Zidane on move?

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From the Beeb:

Real Madrid are poised to sign Zinedine Zidane from Juventus for a world record £50m, according to Spanish radio station Cope. Real president Florentino Perez met with Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi in Switzerland on Tuesday, the station said.

The clubs are reported to have agreed a fee for the French international midfielder which would smash the £37m Madrid paid to Barcelona for Luis Figo last year.

The deal is expected to be finalised on Wednesday.

-- Anonymous, July 04, 2001

Answers

Susie says that he's A Perfect player

-- Anonymous, July 04, 2001

damn, how could he turn us down?

-- Anonymous, July 04, 2001

Silly money

-- Anonymous, July 04, 2001

More to the point, where do they get it from ?

-- Anonymous, July 04, 2001

Apparently they have asked about Gary Speed to try and make the dream midfield of Spee, Zidane and Figo

-- Anonymous, July 04, 2001


and we told them we weren't a selling club

-- Anonymous, July 04, 2001

Is Zidane twice the player Veron is?

-- Anonymous, July 04, 2001

The money is getting stupid really.

£50m for Zidane, £33m for Buffon and £24m for Rui Costa now.

The strange thing is that Real Madrid are STILL in £320m of debt yet can "afford" to splash out £50m.

I know they have the potential to make money, but their ground is full every week so I can't see how spending another £50m is going to help from the financial point fo view.

We could see more and more clubs going under. Fiorentina are suppposed to be close to that, hence the sale of Rui Costa to Milan.

-- Anonymous, July 04, 2001


I thought that Real Madrid had cleared their debt when they sold their training ground.

It's a shame we don't have that luxury!

-- Anonymous, July 04, 2001


yes real have cleared their debts. they sold there car park i'm led to believe for some 172million squid! is St James' Park even worth that??

also to think 2 yrs ago we were after rui costa for a reputed 7-10 mill £ bid.... *sigh*

-- Anonymous, July 04, 2001



But if we'd bought him we would have played him up front as a target man. His confidence would be crushed by the poor service and long ball punts from Barton. We don't know what to do with players like that any more. How can we expect foreign players to come when we have destroyed so many already. If I were Jonny F, I would ask how many foreign players Newcastle had signed over the last 5 years and how they faired. Imagine my response when told about Maric, Tommerson, Marcelino, Cordone, Hamaan, Domi, Charvet, Gavilan, Goma, Kilrese... The list goes on. Newcastle can't handle foreign players. Why is that?

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2001

Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo, Rivaldo Shearer . Do they ever produce as much after their big money transfers as they did before? The money is paid supposedly because the players have proven they have the ability and characteristics to make them the top footballers in the world. But there’s a huge element of shutting the proverbial door after the horse has bolted. There is no guarantee that they will be able or even willing to achieve the levels they did before. The only justification for such extravagance is therefore showmanship. Get the glamorous names, and capture market-share. You end up selling an image, a fantasy concocted with the help of advertising sponsorship to conjure up a team of superhuman players with superhuman abilities. Football is becoming like a Japanese cartoon series..
In the Berkovich article posted earlier he quotes the disparity in value between himself and Lampard. He’s obviously blissfully unaware of the twat factor which severely reduces his own value, but there is an underlying element of truth. There isn’t a huge gap between players’ abilities. Being in the right place at the right time applies to football as much as it does to the rest of life, and the ones that shine are those that make the most of their opportunities.
If we peel back the façade of glamorous teamsheets, what do we actually find? Do they deliver? To an extent perhaps, in the past, but I suspect that their days are over. The trumped up prima donnas have started to believe their own propaganda and have an inflated sense of their own worth and ability. We should be building a team of Davids not Goliaths. We should be destroying myths not trying to buy into them. Good, honest, quality football. I’m not advocating a load of cloggers – quite the reverse. In fact it’s my point. The ability is largely there already, under our noses. We have to tap into it, nurture it, get characters together that understand each other and play as a team. So get out their lads and prove the doubters wrong.

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2001

Good post Pete, agree wholeheartledy with comments

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2001

172million squid! is St James' Park even worth that??

It might be but not to us. It's owned by the Council.



-- Anonymous, July 05, 2001

And what a wonderful set of upstanding citizens they are :-)

I guess that any player is worth what someone is willing to pay. However, I think some of these mega deals are about placating volatile fan bases. Many continental sides see active protest by their fans if they feel their club is not making an effort to suceed with quality signings (see our return game to Barca with an empty stadium).

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2001



good post, Leeds did that, now they are looking to buy to consolidate it with the best YOUNG established pros like Dyer. But, for me, this is even riskier. Ferdinand and Dyer to me appear like thick planks.

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2001

Pete Miller says that we should be building a team of Davids.

What a brilliant idea - based of course around Ginola, Edgar and Seaman?

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2001


Excellent points Pete especially There isn’t a huge gap between players’ abilities (with one or two notable exceptions possibly. :-)

I think that the mega transfer is very high risk. It can only be justified if you have a team which is very close to the big prizes and you feel that the new £20m man adds an edge which will get you there. The risks are that he may not reproduce the form and there is the constant risk of injury to any player. If you've shelled out many millions for a guy who will contribute nothing next season then you're in trouble. I'm not against paying megabucks for the right player but recognise the enormous risk in making sure he is the right player. I'd far rather that we put a lot of effort into creating rather than buying the NEXT £20m man on our own doorstep, through the youth policy and also fishing for potential in other clubs and adding value at SJP.

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2001


It certainly depends how close you are. I bet Roma don't regret a single penny of the 20mil they spent on Batistuta last season.

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2001

'It can only be justified if you have a team which is very close to the big prizes and you feel that the new £20m man adds an edge which will get you there. '

Yup. The final big gamble for the big prize, perhaps. And the mega signing might even relish the challenge. Bet he'd consider himself above the sweat and toil of lesser opposition in domestic competition though.

-- Anonymous, July 05, 2001


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