a gamble & a heartbreak
We all know that footballers, in general, like to gamble. There are some that don’t, but there are plenty that do and more than a couple have got themselves in trouble while doing so. It’s only natural really; they’re paid enormous sums of money and they get the afternoons off – what on earth did we expect them to do!? It seems to me though that this summer has seen quite a few players gamble with something other than their ridiculous wage packets.
When Gareth Barry was playing for Aston Villa he was the centre of everything, and he was in the form of his life. That he found himself playing for England despite the continued brilliance of Gerrard and Lampard should have told him that he was at the peak of his game. And yet this season, he’ll be playing for Manchester City. And while we all know that he’ll now have more money to waste at the dog track, he actually claims that his move was made with next summer’s world cup in mind.
Joleon Lescott remains an Everton player as I write this, despite City throwing plentiful offers at Everton and even, in the latest heart-wrenching development, despite Lescott handing in a written transfer request. Once more, I understand that Lescott wants to join City because they probably serve caviar in the canteen but from a footballing perspective, his desire to move makes absolutely no sense. He is another who will want to play in the World Cup next summer, so why join Manchester City?
At this point I should concede that I fully expect Manchester City to become a major force in British football. With the financial backing that they have at their disposal, of course they will. However, I don’t think that they will do anything really spectacular this season. They may break the top four, but I doubt it. They may win a cup competition, but I doubt it. They won’t win the league.
This is because they, as a club, are still far too unsettled. I wrote about this for a WDKF Wednesday column a while ago, but I maintain that City will need to spend a season or so finding their feet. They’ve brought about massive changes in their playing staff and so it will take time for bonds to form, and for partnerships to develop. And until that happens, no matter how much individual quality City have on their team sheet, they won’t be able to win the league.
What’s more, I think that of all the players that they have signed this summer, only a few will have chance to really shine at the club. They all need to adapt to their new surroundings and learn to play in a new team. They need to develop an ability to cope with the pressure of playing for this new look Manchester City, because they will be expected to win almost every game. They will face massive hostility from the fans of every other club and the opponents that they play week in and week out will raise their game to prove that they are better than the ‘rich club’.
And that means that Gareth Barry will not play as well for Manchester City as he did for Aston Villa. For years he had been the focal point of Villa’s team and when Martin O’Neill became manager he rightly built his young English side around Barry. They played to his strengths in a way that City will not. City are now a team full of superstars, they’re a team full of focal points. Hughes has to find a way to balance that style, and it will not be as complimentary to Barry’s play as Villa’s system was.
Of course, Barry will deny this, and indeed he claims that he actually made the move to Manchester City with a view to improving his chances of playing at the World Cup. He claims that “There will be a lot of spotlight on [Manchester City]” and that he’s “confident [he] can play a big part” for his new club and thus go into the World Cup “with a lot of confidence.” He’s right that there will be a spotlight on him and City, but whether that light is flattering or not is yet to be shown, and I think it could show him up as a player out of his comfort zone.
Likewise, Joleon Lescott, if he should end up at Manchester City, will not play as well for them as he does for Everton. Indeed, he probably won’t even play as much for them as he does for Everton, for whom he has been all but ever-present in league matches since joining from Wolves. Even when Joseph Yobo and Phil Jagielka are both fit, Lescott remains the preferred centre half, and if pushed, Moyes will even still play him as a left back to find room for him in the side.
This will not be the case at Man City. Hughes may be trying to sign Lescott as a first choice centre half, but the fact remains that in Kolo Toure and Richard Dunne he already has two top-notch centre halves, and cannot therefore guarantee Lescott a starting berth with such regularity. And anyway, the likelihood of Lescott forming a partnership with Toure/Dunne to match his partnership with Jagielka is extremely unlikely. I always think that judging how good a centre back is can be almost impossible because it relies implicitly on the ability of his partner in crime, and neither Toure nor Dunne are as good as Jagielka.
What I’m saying then, is that in moving to Manchester City Gareth Barry has taken a huge risk, and if he does so, Joleon Lescott will be gambling too. While they will be picking up a majorly increased pay cheque, and possibly helping to build the dominion of a major force in British football for years to come, they may be damaging their chances of playing for England in next summer’s World Cup. And that could be a very big gamble indeed.
Gareth Barry is 28 years old and will be 29 by the time the World Cup kicks off. He has never played a major part in a World Cup and by the time the 2014 competition rolls round he will be 33 and certainly past his best, unlikely to take part again, especially considering the quality of England’s emerging midfielders – Jacks Wilshere and Rodwell are perfect examples of the competition he will face in future. Which means that this is his only shot at playing a major part in a World Cup campaign.
Joleon Lescott too may never get a better chance than in South Africa than to fulfil the dreams of every young boy growing up in England (or indeed most countries around the world). He is only 26 years old, but he already faces stiff competition from John Terry and Rio Ferdinand as well as others like Matt Upson to make the England XI and by the time 2014 comes he will be 30 years old and will have lost some of the pace and agility that makes him the player that he is.
So the question is, does a transfer to Manchester City justify the risk that they are taking? I seriously believe that playing for City as opposed to Villa/Everton will affect their performance, and as neither are guaranteed starters for England, will certainly place some doubt over their contribution come next summer. And isn’t the World Cup the ultimate pinnacle for any footballer? They can talk of ambition all they want, but the way I see it, passing up the chance to play in the World Cup Finals undermines that sort of talk.
What’s more, is that Barry had nothing to lose by staying at Villa and Lescott will lose nothing from staying at Everton. Both of these clubs have ambition to match City’s, and though they may lack the immediate spending power to create such waves, both have better managers and have performed better in recent seasons. Similarly the wage earned by each of them at Villa/Everton will not have been small – it would make me and you extremely happy indeed to earn what they did, and yet they seem to want more.
In a way then, it seems like a strange gamble to make. Staying at their clubs means they will be earning a good wage that sets them up for life, they’ll be playing for a top club with ambition and the possibility of domestic honours within a few seasons and they’d be all but guaranteed a role in next summer’s World Cup, the chance to immortalise themselves in English footballing history. But Gareth Barry has turned his back on that while Joleon Lescott wants to – seeing as he has handed in a transfer request.
But all that they gain from going to Manchester City is larger pay cheque, while placing serious doubt over their chances of playing for England in next summer’s world cup. Of course, we all know that most modern footballers are ‘in it for the money’ but I had been clinging onto the belief that somewhere, down inside the mind of a top footballer, ambition would be weighted pretty heavily too. But despite all the drivel that rolls so easily off their tongues in press conferences, I simply don’t think that is the case anymore.
I would give my right arm to pay for England in next summer’s world cup, and that would be a massive sacrifice. All that Gareth Barry had to do was sit tight at Aston Villa, have another cracking season playing top quality football and earning a very generous wage while doing so. Instead, he’s cast some doubt over the chance to fulfil his dream, and a dream shared by millions, simply to add a few more noughts to his already ample bank account, while Lescott seems desperate to do the same.
When people bemoan the fact that it’s impossible for fans to have any sort of connection with the modern day professional footballer, this is exactly what they mean. We can’t relate to them because for us there are things that are more important than money, we have ambitions and desires and they come above all else. But footballers are given so much money that risking everything else for just a little bit more seems worthwhile to them. I will never understand that and so I’ll never understand why Joleon Lescott handed in a transfer request.
Not only has he cast some doubt over his role in South Africa, but he has lost the admiration of legions of Everton fans, myself included. We would not have blamed him if a bid had been accepted and he had gone, but that he has handed in a transfer request places him beyond our understanding. He had it all at Everton, he had all that we could ever want, and yet he wants to give that up for nothing much more. It breaks my heart this, because there’s no heart, no humanity left in football these days.
Like this? There’s plenty more where that came from at They Think It’s All Over…
I’m sorry but Richard Dunne is not a top notch player. Apart from that I very much agree.
Barney, I will admit that Dunne perhaps isn’t in the same league as the likes of Lescott, Terry and Ferdinand, but he is an excellent player.
He was named Man City’s Player of the Year four seasons running (04/05, 05/06, 06/07 & 07/08) and Micah Richards, widely regarded as one of England’s finest defensive prospects had this to say about him:
“Ever since I’ve come to this club Richard has just been quality. I play with him week in, week out and I think he’s one of the best players I’ve played with. I’ve played with John Terry and Rio Ferdinand in the England squad but Richard is right up there with them.”
Sven Goran Eriksson was also convinced despite harbouring intial doubts and described him as “a real captain”. It’s not always about the headlines in football, and Dunne is a really, really good defender who will never get the recognition he deserves.
definitely, city will do well if they continue flexing their financial muscles but i would find it very surprising if city do well from the word go. theres just too many new faces and egos.
plus, i dont see mark hughes as the man to guide them to titles.
I think you’re missing one very important point. True, they both want to play in the world cup. However, even if they don’t make it, the chances of winning trophies with Man City like the EPL, CL and FA Cup certainly seems more likely to happen with the Citizens in the next 4 years compared to either Villa or Everton (no hard feelings there!)
I am sure they thought long and hard about the world cup, but also for the rest of their career. Barry has been at Villa all his life, but how many medals does he have to show for it? He wants to win, and at 29, time is running out. He obviously he sees that is much more possible at City with the players they have than at Villa, and I’d like to believe he made a sporting decision to move there and likewise for Lescott.
Good point there mate, and one I did think about including. However, I’m not so sure that you could really say that Manchester City are more likely to win trophies in the next few seasons than Everton or Villa.
I accept that it’s certainly possible, but with the squads that Everton and Villa have they have both come reasonably close to winning trophies in the last few seasons (Everton the FA Cup finalists obviously, while Villa could probably have gone all the way in the UEFA Cup had O’Neill not been a fool).
City on the other hand, haven’t looked like winning anything for years and while they do now have a very good squad, which rivals Everton’s and Villa’s (but doesn’t, in my opinion at least, better them) they do not have the same sort of stability that Everton and Villa have.
I agree with Wllm that Hughes is unlikely to be the man to bring them success and almost inevitably if a new manager is brought in he will want a chance to spend some of their masses of money himself – further disrupting the squad and making them essentially start from scratch again.
If City are to win trophies in the next few seasons I think it’s imperative that they stick with Hughes no matter what happens. However, after the money they’ve spent this summer I think they’ll be expecting instant results that simply won’t come, and so Hughes will be sacked starting another cycle of instability which will inhibit success.
You are free to call me a cynic, but I just don’t think City will win big for a few seasons yet.
“Barry has been at Villa all his life, but how many medals does he have to show for it? He wants to win, and at 29, time is running out.”
Fair point glamorousdiss, but really, if you were Gareth Barry, and you were getting desperate to win some silverware, would you have moved to Man City, or Liverpool? Because lets not forget that Liverpool had been chasing him for a long long time.
As an Evertonian it burns me to say this, but given the incredibly close title race last year, Liverpool are much more likely to be able to offer Barry some silverware than City. Hughes has an enormous squad to juggle with now, and regardless of their pre-season preparations, he will still be going into the opening games of the season with no concrete idea of who his best players are, what his best formation might be and who of his players can play best where.
Liverpool on the other hand, are an established side, fair enough they’ve lost some players this summer but you can’t rule them out because of that.
So in my opinion, the claims made by Barry in particular, but also a few of the other players who have moved to City this summer (Tevez said something similar I think) that they’re going there to win trophies, are either foolish, or merely a disguise to hide the fact that they’re really going there for the money and the flashy watches.
Hearing conflicting reports of a Lescott transfer today. A third shout from City at £20m forthcoming and I’ve read Everton will take this offer. But David Moyes was quoted as recently as hours ago saying Joleon’s not going anywhere. 2o days of this transfer mess left; I wish it would end.
What’s he on- contract ending 2012? Will Everton be able to capture this fee for him again do you think? So take the money now at this rate or hold on to Lescott to fortify a defense and hope this is the year they break into the top 4….something City are foaming at the bit for as well. Giving up Lescott will all but ensure Everton won’t break in, while bolstering City’s already solid looking chance. Everton without Joleon probably won’t bode well in Europe.
£20m revenue for selling him won’t touch the earned value of a club that has reached premiership top 4 status and glory in UEFA. Millions and millions more would pour into Goodison. I hope Toffees hold on to him with both hands. I do not want to see Manchester City in the top 8 let alone top 4.
We’re speaking about City here as if they were on track to win trophies but despite spending and hoarding star players, they’ve got a hell of a lot to prove.
And we’re speaking about Everton as if the club were Stoke City. Everton had a fairly good year last year.
If Lescott has consistent stellar performances for club, I don’t think it will hurt his chances at accruing caps for England.
Time isn’t running out. Look at England’s back line. Rio-30, JT-28, Wankface Cole-28, Upson-30, Bridge-29, Brown-29, Only Richards at 21 and Glen Johnson at 24 are younger.
Come on Everton, hold tight.
Agreed with Adam that stability plays a big factor. Unfortunately, it is actually easier to market any potential Citeh player that they will be winning trophies with the likes of Robinho, Tevez and Toure in your side backed up by Adebayor, Santa Cruz as compared to Cahill, Carew or Lescott backed up by Osman, or in Villa’s case Milner. Add to the fact that the Citeh quartet minus Adebayor above have all won major honours wherever they’ve played (even Santa Cruz at Bayern) means the marketing brochure looks more like a ‘see what I’ve got in the cabinet’ which sells pretty well to potential players.
And Luke, if I was Gareth Barry, and Liverpool actually came up stumps with the money to purchase me, I’d say to hell with Citeh. I think it was quite obvious that Barry wanted to move to Liverpool, but Liverpool never met the pricing requirements for Villa this season and thus this belongs to the ‘what might have been’ category. I am 110% certain Liverpool’s prospects of winning a trophy this season are much much higher than Citeh and if they had the money for Barry’s transfer, the loss of Xabi Alonso will also seem like a small issue. I am shocked however at the speed at which Mark Hughes completed the transfer, and the fact that Barry’s agent never dangled the carrot in front of Liverpool’s noses to get a bid in.
And just to clear things up, I also don’t think Citeh will win anything this year. Because I don’t rate some of the players they’ve bought very highly. Santa Cruz is a waste of 17mil pounds and Tevez won’t get you that many goals. Add to that you have the ticking time bomb of Adebayor and Bellamy and we are in for a season soap opera of Citeh.
Plus we’re talking about Man Citeh! The club who’s fortunes sway faster than Michael Buble. I remember them being relegated a few years ago and then they got relegated again into the old Division 2. Fast forward 3 seasons and suddenly they’re back in the EPL. Their fans may show frustration at the end of the season, but it won’t come as a surprise to them.
OK OK! Theres some major footballing kidology at play with these comments
It is without a shadow of a doubt that Man City will have a much greater opportunities than Villa and Everton as things stand. Yes these players are joining City in part for the huge wages, but Gareth Barry only has to be told that his potential new team will spend £100m on transfers this coming summer to say “Cheerio” to dear Villa. Liverpool did not meet his valuation so i do not think he had a choice to make.
And comparing those three teams squads: hmm would i prefer Carew and Agbonlahor, Saha, crock Yakubu and Jo, or Tevez, Robinho, Bellamy, Adebayor and Santa Cruz?? or Lescott vs Curtis Davies vs Joseph Yobo. Only blindness could not see this light.
Richard Dunne is also not a top player. Half my family are City, and none of them as season ticket holders rate him. Yes, he was good for a team with mid table ambitions, but not for a club with Champions League ambitions. Expect to see him at a Sunderland or Wigan near you soon ( I really dont take any creedance from Micah Richards words, considering his disastarous form in recent months)
I agree that i think as soon as Mark Hughes drops a point at home Stoke that he will be sacked. At the moment he has the benefit of the doubt and has no control over transfers. Do not be suprised to see Arsene Wenger or Mourinho turn up at Eastlands..the power of money is a curious thing.
Ive written an article today which features City, so i will upload it now
It’s the same old line being pulled out over and over again.
Yes, City have signed some really good players. Yes, on paper they may look like the better side. In football though, paper means nothing. Ask any manager if he’d rather have points on the board or games in hand and he’ll take the points – it’s the same thing.
City have got potential, Everton and Villa have proved themselves. They already have performed well with their current squads (indeed Everton got to a Cup Final on half a squad last season) and they will do so again, barring disaster. Man City might do very well, I’m not denying that. But when you swap a sure thing for a massive ‘maybe’ then that goes down as a gamble in my book.
Of course Rob, you seem to enjoy making big statements without backing them up:
“It is without a shadow of a doubt that Man City will have a much greater opportunities than Villa and Everton as things stand.”
If I understand that to mean that “it is certain that Man City will do better than Everton and Villa as things stand” (the grammar makes it hard to be sure) then what makes you so sure? Football by its very nature is a an unpredictable game, as is all sport. Nothing is certain in football. The only thing that is certain is that Everton and Villa have done well in the recent past and City haven’t.
And if you want to compare the three squads: I’d take Everton’s or Villa’s every time, and I am 100% serious there. Because the fact is that all the players joining City have gone for the money. All the players at Everton and Villa are there because they want to play for the club, and they want to help the club improve. As a fan, I’d much rather support a club like that than City.
And once more, what reasoning have you to back up the claim that Hughes “has no control over transfers”? As far as I’m aware Hughes has been entirely backed by the board this summer, he’s identified his targets and they’ve paid the money. Or are you telling me that the Dubai group had their hearts set on signing Santas Cruz from Blackburn?
Regarding Dunne, forgive me if I’ll trust the judgement of one of the top coaches in football (Eriksson) and of a centre half who has played (and will continue to play) for England over those of your family, no disrespect intended.
I don’t know what you mean by “footballing kidology at play with these comments” but at least everyone has attempted to back up their arguments. My article was well reasoned and so it is a worthy point of discussion. You are of course free to disagree with my reasoning, but to do so you need to provide some arguments of your own to back up your wild claims, becasue otherwise no one can take them seriously.
Well whatever happens, rest assured we aren’t the only ones having a go at Citeh. And I think the Man Citeh circus has started already!