These days players, at least those lucky enough to spend some time in the Premiership, have no such problems. Most will still turn to management or punditry but those who don't get any breaks are unlikely to face financial hardships.

Believe it or not, however, there's a limit to how much one can spend playing golf or doing nothing. Which is why most try to find alternative interests. Take Phil Babb who, much like former team-mate Jamie Redknapp, has taken to publishing. Originally just one of a group of investors who had set up Golf Punk magazine, he decided to buy out the publishing house that produced it in December 2006 and has since been making plans on how best to expand.

And, of course, he's thought of football hence the launching of Football Punk - which will initially be distributed with Golf Punk - in which he apparently also contributes by doing some interviews with former colleagues. The magazine is apparently aiming to challenge Four Four Two as the 'thinking man's soccer mag' but it with the promise 'at home with' features that bring to mind trashy women's magazines, it is hard to see that happening.

Indeed, the first issue features Babb taking tea with Harry Redknapp, the sort of feature that Football Punk editor Ian Cruise apparently seems to think that there is a lack of. "There's an awful lot of football in the media, but much of it's fairly straight stuff from press conferences. What I've found is that if you get footballers onto subjects other than who they're playing next they're happy to talk about them," he says.

Might be, but do we really want to hear what they have to say?