or doing something difficult that puts you out then they suddenly become a bit less bad and you arent really as bothered about it as you might say. Youve always got a choice and whilst some are much harder to make than others they are still a choice.

In summary, walk the walk if you are going to talk to the talk or be honest with yourself that you wont and lets all get back to what we enjoy which is football not the circus that surrounds it.Dave, Washington

I cried todayI cried today. I watched the video obiturary for Norman Hunter onThe Guardianwebsite and the moment Hunter, interviewed just last year, looking healthy, determined and resolute said in my lifetime Id like to see us back in the Premiership . That was me calling for the Kleenex.

He would have, too. If only you can fill in the rest yourselves. He died from the virus, and Leeds United have not claimed the prize because of the virus. Its a bastard.

Im a Chelsea fan, but I can reel off the names of that magnificent Leeds side as easily as my Chelsea heroes. Im still in shock that we beat them in the FA Cup Replay in 1970. He didnt just bite yer leg that was conceit from a journalist in the Yorkshire Post which stuck. He had the skill, the intelligence and a left foot to astonish you.

Its been a tough week with Hunter and Peter Bonetti both passing in the same week.

Fuck.Steve, Los Angeles

Bias of commentatorsDear F365,

Ben (Wales for the foreseeable future) made a good attempt to argue that most accusations of bias against journalists or commentators are most likely due to knee jerks and one eyed partiality. But sometimes

Opening day of last season, Wolves against Everton, live on BT Sport. Steve McManaman, apparently not realising his microphone was still on, said to someone with him, I dont like Wolves. Believe me, Steve, in all your commentaries since, youve done nothing to disprove that confession.

Keep safe,Paul Quinton, Wolves

Ermcan someone send Ben stuck in Wales a link of Martin Samuel latest nonsense. Or a link to mediawatch will do.

Open your eyes Ben.Ginger Pirlo

World XI challengeI found that World XI challenge surprisingly difficult, heres my attempt;

GK: Oliver Kahn Germany (Karlsruher/Bayern)DC: Paolo Maldini Italy (AC Milan)DC: Toby AlderwiereldBelgium (Ajax/Atletico/Southampton/Spurs)DC: Sergio Ramos Spain (Sevilla/Real Madrid)CM: Roy Keane Ireland (Cobh/Forest/Man Utd/Celtic)CM: Gilberto Silva Brazil (At. Minero/Arsenal/Panikanithos)AM: Pavel Nedved Czech Rep (Sparta Prague/Lazio/Juventus)AM: Lionel Messi Argentina (Barcelona)AM: Steven Gerrard England (Liverpool)CF:Didier Drogba Ivory Coast (Marseille/Chelsea/a f**k tonne of others)CF: Edison Cavani Uruguay (Palermo/Napoli/PSG)Nill Ryan

Just seen Shane in Kilkennys world XI in fridays mailbox.

Hes picked Roy Keane and John Terry.

Everyone knows they both played for Forest.

Unlucky son.Al (Wolves)

Dutch strikersTo help Cheesom from Nigeria with his striker conundrum perhaps well keep the fullbacks Brazilian and add a few Dutch strikers

Van Nisterlrooy, Van Basten, Bergkamp, Van Persie and Cryuff.TX Bill (witty comments quarantined at present) EFC

Im sure this has been thought of butHi,

So, Ive been thinking about how to handle the end of this season and I will admit that Im a Liverpool supporter so have a bias.

One thing that I feel should be getting more coverage and Im surprised it hasnt been is that this season should just continue as and when it can be and should just finish whenever it can. The way to do this would be to cancel the 2020/2021 league season to allow for this season to continue whenever this current apocalypse ends. This way promotions / relegations happen as normal but carry over to next next season.

The cup competitions could also continue as well. Next season there could be shortened timelines for the cup competitions potentially due to the lack of league action. This would have benefits in that the cup competitions would be reinvigorated as they would be the major honours. Also, this might allow England players a bit of a break / time to practice as a team ahead of euro 2020 so we have a half decent chance in the tournament assuming we all dont live a mad max lifestyle by then.

Anyway, as I say Im sure this has been mentioned countless times but I needed to say it out loud to someone and my wife doesnt give a f*ck.

ThanksRob

The F365 Show is on hiatus until the football returns.Subscribe nowready for its glorious comeback. In the meantime, listen to the latest episode of Planet Footballs 2000s podcast,The Broken Metatarsal.

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Neville was spot on, Newcastle United, whataboutery and... - Football365.com