Spain? Trying to offload Marcellino on loan? Trying to sign someone? (No prizes for the inevitable brothel link, rise above it!!)

From IC. In an exclusive interview from Spain, where Shepherd is on club business

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2001

Answers

So Hall is out there as well then? I guess the NOTW won't be far behind them.

Shepherd was locked in talks today with United's deputy chairman Douglas Hall on the implications of the new rulings, which are due to come into force next season. He'll then consult United's chief executive David Stonehouse and manager Bobby Robson in a further summit meeting on his return to Tyneside later this week.

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2001

Where's the full story on the tranfer situation (in thick Rik terms?)

-- Anonymous, March 06, 2001

Rik,

The Guardian have tried to simplify the system:

Q: Have negotiations over a new transfer system been concluded? A Yes, but it might not be the end of the matter. After six months of negotiations the football authorities and the EU hope to have found a solution. But Fifpro, the European players' union, plans a legal challenge to the new rules.

Q: So what are the new rules and how will the new transfer system look?

A From the start of next season the new system will be in force. Players will be allowed only one move each season. There will be only two transfer windows: a main one in the summer and a mid-season window limited to buying and selling to replace injured players or for technical reasons.

Q: Will there still be contracts for players?

A Yes. All contracts will be for a minimum of one year and a maximum of five. Players aged 28 or under will have to honour their contracts for a minimum of three years, those over 28 for a minimum of two. These time spans are called the protected periods.

Q: Will it be easier for players to move clubs?

A Yes. Once a player has honoured the minimum contract time he can terminate it by giving notice and leaving at the end of a season.

Q: What happens if a player wants to break his contract and move before two or three years?

A Players who unilaterally break contracts during a protected period will be suspended for a minimum of four months. Clubs inducing players to break contracts can be prevented from making a signing for a year or more, have league points deducted or even be excluded from competitions. Agents involved in breach of contract can be fined. If a player leaves for a new club during his protected period, the new club will be deemed to have induced him and sporting sanctions will be applied.

Q: Will players be allowed to break contracts without facing sporting sanctions?

A Yes, if they can prove there was sporting just cause for doing so. This means that if, say, a player plays in less than 10% of his club's games in a season but they refuse to let him go, he has the right to break his contract. Tribunals set up to judge these issues will also entertain claims from players who have been played out of position by their managers.

Q: Will there still be transfer fees?

A Only for players who are under 23 when they are transferred. Compensation is then payable according to a complex formula which has yet to be fully worked out.

Q: If transfer fees fall sharply, how will small clubs survive - those who rely on the sale of players, particularly young emerging ones, for extra revenue?

A Clubs with players aged 23 or under will receive special compensation for the amount of time they have spent on their development. Training compensation will be calculated from the age of 12 to 23, when he leaves the club.

Q: How will training compensation be calculated?

A The EU has set up four bands of clubs. Category 1 roughly equates to the English Premiership and Category 4 to the Third Division. Fifa/Uefa will set a value per year of training at each level with that in Category 1 worth more than in Category 4. If any player is transferred before he is 23 all the clubs that have trained him between 12 and 21 will receive compensation in accordance with the number of years they have trained him.

Q: So will all clubs receive the same?

A No. If a player is transferred from a lower to a higher category club, the fee is calculated as an average of training the player had at the lower and the higher club. If a player is transferred from a higher to a lower category club the fee is calculated as the cost of training at the lower. And if a player is transferred from a higher category club into Category 4, no fee is payable.

Q: How does this benefit the smaller clubs?

A A percentage of the fee payable when a player moves from a club in Category 3 or 4 to a club in a higher category is given to all clubs who have helped train that player from the age of 12.

Q: What happens if there is a dispute over compensation, or whether a player should face sanctions for breaking his contract?

A Two bodies will be set up to deal with these issues. The first is the Dispute Resolution Chamber and its decisions can be appealed to the Football Arbitration Panel. Both bodies will have half their members nominated by the players and half by the clubs, both with an independent chairman.

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2001

I read that six times De Builder, I cannot see where you took away the first number you thought of!

-- Anonymous, March 07, 2001