Gissa Job

"Gissa Job" ~ remember that plaintiff cry from Josser Hughes, played by Bernard Hill in "Boys From the Blackstuff"?

The sadness and desperation of being without work is often overlooked and conveniently labled as "Work shyness" by those clever clogs who've never found themselves in a situation where they cannot support their family without recourse to the welfare state, or even if they can find work; discover that it barely pays even what they were getting on the dole.

Click onto www.givemefootball.com/ and you'll find over three hundred professional footballers in this country (including over thirty goalkeepers and a depressing number of scholar pro's who've yet to attain a full contract) some of them well known to us from 37 year old Alex Russell, 38 year old Chris Hargreaves, 26 year old Liam Rosenior and plenty of other familiar names from our fixtures of recent seasons.

They can all be still signed by clubs now of course, being "unattached"; but whether that is at a standard they would wish to be playing at, or for a remuneration they would be happy with; is another matter.

I have been "on the attack" this week over some people's lack of awareness of the dedication and standards required just to reach this "scrap heap" and of my anger at those who disdainfully dismiss the "attitudes" of some players without even considering the long term dedication and effort they have put in just to get to the point where in their mid twenties (end of teenage years even) they are out of work and earning nought.

Make sure you scan that list and educate yourselves!