28 Feb 2012

Player Power And Agents Are Causing Clubs Big Problems

There is no questioning the fact that the game of football has evolved over the years, some will argue for better, some for worse. The game today is played at a faster pace and involves more skill and tactics than in previous years, footballers are now athletes. The days when players would take to the field of play after a fry-up and still under the influence of alchohol from the previous evenings drinking session are way behind us.

Sadly, as football has become more popular it has become a wealthy business playground, and with this wealth we have seen the ever increasing problems of player power and agents causing clubs big problems. It's not a coincidence that the rise of football has seen the rapid fall of player loyalty towards the clubs they represent and general respect within the game.

So where did it all go wrong? The start of the Premier League era and the mega TV deal with Sky meant that simply a clubs status in the top flight would be rewarded handsomely financially, clubs reinvested their prize money in better players, the majority who come from over seas and arguably most of them were attracted by the wages the English clubs could offer them. The so called "Big clubs" then became obsessed with trying to attract the best young talent, even if it meant paying over £1million for a footballer who had not even played a professional top flight game for his team.

This in itself has bread a horrible, vulgar beast in our game, the modern day footballer. Now I am not suggesting that all our top flight footballers are pampered, spoilt, vain, individuals, who have no sense of what it feels like not knowing if you will have enough money in your bank to pay your monthly mortgage payment, but a high majority of today's footballers fall into this category. Many live the life of a pop star, they feed and crave attention, they must feel they are almost untouchable.

So if a player who has not even turned eighteen yet or played a first team game for his club, is driving around in a Bentley, what would motivate him? I suspect the majority of lads like this would believe that they had already made it. They have the flash car, the air head WAG complete with expensive designed bag and miniature dog sat inside it, and no mortgage or money issues. Its an issue that Roy Keane touched upon when playing for Manchester United, comments that cost him his United career, but he was correct to question certain younger fringe players who were driving flash cars without really putting in the performances on the field of play.

Its been rumoured that Manchester United youngster Paul Pogba (18) who has made one appearance as a substitute for the first team, is looking to renew his contract with the reds if he is paid £40,000 per week. I am absolutely staggered that a player that has made one appearance as a substitute could command a wage like that.

Obviously the player's agent has had a big say in these demands, knowing that while Pogba stalls on a new deal, he is publicly drumming up interest for his client that will eventually see him go to the club who will pay him the most money. Its just another worrying sign of how things have changed in our game. I very much doubt that Pogba was scraping the Old Trafford turf from the bottom of Paul Scholes's football boots the day he decided he would ask for these obscene wage demands. Cleaning the boots of Senior players is something that a young Scholes would have grown up doing when he was a youth team player at United, learning discipline and respect, I think you will agree that players like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs will never come through a youth setup again.

Chaos, money and unrest are all words you will find in the job description of a football agent. We have even got to the point now, that if a player wants to leave a club he will simply refuse to play to push through a transfer, take a bow Pierre van Hooijdonk & Carlos Tevez. When Tevez eventually leaves Manchester City this summer, both these players will have been successful in pushing through a transfer showing just how strong player and agent power can be. It seems that a contract does not account for much these days, its a safe guard for a club to receive a fee if a player wants to move. Even then the player holds all the aces, because clubs have to offer players contracts a couple of years before the expiry date in fear of losing their asset on a free transfer to another club.

Manchester United supporters witnessed a mixture of player and agent power, when in 2010 it seemed almost over night that Wayne Rooney decided that he wanted to leave Old Trafford by issuing a written transfer request. Rooney's agent Paul Stetford was obviously pivotal in his clients decision to suddenly want to leave, obviously Rooney himself is not immune from criticism in all this, but at the end of the day he is not a die hard Mancunian who was brought up as a United fan, so his loyalty could be tested at anytime.

It's something that the player and the agent instigated after the agent was sounded out about a move to city rivals Manchester City that would have made the player the highest paid player in the world. Needless to say, Rooney for some reason had a sudden change of heart, and the club rewarded his disrespect of the club & it's supporters by offering him an improved contract. Clearly the player and agent both won this battle, a situation that was a win-win for them from the moment the interest and financial offer from City was discussed and put to them.

All football clubs want the best young players, and today £1million is not even viewed or frowned upon as a hefty fee for a teenager, who has never played a professional game before. Clubs have even been reported as going head to head over players who have not even left primary school yet.

Its something that is not going to change in the world of football, player power and agents rule our game and there is not really much that can be done about it. Even if you did away with agents, players would become the new agents and would still be out to negotiate the best individual deal for themselves. A Footballers career is short compared to that of a working class person, its just a shame that the majority of modern day footballers are motivated by bank balances rather than the clubs crest that they ware on their chest every week.

13 Feb 2012

Mancini Prepares To Put Toys Back In Tevez's Pram

It's Seems that Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is prepared to put the toys and dummy back into the pram that Carlos Tevez so childishly threw out last September, when in a Champions League game against Bayern Munich, he refused to warm up after being told he was to be introduced to the game as a substitute.

Tevez has spent much of his time since, driving balls down the golf fairways in Argentina, whilst in Manchester, he has been driving the City supporters and the club mad with his erratic behaviour.

Tevez, 28, is sensationally expected back at Manchester City's Carrington training complex this week, after claiming that he is ready to return and help City to win their first ever Premier League title. Developments over the weekend suggested that Tevez and his agent Kia Joorabchian, met City officials and that talks had "progressed well" between the two parties regarding the Argentine returning to the club that he is still contracted to.

Since Tevez's refusal to take to the pitch against Bayern Munich in September of  last year, the club have fined & stopped paying the players wages, it's believed the player has missed out on nearly £10million for his disrespectful, childish & arrogant behaviour.

I am very sceptical about Tevez's motives and decission to return, why has he had a sudden change of heart? Why is he now ready to return to Manchester, a City that he has publicly disrespected in the past? It's obvious that our two City centre restaurants are not the reason that he is coming back !

Could it be that Tevez and his advisers have simply decided that he has to return to City, to ensure the that his payroll number is reactivated again, and that a Mr Tevez is paid so handsomely once again? Not that the Argentine will be worrying about next months mortgage payment or phone bill! There are also noises coming out of City that the club were actually preparing to sue the player for breach of his contractual terms, so he had no option but to return.

This is a player who is clearly motivated by money, after being left stranded after the January transfer window past without a move away from Manchester, it would seem that Tevez has clearly been advised that he must return to Manchester to save his career. It's actually a win-win situation for the Argentine, he returns to the club that employ him, builds up his fitness levels, is paid wages again as he is not in breach of his contract, and puts himself in the shop window for the summer for potential buyers. After all, one thing is for sure, Tevez will not be at Manchester City next season.

City have conducted themselves respectively throughout the Tevez saga, the eyes of the football world were firmly on them to see how they reacted and dealt with this, and they have been firm and aggressive by not allowing the Argentine his wish to leave on the cheap, or on loan. It would have been easy for the richest club in the world to give in to the players wishes and maybe even release him. Tevez and his advisors could have then negotiated a deal with another club, another big payday for the player and his team.

It will be interesting to see how the City fans react to Tevez if he is called upon to represent the team, these supporters have had so many highs and lows with him. This is a player who has now twice handed in a transfer request in his time with the blues, and has been AWOL for nearly five months.

One thing is for sure, Tevez will give the team 100% on the field, and if he makes any kind of positive contribution towards Manchester City winning the Premier League, then It will be looked at as a masterstroke by Mancini for managing to bring back the player and man manage him. It could also spectacularly backfire, Tevez could bring unrest and derail  a team that seems to have just achieved a good team spirit and winning mentality.

At a time when City's strikers are misfiring, Tevez could make an Impact at City and could be the difference between success and failure. One thing is for sure, this looks like it will be the final chapter in the Carlos Tevez story at Manchester City.

11 Feb 2012

Suarez Keeps Racial Flame Burning 

The latest Northwest derby between Manchester United & Liverpool ended with the Mancunian team taking the three points in a 2-1 victory, but it was the refusal of Luis Suarez before the game, to shake the hand that Patrice Evra offered him, that will make all the headlines.

His refusal to shake Evra's hand simply stoked the flames of a fire that has been intensively burning since October last year, a decision that will only intensify the hatred & rivalry between the two clubs.

Luis Suarez is dragging the so called good name of Liverpool Football Club through the mud, & it's time that they realised this and acted upon it. This is a player that the club stood by, despite being found convicted of racially abusing Patrice Evra in the teams Premier League game at Anfield in October last year, the FA hit Suarez with an eight match ban after a guilty verdict.

Prior to today's game, the cameras were focused and ready for the first time the two players had featured in a starting eleven against each other since that game in October, & the refusal of Suarez to shake the hand that Evra quite clearly, but maybe reluctantly offered him, was a sour gesture that will make all the headlines & overshadow what was a huge result for Manchester United in their pursuit of retaining the Premier League trophy.

As the final whistle was blown, Evra proceeded to stamp around the Old Trafford turf like a Bear triumphant in defeat of a rival,  beating his chest. The home crowd, like the Frenchman  enjoyed every moment of this, & tempers got heated as Liverpool players tried to intervene as Evra jumped around Suarez in front of a jubilant Stretford End. 

What was even more baffling was Kenny Dalglish's post match interview, in which he said that he did not know that Suarez refused the offer of Evra's handshake before the match, surly a blatant lie, & an attempt to deflect the players shocking & distasteful antics. It seems there will be no kind of closure on this chapter in the battle between the two clubs, what is worrying for Liverpool is that the respect of the football world for the Anfield club has changed dramatically, but not in their favour. 


Suarez could have gone a long way to easing tensions between the two players  & clubs today by shaking Evra's hand, by refusing, he simply kept the racial flame burning instead of attempting to try & blow it out.

7 Feb 2012

Valencia Is United's Unsung Hero

In the summer of 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo departed Old Trafford for a switch to his boyhood team Real Madrid in a world record £80million transfer. The media and many supporters viewed the signing of Antonio Valencia from Wigan Athletic that same summer, as the legendary Portuguese's replacement. Many footballers would have woken in the middle of the night in a cold sweat at the thought of trying to replace a player who left for pastures new, as arguably the best player ever to play for the club, but Antonio Valencia has gone about his job silently and very effectively. 

Valencia's first task when he joined United, was to quickly talk down any kind of comparisons with Ronaldo, he was quick to point out they were actually two very different kind of players with individual personalities. It was an intelligent piece of public relations work by Valencia, he instantly distanced himself from being touted as "The New Ronaldo", a tag that the Ecuadorian would have been embarrassed about and could have possibly effected his game physiologically.

What we have seen from Valencia in the years since Ronaldo has departed, is a total breath of fresh air, a winger who is not afraid to attack, but is equally conscious of conceding possession needlessly. His work rate, strength and versatility have made him unplayable in a system that compliments the attributes that he offers the team. His decision making, range of passing and final ball have contributed to much of United's success this season, particularly the start of this year, he has even added the odd goal here and there to his game.

There will never be another Ronaldo, he was a one off and an absolute joy to watch, we have great memories of the Portuguese genius that we can look back fondly upon. Antonio Valencia had the daunting task of trying to replace the position Ronaldo had vacated and had so much success in, I personally believe he has been a triumph and a success as he continues to improve every season, he is currently the unsung hero at Old Trafford.

2 Feb 2012

Is Hernández Suffering Second Season Syndrome?

On the 28th of May last year at Wembley Stadium, Javier Hernández was one of the first names on Sir Alex Ferguson's team sheet for the biggest club game in the world against Barcelona in the Champions League Final.

Hernández made an instant and unforgettable impact in his first season following his move to Manchester United in 2010. His goals were a contributing factor in United winning a record 19th league title, but did he peak too early in his Old Trafford career? Or is he suffering the dreaded "Second Season Syndrome"?

In the defence of  Hernández, you could argue he has had an injury setback this season that has resulted in the Mexican being denied a run of games, But I actually think you can look into this deeper and it is not second season syndrome that he is suffering from, it's his style of play that is affecting his place in the United starting eleven.

Hernández is an out and out goal scorer, there is no doubting that he knows where the net is, he is your old fashioned centre forward, the "fox in the box", who can be anonymous for 89 minutes of a match and pop up to score the winning goal. Today's game has changed dramatically, teams no longer have a place in their team for a player who only offers goals, I know that sounds stupid, but Hernández currently finds himself fourth choice striker out of five, and the player under him is the injury prone Michael Owen.

So the players ahead of him in the striking department queue are? Well Rooney in the team is a not really a debate or argument when fully fit, so that leaves Danny Welbeck and Dimitar Berbatov ahead of Hernández when it comes to being picked in the starting eleven at this present moment of the season, and it's easy to see why. Welbeck has been in sensational form recently, and it's his all-round game that is so impressive and making him almost impossible to leave out of the team at the moment. Sir Alex can also call on Dimitar Bebatov who will offer him a better all-round game, so it seems it is Hernández's game and style of play that is letting him down.

If you wanted to be highly critical of the Mexican, you would say that Hernández does not have the greatest first touch, does not yet know how to time his runs properly, is not great with his hold up play and offers no effective defencive work when tracking back into his own half. Teams now require players who have the full package and have variety to their play, and this is something that Hernández is falling short on. 

In his first season It was said that Hernández had a very similar game to that of Old Trafford legend Ole Gunnar Solskjær, and if this is the case then the Mexican will find himself watching the majority of Uniteds game from the comfort of the dugout, assessing games and waiting to be called on when United need something out of a match, or to offer a rest for Rooney, Welbeck or Berbatov.

It's Hernández's all-round game that is letting him down, and the future partnership seems to be Rooney and Welbeck, but there is no doubting that when called on, Hernández will offer the team something different and maybe a goal out of nothing when United need it most, he will be our impact player.