04/20/24
February 13, 2004
Real Madrid and Chelsea to reach agreement over Owen and Ronaldo: Is this collusion? Two major clubs agreeing on how to divvy up players in advance of the dealmaking? Will Erikkson dump his England job to be Chelsea bossman? Most importantly, will Owen go to Spain and take Figo's place and, if so, is he an improvement?
posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 11:33 AM - 11 comments
Why don't Madrid just try and swap Ronaldo for Owen. That'd be simpler all round, surely. (Although I doubt Liverpool could afford Ronaldo's wages).
posted by dng at 11:50 AM on February 13, 2004
My guess is Owen is ready to go regardless of whether Liverpool make it or not. If Liverpool make it, it might keep him another one or two years at best. (At 24, he can afford another two years, but no more.) But the Pool are not Champs League material. I don't think qualifying only to be knocked out in the first round (again), is what Owen means when he thinks of "playing in the Champs League." So, he's likely to go to Madrid. Even Ian Rush, at the height of his and Liverpool's powers, went to Juventus. And he was welcomed back by the Reds after a less-than-successful sojourn. So, too, it is with Owen. With Liverpool at consistently less than its best, and after 6 (7? 8? more?) years of pro loyalty to the club, he has that option.
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:01 PM on February 13, 2004
I don't believe a word of it. The, errrr, "discussion" that follows between Chelski and Arsenal fans is priceless though.
posted by squealy at 12:54 PM on February 13, 2004
It looks to me like some bloke spouting off on a blog. The discussion that follows fills my heart with sorrow. Thank God for Spofi.
posted by Fat Buddha at 02:32 PM on February 13, 2004
How do teams that don't own players decide the fate of these players?!
posted by StarFucker at 07:28 PM on February 14, 2004
Because once you bid seriously for a player, won't give up and are willing to spend enough so that the current club can't say no, the deal is done. Look at the recent Saha deal for an excellent example. As a newbie this still gets under my skin but I'm starting to accept it--just wait and see if RM does make a move for Owen this summer, there will be plenty of wailing on this board. If he goes, the bleating won't stop unless Houllier (or his successor) manages to bring in Cisse or another replacement and the new striker puts a bunch in the net.
posted by billsaysthis at 08:01 PM on February 14, 2004
All this is plausible. I too, believe Svennis will take over at Chelsea after Euro 2004. It is also pretty common knowlege that Owen wants out at Liverpool, and it is believed that Real Madrid is his first choice. I've also heard that Abramovich wants Ronaldo. So all the pieces are common knowlege. If I was Real Madrid, I would certainly be looking to sell Ronaldo. Ronaldo has at most two more seasons in him, thanks to long term injury problems. He's also looking fatter every year. But...25 million plus 10 million a year for Ronaldo...? It doesn't make sense. Chelsea would be so much better served by sticking with Ranieri, and trying to get some stability. They won't win anything if they keep chopping and changing.
posted by salmacis at 04:46 AM on February 16, 2004
I still find it difficult to believe that someone who was smart enough to build a huge fortune from nothing (Abromovitch) would have such unrealistic expectations (silverware in the first year) as is being reported. I think that as long as Chelski re-up for the CL that Ranieri should keep his job at least one more year.
posted by billsaysthis at 01:23 PM on February 16, 2004
Hmm. You sound as if you think Mr. Abramovich actually earned his fortune...
posted by salmacis at 03:49 PM on February 16, 2004
No, Sal, I simply said he was smart enough to build it from nothing... I'm reasonably clear that he essentially stole most of it (the starting point) during the Yeltsin chaos.
posted by billsaysthis at 05:00 PM on February 16, 2004
[Via the interesting BlogFC which Ufez posted last week, thanks dude!]