Comments on: Modern footballers hold clubs and fans hostage

By: Paul Clarke

Paul Clarke — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:24:01 +0000

Great article Andy. More like this Soccerlens!

By: BD Condell

BD Condell — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:21:40 +0000

Aayush,
I agree with everything you say. I think the SAF position is the following:
“I made a statement, early on in this saga, that there is no way Ronaldo will go to Madrid. I now can’t backtrack on this without (hugely) losing face. Even though I think it is better to let him go, my stubborn streak says I will not relent. As he’s out for the first 5 or 6 weeks of the season I’ll do everything in my power to mould the team into a force without him, and I certainly have the talent to do that. Beyond that he can come back with his tail between his legs and perform, or I’ll freeze him out and get on with it. Whatever happens ther is no way that the disloyal little git or Real Madrid will get the better of me.”
Fergie has shown time and time again that he despises disloyalty above all else. It may not be the best thing for the club (financially) but he seems to have the backing of the management/owners in this. Others in football, even all the Man U haters out there, would love to see such a stance with all the player power going on at present.
As for me, I’d sell now and get the best return, swallow my pride, and allow other players, as you say, expand their game.
I believe that Utd would be better without him….no one is bigger than the club and this should be the ultimate demonstration.
I’m certain that the saga is not over. Clearly the meeting between SAF and CR did not go well based on the very limited statement SAF made and the lack of statement from CR.
Let him bugger off and Man U will go on to better things.
Fergie always gets his pound of flesh when someone steps out of line to this degree. CR will be no exception.

By: RafaRed

RafaRed — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:41:19 +0000

The writing has picked up on this site lately. Nice one.

By: Ahmed Bilal

Ahmed Bilal — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:44:26 +0000

Fantastic article Andy, fell in love the moment I laid eyes on it

It would be interesting to see how the situation in the Premier League compares to that of, say, Serie A or La Liga.

By: another aussie geordie

another aussie geordie — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:48:30 +0000

A good article however it has been reported by Newcastle that Barton did not get paid while in prison.

That said yes any other job and he would of been sacked and not allowed to return to his former employment…….however which is right. Is the punishment prison for a period of time determined by a court of law or carry on punishing him the rest of his life and not allowing him to apply his trade ever again what ever he maybe, a plumber or candle stick maker. I am not defending Joey Barton my personnel opintion of him is he is a dispicable charater. However does a caring society not beleive that a person has paid his debit by his time served in prison and therefore should be afforded the right to get on with his life.
On the matter of players not fulfilling there contractual agreements then why do clubs not sue them any other company would.

By: Aayush

Aayush — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:58:19 +0000

Good point BD. However, what do you suppose SAF sees in him for next season to hold on to him so dearly?

I sincerely believe that Ronaldo cannot reproduce his magic of the past two seasons and maybe its a good idea to sell him now when Real are willing to pay an exorbitant amount.

If his performance is not as good next season we might see another Ronaldinho in the making.

As a United fan I would love to see Ronaldo continue at Old Trafford, scoring buckets of goals. On the other hand, I believe its the job of the strikers to score most of a team’s goals and I wouldn’t want United to become reliant on Ronaldo for 30+ goals every season. I’d much rather have two world-class strikers scoring 20-30 goals each with other team-members providing a handful extra.

Maybe United and SAF are trying to set things right and not allow Ronaldo to hold them hostage in this transfer saga?

By: BD Condell

BD Condell — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:23:02 +0000

Jeremy,
How about fear? Ronaldo almost certainly can’t reproduce what he did last year: 42 goals, every individual award available, PL and CL titles.
From now on everything will be compared with last season.
At least if he changes club/country/league he has a totally different set of circumstances and reasons for not being as prolific as last year.

With an ego the size of Ronaldo’s the thought of slipping, even slightly, from the spotlight can cause panic in his mind!

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:17:37 +0000

hey’
I agree dude
but I still don’t understand why C.Ronaldo would want to go to Real Madrid than staying at ManU?!
ManU is as powerful as Real Madrid!

By: Charley

Charley — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:26:55 +0000

Great Article Mr. Greeves. Very well written and presented.

By: Erik

Erik — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:22:26 +0000

To add to BD’s first comment, let’s not forget the opportunity to play alongside one of the most electric strikers in the game today in Fernando Torres. Berbatov is no slouch by any means, but Torres put his stamp on the Prem last year and the Euros this summer, and I would guess most strikers would jump at the chance to work alongside a Torres.