We all know the game of football has changed beyond all recognition in the past half-century or so. Both on and off the field of play.
But every now and then we get a stark reminder of just how drastic that change has been. And, for me at least, the latest reminder came in the story about Nobby Stiles and his memorabilia auction last week.
Stiles, the 68-year-old England and Manchester United legend, has been selling off his impressive collection of football memorabilia so he can pass on the money to his children.
The tough-tackling player took the decision to part with his most prized possessions because dividing the items up would have been much harder than dividing the cash.
“It was always my intention to leave the entire collection to my children. But I have three sons – how do you fairly divide up this sort of collection between them,” he explained.
And considering the man is in relatively poor health having suffered a stroke this year, it’s no surprise he put his stuff up for sale sooner rather than later.
In among the bits and pieces that went under the hammer were the former defender’s 1966 World Cup winner’s medal and his 1968 European Cup winners medal.
Those two alone raised over £200,000, and were bought, in a nice twist, by Manchester United.
But while the sell-off itself was a fascinating little story, it was Stiles’ revelations about his earnings as a professional footballer that really struck me.
Back in Stiles’ day, players were paid less than a fraction of what they get today. And when I say fraction, I mean fraction.
Stiles, for example, got just £1,000 for winning the World Cup. And that came down to £650 after tax. These days you regularly hear of international squads being offered millions in bonuses if they lift the trophy.
But the changes in payments at international level are nothing compared to those at club level.
When Stiles began his playing career for Manchester United in 1957 he was paid the princely sum of £3.25 a week. By 1971, when he signed for Middlesbrough, that had shot up to a comparatively massive £20,000 a year.
However, to put that in perspective, the new Wayne Rooney contract is allegedly worth £28,000 a day to the player.
Even allowing for inflation, cost-of-living increases and all that stuff, the difference in financial rewards between then and now is utterly unfathomable.
Back in Stiles’ day, even at the very highest level, football was all about the game itself and the pride of playing for your club and country. I’m sure they would have taken more money if it was on offer, but they were still happy to do what they did for a comparative pittance.
Today’s players sadly seem to think they have a divine right to earn ludicrous amounts of money, and those financial considerations come before just about everything else.
I know which generation of players I admire the most.
Maybe it was something Rooney should have been mulling over on his recent luxury, five-star, dream holiday in Dubai.
You know, the one he had to save up all morning to pay for…
Matty, the new Messi?
In any conversation about the best goal in the history of football, you can rest assured certain names will come up.
Lionel Messi, Marco Van Basten, Diego Maradona, the toothy Luis Ronaldo, the irritating Cristiano Ronaldo, Jurgen Klinsman, Pele, Johan Cruyff, Gary Lineker, Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane and Paolo Rossi will probably be among them.
But one name that I can say with near certainty that won’t crop up is Matty Burrows. And to be honest, it’s hardly surprising.
However, the truth is that young Burrows, who plays for Glentoran in Northern Ireland, is the scorer of what is quite probably the greatest goal of all time. If such an award is ever created he has to be a serious contender.
During a match with Portadown the young lad managed to score a leaping back heel from the edge of the area which sailed into the back of the net. Despite the fact that the ball was coming at him at pace and despite the fact that he was running away from the goal.
It really is a quite remarkable strike that you really have to see to believe. So log on to Youtube and search for ‘Burrows goal’ (www.youtube.com/results?search_query=burrows+goal&aq=f).
More than three million people have already watched the clip of what the BBC has proclaimed as ‘Goal of the century’.
Ah, but it was probably a fluke I hear you cry. Well, no actually. Watching the clip you can see he meant to do exactly what he did. And just in case you have any further doubts, look at some of his other goals too. The lad is obviously talented.
Messi and co may have all the fame and glory. But they don’t have all the skill.
A poultry amount
Sam Allardyce doesn’t seem to have a great deal of luck when it comes to football club takeovers.
A few years ago, a short while after taking the Newcastle manager’s job, new owners came in and wasted no time in showing him the door to make way for their own man.
Now his current club Blackburn Rovers look like being taken over by an Indian chicken-farming company during the course of November.
While they haven’t said he is going to be given the boot, they have done the next best thing by demanding a top-half-of-the-table finish for the club, while giving him just £5 million to spend in the January transfer window.
Once upon a time, back in Nobby Stiles’ day, for example, that sort of money would have been an absolute fortune. Today, though, it’s hardly enough to buy you a second-choice goalkeeper.
The current Blackburn team is ok, but certainly not brilliant. They have enough about them to avoid relegation but I think they will really struggle to make the top half of the table.
Which means, come the end of the season, Big Sam could once again become the managerial casualty of a Premier League buyout.
Unless, of course, he spends his £5m on renting Rooney for six months…
Breaking news
Some breaking news just in: Paul the Octopus is not dead after all. Apparently he was just faking it as he was worried the sea-life centre lacked proper ambition, but, after suitable reassurances, he has now signed a new five-year contract.
sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com