Pele and Bob in the USA in 1976 - just look at that crowd!
Pele and Bob in the USA in 1976 - just look at that crowd!
Do you think that, back in the early and mid- eighties, that clubs such as Sampdoria, AC Milan and Real Madrid resented the influx of foreign players when they were (and had been for decades) capable of producing fine home grown talent? I am sure they were.
True, many imports of that era were in their prime, at the peak of fitness, with several years ahead of them at club and international level. The early trade-offs invariably involved European and South American Players of The Year like Keegan, Simonsen and Zico.
The shopping lists of our European counterparts were shorter, dedicated to buying only the kind of prowess that could not be found at home. Indeed, I am still at a loss to explain how Laurie Cunningham (RIP) and Luther Blissett found fortune and fame abroad.
The summer transfer dealings of our top clubs have once again shamed they very roots of football in the UK. Ian Wright, discovered late on a council playing pitch would remain there now, never to fulfil his potential. It is easier, more fashionable and, it seems, part and parcel of our national game, to buy international players who are, often, beyond their best playing years.
In recent seasons, we have marvelled, and indeed honoured, the likes of Klinsmann, Ginola, Gullitt, Zola, Schmeical, Laudrup……the list goes on. Klinsmann was a veteran of three World Cups when he came to Spurs, and Gullitt was European Player of the Year, at his peak with AC Milan, some five years before Hen Goddle introduced him to Premiership football.
We are buying these "stars" on their way down. The need for big name stars has always been a factor in attracting crowds - but with corporate hospitality picking up so many of the available seats, it serves only to encourage even greater levels of subscription to SkySports. My conspiracy theory takes even more shape when you consider the revenues Sky pays to the Premiership clubs, thus bankrolling this outlandish transfer dealing.
I watched with great admiration, Chelsea’s demolition of Sunderland on the opening day of the season. It was at times purist, exhibitionist, entertainment. There are many people watching football now (including a larger percentage of women than ever before) who tune in because of the rollercoaster ride it offers. Fair play. You pays your money, you takes your choice.
The Sky worshipper rubs his hands with glee, because week in, week out, he (or she) is assured of seeing quality play, and goals like that peach from Poyet.
It would be harsh to suggest that any of the Chelsea players, after a performance like that, are past their best. Of the three Englishmen in the starting line-up, Wise and Le Saux’s international careers are all but over, and £10m Chris Sutton as substituted! Please consider the exclusion of one Jody Morris, a veritable feast of tricks and travail for whom the arrival of Didier Deschamps must have been mortifying.
If we are not very careful, these players, who we seldom see playing in the Premier league, will be missed, and ultimately forgotten by our national coach.
Liverpool have been busy this summer acquiring players many of us have never heard of - which raises the question, "Will complete unknowns from lesser European leagues be crowd pullers? Wouldn’t a local-lad-come-good be more of an attraction?" Houllier has spent £24.7m on seven players whose names I can barely pronounce. In a working class area (yes it is, and they are proud of it) known for producing magnificent players like Owen & Fowler, Liverpool could invest wisely in their own Academy, thus creating and attracting a local talent pool.
Purchasing Johnny Foreigner is a short term fix. It is crowd pleaser, an easily justified expense to the board, where, in the event things do not work out, it is a player’s reputation that will be damaged, long before the coach takes a fall.
Full marks (or is it francs?) to Arsene Wenger for turning a great profit out of brat Anelka. What a shame he chose to follow the pack, and shell out for Henri and Suker, this when he initially was prepared to give Matt Jansen (English, young, a future international) a chance to return to the Premiership for half of what he paid for Henri. World Cup internationals equals safe bet.
The frightening thing for me, is that the Superleague looms ever nearer. I cannot enter the debate with my own favoured club Crystal Palace in mind, as they are many miles from such an existence. Premiership clubs outside the widely accepted top ten (or twelve) must watch out, as the clubs above them are changing the shape of the game.
In the early 1970s, following the USA’s mediocre achievements in the Mexico World Cup, money men started to create an artificial awareness for "soccer". It involved jazzy team names, representing each city, local college players were elevated almost overnight to sporting hero status. To help them get there, and to keep the crowds coming in, big name stars from around the globe were shepherded in to boost interest. Our own Bobby Moore, Rodney Marsh, George Best (one for the ladies I fear) and the original guv’nor, Pele.
All were at the end of their career. All were made wealthy by their participation in the North American Soccer League. The league eventually died on it’s knees because investment dried up, instead of importing the coaches to help lay firm foundations for the future of the game, commercial pressure forced managers to bring in tried and tested stars, for a short and lucrative career. It took 16 years for the sport to come to life again with USA 94. Despite all that extra investment- TV, merchandise, general ra-ra-ra - to create a national team that could be considered a world force, soccer Stateside is still third rate.
But that couldn’t happen here. Could it?