The West Ham Scenario - The Moral Bankruptcy of Modern Day Football?
The scenario surrounding West Ham football club over the signing of Tevez and Mascherano stinks-at the top, not with the club necessarily, though their conduct has hardly been exemplary. There is a serious lack of accountability within the top echelons of the game, no thanks to FIFA's insistence that all matters related to its footballing members be kept out of civil courts.
The problem lies with the almighty $$$. The fact that the independent panel found West Ham guilty but decided not to dock them points as it would have been unfair on their fans, new owners, and that it was late in the season is ludicrous. Middlesborough were deducted 3 points for not turning up to play Blackburn in the 1996-97 season because their team was struck down with illness-those 3 precious points saw them relegated!! Think of even the more modest clubs-small time teams with no money to hire full-time administration staff get murdered everytime they field ineligible players. This decision is indeed disgraceful, but should we be surprised?
Those who say that points would have been deducted had it been Sheffield United, Wigan or Watford are dead right-it's one rule for the big boys, another for the rest. West Ham have the money now, a good fan base in London, and a proud history. Just off the top of my head I can think of other exceptions granted to big teams-Liverpool being allowed in the 2005-06 CL as England's 'fifth' team, Real Zaragosa being dropped by the Spanish FA in favour of Real Madrid for entry to the CL's season 1997-98 (having won the bloody thing in 1997 mind you, and missing out on qualification for the next season), Manchester United being allowed to skip the FA Cup to play in that crazy Brazilian edition of the World Club Cup, Beckham having his yellow card rescinded recently so he could play in the next game after collecting 10 yellows after Real Madrid make some 'noise,' Barcelona never having to play behind closed doors (as ordered) after the treatment Luis Figo got upon his return to the Nou Camp. The list goes on with AC Milan playing in the CL's final this season-a team guilty of match fixing the season before (at least)!!! To their credit, UEFA tried to stop them but legally were not allowed to.
Money talks, and bullshit walks...if FIFA was really serious about avoiding civil courts, they must ensure their members have accountable systems in place that make the threat of civil action sound ludicruous, but they won't as they themselves are rather unaccountable. The English FA for one, having always capitulated to the big clubs continue to serve the interests of the Premier League at the expense of its other member clubs, need to find it's long missing backbone. But really, what do they really care about football-it's just another business, innit?
Showing posts with label Football - General. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Football - General. Show all posts
15.5.07
21.1.07
The $$$ Dilemma-What Do Professional Footballers Want?
Should Lucas Neill have gone to liverpool for a measly 35000 quid a week or West Ham for 60000? Most attacked him for going for the $$$, but there's more to it than that surely? Go for $$$ or glory?
Ultimately, unless we are in their position we can only conjecture. I'll attempt to do just that.
(a)Go for glory?
Surely that's why players turn professional-to win things. Neill is a super competitive player, and he wants to win things. He's more likely to do it at Liverpool, but maybe it'll be from the bench. He wants to play as well. Benitez apparently refused to guarantee him a starting spot, and he didn't like that, but what does he expect? Competition improves performances, and I'll be surprised that's the reason he turned Liverpool down.
Neill says West Ham have an ambitious plan, but many clubs do. Perhaps he does truly believe them; perhaps it's just him justifying his move. Overall, I think it's the latter. The $$$'s too good to turn down, and he's being attacked for something 99% of the attackers will do as well and feels he needs to defend himself.
(b) Respect
I really think Cashley Cole left due to a perceived lack of respect. He feels he was promised 60000 and was offered 55000. Many have attacked him; what is 5000 quid anyway when you earn so much but it's all about relative, and not absolute wages. Footballers compare salaries among themselves; they don't compare it with garbage collectors or financial controllers. Arsenal went all out to keep Henry but not Cole. It doesn't matter if he was right or wrong-perception is everything.
Lucas Neill seems to think Benitez disrespected him and took him for granted, and I don't blame him. Benitez seems to think all players are like Fowler who'll walk on glass to play for Liverpool. You pay peanuts and you'll end up hiring monkeys. You want a quality player, you'll need to pay more. I'm unsure how worried Benitez was with dressing room unrest if Neill, a squad player, earns more than other squad players, but he is on an almost free transfer and can play right-back where we really have no back-up bar moving Carragher there if Finnan can't play.
(c)Financial Pay-offs
Almost all people will say $$$ isn't everything but almost all of us will take a salary almost double that offered by another party, even if the lower salary option is from our preferred employer. Let's not be hypocritical here.
Still, I can't help but feel this is Neill's loss. He'll look back at his career very well paid (as opposed to just well paid) but probably with no trophies, and only then will he know if he made the right or wrong choice.
Should Lucas Neill have gone to liverpool for a measly 35000 quid a week or West Ham for 60000? Most attacked him for going for the $$$, but there's more to it than that surely? Go for $$$ or glory?
Ultimately, unless we are in their position we can only conjecture. I'll attempt to do just that.
(a)Go for glory?
Surely that's why players turn professional-to win things. Neill is a super competitive player, and he wants to win things. He's more likely to do it at Liverpool, but maybe it'll be from the bench. He wants to play as well. Benitez apparently refused to guarantee him a starting spot, and he didn't like that, but what does he expect? Competition improves performances, and I'll be surprised that's the reason he turned Liverpool down.
Neill says West Ham have an ambitious plan, but many clubs do. Perhaps he does truly believe them; perhaps it's just him justifying his move. Overall, I think it's the latter. The $$$'s too good to turn down, and he's being attacked for something 99% of the attackers will do as well and feels he needs to defend himself.
(b) Respect
I really think Cashley Cole left due to a perceived lack of respect. He feels he was promised 60000 and was offered 55000. Many have attacked him; what is 5000 quid anyway when you earn so much but it's all about relative, and not absolute wages. Footballers compare salaries among themselves; they don't compare it with garbage collectors or financial controllers. Arsenal went all out to keep Henry but not Cole. It doesn't matter if he was right or wrong-perception is everything.
Lucas Neill seems to think Benitez disrespected him and took him for granted, and I don't blame him. Benitez seems to think all players are like Fowler who'll walk on glass to play for Liverpool. You pay peanuts and you'll end up hiring monkeys. You want a quality player, you'll need to pay more. I'm unsure how worried Benitez was with dressing room unrest if Neill, a squad player, earns more than other squad players, but he is on an almost free transfer and can play right-back where we really have no back-up bar moving Carragher there if Finnan can't play.
(c)Financial Pay-offs
Almost all people will say $$$ isn't everything but almost all of us will take a salary almost double that offered by another party, even if the lower salary option is from our preferred employer. Let's not be hypocritical here.
Still, I can't help but feel this is Neill's loss. He'll look back at his career very well paid (as opposed to just well paid) but probably with no trophies, and only then will he know if he made the right or wrong choice.
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