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Speakers' Corner #26 Responses
Mar 06, 2007 | 4:13PM | report this

Bufftvs Now that Tevez looks like he can play in the EPL, where will he be next year? And who else from West Ham do you see moving on when they go down, as seems inevitable?

Bobby – I can’t see Tevez staying with West Ham or moving to another Premiership team. Spain or Italy would be likely destinations I suppose.


Henry14 - Do you see Wenger signing Eto'o if he is made available? As an Arsenal fan l feel we are probably an Eto'o like striker and a winger of Ribery's quality from challenging for the title and if Wenger does not have a trophy next season do you see him being told to go to the board of directors and stop coaching?
Q2 looking at the remaining fixtures who has the advantage to win the title Chelsea or United?

Bobby – I don’t see Arsenal having the kind of money it would take to sign Eto’o. Plus I cannot see Barcelona making him available. As I see it he would be the last player that they would want to let go. Ribery is a more likely transfer target.
As for Wenger being upstairs I don’t think that is going to happen either. A manager is moved for one primary reason – the board thinks that someone else could do a better job. Given that they have supported him in the youth movement I can’t see them giving up before it is complete.

United has the advantage in that they can afford at a minimum to lose to Chelsea and to one other team and still win the title because they have a much better goal difference – 16 goals is a lot to make up. In terms of the teams they each have to play it looks very even to me.  


bigdave disaster - Is there anything more to read into Henrik Larsson, king of kings, leaving Man U than just his loyalty toward Helsingborgs? Man U prime to win the league and very much in contention for FA and more importantly Champions League it would seem the only person happy is Saha.

Bobby – Larsson showed when he left Celtic and Barcelona that he very much knows his own mind. From a Manchester United perspective I don’t think chasing Larsson would be a good message to send to the other forwards. He is 35 and is not one for the future. It has been fun watching him the last few weeks though. It has also been fun listening to the number of commentators who have suddenly realized what a great player he is/was.

wja425 - What are the consequences of relegation for a player? I have heard that contracts are often written such that they become null if a team is relegated. For a player who stays with a club on a contract negotiated while the team was in the Premier League, do their wages remain at their original level, or are there automatic pay cuts written in if the club is relegated?


Bobby – It depends on the contract. The North American comparison would be one-way or two-way contracts in hockey. Some players enjoy enough clout to negotiate a salary level no matter what happens; while others might have to accept a significant reduction should relegation happen. Lucas Neil is rumoured to have a “get-out” clause should/when West Ham are relegated. I assume that it would allow him to become a free agent.

Flashman - Enjoy watching the weekly EPL review you do Bobby, but after your review of West Ham-Spurs, you said 'You have to feel sorry for West Ham.' Really.

Their season of sel####estruction includes a bizarre pre-season of takeover speculation, signing players illegally(allegedly), players' gambling addiction problems, boardroom turmoil, a dysfunctional, clique-filled roster full of self-centred 'Bentley Babes', sideline punchups, sacking a manager who comes back to thrash them and a player charged with assault in a nightclub rhubarb who then leaves the country against club rules.

To that you can add, as the media report that the Upton Park stadium announcer made a series of inappropriate comments and an FA investigation that Spurs fans were racially taunted throughout Sunday's game.What exactly is there to feel sorry for with a club like this? Oh, sure, they have a history; just not sure they have a future to match it. Also, since they are often Spurs' feeder club, do you see anyone shifting over? They have some good players but this season really puts a stain on some reputations.

Bobby – The comment was made in the context of the game not in relation to West Ham’s history or off field antics. In order to have cracking game like that you need two sides going at it and that was the case on Sunday. In that sort of situation it is tough to see one team walk/limp away with nothing to show for their efforts. However, having said that football is often a cruel game.

I read that Marlon Harewood might be a Spurs target – I found that surprising. The Spurs left side is still a problem but I don’t see Paul Konchesky providing a solution or Matthew Etherington who Spurs gave up on previously. Luis Boa Morte perhaps?

Danny Gabbidon is a fine player who WHU have badly missed this season and Dean Ashton – if he recovers from the broken ankle – could play for any side in England.

ulsterson - All the recent articles the youth and future of the English game as well as a low murmuring about so few English players on EPL teams made me wonder what ever came of the laws FIFA seemed to be trying to pass a while back. If I remember correctly it had to do with a certain number or percentage of players being required to have come up through the youth system or at least in the league. I don't know how great that would be for the EPL but I would think it would help individual nations nurture their young talent to a greater degree and perhaps forge more of a bond between club and country. Any news on this or did I miss it?

Bobby – The proposal is still on the table but the big clubs are fighting it.

Gunner44 - I read this on BBC is it true and if it is how good is this guy?
"Arsenal are weighing up a £6m summer swoop for Ajax winger Ryan Babel. (Daily Mirror)"

Bobby – The Daily Mirror is not all that reliable although Wenger has been linked with a bid for Babel before. I have not seen very much of him lately but he played for Holland in the FIFA Under 20s two seasons ago and looked very good. Being an Ajax product – there again so was Patrik Kluivert!! - £6m would seem to be a bargain but he has only scored three league goals this season so I am wondering if he has stalled out. Any Dutch league fans out there that can add anything?

verbal97 - Ahead of the build-up to the 2nd leg today, Liverpool's website asked who would you build your team around - Gerrard or Ronaldinho? Not surprisingly, Gerrard got 95.4% of the vote. But that got me thinking, if you were offered carte blanche to build a team right now, who would be your choice of player to build your team around and why?

I would choose Gerrard (as atleti rolls her eyes) because of leadership qualities and he's one of (if not the) best all-around players in the world. I would have to say my second choice would be John Terry for again, the leadership qualities, plus it's a nice luxury to have a central defender that can actually score a few goals.

Bobby – I would go for Peter Cech.

Thierry Henry - Where do you get CHAMPIONS LEAGUE in CANADA these days? TSN only shows CURLING... and we have no ESPN...

Bobby – I had the choice of Liverpool – Barcelona (RDS – the French language TSN) and Valencia – Inter on TLN. RDS was 15 minutes late in joining the game because of Canada Games curling. I switched back and forward during the first half then opted for Liverpool – Barcelona in the second half. My Dad called at half time (he has Shaw Cable) to say that he had found the Liverpool game with English commentary on channel 1 – no idea how that happened. Tomorrow I am hoping for a choice between Real Madrid/Bayern Munich and Milan/Celtic.


Gongatore - Now that Liverpool manhandled Barca out of the CL and rightfully advanced, who would you look FR (will he stay?) to buy for next season? Barca needs to regroup in order to compete next year. They will be very lucky to win La Liga at this juncture.

Bobby – FR may well move. There have been comments made about how he has strong man-management skills but tactically he is not top drawer. Before Barcelona decides who to buy they will first have to decide who to sell and no doubt the Ronaldinho to Milan stories will surface again. As I said earlier I can’t see Eto’o leaving and I would say the same about Messi. Ronaldinho might turn out to be more expendable than it might appear. I might come down to how quickly Giovanni dos Santos is maturing.

16 Comments | Add a comment   categories: Carlos Tevez, West Ham, Arsene Wenger, Samuel Eto o, Arsenal, Henrik Larsson, Louis Saha, Barcelona, Lucas Neil, Spurs, Paul Konchesky, Matthew Etherington, Luis Boa Morte, Danny Gabbidon, Ashton, Ryan Babel, Ajax, Patrik Kluivert, Steven Gerrard, Ronaldinho
 
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ABOUT ME


BobbyMcMahon
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites. Thank you to all who take time to visit this blog and especially to those of you who post your comments and thoughts. PS - If you have questions please post them on the regular Monday blog. I am unable to answer e mails posted to the inbox on this site. And one more thing. If you have questions or complaints or compliments about programming please contact Fox Soccer Channel or Fox Sports World Canada directly. I have no control over what the stations televise.
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