Jump to content

Ex players and that


Recommended Posts

An ex-Red is “living the dream” in Totnes, England — a New Age eco-community where plastic is the enemy and beards are a common thread.

Ex-TFC fullback Richard Eckersley no longer is the hard-as-nails defender whose aggression and commitment endeared him to fans at BMO Field five years ago.

In his own words, Eckersley has become more “chill,” living the simple life with his wife, Nicola, and their toddler after falling out of love with soccer and jumping head first into a “zero-waste” lifestyle.

Eckersley and his wife recently opened Earth.Food.Love — to “create a better future” for the planet — on England’s south coast. The 28-year-old Brit has swapped his playing boots for a kitchen apron amid completely changing his lifestyle.

“In Toronto, I was more about how I looked and what I drove and what kind of place I owned,” Eckersley told the Toronto Sun this week. “I was very materialistic.”

An abrupt trade to New York Red Bulls in 2014 played a part in “opening (Eckersley’s) eyes” as he discovered veganism in the City That Never Sleeps.

He began watching documentaries and reading more about the lifestyle amid encountering tribulations in his football career.

“New York said they didn’t want to pay me anything but the minimum,” Eckersley explained. “I was like, ‘Come on.’ You want me to live in New York on minimum wage?”

A brief move to Oldham Athletic a year later intensified Eckersley’s desire to change his life. The experience, he said, was nowhere near as enjoyable as it was in Toronto or the Big Apple. He couldn’t wait to leave the League One club.

“The quality of the fans and the facilities from MLS to League One was a crazy difference,” Eckersley said. “You get treated really well in MLS. There were times at Oldham where I’d get paid late

“I kind of chilled out a little bit. I wasn’t as aggressive. Throughout my whole career that had driven me through most games. I became more chill and it impacted my game.”

So he moved into a new game — the zero-waste game. The idea to open one of England’s first “zero-waste” stores was inspired by Original Unverpackt, a German business Eckersley spotted one day while browsing Facebook.

“I wanted to move to a place where we could raise our daughter the way we wanted to raise her — close to nature,” Eckersley added.

“We just used our resources from playing football to start it. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have happened. I’m thankful for football for that at least.”

He has watched two Toronto FC games since leaving the city. He watched highlights of last year’s MLS Cup final and called Stefan Frei’s game-saving stop “a worldy.”

“What do you guys write about now?” Eckersley asked with a laugh. “It must be so positive and buzzing.”

Asked if he’s surprised to see the Reds finding so much success a few years following Danny Koevermans’ “worst team in the world” quip, Eckersley said it was bound to happen.

“It was always going that way. It just needed time,” said Eckersley, who still owns a condo near BMO Field. “The fans have always been amazing. All the imagination has come to fruition.

“As long as the fans are happy, I’m happy. Everyone is having a ball. What a city to be in when you’re winning. We were losing and it was still a great city to be in.”

The one thing he regrets is how his time in Toronto ended.

“It was badly done by the head honchos there at the time,” he said. “They didn’t let me thank the fans. They didn’t have anything for me afterwards.

“Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want to go and have a parade around Toronto. But even just a 15-20 minutes on the pitch to clap the fans off. That’s what I wanted.”

A more “chill” Eckersley now refers to his sudden BMO Field exit as “water under the bridge.”

In what could have been the prime of his playing career, Eckersley’s found something far more important to him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, HKLatic said:

 

He was often paid late and played under David Dunn where we were mostly losing and he was only ever on the bench. Its is hardly surprising he doesn't have too many fond memories of his time here. 

 

It's also proof that while many of us would love to be footballers and live the dream perhaps it's a tougher life at times than some of us realise and some people do fall out of love with the whole idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, GlossopLatic said:

 

 

It's also proof that while many of us would love to be footballers and live the dream perhaps it's a tougher life at times than some of us realise and some people do fall out of love with the whole idea.

It's not a tough life, they have the same choice as we do if they dont enjoy their job and thats to move on to something new and are not held back from that but let's face it they are paid handsomely  (even at our level) for kicking a ball about. Doctors, nurses, carers, soldiers have tough lives at times making sacrifices and working for a fraction of what these players take home so for me it's not quite time to get the violin out on the back of this little cherubs sob story.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, yarddog73 said:

It's not a tough life, they have the same choice as we do if they dont enjoy their job and thats to move on to something new and are not held back from that but let's face it they are paid handsomely  (even at our level) for kicking a ball about. Doctors, nurses, carers, soldiers have tough lives at times making sacrifices and working for a fraction of what these players take home so for me it's not quite time to get the violin out on the back of this little cherubs sob story.

Teachers, don't forget the teachers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds exactly like the type of person  who wanted to be know as a footballer until he realised he wasn't going to make it at the top of the game, lost interest and found something else.

 

I suppose it's better than sitting on the bench and stealing a wage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, LaticsPete said:

"The quality of the fans" - yeah sure MLS fans are so much more knowledgeable 

 

Am sure he was in the team during that abject performance away at Dale when the players really got it in the neck.

 

Probably favourable to players when fans couldn't give much of a toss about the results.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, yarddog73 said:

It's not a tough life, they have the same choice as we do if they dont enjoy their job and thats to move on to something new and are not held back from that but let's face it they are paid handsomely  (even at our level) for kicking a ball about. Doctors, nurses, carers, soldiers have tough lives at times making sacrifices and working for a fraction of what these players take home so for me it's not quite time to get the violin out on the back of this little cherubs sob story.

Doctors get paid a fraction of what Latics players get paid? Nah.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Monty Burns said:

Doctors get paid a fraction of what Latics players get paid? Nah.

An average GP's wage is between 50k and 80k, out of our starting 11 yesterday I'd say all barring Edmundson and maybe Nepomuceno will be on more in some cases significantly more.

 

I think you know the point I was making and even if they were on similar amounts the stresses and pressures are incomparable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, yarddog73 said:

An average GP's wage is between 50k and 80k, out of our starting 11 yesterday I'd say all barring Edmundson and maybe Nepomuceno will be on more in some cases significantly more.

 

I think you know the point I was making and even if they were on similar amounts the stresses and pressures are incomparable.

Depends on the level, and experience, due to NHS rules. I wouldn't be surprised that a GP still in training was making £70k, a GP, who is a partner of their practice can make up to around £300k in the right circumstances, but that is connected to business rates as essentially they are running a business. A GP who has completed training and is working as a salaried GP (I.e. One who isn't a partner) makes £90 to £110k.

 

If you took 30 GPs and compared it to our squad of 30 professionals I'd have the GPs being paid more, 60-70% of the time (excluding the money paid by other clubs/sponsorships etc).

 

A straight out med school doctor doing an average number of out of hours stuff probably makes about £28k, they have very little responsibility, lots of support and very rarely go outside protocols. But may have £90k of student debt. A straight out of med school junior doctor doing very limited out-of-hours stuff is on less per hour than their nurse counterpart, who is making £22k, I wouldn't be surprised if the likes of Edmundson, Stott and Mantack are making similar amounts.

 

As to the stresses, each to their own, but I'd fancy being a very junior doctor ahead of playing CB for Oldham. A Consultant, who is the one who gets it in the neck from lawyers etc. nah.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, rudemedic said:

Depends on the level, and experience, due to NHS rules. I wouldn't be surprised that a GP still in training was making £70k, a GP, who is a partner of their practice can make up to around £300k in the right circumstances, but that is connected to business rates as essentially they are running a business. A GP who has completed training and is working as a salaried GP (I.e. One who isn't a partner) makes £90 to £110k.

 

If you took 30 GPs and compared it to our squad of 30 professionals I'd have the GPs being paid more, 60-70% of the time (excluding the money paid by other clubs/sponsorships etc).

 

A straight out med school doctor doing an average number of out of hours stuff probably makes about £28k, they have very little responsibility, lots of support and very rarely go outside protocols. But may have £90k of student debt. A straight out of med school junior doctor doing very limited out-of-hours stuff is on less per hour than their nurse counterpart, who is making £22k, I wouldn't be surprised if the likes of Edmundson, Stott and Mantack are making similar amounts.

 

As to the stresses, each to their own, but I'd fancy being a very junior doctor ahead of playing CB for Oldham. A Consultant, who is the one who gets it in the neck from lawyers etc. nah.

 

 

Okay forget I said doctors :jester:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...