From tonight's Ronnie:

MONEY TALKS - Newcastle United chairman Freddie Shepherd feels the club's annual turnover of £48million will help them attract the big-name players when transfer fees are abolished, as he feels will happen

Many clubs walk in the shadow of fear at the probable abolition of transfer fees under European Union law.

Dark stories are exchanged by the prophets of doom in corridors where the wind is about to whistle as never before.

Football, we're told, will never be the same again and may effectively die as we know it. Were we told the same thing over Bosman?

It is undeniable that it will strike at the very heart of the receivers rather than the payers if the EU commissioner rules for abolition of the current transfer system.

However, Newcastle United aren't dreading the dawn as others must surely be.

Chairman Freddie Shepherd, sitting in his office at St James's Park overlooking Gallowgate, wasn't wearing the look of a worried man. Indeed, the sooner the fateful day arrives the better, because at least the ground rules will be in place. Right now the waters are choppy and the tide uncertain.

"If the decision goes in favour of the abolition of huge transfer fees, as I personally think it will, then the guys with the biggest wage bucket will sign in quantity and quality," Shepherd told me.

"The haves will get bigger and the have nots smaller. It'll blow away the smaller clubs.

"As much as I hate to say it money will win the day. Ninety nine times out of a hundred it always will.

"However, we don't fear that day at Newcastle United. The clubs with the biggest turnovers will be best placed to sign the best players because they can more easily afford the wages.

"I'll give you two extremes in the Premiership - how can Bradford compete with Manchester United when Bradford's turnover is under £8million and Man U's £110million plus?

"Our fans plus aggressive and good marketing have put us in a strong position."

Newcastle have the fourth greatest turnover in the Premiership at £48million a year behind Manchester United, Chelsea (£59million), and Arsenal (£48.6million).

Next come Liverpool, Spurs, Leeds and Aston Villa with Middlesbrough on £28million and Sunderland £24million.

The top-flight stragglers are Charlton (£16million), Southampton (£13million), Manchester City (£12million), Ipswich (£8million) and Bradford. The pecking order is set in stone.

Shepherd believes football must brace itself for the inevitable simply because at the moment it's a business operating outside the law.

"There are employment laws in place regarding joiners, welders and every profession," said United's supremo.

"It's merely that we in football

have granted ourselves an exemption!

"What I believe will happen is that the transfer fee will be replaced by a compensation fee paid on a contract and not an individual.

"The length of a player's contract and the wages paid will be the determining factors and, if I was a betting man, I'd think that a three-year deal will be the most commonplace. Deals for five years, which are used now as a safeguard against the Bosman ruling, will be too long.

"But any EU ruling mustn't be one-sided. It must be a two-way street. What the new ruling could mean is that, as well as players having freedom, others could be thrown out without clubs having to fork out huge payments on the rest of their long contracts."

United, of course, have suffered greatly from that straitjacket recently with the likes of Silvio Maric and Lionel Perez.

Shepherd went on: "As I said in the Chronicle last week, the frustrating thing has been the waiting for an EU decision. It has left us in limbo temporarily.

"However, we're well set up to cope because we've kept our powder dry."

Keeping his powder dry has meant a tight restriction on megabucks deals though United's chairman has been ready enough to sanction anything around £1million to ease Bobby Robson's striker crisis. In these inflated days that's peanuts.

Suggestions that United aren't ambitious, however, anger a man who for the last 10 years has been at the centre of a rollercoaster ride which hit glorious highs during the Kevin Keegan era.

"Every club worth its salt has ambitions - they are just restricted by its economic strength which is transferred into its playing strength," he insisted. "We are as ambitious as ever. Having spent £200million in my time - nearly £100million on the stadium and the rest on players - it's merely that we're moving into a new era for football.

"But all Geordies live with the pride of Newcastle United in their hearts and I'm no different. We all believe in our destiny, don't we?"

Right, or wrong??

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2001

Answers

Its good to think we are part of a string of clubs in europe who can monopolise football.

And we are not even in the champions league, yet our turnover matches Arsenals!

For football as a whole in general is it right? I dont know, but hey life is tough, why should football be any different.

heh, heh imagine getting Richard Wright after paying off his contract for 2million instead of a 5million transfer fee etc.

We will be able to treat 99% of football clubs as feeders.

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT, THE FUTURE IS BLACK N' WHITE.

You know what, this is only an opinion(Rod Marsh in disguise) but the Sheppard/Hall chairmanship is probably the best and most ambitious this football club NUFC HAS EVER HAD. Would a mckeag of said that?

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2001

But how long is he prepare to sit there, overlooking Gallowgate, waiting for the edict to come down from the EU on high.

According to some sources here, it could be anything up to another 18 months before a decision is made and then anything up to another 12 months to actually put whatever in place......so we could be sitting waiting for nearly three more years......do we really want that.

Personally I couldn't give a toss if they abolish or keep the transfer fee as we know it, whatever happens we, the fans, will just have to grin and bear it, I really just wish they would get on with it and get the friggin decision made.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2001

A few comments:

I believe the abolition of the present transfer system will be generally bad for football. FS is correct in implying that the rich will get richer and the poor poorer. However, before we get overly complacent with this Club turnover issue, let's remember that we were second only to manure just a couple of seasons ago and while we have stagnated, two other clubs have already overtaken us.

The turnover phenomena that FS is referring to will increasingly polarise the raw talent even within the PL which will continue to diminish the competitive nature which has made it so compelling. Do we really want to see manure and Arsenal dominating in the way that Rangers and Celtic have for donkeys years in Scotland?

As for Shephard being the most ambitious Chairman we've ever had, I think we perhaps should remember that ambition and success are very different commodities, and one doesn't automatically result in the other. If I wished to be mischievous, I could even suggest that a fool and his money are soon parted, and we all know how hard up the Club now is!

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2001

I really believe that the board back the manager to the hilt, and the problem is that they want the club to succeed and just can't help themselves stand back and say 'no that guy is crap' as that is going against the manager.

We will succeed because of the size of the ground and the turnover, he is right about that. What has to be in place is the means to make that extra buying power be successful.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2001

So years of underachieving are about to be put right by changes that will ensure the 'big' clubs will dominate even more than they currently do. Fills me with foreboding. Sure I yearn for a piece of silverware as much as the next success-starved Toon fan but what hollow glory if honours are to be even more determined by financial clout than they currently are. That way football loses its charm, its attraction, its soul. And does 'quality and quantitity' mean that big clubs immediately sign up anyone showing a mite of talent merely cos they can and to stop them playing for anyone else? Huge squads for the giants, peanuts for the minnows who immediately lose anyone the moment they look any good. yuk.

Some of English footballs finest moments for me have involved clubs defying the odds, eg Forest going from nowhere to a championship and 2 European Cups. I love the fact Ipswich are doing so well this season. Damn sight more interesting than clubs ressembling multi- national corporations winning the double every couple of years. If this is where 21st Century football is going I'm worried even if it could be to NUFCs advantage.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2001

Lloyds.

Barings.

BCCI.

destiny? what a twat.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2001

I go along with Stevo's point about the loss of the soul of the game. I'm afraid that when it comes to the big bucks the genie was released from the bottle the day the Premier was born and I can't see it ever going back in. I'm sickened by the commercialism, the domination of the TV (it was better when ALL the games were on Saturday) and by the extremely silly money the top stars earn.

None of that is Mr Shepherd's problem however and I go along with everything he says here - indeed I have said almost the exact same things re the abolition of transfers on this site, ie that the toon will be top contenders in the wage free-for-all and that it should be a 2 way street with underperformers being shown the door if they won't play.

Judging by our record on transfers since Keegan left, it's pretty clear we would have done much better if the transfer system had been abolished then and we could have saved millions in poor buys and in wages for the hangers-on.

Whatever, the wait for the outcome of this is really silly and the clubs must get together and demand a resolution. If the EU can't reach a ruling then they should be taken to the European Court. Just imagine them trying to sue themselves. The entire legal system would disappear up it's own arse for decades.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2001

Do this lot know something we don't (or are expecting to influence matters?) or do they just have money to burn/invest?

From my Auntie:

Manchester United are entering the race to sign Bari's outstanding 18-year-old midfielder Antonio Cassano.

Cassano is rated at £20m by his club and is coveted by many of Italy's top sides.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has booked a seat to watch the teenager in action at Vicenza on Saturday afternoon, according to reports.

He hopes to have talks with Cassano after the game.

Old Trafford officials have been tracking the youngster for two years, with Ferguson's brother Martin making regular checks on him.

Cassano boast

AC Milan and Roma have already bid £13m for Cassano, but Bari are insisting they will not let him go for less than £20m.

Juventus are reported to be offering a players plus cash deal that reaches that value.

Bari, who are second bottom of Serie A, have assured Cassano that they will let him leave the club and have given permission for him to talk to any interested parties.

The attacking midfielder is not shy - he recently said that if Hernan Crespo was worth £37m, then he commanded a value of £25m.

If United do sign Cassano for £20m, it would smash their current transfer record - the £12.5m they paid Aston Villa for Dwight Yorke.

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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Other top Man Utd stories:

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Links to top Man Utd stories are at the foot of the page.

-- Anonymous, January 05, 2001

Oops - sorry aboot the random ramblings at the end.

-- Anonymous, January 05, 2001

Arsenal also seem prepared to offload some serious amounts of cash.

It seems the big clubs with money from the Champions League are willing to spend big to get the players they need. It's everyone else that is dithering, look at Villa even they've just spent over £9 million.

Someone is not telling the whole story.

-- Anonymous, January 05, 2001

The 'whole story' is quite simple really. As ITK has suggested it will be a matter of YEARS before any significant change is ordered and then implemented. Do we really want to go through the next three or four seasons without making any significant purchases? ManU, Leeds, Arsenal and Chelsea don't seem to believe that the transfer system will be abolished overnight. While the Board dither we drift further downwards.

Or is it perhaps that the the whole EU argument is a convenient way to avoid admitting that due to mismanagement at all levels we are skint?

-- Anonymous, January 05, 2001