Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
When David Beckham traded the majestic history of Real Madrid for the outright heresy of LA Galaxy’s ‘soccer’ club, the player and his new owners drew the ire of fans from around the world.
The crassness of it all – the fact that the MLS modified their salary cap rules to allow the California club to offer the richest contract in football history to an ageing and decidedly limited dead-ball specialist – meant that the PR stunt went as badly wrong as Mrs Beckham’s solo recording career.
Yet now that Beckham has successfully wriggled his way out of full-time duties at Galaxy, earning himself an extended loan at AC Milan in a bizarre timeshare deal, the unthinkable has happened: LA Galaxy have earned the football fraternity’s sympathy.
What possible excuse is there for Beckham’s shameless agitations to extricate himself from his deal with Galaxy just a few months after signing it?
The unthinkable has happened: LA Galaxy have earned the football fraternity’s sympathy
Perhaps the diminishing power of the pound means that $250m really isn’t enough money to convince Beckham to spend his days taking corners in the blazing sunshine anymore.
Maybe Beckham was attempting a grand act of self-sacrifice to improve the American outfit’s fortunes, given their torrid form in his first season.
But most likely of all, it’s just another flighty footballer proving that the carrot is no longer a viable method of keeping players. The only way to ensure teams stick together is to use the stick itself.
Sir Alex Ferguson is a master of said stick. Cristiano Ronaldo’s pining for a move this past summer showed that it wasn’t only substandard defenders and car repair bills that he held in contempt; Manchester United plucked the Portugese from obscurity, helped make him the world’s best player, and were rewarded with his obscene eyelash-fluttering in the direction of Real Madrid.
Ronaldo remains at Manchester United, having been placated (for now, at least) by a modestly improved contract and, more importantly, a few stern words from Sir Alex. A token pay-rise is always welcome, but it’s the inimitable Scot’s conversational skills that made the difference between a sulking player and a sold one.
How can we be so sure it wasn’t the wedge that won him over? Well, it’s unlikely that a few extra thousand pounds a week could make any real difference to Ronaldo. A few hundred million couldn’t permanently keep Beckham in the MLS.
Jermain Defoe recently provided more evidence of the futility of bidding for loyalty. The England striker is believed to have requested £700,000 in ‘loyalty fees’ when leaving Portsmouth in January, as he had not formally requested the transfer that took him back to former club Tottenham. Laughably, it is believed that to hurry the move along, Spurs decided to pay Defoe the bonus themselves.
If the forward had foreseen economic meltdown back at the start of 2008 and sold his north London home, only to repurchase it in 2009, then this could have been the most audaciously lucrative switch in the history of football transfers.
These barmy bonuses fail to fulfil their main function – that of instilling loyalty – and merely provide another opportunity for scheming stars to squeeze more money out of their past paymasters.
Jermain Defoe may not have explicitly asked to leave Portsmouth, but he didn’t exactly reassure the club of his dedication when Tottenham’s interest became apparent. It is laughable to suggest, as Defoe appears to have done, that he left solely to boost the club’s depleted coffers with a transfer fee in a grand gesture of altriusm.
It will be interesting to see if Defoe has the good fortune to receive yet more money in the name of loyalty during his annual transfer saga in January 2010. Perhaps he’ll join Beckham at AC Milan – that is, if Becks hasn’t decided he fancies another season in Spain. Or a term in Turkey. Or maybe a year in Yemen?
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