RECENT events at King's Lynn and Wivenhoe Town football clubs have put the old adage of money in the non-league game back on the agenda.Players promised amounts that don't materialise, clubs badly planning their budgets and having to cut back, and of course the old chestnut of the “money men” vanishing into the night.

Mike Bacon

RECENT events at King's Lynn and Wivenhoe Town football clubs have put the old adage of money in the non-league game back on the agenda.

Players promised amounts that don't materialise, clubs badly planning their budgets and having to cut back, and of course the old chestnut of the “money men” vanishing into the night.

It all adds up to provide the non-league game with negative headlines and poor press . . . never a good thing.

So what do you think? Is there too much money in the non-league game today?

Well personally I like to see non-league players getting paid.

The professional game in this country has badly failed many good talented English youngsters in my opinion, as average foreign (dare I say cheaper) options fill up both academies and professional sides.

I often look at the Premiership and wonder where the next Wayne Rooney coming from?

God only knows.

But a new Rooney isn't going to materialise thanks much to anything the top professional clubs in this country or the FA are doing (and that includes the hapless existence of non-competitive U8 leagues for our enthusiastic children. You need good coaches, not a lack of trophies!).

So from where I'm sitting, all the talented young players that you and I (as non-league fans) see on a weekly basis deserve to be paid and I think many of them see it as a sensible option.

Personally I'd rather be a professional accountant and get paid to play part-time football, than a pro player in League Two with a short career span.

But the question is, how much are non-league players worth?

It's no secret there are players playing Eastern Counties League Premier Division football who earn more than �100 a week.

And further up the ladder towards Conference South, you can double that.

Good luck to them. But when clubs get in financial trouble there is rarely a Silver Lining around the next corner.

In the Premiership, Championship and further down the Football Leagues, being millions in debt seems to be part of the game.

But non-league isn't like that and clubs must be run prudently.

So I say again, what do you think?

Are players taking too much money out of the game?

Are 'average' players being paid too much?

Are top stars demanding too much? Are you worried non-league is heading like the pro game?

Let me know, let's have a debate. It's a chance for you to air your thoughts.

mike.bacon@archant.co.uk.