Alex Pearce

[Wimb]

I've been led to believe he's after Guthrie type money, not Pog money and not even Federici money.

Club completely dragged their heels with this one. Pearce & his new agent obviously play a part and the club is in it's total right to offer what it believes is fair, but the club, especially Nick Hammond seemed to genuinely believe he would just cave in and sign the first thing put in front of him. Quite staggering naivety in my opinion and a bit disrespectful to a player that's never kicked up any sort of a fuss or been involved in any type of shenanigans.

Beyond the ins and outs of how we've got to this point, why this wasn't addressed 18 months ago is the question that really needs answering.

Now to be fair to Pearce, if Federici is on more than Pearce and Guthrie, then he has good reason to ask for more.

Have I read that right? Federici is on more than Guthrie?

That's what I'm led to believe.

Federici is on £35k a week, again can dispute the source of said info, but I'll say it's the same one that's given me plenty of accurate team news in the past few months.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

I've been led to believe he's after Guthrie type money, not Pog money and not even Federici money.

Club completely dragged their heels with this one. Pearce & his new agent obviously play a part and the club is in it's total right to offer what it believes is fair, but the club, especially Nick Hammond seemed to genuinely believe he would just cave in and sign the first thing put in front of him. Quite staggering naivety in my opinion and a bit disrespectful to a player that's never kicked up any sort of a fuss or been involved in any type of shenanigans.

Beyond the ins and outs of how we've got to this point, why this wasn't addressed 18 months ago is the question that really needs answering.

Probably because 18 months ago he didn't look like a player that would be demanding 30k a week in his final year.

And 18 months ago there's no way we'd have been able to pay these sort of sums.

[Wimb]

I've been led to believe he's after Guthrie type money, not Pog money and not even Federici money.

Club completely dragged their heels with this one. Pearce & his new agent obviously play a part and the club is in it's total right to offer what it believes is fair, but the club, especially Nick Hammond seemed to genuinely believe he would just cave in and sign the first thing put in front of him. Quite staggering naivety in my opinion and a bit disrespectful to a player that's never kicked up any sort of a fuss or been involved in any type of shenanigans.

Beyond the ins and outs of how we've got to this point, why this wasn't addressed 18 months ago is the question that really needs answering.

Probably because 18 months ago he didn't look like a player that would be demanding 30k a week in his final year.

Well even better reason to get a contract sorted isn't it? He was under a previous agent and a player that hadn't played much in the previous six months. The club couldn't have been in a better bargaining position.

[The Real Sandhurst Royal]

Federici is on £35k a week

I cannnot believe this figure when we have McCarthy and Anderson at the club it does not stack up to pay this weekly salary to a keeper.

[winchester_royal]

I've been led to believe he's after Guthrie type money, not Pog money and not even Federici money.

Club completely dragged their heels with this one. Pearce & his new agent obviously play a part and the club is in it's total right to offer what it believes is fair, but the club, especially Nick Hammond seemed to genuinely believe he would just cave in and sign the first thing put in front of him. Quite staggering naivety in my opinion and a bit disrespectful to a player that's never kicked up any sort of a fuss or been involved in any type of shenanigans.

Beyond the ins and outs of how we've got to this point, why this wasn't addressed 18 months ago is the question that really needs answering.

Probably because 18 months ago he didn't look like a player that would be demanding 30k a week in his final year.

Well even better reason to get a contract sorted isn't it? He was under a previous agent and a player that hadn't played much in the previous six months. The club couldn't have been in a better bargaining position.

But as you say, he hadn't played much in the last 6 months, hadn't looked much more than an average championship plodder when he had played, and had 2 years left on his contract.

I can understand why the club didn't consider it a high priority to give him a longer deal at that moment in time.

But yes..from the club's current p.o.v. it now looks like a massive error.

[Wimb]

Federici is on £35k a week

I cannnot believe this figure when we have McCarthy and Anderson at the club it does not stack up to pay this weekly salary to a keeper.

I think it's also OTT, again only going by what's been passed on by sources I trust.

However given that he signed the new deal this summer after promotion, the fact that Doyle/Shunt were on roughly that amount, the fact he'd established himself firmly as a number 1 and is an international keeper, I don't think it's so outlandish as you might think at first glance.

[Esteban]

I've been led to believe he's after Guthrie type money, not Pog money and not even Federici money.

Club completely dragged their heels with this one. Pearce & his new agent obviously play a part and the club is in it's total right to offer what it believes is fair, but the club, especially Nick Hammond seemed to genuinely believe he would just cave in and sign the first thing put in front of him. Quite staggering naivety in my opinion and a bit disrespectful to a player that's never kicked up any sort of a fuss or been involved in any type of shenanigans.

Beyond the ins and outs of how we've got to this point, why this wasn't addressed 18 months ago is the question that really needs answering.

Now to be fair to Pearce, if Federici is on more than Pearce and Guthrie, then he has good reason to ask for more.

Have I read that right? Federici is on more than Guthrie?

That's what I'm led to believe.

Federici is on £35k a week, again can dispute the source of said info, but I'll say it's the same one that's given me plenty of accurate team news in the past few months.

I've no reason to doubt you. I'm absolutely staggered by that. I'd say that's more of an issue than the wages that Pogrebnyak came in on. That puts Federici on at least £15k a week more than I thought he'd be on, although perhaps I'm being very naive.

[Hoop Blah]

Federici is on £35k a week

I cannnot believe this figure when we have McCarthy and Anderson at the club it does not stack up to pay this weekly salary to a keeper.

I think it's also OTT, again only going by what's been passed on by sources I trust.

However given that he signed the new deal this summer after promotion, the fact that Doyle/Shunt were on roughly that amount, the fact he'd established himself firmly as a number 1 and is an international keeper, I don't think it's so outlandish as you might think at first glance.

I don't think it's unbelievable or OTT for someone who's been a cornerstone of this side for the last few seasons. We might have McCarthy in the squad as well but McDermott clearly sees Federici as his number one and so his contract would reflect that.

£35k isn't that huge a sum and I'm sure we have a number of players on that kind of money in this squad. Our wage bill will be around the £40m mark remember, so the top earners will be on decent money.

[marcusopp]

Federici is on £35k a week

I cannnot believe this figure when we have McCarthy and Anderson at the club it does not stack up to pay this weekly salary to a keeper.

Most important position on the pitch. Feds had a shaky start to the season and was injured. If he'd started this campaign as he played throughout last seasons, we'd have more points and McCarthy probably wouldn't have had a look in.
Players can't expect to instantly be on top money, you work your way up to it, as in any job. We get young whipper snappers coming through where i work (hospital), they work hard and think they know it all, but they don't, and they often complain about earning less than some of the more experienced guys.
Pearce will get the salary he wants, but needs to be more realistic about the timescale. He's going to be a millionaire no matter what, so why is he being so stubborn and doing what Carrico just did to sporting?

[Alexander Litvinenko]

I don't think it's unbelievable or OTT for someone who's been a cornerstone of this side for the last few seasons. We might have McCarthy in the squad as well but McDermott clearly sees Federici as his number one and so his contract would reflect that.

£35k isn't that huge a sum and I'm sure we have a number of players on that kind of money in this squad. Our wage bill will be around the £40m mark remember, so the top earners will be on decent money.

Agreed, with the proviso that at the time of the contracts McDermott clearly SAW Federici as his number one and so his contract would reflect that. Things may have changed since then, even if contracts haven't.

[Wimb]

The club's wage bill in 2006/07 was £28.1M, meaning that if you split that evenly (which obviously it wasn't but still...) amongst a squad of 25 you'd get £1.12m a player per year. That's 20k a week give or take.

Obviously the individual wages are going to be all over the place, no way Cox was earning what Doyle/Kitson was on, but some in that team had to be making over £30k.

With that in mind again it's not the least bit surprising that Brian/Hammond would give their first choice keeper such a contract 5 years later.

[Hoop Blah]

But I really think the fly in the ointment is Pog. He's come in an appears to have broken the wage structure, so is it unreasonable for other players to raise their demands accordingly?

People (and I include the BBC Berks team in this) keep bringing up this mythical wage busting pay deal for Pogrebnyak but I haven't seen or heard anyone offer anything to substantiate it.

The figures quoted by the press of £65k don't make any sense to me. I'm sure that that would include the signing on fee etc and so not really a true reflection of his pay or what the other players will realistically be comparing themselves to.

I'm aware that Quinn or one of the other Chairman/DoFs who were after him alluded to us pay big money to him, but that's the only indication I've seen that he's on anything more than the other top earners in the squad.

Is there something I've missed?

[Esteban]

The club's wage bill in 2006/07 was £28.1M, meaning that if you split that evenly (which obviously it wasn't but still...) amongst a squad of 25 you'd get £1.12m a player per year. That's 20k a week give or take.

Obviously the individual wages are going to be all over the place, no way Cox was earning what Doyle/Kitson was on, but some in that team had to be making over £30k.

With that in mind again it's not the least bit surprising that Brian/Hammond would give their first choice keeper such a contract 5 years later.

I had not twigged that at all. Out of interest, do you happen to know how that compares to our wage bill last season? I was amazed to find out that Nathan Tyson is on £10k a week for Derby, but that sounds like it might be small fry now!

[Royal Lady]

I suppose you should applaud Feds for not being happy to just sit back and take the money then, when he was dropped.

I think the problem with wages/new contracts etc has been the arrival of Pog on stupid money - if he's on the £60k a week he's rumoured to be getting, it's ridiculous really and it's no wonder that the likes of Pearce feel they deserve better money. If they were all hanging out for £60k I could understand the club saying no, but it seems that Pearce certainly isn't demanding that sort of money - he just feels he should have a bigger amount than currently offered. If they hadn't paid Pog that much, we'd have had a much happier dressing room and been playing our best players, not just the ones who appear to have not rocked the boat. And who decided to agree to pay Pog that much? I can only assume it was the same guy who wanted to get him in. AZ.

[Royal Lady]

I know that Sonko was £18k a week when he was with us and a lot of the players were pretty pissed off about it as they were earning a lot less....

[floyd__streete]

Pearce has shown in the last 3 or 4 games that he is by quite some distance our best defender and the decision not to play him for half a season is one of very many poor decisions made by the management team this season which has already basically condemned us to the drop.

[ZacNaloen]

I suppose you should applaud Feds for not being happy to just sit back and take the money then, when he was dropped.

I think the problem with wages/new contracts etc has been the arrival of Pog on stupid money - if he's on the £60k a week he's rumoured to be getting, it's ridiculous really and it's no wonder that the likes of Pearce feel they deserve better money. If they were all hanging out for £60k I could understand the club saying no, but it seems that Pearce certainly isn't demanding that sort of money - he just feels he should have a bigger amount than currently offered. If they hadn't paid Pog that much, we'd have had a much happier dressing room and been playing our best players, not just the ones who appear to have not rocked the boat. And who decided to agree to pay Pog that much? I can only assume it was the same guy who wanted to get him in. AZ.

He's not on 60k a week

[The Real Sandhurst Royal]

ZacNolean wrote: He's not on 60k a week

No, it's £65k.

[Hoop Blah]

The club's wage bill in 2006/07 was £28.1M, meaning that if you split that evenly (which obviously it wasn't but still...) amongst a squad of 25 you'd get £1.12m a player per year. That's 20k a week give or take.

Obviously the individual wages are going to be all over the place, no way Cox was earning what Doyle/Kitson was on, but some in that team had to be making over £30k.

With that in mind again it's not the least bit surprising that Brian/Hammond would give their first choice keeper such a contract 5 years later.

I had not twigged that at all. Out of interest, do you happen to know how that compares to our wage bill last season? I was amazed to find out that Nathan Tyson is on £10k a week for Derby, but that sounds like it might be small fry now!

Not sure on last year as I've not seen the figures, but the previous two Championship seasons our wage bill was £18m, so a shade more than that I'd expect.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

But I really think the fly in the ointment is Pog. He's come in an appears to have broken the wage structure, so is it unreasonable for other players to raise their demands accordingly?

People (and I include the BBC Berks team in this) keep bringing up this mythical wage busting pay deal for Pogrebnyak but I haven't seen or heard anyone offer anything to substantiate it.

The figures quoted by the press of £65k don't make any sense to me. I'm sure that that would include the signing on fee etc and so not really a true reflection of his pay or what the other players will realistically be comparing themselves to.

I'm aware that Quinn or one of the other Chairman/DoFs who were after him alluded to us pay big money to him, but that's the only indication I've seen that he's on anything more than the other top earners in the squad.

Is there something I've missed?

I know for an absolute definite fact, from someone who really knows the exact details, that he was offered between £65k and £70k week by Fulham.

It was also widely reported that we out-bid Fulham, although we did give him a 4-year contract whilst Fulham offered one year with a two-year extension.

But many papers carry the £65k/week figure - for instance The Sun say "The Royals have offered the striker a whopping £13million deal..." That's £62.5 a week.

There';s also this, from the Fulham Chronicle :

"There are maybe a number of reasons why we have decided to move to Reading, but in the end, the difference in wages was too great and we could not ignore it," Pogrebnyak's agent, Dr Oliver Wendt, told the Fulham Chronicle.

"We did go back to Fulham, but they were not prepared to improve their offer.

"He was happy at Fulham and had a really great time there. Maybe he could have signed a new deal, but we have to consider the amount being offered at Reading."