Over the past week we have had to listen to a variety of top flight managers moaning and complaining about the number of games their players are expected to play over the festive season.

Redknapp, Wenger, Benitez, Jol and many, many others have all gone public with their whining about the stresses, strains and physical demands of playing four games in 10 days.

Yes it is tough. And yes, having to control yourself over Christmas and New Year is hard on the players and their families. But, let’s face it, the compensation they receive for enduring this small hardship is completely disproportionate.

I would estimate the poorest paid player in the Premier League is on what, maybe three grand a week? That means he earns an average, normal person’s annual salary every single month of the year.

And that’s before bonuses, sponsorships, public appearance fees, free meals, company cars, housing and all the other trappings that go with being a professional footballer in the richest league in the world.

And who is it that pays for all this? Us, the fans. We watch the games, subscribe to the sports channels, buy the t-shirts, sign up to the websites and buy the club sponsor’s products. We fund the players’ extravagant lifestyles, we buy their Ferraris, we pay for their wives’ boob jobs.

So surely it’s only fair that we get to sit back and stuff ourselves with turkey while they run around on the pitch for our pleasure.

Interestingly, I have not heard many players complain about the situation.

In fact, Bolton captain Kevin Nolan, in his weekly BBC column, summed it up quite nicely when he said he was happy to make the sacrifice.

It would be nice to spend more time with his family over the festivities, he said, and to be able to let himself go and eat, drink and be merry. But a footballer’s career is a short one and there will be plenty of time for spectacular Christmas celebrations when he hangs his boots up in his mid-30s as a multi-millionaire.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the truth. Yes, four games in 10 days is hard work. But the rewards they are receiving are more than enough compensation. And that’s not even considering the fact that they are doing something most of us would do for free.

I guarantee you right now if I were to call 100 fans at random and ask them if they would give up their Christmas celebrations for a few years in return for being Premier league footballers, they would all, to a man, jump at the chance.

Ultimately footballers are in an entertainment business. Like actors in pantomimes, chefs at restaurants, salesgirls in shops and all those other people who work their hardest over the holiday period.

But you don’t hear any of them complaining about the work they do for a fraction of the rewards enjoyed by footballers. They just get on with it - because they have too to survive.

So Harry, Arsene and all your mates: stop moaning and get on with it. Your players are fit enough to cope, your squads are big enough to deal with injuries and your bank accounts are big enough to make most of us weep.

Allow us, the ordinary fans, to enjoy this annual feeling of temporary superiority over our heroes without trying to make us feel guilty.

Fair’s fair.

Shane Warne

I hope you all heeded my warning about Shane Warne and didn’t bet against him getting his 700th test wicket.

He went into the fourth Ashes test which started yesterday needing just one wicket to reach the magical mark.

In typical Warne style he got the one he needed and then went on to get another four for good measure as England showed the defeats in the first three tests were not just flashes in the pan but a true indication of their ability. Or lack of it.

I mentioned in my last column that Warne will be sorely missed by the world of cricket. Maybe. But he won’t be missed at all by England…

Pardew’s mission

If ever a club was asking for relegation, it’s Charlton.

Sacking your second manager of the season when he had only been in charge for 41 days smacks of desperation.

Let’s be honest, Les Reed had not really done very much good during his time in charge - just the one victory and a couple of draws - but what can you really expect in such a short period? Miracles?

Having said that, I think the appointment of Alan Pardew is a good move and one which I predicted the day he was fired by West Ham. Somehow it just seemed inevitable Pardew would end up at The Valley and make the bizarre managerial loop complete.

But will he be able to save Charlton? In my mind the answer is no. From what I have seen of them this season they are devoid of spirit, ability, desire and anything like a cohesive gameplan. That was the situation under Dowie and the same aimlessness continued under Reed.

Pardew, in my opinion, is a much more competent and intelligent manager than either of his predecessors, but the mess that he has inherited may prove just a little too difficult to unravel in the 18 games he has left.

On the positive side, though, if pulling off a miracle turnaround does prove too difficult for Alan, I think he is most definitely the right man to bring them straight back up again next season.

Strange isn’t it? A couple of weeks ago we were all feeling sorry for Pardew but now he is back in business and a rather startling 7.5 million pounds better off - 3.5 million in compensation from the Hammers and a whopping 4 million contract at Charlton.

Getting the sack must now feel like the best Christmas present he has ever received. I bet he won’t be complaining about four games in ten days…

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