The latest meeting between the club and the supporters trust brought up an interesting fact about our wage structure, which hasn`t been officially revealed by the board before.
With the Times report last week about Toby Alderweireld`s contract situation, there has been more talk about the fact we are unwilling to pay the best salaries in the Premier League, but it seems that we do pay the best performance related bonuses out of all 20 clubs.
It is something that looks like a very shrewd move on Levy`s part. One of the most common complaints about modern footballers is that they don`t have to work hard to earn a lot of money. There are few incentives to play well, and this can lead to complacency and a lack of motivation.
With the club`s heavy emphasis on bonuses, we are rewarding our players for continuing to perform at the highest level. Performances over the last few seasons under Poch demonstrably show not only a manager who is getting the most out of the team, but also a group of players who work hard, with loyalty and teamwork at the heart of squad.
In effect, the bonus structure has a twofold impact. Not only are players incentivised to perform at a consistent level to be financially rewarded, it also weens out those personalities who may prefer a bumper basic wage to having to work harder to get their money. Some would love to be able to sit on a comfortable five-year deal without putting in any extra effort.
It means the squad we have are motivated to continue performing every week as bonuses offer a certain amount of meritocracy. Rewards are given for defined goals, rather than something more arbitrary like the player`s general value to the team.
Of course, this isn`t something that is restricted to football. Performance related pay is something that is part of almost every business sector, but it can be particularly potent in sport, where a player`s display can be marked and measured in terms of goals, assists and tackles. Although it is difficult to quantify how effective such bonuses can have on a team`s overall performance over a whole season, I do think Levy has made a good decision here when it comes to incentivising our team to perform.
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