A lot has been made of some Premier League clubs deciding to furlough their playing staff in light of the pandemic in recent days.
Among those to have taken the step include Tottenham, Newcastle and Liverpool, though the latter received such a tremendous amount of backlash from fans and figures like Jamie Carragher that the club took the step to reverse the decision.
As for us and the Magpies, the furlough will go ahead despite both clubs being owned by individuals who are both worth more than a billion pounds in Joe Lewis and Mike Ashley.
Like Liverpool, Spurs fans have been vocal in their opposition to the furlough, with many remonstrating with Daniel Levy, even though he too will be included in the 550 staff that are to be placed on the government scheme.
Was the club wrong to place staff on furlough?
Yes
No
Former Tottenham owner Lord Sugar has had his say on the matter, and gave a level-headed response in which he showed an understanding of the predicament the club finds itself in, as well as criticising others.
PL CLUBS: People need to understand most clubs run from hand to mouth on income coming in to pay players/staff.If the shut down carries on for months some clubs will be insolvent and go bust.Gordon Taylor is no help telling players clubs are owned by billionaires don't take cuts.
— Lord Sugar (@Lord_Sugar) April 6, 2020
Some have called for Premier League footballers to donate a percentage of their wage to those more in need. Even Health Secretary Matt Hancock issued a plea, and Manchester United’s Harry Maguire is one example of a player who has heeded the call.
Lord Sugar’s criticism of PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor may have been a little premature too as he has revealed that players are “prepared to step up” and play their part to help the current situation.
Hopefully good judgement and good ethics will prevail and we, like Liverpool, will take the decision to reverse the furlough idea, otherwise backlash from our fanbase and other clubs around the country will rightly continue.