Tuesday, August 28th, 2012 « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. 800,000 visits last month
By Tony Attwood
There was a lovely moment in the debate about PSG in which a rather annoyed reader wrote in and told me in no uncertain terms not to write about PSG (whom, he implied, no one cared about, despite their being the richest club in the world) and instead talk about real clubs – such as Real Madrid.
It was an unfortunate choice really since their start has been awful – a draw to Valencia and a defeat the Getafe, Madrid’s third club. Given that Spain has a two-club league rather like Scotland (before Rangers went to the 4th division) this is crisis time in Spain. After two games.
Moving back home, I’m beginning to lose track of all the clubs that have been taken over by millionaires and billionaires. Nottingham Forest slipped under the radar for me, but apparently they are now owned by the Al-Hasawi family. They have made eight signings this summer, and are now making their ninth. Henri Lansbury from Arsenal for £1m.
I noted that with sadness, as he has been with Arsenal since he was nine, but football is a ruthless game, and no one it seems is safe.
Still, anything that Spain can do, Italy can do twice. Milan are in trouble after just one game having lost Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Gattuso, Inzaghi, Seedorf, Nesta, Zambrotta and so on. They have been refunding on season tickets sold before the big two left and overall sales of seats are really down. Indeed they played their opener to a very small crowd. Watching the game on TV there seemed to be more spaces on the terraces than people.
Meanwhile half way around the world Drogba and Anelka are finding China a little less welcoming than they expected as Shanghai Shenhua is now engaged in a civil war with the chairman demanding more say in the club before he hands over any more money. Part of the problem in China is that some of the clubs are owned or part owned by the state, and the state is not paying its dues. But if you were in China would you argue with the People’s Republic? Anyway the chairman is saying he won’t pay out any more, which means players won’t be paid. A bit like Barcelona when the banks stopped funding them.
The fact that Shenhua are also suffering a sort of PSG-Milan moment being 10th out of 16th in the league they were supposed to stroll through has nothing to do with matters.
Speaking of which we might pause to remember Rangers, who are currently under a transfer embargo and instead of being top and unbeaten are actually fourth out of ten in the Scottish League Division 3.
Meanwhile Tottenham fans, who thoroughly enjoyed our discomfort last summer are now having to face it themselves, selling a good player who demanded to leave, late on in the transfer window, and desperately trying to fix up deals for replacements, while the prices rocket minute by minute as other clubs recognise a team who desperately need to buy when they see one.
Man City seem to have created their own civil war between the part of the company that arranges transfers and the part of the company that actually puts players on the pitch. And it is all the more unnerving for them to notice that Chelsea have finally given up all attempts to get their FFP in order. So what should City do – think that FFP will hold and Chelsea will be reigned in, or think that FFP is dead in the water and there is no need to worry about it?
What makes it even more odd is the fact that the clubs are playing Vapour Transfers more and more (you might remember I wrote about this a few weeks ago and suggested it was becoming more of an activity within football.) Vapour Transfers come in many forms, but much of their existence is down to trying to mess up the attempts by other clubs to buy and sell.
Daniel Agger is an example. Man City made a £20m bid for the Liverpool player, until Mancini said “Agger was never a target.” Liverpool were annoyed about that bid, since it distracted from their desire to sell Joe Cole, Charlie Adam and Jay Spearing.
Arsenal are said by everyone to want a replacement for Alex Song – and it is quite possible that Arsenal themselves are playing games here. Indeed I have heard it suggested that the whole Nuri Sahin saga (which I fell for, as much as anyone) was a vapour transfer to distract Liverpool from the essential re-building of their club and allow Arsenal to sneak through for the player they really want. The next few days will tell.
In fact the transfers that are not happening are more important than those that are. Liverpool have Carroll but seem to want to sell him at a cut price. Problem is everyone else knows what Liverpool didn’t realise last year – he’s ok but not worth that much money.
There’s even complaints going on. Clint Dempsey thought Liverpool had bought him, and Liverpool announced this, but then found they didn’t have the money for the deal unless they sold Carroll whom, as I just said, no one wanted. Liverpool were just creating a smoke screen for another transfer they were trying to pull in on the cheap.
It is in short, chaos. And it is chaos caused by 10 separate factors – which makes it all the harder to reign in.
First there is FFP, with some clubs trying to pull back the finances to ensure they are OK under the rules while Chelsea and PSG just pretend it doesn’t exist.
Second, there is the growth in the billionaire and millionaire owners, as men with money to burn look further and further down the leagues to try and find a club worth taking on and bringing up to the highest level. Both Nottingham clubs have faced this. County’s deal ended in chaos. As for Forest’s, we wait and see.
Third, some owners seem utterly out of their depth. Venkey’s at Blackburn are the most obvious, but there are others.
Fourth, players, being simple souls, tend to believe that when someone makes a promise they will keep it. China is proving to be a different proposition from that which was anticipated.
Fifth, the scandals run on and on. Juve won their opening game, but their manager is still banned for a year.
Sixth, simply buying all the best players around does not make a team, but that is what the owners think and want. Think PSG and Real Mad.
Seventh, owners a often like little children. They want success now. Malaga is a perfect example, with an owner seemingly saying, “I didn’t spend all that money to come fourth”.
Eighth there are crooks around, and telling the good guys from the bad guys is tough. Just watch the clubs that get to the very edge.
Ninth, as Rangers show, coming down four leagues is no guarantee of being able to win every game 6-0.
Tenth, there are some very strange things happening in the world of refereeing. If you want to know more just read the Ref Review series as it develops day by day. Read the piece on Mr Foy and be very afraid.
In a world like this, just having a football club next season is going to be a major achievement.
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