Gunnersaurus saved from extinction

So on deadline day, you had the classic good news and bad news conundrum.  You want the bad news first?  Who came up with this silly choice anyway?  What does your choice signify about you?  You prefer to get the bad news over with quickly, and hope that the good news will trump it?

Anyway, the bad news was that as part of the cost-cutting forced on the club by the pandemic, Gunnersaurus was given his pink slip.  The good news?  That very same day (or thereabouts), we spent a ton of money on a midfield player Thomas Partey (cue inevitable puns - when he takes the field, is it "Partey on, dude!"?) on deadline day, that made a lot of fans happy.

I am happy we signed a player, but a little concerned we might be paying too much, not just in terms of the fee (which is crazy in this pandemic climate, but also at any other time) but also the wages.  More than 200,000 pounds a week.  That's more than a million dollars a month.  Ok taxes will take off a big chunk but I think it's still a lot of money.  And for what?  Kicking a ball very well.  Sometimes...most of the time if he's any good (and if fans are very lucky).

We live in a strange world where the people that should matter more (I think sport has a role to play in uplifting lives but let's not oversell it), like healthcare workers, aren't paid very much. And if you think about it, Gunnersaurus brings a lot of joy into people's lives - all the time.  I daresay even opposing fans love him.  Apparently he (it?) won some best football mascot competition last year.  Compare that with your favourite all-time player who earns the big bucks - even he must surely have had a bad game every now and then (Bergkamp mising that FA Cup semi-final penalty against Man United was gut-wrenching).  And they can't find some money to keep the chap (who has been on the job for 27 years!) on the payroll?

I must admit I feel a bit more peeved by this than I should - I shook Gunnersaurus' hand last year before a women's game at Meadow Park and it will always be my eternal regret that I didn't take a picture with him.  It was one of those moments you know, where you are hesitating and wondering "Should I?  Shouldn't I?" and then it's gone.  My only excuse is that I was there alone and would have had to ask someone to take the picture but that's a bit lame... 

Well, guess who came to the rescue?  Mesut Ozil, he of 350,000 pounds salary a week fame, decided it would make great PR to pay the guy's wages and so Gunnersaurus has been given a reprieve and I guess I might still have my chance to get a picture with it at some point in the future.  Fingers crossed.