Premier League Nonsense

Perceived wisdom has it that Arsenal are not one of the biggest payers in world football. If that is the case then why are the parsominous ones finding it so hard to get rid of fringe players like Nicklas Bendtner, Sebastian Squillaci and even Denilson who is back in Brazil but only on loan?

Bendtner, the Danish striker with a big opinion of himself, has been linked with a number of clubs by his agent but when push comes to shove no deal has happened yet and one reason for that is few clubs are willing to match the salary he currently earns at Arsenal. And despite having spent last season on loan with Sunderland his stock his relatively high following a reasonable Euros with his country.

Another player a club can’t get shot of is Emmanuel Adebayor. His proposed move to Tottenham Hotspur has not happened yet with the north London club reluctant to match his wages. It’s obvious City no longer see him in their plans; the year before last he spent on loan at Real Madrid and they too didn’t see enough to want to sign him.

Adebayor of course is earning a whole lot more than Bendtner but while the Dane is seen at least as a hard working striker Adebayor is seen as looking after himself. Not a trait that will endear him to team mates or employers.

Indeed Robin van Persie’s proposed move to Manchester City is unlikely to ever happen all the while Adebayor is with the Premier League Champions owing to apparent tensions between the two when they were both at Arsenal.

More column inches and cyberspace have been taken up with Robin van Persie than perhaps any other supposed transfer. If you believe the media over these things then City have had the deal signed up because they can match his wage demands, which as far as I’m aware have never been made public, then they fell out the running for Manchester United to become favourites. The latest destination is thought to be Juventus though other reports suggest they may no longer be interested.

And that is all we have to go on. Reports from uncited sources or just the mere guess work of journalists who know that a juicy piece of transfer gossip will add thousands to their website.

Last year’s transfer non event was Luka Modric’s proposed move to Chelsea. Tottenham kept upping the price, supposedly, Chelsea kept accepting, supposedly, then nothing happened. Now it appears he is being linked with Real Madrid.

His former team mate, Nico Kranjar, came out recently guns blazing, accusing Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy of being greedy and trying to milk as much money out of a transfer fee as possible. Well, shucks Nico. That is his job after all, to protect his club and to get the best possible fee when they decide to sell. It’s not as if players are known for their generosity when it comes to contract negotiations.

Perhaps the biggest non story of this year so far has revolved not round a player but a manager. When Fabio Capello left the England manager’s job it was assumed by many, not least in the English media, that Harry Redknapp was a shoo in for his replacement. Ignoring the fact that he had just one FA Cup triumph to his name they tried to convince everyone that Harry was the best man for the job because, um, he was English and he liked to talk to the press!

He never got the job of course and the appointment of Roy Hodgson was one reason why England entered the Euros accompanied by less media driven jingoism than usual.

And as for Harry? Surely a man good enough to be linked to the biggest job in English football could walk into any job he wanted?

Not quite. Liverpool looked for someone to replace Kenny Dalglish but opted for the relatively novice Brendan Rogers. Aston Villa opted for Paul Lambert from Norwich City. Liverpool and Villa may no longer be the forces they were on the field but both are still big clubs carrying an aura about them. And neither, it appears, were interested in Harry Redknapp.

Indonesia is no stranger to far fetched transfer gossip. A few years ago Bambang Pamungkas was linked with Derby County. The fact that he would never have qualified for a work permit did not stop that particular story doing the rounds for a few days.

The best of all came last year when clubs were busy recruiting players for the debut season of the Indonesia Premier League. The team from Padang in West Sumatra came out and said they were interested in signing Dennis Bergkamp, the legendary Dutch striker who has a very real aversion to flying!

We all love a bit of transfer gossip but much of it is just that. Gossip. Clubs, agents and players themselves have been known to plant stories with their own pet journo for their own reason be it an improved negotiating position or to bolster sagging season ticket sales. They are great fun but best served with a pinch of salt!