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Speaker's
Corner 04 Jan 2001
The death threat aimed at the wife of one
of Vitesse sponsor NUON's directors is the latest in a long line of stories
concerning violence on and off the pitch in Holland as well as elsewhere in
football-land. Vitesse are in the middle of a power struggle where a personal
grudge, between the former chairman and the current 'boss' Jos Vaessen, is playing
no small part in the messy affair. Earlier in the season, threats by Utrecht and
Feyenoord supporters 'achieved' the withdrawal of the Ajax film from cinemas in
Rotterdam and Utrecht. Riots broke out in Den Bosch after a fan of the local
club was shot dead by a policeman during an investigation into a clash
between neighbours. In England two players were sent off in a women's football
match after blows were exchanged (even between players on the same team). There
have been enough other stories about violence at the amateur level, and even
between parents supporting their 'kids' at youth matches, to suggest that the
'temperature' is rising at all levels of the game (and its got nothing/or maybe
everything to do with global warming).
The increase in on/off pitch 'racist'
insults in Italy, Lazio being the major culprit with its fascist fans (the
Leeds-Lazio confrontation is a well documented example of the problem), and the
trouble players can expect from the fans there if they don't do well
(culminating in players demanding the right to 'lose' a match now and then!) is
a story in itself. A recent Iranian topper ended up with full scale riots
between rival supporters - confrontation seems to be the lifeblood of some
groups of 'supporters' who just can't do without. Too much animal
testosterone/adrenaline and too little human spirit of competition are on
evidence as leading to bloodymindedness and bloodshed if nothing is done to
tackle them. An increasingly ill-tempered English Premier League peppered with
'vicious' tackles had to examine its conscience earlier in a season which
started with hormones and emotions at boiling point. Referees were being blamed
for all the red cards flying around whereas the millionaire player offenders (
with their offensive, spoilt brat attitudes and short fuses) were more often
than not 'protected' and 'defended' by their managers. This led to an
undermining of referees authority by the English FA who decided to set up a
panel of 'experts' to reassess red card decisions in the comfort of hindsight, a
plush chair and plenty of 'cool and collected' time to watch video
replays.
It begins to look as though football may
be due for some therapy and a course in sportsmanship (which includes honesty
and respect for opponents, the referee and the game in general). Society as a
whole is clearly suffering from the dis-ease caused by the pursuit of money and
fame in all its forms (manners, good taste and 'morality' in its most basic form
falling by the wayside, out of fashion and undervalued). Aggression, violence
and a win at all costs attitude are threatening to undermine the enjoyment of
the sport and are definitely not providing an example for young people to
follow. The pressure on clubs, players and managers to succeed, the unbelievable
amounts of money involved and the 'passions' (oh! the passions) are taking too
much control of the game. We all want to watch spirited matches where teams are
ready to fight for victory but does this mean that football becomes a 'blood'
sport? The game has had sufficient learning experiences (leading to the
exclusion of clubs and countries from competitions) in the past to have realised
the damaging effects violence and racism, both on and off the pitch, have on the
sport. People (and, by implication, society) often display an alarming
unwillingness to learn from mistakes which is why honesty is the most
important component in changing that. In an era when 'disinformation' (a new
word for lies), bending and even breaking the rules are accepted practices, the
idea of principles and honesty are not to be ridiculed but, rather, are worthy
of praise. Paolo di Canio's 'good example' before Christmas struck a loud chord
across the footballing world exactly because of the negative trends/times and
the fact that most people want their heroes (footballing and otherwise) to be
'goodies' and not 'baddies'. If we are to keep the lid on (or preferably keep
out altogether) extreme elements in football then the importance given to
sportsmanship and 'good' behaviour will have to be increased. Awards for
sportsmanship might be a good starting point - after all, if a donkey needs a
carrot(?) - and a 'real' hard stance on 'clear and present' violence (of both
the verbal and physical kind) by clubs and footballing authorities can do no
harm in cleaning up the sport. Another idea would be to professionalise the job
of referee and linesmen - give them the finances/incentive to be as fit as the
players - allow them to remain 'in charge' of the match, using video to clarify
errors while giving officials their own 'right' to make mistakes. Reducing to a
minimum the 'risk' and 'rewards' of violence will help them to do their job well
and will do the game itself no end of good. We at FootballNL
will be having our own Sportsman of the
year and will be inviting your votes. We want you to write to us with your
opinions, which we will publish if they are intelligent and readable for others,
even if we disagree with what you have to say.
Copyright © 2000 [FootballNL].
All rights reserved
Speaker's
Corner 21 Oct 2000
Has
the art gone out of Football???
In days gone by they
used to talk about the "art of football" - referring to the artistry of
a particular footballer or the combined skills of a team. Watching a team when
they are really in sync with each other, in a match where enough space is allowed
for
both sides to show off their abilities (individual and group) can be a sight to
behold. Certainly the balletic qualities of a good Brazilian team are as
artistic as dance can be and the ball handling skills of some players is
something to marvel at. So in that sense we could talk about footballers as
being artists, at least as much as you could talk about any other top sportsperson
or team being an artist(s). However, "artist" is a word often misused
when "skilled" would be more appropriate, after all how often do you
call a rugby player an artist or a weightlifter or a basketball player. Great footballers of
the past undoubtedly had sizeable and measurable egos but I wonder if they were
quite as inflated as to think of themselves as artists (did Pele think of
himself as such - I doubt it). If footballers are to be called anything it
is perhaps 'artistes' in the old fashioned sense of the word as used in the
theatre.
So many people nowadays seem to
regard themselves as Artists you begin to wonder whether all of them can
possibly be truly as artistic as they would like to think. Just look at the
entertainment business - it's full of people calling themselves
"artists" - an awful lot of them seem to think, and act as if, they're the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Without wanting to rain on anyone's parade it is obvious that most of this
strutting around has got everything to do with the exagerrated importance
allotted to image - one of the antibiotic resistant infections running
through the entertainment business - the other being the obsession with MONEY as
a goal in itself - the reward for all that hard work. Act as if you're
something special and others will perhaps come to believe it's true - generate
enough demand, consumers or fans and your price/value goes up - the power of
marketing at work! Footballers are nowadays a product like any other which clubs
and players alike are only too anxious to sell and they are becoming increasingly
skilled in this 'art'. This kind of
attitude can also be seen in the world of painting and painters -
trends/fashions/marketing inflate the importance of a painter and their work
and prices paid for the 'product'. At the
moment a football player such as Figo is worth more in terms of transfer fees
than a Van Gogh or other 'master'. Is this the true worth of their
relative artistry or simply a reflection of the greater (in numbers) demand for
Figo's footballing as opposed to the limited (but very exclusive) collectability/investment value of a Van
Gogh?
Some people in the
wonderful world of football have been calling players artists in the
attempt to maintain/create an exclusive status for footballers in relation to
employment laws in the European Community. Actually clubs are more worried that
they will lose valuable income if transfer fees are abolished while some players
see themselves as "slaves" to the system as it already is.
Looking at the music business many will
remember the court case George Michael felt was necessary to free him from a
claustrophobic contract he had with Sony Music, while TAFKAP (Prince to you and me)
was often seen in public with the word "slave" written on his cheek to
indicate his feelings about the contractual relationship he enjoyed with Warner
Bros. Is it really the case that if footballers become 'artists' they will be
free?
What we are really
talking about is a select group of players who, together with their agents, are
out to exploit the market for their product to the maximum. Whatever you call
them - sportsmen, artists or employees - we, the ticket buying
public, are primarily interested in a good game of football and seeing our team
win. Everyone is happy to see players earn a decent amount of money for their
work, some might find that the money asked for/by some players goes way
beyond this. This is an area for heated discussion which is likely to dominate
much of the press surrounding the sport in the coming years. What do you think
about it? Write to us at FootballNL
and tell us.
Copyright © 2000 [FootballNL].
All rights reserved
Speaker's
Corner 26 Sep 2000
Tough new rules for the
Champions League?
UEFA has announced plans
for a European system of licensing for all top division clubs hoping to take
part in the Champions League. This would mean clubs would be tested in relation
to stadium facilities, coaches and coaching standards would need a seal of
approval (the new UEFA Pro License),
clubs' finances would come under direct scrutiny, and players' and fans'
behaviour alike could lead to teams being blocked from the competition. This
move is seen as a direct threat to smaller clubs and countries - the Irish
Republic, Wales, Northern Ireland, Finland and Sweden are already firmly
against the new rules. They regard this as an attempt by the rich clubs of
Europe to get even more control over the lucrative Champions League and UEFA
Cup competitions.
Similar systems already exist in Gemany and France where
clubs' finances are examined regularly to prevent them getting into too much
debt. This is in itself not such a bad idea, although there will be clubs who
will not welcome the news - Real Madrid have been warned that they will not be
admitted to the 2002 Champions League if their finances are not back in better
shape and Dynamo Kiev are suspected of some shady, behind the scenes, financial goings on.
Clubs have been used to a large degree of 'secrecy' as far as their wheeling
and dealing is concerned and will not be overjoyed at having to reveal all to
outside auditors/accountants.
This looks like being yet
another confrontation between football's rulers and the clubs in the struggle to
secure maximum profits. As you can well imagine it will be hard work for the
great and mighty to meet these new demands let alone the small clubs - for
example, Liverpool are about to leave their old home Anfield and would have to
provide extensive media facilities (including a 150-seat press box), 3 (yes -
you read that correctly) television studios and a 300-seat media working area.
This would certainly exclude the majority of clubs from becoming eligible to
take part in the Champions League regardless of their performance on the pitch.
A pilot scheme will start next season in the Scottish FA and this latest twist in the 'class war' in football will certainly add fuel
to the flames of discontent - keep your eyes on this space for the continuing
story of.....
Copyright © 2000 [FootballNL].
All rights reserved.
Speaker's Corner 21 Sep 2000
Euroleague - Wishful thinking?
Representatives of PSV and Anderlecht met
in Brussels last Tuesday with the proposed Euroleague as topic no.1 for
discusion. PSV's chairman Mr. Van Raaij is one of the prime movers behind the
new league and clearly sees it as essential if clubs of the same stature as PSV,
Ajax, Benfica, Anderlecht etc. are to be able to compete in the rush for the
lucrative TV contracts which any Super League, involving the rich clubs from
England, France, Italy, Spain and Germany, would unleash (a kind of footballing
goldrush).There are definitely two schools of thought regarding the proposed
Euroleague. The first comprises people/clubs who see it as a possibility to
enhance their earnings via even more lucrative television earnings. The second
see it as wishful thinking on the part of the first group and wouldn't be
unhappy to see the clubs involved be forced to leave their domestic leagues.
This wouldup the game in domestic leagues to the remaining clubs and
wouldn't necessarily mean less interesting football for the fans.
As far as the money involved is concerned
people the TV rights to the Champions League are currently worth 17.5
million Euros in Holland and any Euroleague may only be worth 10 - 12.5 million,
which would then have to be divided between the participating clubs. Whether
this is sufficient financial reward is debatable and the move towards a
Euroleague may well be an attempt to unlock more money for the hopeful few from
existing TV contracts. In the meantime Feyenoord, for example, are in
discussions with the German megamarketing people UFA (who already have clubs
such as Hertha BSC and HSV in the Bundesliga under contract) who would like to
see a PanEuropean network appear. So there are definitely different kinds of
tactics/game plans being adopted in the search for more earnings.
The ENV, the organisation responsible for
the Division One in Holland, has been quoted as saying that if clubs
leave to join the Euroleague that the existing agreements with those clubs will
then have been terminated and the ENV will longer be representing the interests
of those 'abandoning' the ship of domestic football. It reamins to be seen
whether or not the concept of a Euroleague will be sufficiently
interesting to sponsors, tv and fans for it to take concrete form - don't
hold your breath waiting!
Copyright © 2000 [FootballNL].
All rights reserved.
Speaker's
Corner September 11
Full Moon football?
Still interested in Figo? You know
- the guy whose new deal started all the fuss?
Actually it started a few years ago
with the Bosman case in Belgium in 1995 and more recently the Swiss-
Italian player Lombardo who was involved in a transfer deal between the Swiss
team Zurich Grasshoppers and the Italian club Perugia. Perugia refused to pay
money for him when Zurich asked for a fee even though his contract at the club
was at its end. Zurich wanted money because they said he was Swiss, and
Switzerland is not part of the European Community, and Perugia refused to cough
up saying he was Italian . The Italian club took the case to the European Commission in
1998 who ruled in their favour. This led to the current moves by the EC to end the
transfer system
altogether and replace it with something where the free movement of labour (read
footballers) can take place.
Figo's transfer was simply a
catalyst but is a perfect example of how crazy things have become in the world
of football. Figo cost Real Madrid 65 million Euros at a time when the club had
got itself into serious financial problems - Real are now in debt to the
gloriously symphonic tune of 300 million Euros. Not bad for what is supposed to
be one of the richest and most glamorous clubs in the world. They say champagne
goes to the head but so does money, power, image and a whole host of other ego
inflating goodies. The result can be seen all over the place in terms of people
developing delusions and creating illusions. This wouldn't be so bad if the
"affected and infected" got on with their business in glorious
isolation. Unfortunately, as we said in our intro to Speaker's Corner, no
man is an island and certainly not the world of football. The behaviour of the
reckless and irresponsible will almost always have an effect on others.
If Real and Barcelona want to play
out rivalries over the heads of footballers and fans they should at least have
the good taste to do it in style and not drag other clubs down into the
financial quagmire with them.
If a change to the transfer system can
prevent this kind of financial Russian roulette being played out by the people
who have (for better or worse) been given control over the richest clubs then
football can only be a better place for it. That there will be effects on the
game as a whole is certain and there are many opinions being voiced at the
moment as to what those changes will be. Speaker's Corner will bring you up to
date on some of those ideas in the coming days and weeks - change is in the air!
Copyright © 2000 [FootballNL].
All rights reserved.
Speaker's
Corner 5 September 2000
Transfer fees to abolished - Agents
ecstatic
As you have undoubtedly read or heard it
looks as if transfer fees for the majority of players are to be abolished. It
was only a matter of time before something would happen to deal with the crazy
amounts of money involved in transfer deals. The fees asked didn't seem to be
related to any true measure of a player's worth and were encouraging rogue
agents to cash in on an unregulated system. The current situation could not have gone on much
longer before real and lasting damage occurred. FIFA (the world governing body)
has made the initial decision to end transfer fees for players over the age of
24 while allowing clubs 'compensatation' for the money invested in the product
of their youth schemes (the players between the ages of 18-24), while youth
players (under 18's) cannot be subject to international transfers. UEFA
(Europe's governing body) is not happy with what it regards as a hasty decision
and the European Community, who exerted the pressure to alter the transfer
system, has not yet agreed to FIFA's proposals.
The
EC's motivation for starting this ball rolling is the concept of free movement
of labour as encapsulated in the Treaty of Rome. There are those who argue that
footballers should be treated the same as any other 'worker' and others who feel
that football should be seen as a 'special case' and
as such warranting exemption from strict adherence to the 'letter of the law'.
For example, FIFA's meeting last week
in Zurich with English Premier League clubs and the English players'
representative Gordon Taylor have agreed in principle that in any new system
players would have to serve out at least one year at a club before being able to
move on to another. This is an idea which is already standard practice in the
US's American Football League.
In recent days the UK's Prime Minister Tony Blair
has decided to intervene ( his government having threatened intervention a few
weeks ago) expressing his opposition and saying that he was going to talk to
other European leaders about making an exception for football with regards to
the letter of the law. This promises to be a long and protracted legal struggle
between the EC, its member countries and the world of football. We'll keep
you informed of events as they happen.
Copyright © 2000 [FootballNL].
All rights reserved.
Speaker's
Corner August 14 2000
The Great Escape - New Euro-League Looks Certain
All the talk last season of a Super League
in Europe was made tangible recently when the 14 richest teams met
in Brussels to form a joint company. As a reaction to this move other clubs from
the so-called 'second-tier' nations (Holland, Scotland, Portugal and Belgium)
met in Amsterdam on Friday to discuss proposals to be presented to European
Football's governing body UEFA. This would lead to a Euro-League including such
clubs as Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord, Celtic, Glasgow Rangers and Benfica.
The driving force behind the move is the hunt for
money to be earnt from television rights - a gap is appearing between the money
paid to teams in the more lucrative leagues in Europe and that received by
others in the second-tier countries. The aim is to create a potential television
audience of up to 43 million viewers, thereby cranking up the potential money to
be earned from televised football. The top Scottish clubs, for example, earn a mere
8.5 million Euros a season compared to up to 18 million Euros in England (a
figure set to rise to up to 50 million). The new league could increase the
potential tv-earnings for its members to 35 million Euros per club.
It can't be long before the super rich clubs of
Europe make their next move in response to these latest proposals. All this can
mean only one thing - the creation of two new leagues in Europe! UEFA will
have its work cut out trying to halt this process and is more likely to do its
best to minimize the negative effects for the remaining clubs in the various
domestic leagues. This looks like a train which is not going to stop or be
stopped! Watch this site for news of more developments as they happen.
Copyright © 2000 [FootballNL].
All rights reserved.
Speaker's
Corner August 7 2000
What's it all about - money!
Money makes the world go around - it certainly makes the players go around, and around etc. Each new season sees the transfer fees in professional football
spiralling ever higher. Whenever you think that it can't get any better/worse (make your own choice), another transfer fee is announced that seems to dwarf (overshadow) the last one still fresh in the memory. The big name clubs, players (and their agents) seem to profit from
this (seem being the operative word), at least in the short term, while other, smaller clubs and players are almost definitely suffering (a relative term in such a highly paid sport). Recent transfers have highlighted the fact that even the top clubs are starting to feel the
financial squeeze that such huge fees create.
In the dim and distant past footballers were nothing more than employees playing for a simple crust just like any other 'worker', today they are
sporting superstars who command the adulation afforded previously only to movie stars and pop idols. Now that it is a matter of fact that actors in Hollywood ask for, and get, gigantic fees for their roles in movies ( which otherwise wouldn't get made - the face sells the tickets) - we can see clearly that the saying "What's in a name!" is no longer true. Name, face, image is everything - appearances are no longer 'deceiving' but instead an essential in selling anything to the public and that is just as true in the world of football. I can remember the days when a rock band's music was rather more interesting than their image. If you played a record it was the music that mattered, not the shirt the lead singer had on. Videos have changed that forever and the accountants and multinationals with their image makers are now the real trend setters just as in politics the speech
writers, spin doctors and soundbites rule O.K.! Football has been hit by the same epidemic infecting the rest of the entertainment business and has become such an important 'product' that the profits involved may well be giving rise to feelings of jealousy/envy in the boardrooms of the sponsors helping to keep the 'ball' rolling and the turnstiles
turning.
The players themselves are reaching for their websites to maintain the myths arising around them and increase their already considerable incomes. Although I've not seen any haloes yet or seen anyone walking on water (you must have seen
that Frenchman), more than enough footballing stars want to become a legend in their own halftime. Image rights and copyrights are as important to the superstars of the turf as they are to
pop stars who surf. Just as the Spice Girls refused to appear on a Spanish tv stage before all photographers were removed from the room, the top footballers of today (the one's up there where there's not much oxygen) are battling hand in hand with their agents to secure any 'right' they can think of - except the right to show loyalty to clubs and colleagues.
It may seem crazy to say this now but a worst case scenario looms where smaller clubs go bust and even growing numbers of larger clubs could find themselves in increasing financial
difficulty. In fact in Holland the cracks are really starting to show - 15 clubs
in the Dutch League have experienced more than a little trouble in coming up
with an acceptable financial plan for the coming season. Their ever
growing wage bills being the main reason and, interestingly enough, the
clubs concerned are mainly in the bottom half of the Dutch Division One. One
of the teams, FC Den Bosch, recently escaped financial disaster at the
very last moment. Within four years the club had gone from being 22 million Euros in the
black to being 56 million in the red. If, in the coming years, enough backs go to the wall
and we see a financial implosion in football, there may come a time when there are simply not enough clubs left over to put together a decent league on a single continent let alone
in one country (and that may not be a such Blade Runnery SF vision of the future as you may be thinking). Look at the world of big business and see how the huge multinationals are gobbling up as many potential competitors as they can afford in the fear and the hope (close relations) of securing maximum profits and future
security.
Watch this space for the continuing story of 'Greed and Grievances' in the coming months as the drama unfolds
- also checkout our coverage of the break away clubs and their new European
League!
Copyright © 2000 [FootballNL].
All rights reserved.
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