http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/blackfriars-old-scholars-beat-angle-vale-in-division-six-amateur-league-by-70-goals/story-fnii08h3-1226930901347

I don't understand how paying players gets mentioned in this story, or why clubs that don't pay players wear it as a badge of honour.

When asked why is the club not going well, the answer is not 'because we don't pay players' it's 'no one (or no one good) wants to play for us'. Clubs obviously invest their $$ in whatever they think is best for the club, if they think paying players vs facilities, equipment, juniors etc is the best way to do it, then why wouldn't you?

If you say 'we would like to pay players, but we dont have the $$', the answer is still not 'because we don't pay players' its 'we can't raise enough money to be competitive'. So your club off field is too weak vs the competition.

If you want people to play for the love of the club vs $$, you have to make your club more valuable to those people than the $$ they are being offered. So if they leave its still not because you dont pay players, its because the players don't value the club highly enough. And really, how much can div 7 footballers be paid? Surely stuff all, so if they are leaving to get paid stuff all elsewhere, they must not care too much about the club.