Instant gratification. You can see it everywhere. 24 hour shopping, “buy now, pay later”, record divorce rates. All of it points down to people who want it all, but want to do less to get it. Why work hard for something when you can get it for nothing?
It is a common problem, and one that exists in the basis of the modern psyche. Once we, as humans, got to a state that we didn’t have to worry about being savaged by wild animals, or killed by eating the wrong food, we got lazy.
We got lazy because first we used animals to carry our items, then we created machines, and nowadays we have medicine to stop the likelihood of, what was at one point, a minor illness killing us off. We got used to giving up things we used to do in favour of relying on something else – on technology, on bricks and mortar, or on medicine.
Of course, I’m not saying we should go back to some Luddite style society with people decrying electricity, or central heating, but the premise is there.
How does it apply to the club though? Well here is where I’ll explain.
You see the modern professional top flight footballer is used to a luxurious lifestyle. When an average wage for an average player in the Premier League is £20,000 a week, it illustrates a real view of where the game is now. When the average player (think third choice right back for Sunderland, or fringe youth player at Bolton) is earning over £1m a year gross, you’re not going to be toiling against a coal face when you retire. More likely, you’ll be sunning yourself on a nice yacht harboured in the Med. Good luck to you I say.
It isn’t the money that is an issue to me – it is the laziness that comes alongside it. Once you’ve got a club contract where you’re on say 3 years at £20,000 a week, you are probably going to be set for life. You’re never going to need to worry about money. You’re going to get lazy.
Whether lazy means the player doesn’t apply themselves in training, or lazy means they just want more and more, the basis is the same. Nowadays, at our club, what we’re seeing is laziness meaning the players don’t want to work towards making Aston Villa a Champions League team anymore. What they want is the Champions League NOW, whatever that takes. Contracts being rebuffed, stomping of feet, going on strike – it all is to the same end.
The changing faces of greed
When Gareth Barry left us for Manchester City, many snarled and yelled insults at him saying that he had taken the money and ran. Whether he had or not, he had given a good solid ten years to the club and constantly remained the professional. Even after he didn’t get his Liverpool move, he plugged away in the team, putting in good performances.
When James Milner left us for Manchester City, most were merely upset rather than angry. Some said it was the work of Barry, but he left meaning the best player had been plucked from the team in successive years.
Now Stewart Downing is looking around with a “can’t lose” view of his last two years of his contract. If he stays, and somehow Villa manage to get to the Champions League, or the one after, he gets what he wants. If he leaves for a Champions League club, he gets what he wants. Either way, Stewart Downing is unlikely to lose.
Looking at it that way, Ashley Young looks like a veritable old timer. With five years service, he has given over twice as much time to the club as a player. The similarities with Downing are striking – plucked from a relegated club, plays on the wing, has had one really good season in his Villa career. In fact, Ashley Young looks like the better player on paper – it is just that his best season was a while back, whereas Stewart’s is a recent memory.
So till we find something in the club that breeds inspiration, like hiring a charismatic manager, and redoing the squad with talent not plodders, then we will be a club which has our top players cherry picked each year.
It’s a selfish attitude, but we are based on a selfish gene. Natural selection bred and cultivated it in us for tens of thousands of years. It’s not about to stop any time soon.
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