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Transfer Deadline Day!
D-Day deals thrashed out in last minute madness.
While watching all the deals going through on Transfer Deadline Day, it occured to me that Sky Sports news and the Transfer Window are a match made in heaven.
The closing day of the Transfer Window– which runs throughout July and August, and again in January– is a perfect opportunity for Sky to go mad, and use every superlative under the sun to describe the “phenomenal and incredible” goings on, without any sport actually being played. Not that I’m complaining, because I was one of (supposedly) many who stayed up until midnight to see if Stoke City could push through a deal for Joe Ledley, or if Blerim Dzemaili could finally get his dream move from Bolton to Torino. And apparently something was going on in Manchester, too...
But, in reality, the biggest drama of Transfer Deadline Day had nothing to do with the purchasing of a mere player. No, the big story came when the Abu Dhabi-based Abu Dhabi United, who apparently have a fortune of $550 billion– 55 times that of Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich– acquired Manchester City.
Instantly, the bids for Europe’s top players went flying in, including ones for David Villa, Dimitar Berbatov and Robinho, among others, for a total outlay of 300 million euro. They were rebuffed by Valencia for David Villa, yet Tottenham Hotspur accepted the £30 million bid for Berbatov. Unfortunately for City, Manchester United boss, Alex Ferguson, “kidnapped” Berbatov at the airport, and he signed for the Old Trafford side (eventually). Yet City were more succesful with the Robinho bid. The Brazil forward eventually signed for a British record £34 million.
But, apparently, Dr. Sulaiman Al-Fahim, leader of the group, won’t stop there: he wants to buy Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas and Christiano Ronaldo. He is willing to pay £135 million for Ronaldo and said: “Ronaldo says he wants to play for the world’s biggest club. In January, we shall see if he is serious.”
These mind-blowing statements, along with the vast amounts of money, far eclipse anything that Roman Abramovich said when he bought Chelsea all those years ago. As a football fan (and a quaking Liverpool fan), I am now seriously disillusioned with modern football. How many takeovers by foreign money-men do we need before we see that the spirit and dignity of the game is dying?
In the two days following the closure of the window, Kevin Keegan was nearly forced out of Newcastle, and Alan Curbishley left West Ham due to differences with the board. What do both clubs have in common? They’ve been bought by men with huge wallets and egos to match in the last two years. Eventually, this must come to a head, and as a passionate hater of Malcolm Glazer, Tom Hicks et al., the day can’t come soon enough.
And now, enough depressing talk, and onto the fun and drama of Transfer Deadline Day. Truth is, Sky Sports News was entertaining that night. All other sports news was supended; and regular visits were paid by Jim White and Sam Matterface to Manchester, Yorkshire, Glasgow and other places to get the latest, complete with delirious fans, one of whom, in Manchester, was caught on camera doing Ian Brown-like dancing that he won’t want to see again. White and Matterface got increasingly excited by the images from the key spots, espescially by United Chief Executive David Gill closing curtains at Old Trafford upon seeing the cameras outside!
The funny thing is that very few deals were actually done! Steve Finnan to Espanyol, and Albert Riera gonig the other way were possibly the biggest, on football’s equivelant of New Year’s Eve.
By: Ciaran Leinster
