The sale of Glen Johnson to Liverpool for a ludicrously inflated £17m has got me thinking. The directors of our club were, of course, crassly stupid when they failed to build in resale clauses when accepting knocked down bids for Rio, Cole, Carrick, Defoe and Johnson, but shouldn't the system build in an automatic reward for the club that develops the player in the first place? Wouldn't this encourage clubs to bring through young talent, if they realised that huge profits could accrue in future years for doing so?
The idea is simple enough. Without cutting across the Bosman ruling, FIFA could introduce a system where a player becomes registered "for life" to the club that gives him his senior first team debut. Any transfer fees paid for his first move would go exclusively to that club, and for all subsequent transfers, the club holding the player's debut ownership would receive a 25% cut. Suddenly, teams like Tottenham, who act as "middle men" for players like Keane, Berbatov, Carrick and Modric, would find their profits hit, whilst teams like West Ham who invest in youth and develop home grown talent, would receive a fair reward.
Let's take Robbie Keane as an example. His debut club was Wolves and he was sold to Coventry City for £6m, a huge sum actually given the buying club. But look at what has happened since. He then moved to Inter Milan for £13m, then to Leeds for £12m, then to Tottenham for £7m, then to Liverpool for a reported £20.3m, then back to Tootatthem for £12m (potentially rising to £19m). Rumours suggest that he could yet be on the move again. Add that little lot up, and Wolves would have collected a further £15.75m for giving Keane his league debut!
I accept that Keane is an extreme example because he is so widely travelled but if we look at West Ham, then we would be due a further £3m for Ferdinand, £5.25m for Johnson, £4m for Carrick and £6m for The Foe. Add that lot up and we would nearly have enough to settle the Tevez compensation agreement!
This isn't intended as a swipe at Tottenham and I know it opens me up to taunts of "Feeder Club sour grapes". This is a genuine proposal, however, a way of rewarding clubs for developing a player through to his first team debut and so encouraging clubs to invest more in their youth teams and to give kids their first team opportunities. It might also be a way of redistributing money from the bigger clubs to the smaller ones and so helping the likes of Crewe to survive. Sporting would certainly be smiling if they were receiving a cheque for £20m for the sale of Ronaldo!
13 comments:
An excellent idea, contributes to the development of the game, helps redistribute wealth to where it's needed, doesn't stand a cat in hells chance!
LOL Morning Marty!
the idea is a good one but wouldn't really work in practice. Clubs would force a young player to play his first game just so they had dibs on his transfer fees, not because he's good enough.
The system would need more concise rules to work, but could be tied in with the uefa ruling on homegrown players
ur blog may be rubbish but u got a point there
Good idea in principle, but what would happen if a player went back to his original club? Like Linda going back to Sunderland or if Anton came back to us, how would the money distributed? Would the percentage be knocked off the transfer fee?
yh i totally agree sounds likes a very good idea. It would be funny watching Man utd, liverpool and Chelsea playing every youth player under the sun, then claim 'look how good they are? I predict BIG things for these youngsters' lol
There is a flip side to this proposal of course, if you take into account players like Luke Chadwick, Neil Mellor, Chris Eagles, James Harper and Jody Morris as all of these players started off their careers playing for the top four clubs and are all playing for sides that are not in the Premier League, apart from Eagles who plays for Burnley I think, so if these players were sold on, then a percentage of the transfer fees would have to go to the big clubs.
Great idea. If ever implemented I think it should be mainly aimed at non PL clubs as they're the ones that need the cash more. The gap is so huge now, this could certainly help start to plug it.
Potentially a good way to bring more balance back to the league.
Wouldn't work. A nice idea but you'd be in a right minefield legally. If Arsenal sell Cesc Fibreglass on, do they get a chunk of the cash from his next move? Do Barca get anything, after all I believe he was with the for years prior to signing for L'Arse at 16/17? Looking into the past, who deserves the credit for players like Defoe? We nicked him of Charlton but he spent a really important year with Bournemouth. David Platt is an interesting one (assuming he made at least 1app for Man Utd). Man U released him (aged 17 I think) and Crewe picked him up. He later moved for something like 30m in his career, who sees the cash? Man Utd or Crewe?
Some interesting objections raised. Yes Man Utd would benefit if Eagles was sold on, but the balance of payments would favour the smaller clubs wouldn't they? The Mancs don't let many hot prospects go to lower league clubs do they?
As for disputes, the rules have to be crystal clear. Whoever OWNS the player when he makes his debut is the registered debut club entitled to the money. This gets around loan deals. I would like to see a rule introduced where young players are not allowed to move until they are 17 to stop poaching of promising youngsters, except in exceptional circumstances.
Returning players isn't an issue - Tootatthem have created a book of rules for that!
I'm sure it must be a first on this blog that there is a common concensus that this is a good idea! If the good of the game was a priority of the real powers that control football then measures like this would be an integral part of "the project" (this year's "in" word isn't it?) But in reality the big clubs will bleed whatever they can from the current system before discarding the husk and forming a european super league.
Still, it'd good to debate
For the West Hams over the likes of Tottenham?
Mate read this, I don't expect you to publish this. It's for you. What are you on about? You are writing a West Ham blog. WEST HAM. And we are in no way smaller than Tottenham. No way whatsoever. Still many of your posts show you think we are! If it wasn't because of the Brown era who knows what would've happened! If we hadn't gone down! Again who knows what would have happened.. We would probably be in the top 4!! We are aiming to keep our best.
I rate your blog. But please be a self respecting WEST HAM FAN and never suggest we are in any way less then Tottenham in any way because we are a better club in so many ways, the academy is just a one example..
We have much bigger potential then them to become a major major club. That is the aim! Not to be a club that sells it best players but challenges for the top.
"The project" is to keep our best players and progress and then find a buyer who will support that idea, you know the academy and continue to build on the foundation that has been built, that's why the club will not be sold just to the next Mr. Billionaire.
Also about their are HUGE new stadium plans, if it will not be the olimpic stadium then there is a "plan B" with a new one built. All in all the drawing have been made and the aim is to become MASSIVE in the next 3 - 10 years.
The aim is to continue to invest and improve the academy and always have players from their in the team but also with TOP talents bought in. Like is being done at Barcelona, 7 from their academy were in the starting XL in the CL final.
This is real. I am connected to the club in a way I will not tell you, but I do know what is going on.
Tottenham are not in our class. We are above and will only go up from here.
Just feel you have little belief in the club in some of you responses and articles.
Anyway, good luck to you.
WHUFC
Cheers mate. Of course I will publish, though I have removed the f word which slipped in - the censor's pen!
I can't agree with you. Tottenham are a bigger club, their finances prove this with a turnover that is nearly double ours. I don't mind that. I am an Eastender and Eastenders have always loved punching above their weight. Let Tootatthem preen themselves like the peacocks that they are; I'm happy supporting the jack sparrow personally. That's not putting down the club, it is supporting the club that I grew up with!
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