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Average Premiership Player to earn €31,000 per week next season...

It's a headline akin to the old tabloid bumf about Naomi Campbell not getting out of bed for less than 10 grand.

It's 90 days there or thereabouts to the start of the Premiership with but a Copa America (minus Kaka & Ronaldinho) to tide us over in the interim but it's something to think on, is it not?

Next time, you see some no mark like Michael Brown, Ben Thatcher, anybody who plays at full back for Boro', take a moment to fundamentally appreciate that their earning power is that astronomical.

It's a short career fair enough but it's a real hair's breath thing for most of these players, there were kids who were better than them but for a large majority of players you'll see in the top flight, they're extremely lucky to be there.

Take Matt Derbyshire at Blackburn for example, started the season at a non-league club and now is in the England Under 21s and looking a decent player, yet not long ago he would have jumped at the chance of cleaning boots on a YTS scheme at York City.

Gary Breen famously went as a free agent to the World Cup in Japan / Korea in 2002, Ireland's answer to the Kaiser, Franz Beckenbauer. He came back to England demanding sterling 25,000 a week for his services.

Only West Ham ponyed up the cash and were promptly relegated.

There's a lesson in there somewhere between keeping them lean and keen and rewarding people for actually doing the job.

Ok, that's it for football till August barring fun in the Copa America or the odd Shels match...