Weve had this discussion. Football = a cowards game
f365 mailbox said:...After all this talk of RVP moving on and whether it constitutes being a mercenary it got me thinking about the situation in the two other sports I love, American Football and Basketball. Whilst football will always be my first love it is an interesting comparison with the fans attitude towards player movement. A couple of years ago LeBron James (the Messi of Basketball) decided to move to Miami and player with two other players considered to be top 20 players at the time. The outcry from the fans was typical fury, but what was interesting was the attitude of older players. Their argument was that they never wanted to join up with their fellow stars, they wanted to beat them. There was no talk of joining up to create superstar teams, they would find a way to win on their own. This is where football falls woefully short.
Seems like every single player nowadays talks about 'ambition' as a catch-all for 'I want out'. Be it for more money, more comfortable conditions or just wanting to go to a better team. It's such a shame that players nowadays are so much more prepared to bolt for the door rather than stay, make their team better, and fight harder the next year. I'm not suggesting this is the case for all players and all transfers, but doesn't RVP want to try and beat these guys at Arsenal rather than throw his hands up and go 'F*** it, i'll just join them and take the challenge out of the game'. It's not like Arsenal were miles behind.
Do players look at Man City and Chelsea with envy, or anger? Do they not despise the idea of these bully clubs buying their way to success, or do they just want to hop the bandwagon if it comes rolling their way? Surely it's hypocritical of these players to bemoan the spending power of these clubs, then sign on the dotted line after angling for a transfer for months. You can't tell me Eden Hazard has always been a Chelsea fan and wanted to play with 'legends' and all that guff - he just wanted to join a sure thing.
This constant stacking of the deck is going to lead to a much smaller talent pool. There used to be a fear that the top 6 or so clubs would push on and separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Now I fear it's going to get even smaller than that. Look at Spain and there are only two teams in with a shout, in England it's soon to only be three. Across Europe there is a horrible sense that players would rather jump ship at the drop of a hat rather than make their own team better. As a Nottingham Forest fan I know they best I can hope for is promotion, but the chance of seeing my team win the league or get near the top 6? Not a chance, not when all the top talent are so desperate to play together in super-squads.
I'm starting to get nervous for the game, I don't think the fair play rules will make a blind bit of difference either. We can but hope.
Keith, Maidenhead.