Money talks. but it speaks nonsense
Where's my money?
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Tuesday, 03, Apr 2007 06:25
Victory in the Champions League quarter-final first legs taking place this week would put the clubs participating in good stead to reach the final in Athens' Olympic Stadium on May 23rd.
But is it sporting glory or financial gain that is driving the eight remaining clubs on?
Leaving that question hanging in the air; yesterday morning Liverpool's new owners announced plans to start work on the club's new 60,000 all-seater stadium as early as next month.
A couple of hours later Newcastle United unveiled ambitious blueprints to bring the capacity at St James' Park up to a similar figure to the tune of a £300 million investment.
Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd and the Reds' US tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks have eased fans' fears in the ensuing period that their grand ground plans will not impact upon the clubs' finances, insisting that Glenn Roeder and Rafael Benitez will have money to spend this summer.
If you believe what you read in the papers (never the best idea), Benitez has been promised a transfer war chest of £40 million, and, while not mentioning any figures, Shepherd told the Magpies' website that the squad would be strengthened when the transfer window opens on July 1st.
But before supporters of either club get overly-excited, the news is probably better for gossip column writers than fans themselves.
Six years ago Zinedine Zidane's £49 million transfer from Juventus to Real Madrid brought an end to a period of purely crazy transfer antics (£29 million for Middlesbrough benchwarmer Gaizka Mendieta?) at the turn of the millennium.
Things went relatively quiet on the ridiculous transfer front thereafter, but the return of inflated fees was accelerated by the emergence of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea in 2003.
Since then football's pre-occupation with silly money has bounced back with a vengeance, and Benitez's transfer kitty is indicative of that fact.
For what exactly can £40 million buy these days?
The Merseysiders are in desperate need of a 20-goal a season striker, and, along with Chelsea and Manchester United, have been linked with a move for Valencia hotshot David Villa.
Chelsea were reportedly quoted a price of £70 million for the Spanish international earlier this season, putting him firmly out of Benitez's price range.
Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o may be a more realistic target, with public fallings out with coach Frank Rijkaard moving the Cameroonian closer to the Nou Camp exit.
Barca could do with the money anyway if they are to prize Cristiano Ronaldo away from Manchester United as reported.
Back to Villa (David that is, not the clueless Midlanders), the sad truth is that Chelsea fans would love to see him at Stamford Bridge, despite Andriy Shevchenko gradually beginning to find his Premiership feet.
It's the same old story: Last season the feted Ukrainian was seen as a direct replacement for Didier Drogba, who despite contributing to two title-winning teams was still seen as something of a donkey up front.
Drogba has hit the net 29 times this season already, and would be a shoe-in for player of the year had it not been for Ronaldo's brilliance.
And now it is Shevchenko's turn to be cited as the weak link.
Liverpool meanwhile spent almost £20 million last season bringing in Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt, while at the same time sending Kop flop Fernando Morientes back to La Liga.
The upshot is that clubs and fans are always continuously looking to next season as the year when the big-money players will arrive to replace the supposedly-rubbish ones they bought last summer.
Returning to the Champions League paradigm, qualification for and success in the world's most lucrative football tournament is essential for the financial survival of the biggest-spending clubs on the continent.
This means that these same clubs are more than happy to swap players in the close season, having given last year's so-called saviours and answer-to-all-their problems only nine-months to fit in.
The merry-go-round of player transfers and obscene wads of cash changing hands each summer is unlikely to end anytime soon though, so buckle down for some more transfer gossip shenanigans when the weather gets warmer - especially if your team is a Champions League wannabe.
Matthew Champion