Number Game

The number game is a genius game. It gives people an alternative way of looking at things and perhaps, change their perception of certain things. Let's talk soccer and play Football Manager a bit. Say I'm Fergie and I'm gonna take Cristiano Ronaldo in for negotiating a new contract.

Now let's post a situation that Fergie might face. Ronaldo is underpaid. The fact that he is one of my best players tells me that I have to pay him what he deserves, increase his pay to be one of the highest, if not the highest, among all my players.. But how am I supposed to go persuade my owners that we should give him double of what he is earning now? Or worse, how do I justify to fans who might have to pay more to watch a match so that the escalating cost of running the club is balanced? Now, this is the tricky yet ingenious part. I just have to play, the number game! Here is what I should tell them:

"I think it's quite plain to see what a player we've got in Cristiano. He's a gem, totally brilliant. I can confirm that the reported rise in his salary is true. He'll take home almost double what he was earning from next season onwards. He's in great demand now in the footballing world and I just can't let other clubs lure him away, can I? Now, he'll be on £120,000 per week now, making his annual intake to about £6.2 million. Yes, this is a significant increase from his £70,000 p/w wages previously, but let's not forget Ronaldo is one of the best footballer on this planet who can turn games round and win us many competitions. For a club with a revenue of over £150 million annually, the increase in wage is only a small percentage of it and poses no problems. Imagine if we lost him, our club can't win that many games, the lost in revenue, other great players would mean our famed club could lose whatever it has in a short time!" (The players' wives or even my wife might even have to go to foreign lands to be maids instead of being taitai!) [obviously this part is un-publishable to fans]

See, that would really put things in perspective for the pay rise. Now let's say another manager who is more stingy is in charge. He thinks that Ronaldo is already well-paid, thinking of cutting his pay even. He should say this:

"Well, no doubt Cristiano is a very important player, he can turn games round, win you some games single-handedly. No doubt. But I believe he is already very well-paid. At £70,000 per week, he is already one of the best paid in the world. I might increase his pay a little cos he is really very important. But double his wages? You must be out of your mind! Do you know the structure of the wage bill? Star players, about 7 of them, take up about 60% of my total players' wage bill for 30 players! If I doubled his salary, it will become 62% of the total wage bill! I can't do that. I can pay for another 2 good players who can contribute well to the squad with the extra £70,000 that I'm gonna pay Cristiano. No question about that. Increase, maybe. Double, no way!"

So you've seen my number game. Pretty fun to play ah? Go think about your own game.. Or see if my game applies elsewhere other than money. =)