Cultured Football #07
Nowhere To Go For Fringe Players
At last, some good news. Maybe. Fans should be returning back to stadia in mid-May in England and hopefully elsewhere as well. Fingers-crossed, it will be the start of return to normality rather than another false dawn. Not that there is much that we can do about it except keep on reading.
Cult status, glory and triumph over adversity: Sir Bobby Robson at Porto
Sir Bobby Robson was a fantastic human being – that much has been well recorded elsewhere – but he was also a great football manager who achieved some incredible results throughout his career. None more so than at Porto where he delivered two league titles in as many years whilst laying the foundation for the upcoming generation of great Portuguese coaches.
No respite for Arsenal ‘rebel’ Guendouzi
Viewed as a fantastic find in the months after he joined Arsenal, Matteo Guendouzi slowly fell out of favour at the Emirates. There was never any doubt about his ability but his attitude was viewed as suspect. A season on loan at Hertha Berlin was viewed as the ideal way to build him up once again. It is not turning out that way.
‘Football is a very small amount of someone's life’
The story of Bobby Copping is a sad and scary one: a healthy young man of 19 forced to retire from football because of seizures brought on by heading the ball. But it is also one that opens up to a wider debate on the long term implications of headers and concussions in football.
‘Can I celebrate? No, I can’t. I’ve got to run back in,’
If you want to make your debut one to remember, there are few better ways than by scoring a scorcher from 25 yards out. That’s what 21 year old Scot Jordan Holsgrove did in his first game for Celta Vigo earlier this year and it seems to have worked, given the opportunities that have followed. Great story of a young player who took advantage of an opportunity that, due to Brexit, will no longer be an option for many.
Nowhere to go for fringe players
"These are not normal times and the truth is being able to shift squad players is where we are seeing the most difficulty. A sale you could have made in previous years for £25m, for example, now has to be a loan - that’s if you can find a club willing and able to take on the wages."
COVID has completely upended the prevailing football model of the past decade and suddenly the bottom has fallen out of players’ valuations. Something that could have significant repercussions for both players and clubs.
Last Week’s Most Read
It wasn’t a great week for Luis Suarez or his Atletico Madrid but, still, the article on how he was pushed out at Barcelona and how he’s found a new welcome home at a club that is gunning hard for the Spanish title.