When it comes to wages in football there appears to be three levels at the top; the ‘average’ top flight professional player who earns really silly money in the eyes of the normal working man (or woman), then there are the top players who earn top money, then at the very top the kind of elite players who make up the following top twenty earning players in the world.

These twenty players are the Sunday Times Rich List top twenty, taking into account both wages and commercial income over the course of 2011.

£27.4m   Messi   Barcelona
£26.1m   Beckham   LA Galaxy
£24.2m   Ronaldo   Real Madrid
£19.3m   Eto’o   Anzhi Makhachkala
£17.1m   Rooney   Manchester Utd.
£15.6m   Aguero   Manchester City
£14.6m   Toure   Manchester City
£13.9m   Torres   Chelsea
£12.9m   Kaka   Real Madrid
£11.9m   Lahm   Bayern Munich
£11.6m   Ibrahimovic   AC Milan
£11.5m   Neymar   Santos
£11.5m   Schweinsteiger   Bayern Munich
£10.8m   Lampard   Chelsea
£10.6m   Silva   Manchester City
£10.5m   Drogba   Chelsea
£10.4m   Conca   Guangzhou Evergrande
£9.7m   Buffon   Juventus
£9.6m   Ribery   Bayern Munich

You can draw all kinds of conclusions from the list and of course the most striking one is that the whole thing is just mad, once a player is earning more than a couple of million a year surely it can make little difference to him if he then earns two/five/ten times that amount.

What often gets lost is that whichever way you look at it, the likes of me and you eventually pay for their earnings; whether through ticket money, TV money or buying products they advertise – where a massive proportion of the price tag comes thanks to the money spent on marketing (paying the star to promote it).

Of course the Premier League is well represented and if you took the list down a bit further then English Premier League sides would dominate even more as you’d start getting to all these slightly ‘lesser’ paid players at clubs like Manchester City, Chelsea, Man U and Liverpool – where earning £4m or £5m or more is common place.

Taking England as the example, for clubs like Liverpool and Chelsea to move forward assuming they will be in the Champions League each season would be crazy….if they intend to finance their wage bill through purely normal  club revenue.

Newcastle of course are a million miles away from paying the type of wages you see above and to be honest I wouldn’t want the club to pay them, unless the figures somehow added up, no matter who owns the club.

There is definitely room for Newcastle’s overall wage bill to grow but it has to be sustainable and how a club who isn’t in the Champions League could afford to fund the salaries of people like Drogba, Torres and Lampard (and the rest who of Chelsea’s squad who won’t be far behind) from normal revenue is beyond me.

Much like Newcastle ended up with what they were paying people like Owen, Viduka, Dyer, Geremi and others, maybe the question is not how much they earn but how much they are worth. I’d be interested (even in this mad inflated world) to hear how somebody like Frank Lampard deserves to earn over £10m a year

It is the shirt everybody is talking about and you had the chance to win one courtesy of The Mag by entering our competition.

Through the kit specialist Kitbag we were offering one lucky reader the chance to win the new short sleeved Newcastle United away shirt.

When images of the latest Newcastle strip were revealed, we asked visitors to our site whether they would wear the shirt and 75% of fans said that they loved the new shirt design.

We asked you the following question;

One of the great modern day European nights was when Newcastle drew 2-2 in Milan with Inter, which Newcastle United legend scored our two goals that night?

Thanks to everybody who entered and just about all of you managed to remember it was Alan Shearer who scored twice on that memorable night. Obviously we all are winners after this great season but only one person could win the new shirt and first out of the hat was Ian Clarke and he will be receiving his shirt in the next few days.

If you didn’t win then take advantage of the great offers from Kitbag on the new strip

• £45 for the adult short sleeved shirt
• £50 for the long sleeved shirt
• £40 for the youths shirt
• £35 for the kids shirt
• shorts from £18
• socks from £10
• personalise the shirt with name and number for only £11.95
• worldwide delivery available
• FREE UK DELIVERY ON ORDERS OVER £50

Click here to visit the new away kit range on offer.

Newcastle United started strongly and finished almost irresistibly.

If only we had a defence to match our attack; where Ba, Cisse and Ben Arfa look as potent as any in the premiership.

Too often the defending is desperate and when it cracks it is catastrophic – as it was at Fulham, Spurs, Wigan and home to Chelsea.

These bad results are reflected in a poor goal difference which in a tight group at the top could have been crucial.

I could and would have been worse but for Tim Krul’s blocking and shot stopping. Mike Williamson’s lack of pace and Colo’s physical shortcomings often see them defending frantically, bobbing about like corks in a stormy sea before being submerged.

Two typical examples of their weaknesses were against Wigan; Williamson was outjumped by the much smaller Voctor Moses and Coloccini miskicked a clearance straight to the same player, costing us the first two goals.

At home to Stoke we could also have been two goals down due to Colo’s slack marking if it hadn’t been for Stoke’s poor finishing (as Tony Pulis pointed out post-match) before riding out easy winners thanks to the strong finishing of Cabaye and Cisse.

We have seen a similar pattern in other games where we have been outplayed but scored great goals from only a few chances, such is the brilliance of finishing by Cisse, Ben Arfa and Demba Ba (earlier in the season).

Whether you love or hate social media, this is what some of Newcastle highest profile players have being saying via twitter in the last couple of days:

Hatem Ben Arfa 15th May   “Just arrived in Paris…I miss already Newcastle”

Demba Ba 16th May “What  a great season we had. I’ll miss SJP and the atmosphere for few weeks. Can’t wait to step back on the pitch and feel the noise again…”

Papiss Cisse 15th May “Just wanna thank everyone for ur support. Hope will do better next season. Enjoy the summer holidays”

‘Demba Ba plots summer Newcastle exit’

By Rob Stewart

Demba Ba is set to quit Newcastle United this summer amid rumours that Chelsea are poised to move for the Senegalese striker, Goal.com can reveal…26-year-old Senegalese striker is understood to be unhappy at the S***** D***** A****.

The Magpies forward is thought to have grown disenchanted with life on Tyneside since the club signed goalscoring sensation Papiss Cisse…..the club’s management team expect him to quit because he has become unhappy in the North East of England after a blistering start to the season…..that fall from grace has left a player who only arrived on Tyneside on a free transfer last summer feeling restless.

However, right-back Danny Simpson and midfielder Danny Guthrie will be allowed to leave this summer when their contracts expire.

This is just a sample story/headline of the many out there and sums up the rubbish that will be thrown at both us and the players this summer.

This is a story you could write about basically any player that isn’t playing for Manchester City who have won the league and pay the biggest wages. There isn’t a story there, just an excuse to kill a few more trees or whatever the internet/website equivalent is, he couldn’t even get the position right with regard to Simpson who has another year to go.

I honestly believe players like Ben Arfa, Ba and Cisse won’t be agitating for moves as is backed up by their messages at the start of this article.

Over and above that, good players attracting the attention of other clubs is a fact of life, what is unacceptable is kite flying presented as ‘news’.

Who are the richest football club owners (sizeable shareholders) in the English Premier League?

The Sunday Times annual ‘rich list’ has produced the following for 2012 (the list also includes people like Bernie Ecclestone who have sold major shareholdings in recent times)….

1. Lakshmi Mittal (QPR) £12,700m

2. Alisher Usmanov (Arsenal) £12,315m

3. Roman Abramovich (Chelsea) £9,500m

4. Joe Lewis (Spurs) £3,000m

5. Bernie Ecclestone (QPR) £2,500m

6. Mike Ashley (The Toon) £1,750m

7. Mohamed Al-Fayed (Fulham) £1,300

8. Lord Ashcroft (Spurs) £1,200

8. Lord Grantchester (Everton) £1,200

10. Peter Coates (Stoke) £800m

10. Lord Sugar (Spurs) £800m

The fact the list doesn’t include Manchester City’s owner(s) is a bit puzzling but the one definite is that English football attracts a lot of wealthy people.

The idea that wealthy people will automatically throw large amounts of money at a football club is disproved right across the premier league, not just at Newcastle.

In fact before Tony Fernandes stepped in at QPR, the trio of Briatore, Ecclestone and Mittal made up a massively wealthy trio, though they chose to run the club in very much a hand to mouth existence.

Naturally we are all waiting to see whether Financial Fair Play (FFP) actually has any major effect on clubs.

I believe it is only a matter of time before a club like Chelsea or Manchester City, or Real Madrid or Barcelona, reacts to poor form by splashing cash that is way over their income, we’ll then see whether UEFA will show their teeth.

Shameless

The day Michael Owen first stepped onto out onto the St.James’ Park pitch in 2005, was basically the day he retired.

A club he never wanted to come to but who were willing to pay the most money, welcome to the life of Michael Owen.

Yes he suffered badly with injuries at Newcastle but we were never left in any doubt that his only focus was on being fit for England, he even admitted afterwards that he should never have gone to that World Cup in 2006 as he wasn’t physically right.

You can pretty much divide Owen’s career into two parts, before and after signing for Newcastle.

For Liverpool & Real Madrid he scored 131 league goals in 252 matches, since signing for Newcastle he has put away 31 goals in 102 league matches.

In seven years he has averaged less than five goals a season and when you also bear in mind he scored all but a handful of his 40 England goals pre-Newcastle it gets even worse.

Owen wrote on Twitter this (Thursday) morning: “The manager (Fergie) informed me after our testimonial match on Tuesday that the club would not be offering me a new contract. I have loved every minute of the three years I have spent at such a fantastic club.

I now plan to have a short holiday during which I will contemplate my next move”.

I think in terms of lack of self-awareness, Michael Owen runs Joey Barton awful close, a holiday from what exactly?

Injuries played a part but we signed a player in 2005 who never ever was going to earn his wages. In the time when he was injured, why did we not see him out and about on Tyneside making appearances to bring a little bit of happiness into the lives of those less fortunate and also repay the Newcastle United fans in some small way for their generous welcome and the even more generous way they filled his pockets with gold?

The last seven years will have certainly been the most productive for Owen in terms of making money but it is a different story for the clubs employing him and the fans who help finance them.

I wouldn’t mind betting that we see Owen turning up next in some nonsensical middle eastern league (like sunderland’s Gyan) where the level is atrocious but wages are astronomical.

That is if Michael Owen can be separated from his true sporting love, his racehorses.

Hold off booking that holiday, here we bring you the definitive list of Newcastle United dates for your summer diary.

Even the most miserable fan can’t complain too much about the gap between seasons this summer.

23rd May The public sale of tickets recommences for the Olympic football matches (both men’s and women’s) to be played at St.James’ Park 26th July – 4th August), on some days the ticket price covers two matches.

31st May This is the final day for fans to renew their season tickets.

1st June The club will start contacting people who are on the season ticket waiting list, call now on 0844 3721892 to add your name to the list.

8th June – 1st July The Euros kick-off in Poland/Ukraine, with Ingerland involved, as well as fingers crossed; Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa and Tim Krul.

18th June Premier League fixtures for the 2012/13 season announced.

19th June SKY TV change all the fixtures released the day before.

26th July  Olympic football matches kick-off at St.James’ Park starting with a double header (Men’s – 2 Matches): Mexico v South Korea (2.30pm) Gabon v Switzerland (5.15pm)

29th July (Men’s – 2 Matches): Spain v Honduras (5pm) Japan v Morocco (7.45pm)

31st July (Women’s – 2 Matches): Canada v Sweden (2.30pm) France v Colombia (5.15pm)

1st August (Men’s – 1 Match): Brazil v New Zealand (2.30pm)

3rd August (Women’s – 1 QF Match)

4th August  (Men’s – 1 QF Match)

10th August The draw is made for the Europa League fourth qualifying round which is the stage when Newcastle are due to start their European campaign.

18th August The 2012/13 Premier League season kicks off.

23rd August The first leg of the Europa League fourth qualifying round.

30th August The second leg of the Europa League fourth qualifying round.

20th September Assuming Newcastle successfully get through the fourth qualifying round they will play their first Europa League group match.

Yohan Cabaye has followed the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa and Demba Ba by creating his own website.

As befits such a stylish player, his website is pretty cool and has an English version as well as his native French – which is pretty lucky for the likes of me who watched the girls playing netball through the classroom window rather than learning to count to five in French, or whatever.

To help with the website launch Yohan (‘Yo’ to his friends!) has also put together a smart promo video which we are pleased to bring you courtesy of The Mag’s YouTube Channel

Visit Yohan Cabaye’s website here http://www.yohan-cabaye.com/ and click below for the class promo video

Watch this video on YouTube.

When you do as bad a job as Kenny Dalglish has done this time around at Anfield, it must at least be one small comfort when you have plenty mates in the press who will argue against all known evidence in blind support.

A bit of a contrast to the treatment of Kevin Keegan over the years, especially at Newcastle. Despite only Keegan and Sir Bobby managing to stick around for any length of time, the press often want to try and hold KK up for ridicule despite the transformation he wrought at St.James’ Park. Mainly for having the audacity to hand in his resignation  instead of the time honoured route of run the club into the ground and wait for a tidy pay-off.

The fact that Liverpool have ‘sacked’ Dalglish says a lot to me, it seems inconceivable that the owners didn’t first go to him and ask him to go after ‘mutually agreeing’, refusing to accept the mess he had made and no doubt ensuring a significant ill-earned pay-off.

Dalglish has spent around £115m in little over a year and if he was following the ‘Moneyball’ theory (buying players who will increase in value) then he must have read the book upside down. Fees of £35m Carroll, £23m Suarez, Downing £20, Henderson £16m, Adam £6m, Coates £7m and Jose £6m.

Arguably not a single player will have gone up in value as Suarez might be a real talent but he comes from the Barton/Tevez school of charm.

Dalglish succeeded Keegan as a player at Liverpool and then ruined the team that Kevin built as manager at St.James’ Park.

I’ve never forgiven him for that and it is little comfort that he may have possibly done an even worse job at Anfield.

Only last year a journalist wrote; ‘His 20 months at Newcastle United are the only part of Kenny Dalglish’s career that came anywhere near failure….’, well I think they’d better be getting those history books rewritten.

So today Roy Hodgson named his Euro squad and the excitement began….

Goalkeepers – Joe Hart, Robert Green, John Ruddy

Defenders – Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott, John Terry

Midfielders – Gareth Barry, Stewart Downing, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young

Strikers – Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck

Standby - Jack Butland, Phil Jagielka, Jordan Henderson, Adam Johnson, Daniel Sturridge

Personally, the appointment of Hodgson rather than Redknapp just about saved my England interest this summer.

I think if ‘Arry had got the job it could have been the final straw on top of having such charming people as Ashley Cole and John Terry to ‘support’.

England for me is something to do in between ‘proper’ football and any intensity that exists in my head is switched on and off at first and last whistles.

All twenty outfield players are selected from the top eight teams, although maybe I should say the top four and the three teams who finished between sixth and eighth.

Not that I think any English qualifying Newcastle player deserved to be anywhere near, although a fit Steven Taylor would have surely had a shout if he’d played a full year of his early season form.

Ex-NUFC players; Milner, Parker and Carroll are all on the plane and of the three I would only have taken Carroll who at least has a bit about him rather than the likes of Milner and Parker who are your archetypal England players who will run around a lot and …..errr that’s it.

It’s funny having three of our ‘exes’ in the squad and yet I wouldn’t have any of them at Newcastle ahead of their present day replacements.

On balance I will want England to win when they line up against France on Monday 11th June, even if Cabaye and Ben Arfa are in opposition.

However, that wouldn’t stop me wanting Ben Arfa to tear Ashley Cole apart or Cabaye to make ‘Lamps’ look a right idiot in their individual battles, my blood is black & white not red (white and blue).