Premier League managers are always keen to secure new arrivals in their squad, regularly entering the transfer market for the next big thing. With home-grown status becoming more and more craved, due to new squad quota rulings, the prices of English talent has inflated drastically.
Foreign imports have always been much craved in the Premier League, yet the passion and commitment of British stars has always formed the backbone of the set-up.
Due to their increasing price tags, many English players have have struggled with the burden of high hopes weighing heavily on their shoulders. The media often pounce on failure, with a desire to find stories to fill column inches, ramping up the pressure on players still adjusting to new surroundings.
This list looks at 15 victims of the inflated fees associated with English talent.
Click on the Liverpool duo below to see 15 victims of inflated fees
The beauty of cup competitions is their unpredictable nature. As well as shock victories, you tend to see unlikely heroes who grab the headlines, whether it is scoring the winning goal; saving a decisive penalty, or simply a moment of individual brilliance. As we fast approach the 4th Round of the Capital One Cup we decided to look back at those unlikely heroes who simply made their name in one magic moment during this prestigious Cup Competition and find out what has happened to them since.
Whatever happened to Frankie Bunn…
Bit of pub trivia for you. Who is Paul Scholes’s favourite all-time footballer? George Best? Pele? Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris given Scholesy’s love for a tenacious tackle? None of those actually, in fact the real answer is Frankie Bunn. Scholes’s choice, albeit tongue-in-cheek, is down to the fact that Bunn once bagged six goals in a League Cup clash with Scarborough back in 1989, a game Scholes undoubtedly attended given his love for hometown club Oldham.
Bunn is in fact a Latics legend, with his most famous moment coming during that clash with Scarborough and he still holds the record for the most goals scored in a League Cup match thanks to that legendary night one October. It’s remarkable to think that the striker could well be in the record books for ever, given his career record before and after that game. He started his career at Luton Town, scoring just nine goals in 59 league games, but moved on to Hull City in 1985 where he managed to improve that goal scoring ratio, bagging 23 goals in 95 games.
Bunn switched to Oldham in 1987, where his record stood at 78 league games and 26 goals. Although he wasn’t the most consistent of strikers, Bunn was a popular player for his endeavour up front, something that Scholes evidently tried to replicate from his hero in his own game! However, it all fell into place during that match against Scarborough in the third round as Bunn bagged his first after a goalkeeping mistake after 10 minutes. His second came from a header from a corner and his hat-trick followed with a smart finish from around the penalty spot on 20 minutes. The number nine made it four with a fine solo effort and he grabbed his fifth just before half time, sweeping in a cross. The record was broken when he volleyed home a sixth and Bunn’s famous night was complete in a 7-0 victory.
Unfortunately, it proved to be something of a one-off for the forward, though in this day and age, he’d have probably been snapped up by a Premier League club on the basis of that performance.Injury ended his professional career just a year later in 1990 and despite a brief comeback for Stalybridge Celtic, the goal machine’s playing days were over. Bunn moved into coaching, starting at Wigan Athletic before joining Manchester City in 1998. After becoming the first team coach at Coventry, he made his first steps into management, taking over as caretaker manager with John Harbin after the sacking of Iain Dowie in 2007. However, once Chris Coleman took the position, he stepped back into his role as first team coach, a job he left to join Rochdale in 2011 to assist Steve Eyre.
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After Eyre was sacked following a disappointing start to the season, Bunn chose to take up a position with the Newcastle United academy, keeping his eyes out for the next stars. Although he only lasted three months, he worked with the U18’s to help develop the next Geordie Superstar that doesn’t appear on MTV. Bunn has now taken up the same position with Huddersfield as they work to promote young players into their squad in the Championship, although he will be casting a keen eye towards Crewe Alexandra this season, considering his 19-year-old son Harry is on loan there from Manchester City.
Harry will hope to emulate his dad and although he is yet to make his Manchester City debut, the young striker has a promising future ahead of him. He will do will to make a similar sort of impact to his dad, who despite enjoying a journeyman career, is famous for that balmy night in the Capital One Cup. Oh, and the fact he’s Paul Scholes’s favourite player.
With the recent news that formerly prolific striker – well before his Chelsea days at least – Shevchenko has retired from the game to begin a career in politics, it both raises a few eyebrows and brings up the question of just how many other footballers have gone into what you would call surprising careers after their time in the game comes to an end.
With football being a short career for most, life after playing can be a boring one for former professionals, and whilst many go into management a la Zola, some go into punditry or presenting sport like a certain big eared man on the BBC, but what of those players who’s choice of post playing career is more than a little bit surprising to say the least? Some range from the outright bizarre to something that you would just not expect from a former footballer and the reputation that goes hand in hand with the job, yet let’s take a look at 10 who have defied expectations and managed to avoid punditry, womanising and gambling and have a second career you would never expect.
Click on Eric Cantona to unveil the top 10
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French club Marseille have said that they will not be selling a striker that is being targeted by Tottenham, as well as Premier League rivals Chelsea, according to ESPN.
Marseille boss Elie Baup has made it clear that the club do not intend to sell Loic Remy, their star striker.
Last season, Remy scored 20 goals for the Ligue 1 side, and Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas is known to admire the striker.
Tottenham have been linked to the star in the media, with Emmanuel Adebayor going to the Africa Cup of Nations next year.
Remy has also reportedly caught Chelsea’s eye, with boss Roberto Di Matteo apparently looking to buy a new striker.
Remy, 25, has been struggling for the Ligue 1 side so far this season, because of a thigh problem that saw him sidelined from Euro 2012, and has scored just two goals in the nine matches that he has played so far.
However, Baup says they will not be selling him, reiterating that the club counts on the star.
“In my opinion, there is no question (of a sale). He is here for the whole season. The club have always counted on him. Unfortunately, he suffered several small physical problems, but the troubles are behind him. A lot of things are happening at the moment and his form is vital for our results, which are more important,” he said.
Remy plays internationally for France and signed for Marseille in 2010 from Nice, with a contract that lasts until 2015.
It was reported earlier this month that Chelsea were stepping up plans to sign Remy, after they apparently began negotiating for a £15 million transfer in August.
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Loic Remy talked earlier this year about “discussions with Tottenham” but said that “they came to nothing and they will not continue.”
Former Manchester United player Mark Bosnich believes that the signing of Robin Van Persie in the summer has tipped the title race in United’s favour. The Aussie Goalkeeper also thinks if Sir Alex Ferguson can tighten up his backline, the Red Devils could be contenders for the Champions League title as well.
Van Persie has been prolific in front of goal this campaign, netting 11 goals in just 14 appearances since moving to Old Trafford from Arsenal for £24million in August.
Speaking to talkSPORT radio, Mark Bosnich told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast Show that he believes the dutch goal-machine will be pivotal to United’s success in the Premier League.
“I went for Man United at the start of season [to win the Premier League]. The signing of RVP just tipped the balance their way,” said Bosnich, who made 25 appearances over two spells for the Manchester club.
The former Australian International thinks Van Persie’s goals could make the difference for a team that finished runners-up in the Premier League last year.
“A lot of people forget that, for all the trails and tribulations, they only lost the title on goal difference last season.”
“Before Robin van Persie signed I was leaning towards Chelsea or Man City but, when they got RVP, that was it for me, I thought they would win the title.
Bosnich admitted United could have done with some extra quality in depth and need to overcome some of their defensive mishaps, but could improve enough to challenge for the Champions League winner’s trophy in addition to the domestic title.
“I would have liked them to sign someone like Moussa Dembele and maybe some cover in defence, but Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans are playing a lot of games together and are developing well, and David De Gea has improved out of sight.
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“If they can eradicate some basic errors at the back then they’ll be a match for not just anyone in the Premier League, but anyone in Europe,” he added.
Tottenham and Manchester United have both changed the face of football sponsorship as we know it in this country over the past two years, but will the rest of the top flight follow suit sooner rather than later?
The north London club’s chairman, Daniel Levy, is well-renowned for his business savy, managing to secure a landmark commercial partnership agreement with the richest club in the world, Real Madrid, earlier this summer when Luka Modric moved to Spain, but the somewhat less-known shirt sponsorship deal is just as clever.
When he managed to clinch the deal involving software infrastructure company Autonomy back in 2010 for £20m, in an innovative move, he also brought in financial services company Investec as their second sponsor for cup competitions, which was maximised that season in particular given their fantastic Champions League exploits. Although the terms of the Investec deal has not been revealed, it’s thought to be around the £3m per season mark as Levy seeks to get every last drop of investment for the club that he can and they recently renewed earlier in the summer.
Manchester United, never a club to be left behind when it comes to making the most of their commercial opportunities, signed a £40m four-year deal for their domestic training kit with logistics company DHL back in 2011. At the time it exceeded the value of all but five of the main shirt sponsors in the Premier League in an astounding piece of business for the club.
The club’s chief executive David Gill at the time of the deal lauded it, stating it “breaks new ground in the English game”, and the sponsorship deal only covers domestic games, so they retain the avenue should they wish to use it in the future, of even going as far as to have a separate European sponsor, broadly similar to Tottenham’s agreement with Ivestec.
This is just the latest in a long line of new sponsorship deals that the club have signed in recent times, with commercial director Richard Arnold helping to oversee the reorganisation of the club’s commercial department to target growth across the world in a range of regional categories and sign individual deals with telecom and media partners.
This has led to Bwin becoming their official online gaming and betting partner, Chevrolet their new shirt sponsor while also signing a three-year partnership with Vietnamese mobile telecommunications company, Beeline, to distribute United content in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
The biggest deal of all recently, though, was the one struck with Toshiba Medical Systems which has seen their training ground complex at Carrington given a radical face-lift to the tune of £13m worth of new medical equipment in what is now a state-of-the-art training facility, which when you consider their recent troubles with injury, will serve as a timely boost looking further ahead.
Even by football’s standards, the commercial interest in the game is growing and it appears as if clubs are no longer being tied down to long-term deals with just one main sponsor, rather picking and choosing deals to suit them and maximise revenue in the process, with Tottenham and Manchester United right at the forefront of this.
The result is likely to see these two clubs being given large transfer kittys in the future, simply because they’re getting between £5-40m a year more than their nearest rivals and it won’t be long before every other club around catches on, setting up telecommunications, kit and medical sponsors.
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Of course, the knock-on effect that this has is that, with Tottenham for example, they now have two separate home kits which could drive income up even higher with supporters willing to buy one shirt for the league and another one in Europe, but it does feel like they’re ripping you off a bit as it is and this latest move may be pushing it.
Nevertheless, sensible and smart leadership from both clubs’ commercial departments has given them the edge on the rest of the top flight and any sponsorship deal that the club signs in future can only benefit the long-term stability of the club, putting it on an even more sound financial footing.
Stoke City striker Michael Owen has claimed that having to play so many games as a youngster at Liverpool has since caught up with him and is the reason behind his constant injury woes, the Daily Mirror report.
Owen came through the Liverpool youth set up as one of the brightest players this country has ever produced, but years down the line the former England forward is plagued by injuries.
Such was Owen’s promise at Anfield that he quickly became a key player in the side and played every single game that he was available for, whether it be in the league, cup or Europe. Playing so many games at a young age, where his body may not even have fully developed yet, is part of the reason he is so unfit now according to the player.
Sir Alex Ferguson claimed this week that Owen’s downfall in his career and his injury issues are down to Liverpool’s poor handling of him as a young player breaking into the first team.
“Sir Alex had made some comments suggesting that I would have been a better player had I been managed more effectively in the early part of my career,” said Owen on his official website.
“I have to agree with most of what he said except the usage of the word ‘better’. In my opinion, had I been managed differently I would have been at my best for longer as opposed to being a better player.
“As a youngster, I was considered exceptional and in many ways, that was to my detriment.
“While I was playing every game available to me, there was another young kid in the Liverpool academy called Steven Gerrard who was also showing huge potential.
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“Unlike me, who was playing 80-odd games a year, Stevie just couldn’t stay fit. I am convinced that this played to his advantage in the long run.”
Everton full-back Leighton Baines has distanced himself from reports that he is set to join Manchester United.
The England international has been heavily linked with a switch to the Toffees’ Premier League rivals, who see him as the long-term successor to Patrice Evra.
Twitter erupted this week amid rumours that United have made an official approach, but Baines dismissed the rumours:
“I’m not that into Twitter but I would say not to be worried,” he told SkySports.
“There have been a few windows and a few rumours and there’s nothing to worry about.”
He went on to claim that he is fully committed to helping Everton qualify for the Champions league following an impressive start to the season:
“There’s a lot of lads here who have been at the club for a long time now and we want to bring it not just for ourselves and our own ambitions but for the other people at the club, the manager, the chairman, the fans.
“It would be a massive achievement for us if we could get those European nights back at Goodison Park.
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He did however admit that it will be tough to finish in the top four:
“Although there’s a lot of hard work and a lot of other clubs scrapping for that fourth spot, we’d like to think that if we can get our form back on track we could be one of them.”
Jonny Evans has always struck me as uninspiring by name and uninspiring by nature, a slender-framed pixel used to decorate the Theatre of Dreams. Is he undervalued or merely one of football’s painfully adequate professionals? Last year, Sir Alex Ferguson hailed the Northern Ireland international as “arguably the best defender in the country,” but was that a laughable suggestion or appropriately laudable?
This may sound like the biggest backhand compliment ever delivered, but Jonny Evans’ greatest asset is his tendency to steer clear of the treatment table. Every other member of Manchester United’s backline has endured a constant stream of injuries, which has allowed Evans to blossom into a competent defender.
However, I am struggling to picture him as the club’s first-choice centre-back beyond the reign of Ferguson. Even now, despite Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic’s advancing years, they remain the most desirable and resilient partnership. Plus, it’s surely only a matter of time before the likes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones fulfil their potential and surpass Evans in the pecking order.
Picture if you will, every imperious central defender in modern football, they all share a lean, robust physique and can be heard all over the pitch. I simply don’t see the same characteristics when I gaze upon Jonny Evans. Perhaps that’s why Ferguson holds him in such high regard, he’s always had a fondness for the shy, discreet individuals that let their football do all the talking.
Before Tuesday’s comfortable 4-0 victory over Wigan, the club had kept just four clean sheets this season and conceded 28 goals in 20 games, more than 11 other clubs in the top flight. Whether you consider this fair or not, such statistics look unfavourably on Jonny Evans and highlight a glaring area of improvement that needs to be addressed if United are to reclaim their Premier League crown.
In the enthralling 4-3 triumph against Newcastle, the major talking point derived from whether Papiss Cisse was offside during the game’s third goal. However, if Evans had been less preoccupied with grappling the Senegalese forward and instead adjusted his position and shuffled his feet, he could have cleared the ball with relative ease. The incident highlighted nothing more than the naivety and poor decision-making that still exists within the defender.
At this point, the United faithful will be pointing frantically at his commendable goal tally, as evidence of his vast improvement and efficiency from set-pieces. However, such mainstream statistics often disguise a below par performance across 90 minutes, as in the case of Patrice Evra this season. Even if you don’t believe this to be the case with Evans, it’s worth pointing out that without his goals this season (at both ends) the club would actually be a point better off in the table.
There was a debate recently surrounding whether Jonny Evans would get a look in at any other table-topping club in the division. If decided purely on ability I would say no, but his capacity to perform at a consistent level while avoiding lengthy injuries is an incredible desirable trait. The likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and even Manchester City could all use him at the moment, or at the very least someone like him.
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Perhaps Evans has a future in midfield at Old Trafford, even Ferguson admitted, “We were never quite sure if he was going to be a midfield player or a centre-back.” The move has worked wonders for David Luiz, who shares a similar composure and awareness on the ball. With Michael Carrick creeping into his mid-thirties and question marks still hovering over the future of Darren Fletcher, there could well be a suitable vacancy waiting to be filled.
Jonny Evans celebrates his 25th birthday today and has recently been basking in the glow of a freshly signed contract extension. “I would love to play here throughout the rest of my career,” insists Evans, but considering he’s yet to reach 100 league games for United, has his career even begun yet?
Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini dropped something of a transfer bombshell on the club last Friday by revealing that he wants to return home to his native Argentina for ‘personal reasons’, but with the Magpies top flight status hanging in the balance, his departure could have catastrophic consequences on their ability to beat the drop and keeping hold of him is of the utmost importance.
The 30-year-old centre-back has been a huge success on Tyneside since moving to the club from Deportivo La Coruna in Spain for £10.3m back in 2008, making 174 appearances for the club as a regular across the past four seasons. He is currently the club’s best paid player on around £60,000 a week and he only signed a new four-year contract extension last March following prolonged negotiations, so this latest step will come as a surprise to many and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Alan Pardew’s side currently sit just two points above the Premier League relegation zone in 16th place while in the midst of a debilitating and morale-sapping injury crisis which has contributed to the team picking up just seven points from their last ten league games, with their clean sheet in their last game away against Norwich at Carrow Road their first on the road in the top flight all season. This is a club in absolute free-fall, disarray or crisis, or whatever other adjective you wish to subscribe to their terrible campaign thus far and Coloccini is vital to their hopes of staying up.
Coloccini has not handed in a formal transfer request but is thought to be desperate to return home to Argentina as soon as possible to be closer to his family and Newcastle now have to try and convince him to at least stay until the end of the season after being linked with San Lorenzo, the club which his father Osvaldo currently works for as the youth team director.
Osvaldo caused quite a stir at the start of the new year by telling Indirecto on TyC Sports: “Fabricio wants to play for San Lorenzo and he is trying his best to find an elegant way to leave Newcastle. We don’t know what Newcastle will come up with, but Fabricio is trying to rescind his contract because he wants to be back at San Lorenzo. His contract is very good and that could complicate things in an attempt for him to leave Newcastle.” There is clearly no animosity towards the club, which effectively makes it even more difficult to convince him to stay.
The continued absence of Steven Taylor with a hamstring injury and Mike Williamson’s patchy form means that Pardew has been focused on bringing at least one new defender into the club this month, with West Ham’s James Tomkins the latest name linked, instead of trying to focus all of his attentions of keeping hold of his most-prized asset. The various injury lay-offs and suspensions of the likes of Yohan Cabaye, Papiss Cisse, Tim Krul, Taylor and Cheick Tiote have no doubt contributed to their poor season so far, but having already lost Demba Ba to Chelsea this month, they will not want to lose another experienced head and vocal and influential member of the dressing room.
It seems that San Lorenzo were hopeful that Coloccini would try to buy himself out of his contract or at the very least secure a short-term loan switch away with the club’s president, Matías Lammens stating: “Coloccini to San Lorenzo is our Plan A, B and C. Our transfer deadline is next week and we cannot do anything crazy with the budget, but Coloccini to San Lorenzo represents much more than football.” Surely Newcastle would simply refuse and tell the player to honour his deal such is his value to them, especially now with the situation they find themselves in domestically, but they do risk having a terribly unhappy player on their books, which could have an impact on his performances on the pitch.
Plenty of names have been mentioned aside from Tomkins, with Montpellier captain Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, 20 year-old Denmark international centre-back Jores Okore and West Brom’s Jonas Olsson the latest. The month started out so brightly after the club completed the signing of the excellent Mathieu Debuchy, but now they face the very real prospect of losing both Ba and Coloccini, while simultaneously missing out on Loic Remy to QPR’s bumper pay packet, which will go a long way to making it a January to forget.
Pardew sounded confident of resolving the issue when asked about it yesterday: “Of course. We have got a meeting and we are going to try and resolve it. He is a class player. Great players can play through most crises.
“We have had a crisis in terms of our results. It’s players of his calibre – and Tim Krul and Yohan Cabaye – who are going to get us up the league.”
However, if the Remy switch to Loftus Road has taught us anything, it’s that during the silly season of January, things can change awfully quickly during the course of a single day, let alone the two weeks until the close of the deadline.
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The Magpies have been the victims of rumour after rumour concerning their key players these past few months, with Ben Arfa the latest target, while it turned out that Ba had representatives negotiating on his behalf with Chelsea that the player had never even heard of. It is thought that Coloccini is willing to take a considerable pay-cut to make the move happen, though, which is never a good sign, but it seems that circus is never far away from Newcastle.
Nevertheless, at the risk of sounding callous, now is not the time to indulge a player’s happiness and having kept just four clean sheets all term and letting in 39 goals in 22 games, with only Aston Villa, Reading and Wigan boasting a poorer defensive record, the club needs to put its foot down while focusing on bringing in another of the aforementioned names above at the same time. Sliding through the Premier League trapdoor could have serious ramifications for the club’s financial future and letting go of someone of Coloccini’s calibre simply cannot be allowed to happen.