da aposte e ganhe： The new Liverpool owners haven’t been in charge for long but already they are aware of who runs English football – agents and players. John W. Henry and Tom Werner have likened the English game to the ‘wild west’ in terms of the power of players and their agents.
da heads bet： The new owners will have to adapt quickly to player power, but it is worrying for the state the English game finds itself in, that outside of a transfer window John W. Henry and Tom Werner already have a taste for what is wrong with our national game.
Speaking to the Guardian, Henry spoke of the culture shock that he has endured since his arrival.
”It’s a culture shock, there’s no doubt about it. It’s like the wild west,” said Henry, who implied there was more certainty in US sport. “It’s a completely different system here from what we’re used to. If a player has a contract in the US, they fulfil the contract. Over here, it seems players have much more say so.”
NESV’s arrival into English football couldn’t have come at more damaging time for English football. Shortly after their takeover, Wayne Rooney and Manchester United were embroiled in a very public dispute over Rooney’s contract – highlighting the power that player’s now have over their clubs.
In the United States, with the Boston Red Socks, Henry has claimed that players honour their contacts and that clubs have the power over their players. In European football the game is less stable because of the amount of players that are wrangling for new deals or looking elsewhere for clubs.
This will be a huge test for the Americans, especially John W. Henry, who is used to holding the power over players and the contacts they are offered. It would have been a very interesting situation if the Rooney saga has happened on their watch. What would their reaction have been to it, and would Rooney have been offered the deal he got? The next big contract renewal that comes up at Liverpool will be a very interesting situation. Will John W. Henry and Tom Werner be able to accept that players have the power, or will they try to exert control and risk loosing a player because of this. Of course this is completely hypothetical, but understanding the system and how the game now works in England is something they will have to learn.
This is why the appointment of the new chief executive will be crucial for John W. Henry and Tom Werner. Werner and Henry met head hunters on Friday to begin the process of drawing up a short list. The pair said they were looking to overhaul the structure of the football side of the club, beginning with the appointment of the former Tottenham Hotspur director of football Damien Comolli.
Tom Werner has dismissed rumours that potential candidates have already been approached, highlighting that the search would be extensive, and not restricted to English football. Bringing in an American, without the experience of working within European football would be a mistake. The owners have to accept that player power, because of the Bosman ruling is something we all have to accept. Other countries and other sports differ, but they are working within the guides of English football. They need to appoint somebody who has a proven track record of working within the European system.
In their first weeks as owners, NESV have been treated to a shock – and with English football there will be another one around the corner. However, though we may despise what we have become, it will not be changed overnight. If they are genuinely shocked by what they have seen so far, the owners should prepare themselves for something they have never experienced in the upcoming January transfer window.
Like what you read? Subscribe to my RSS feed or contact me on twitter
Click on image below to see a gallery of Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest lady