SECURE THE BAG
“Interested in”, “keen on”, “considering a move for”, “contemplating a deal”, “keeping an eye on”. These are the phrases reserved for the glamorous world of elite football transfers. The hot-gossip rumour mills of the MSM are full of potential deals that will see tens of millions of pounds exchanged in fees between clubs. Players’ Mr 15%s will trouser their wads and their clients will be well remunerated. Most of the headline claims at the moment involve Saudi Arabia sweeping through Europe’s top league to sign players that are deemed surplus to requirements, but there is plenty going on in the lower echelons of the game.
Most transfers below the top flight are not the result of a war chest or state-funded project. Instead, they see players moving on free transfers between two clubs you may have forgotten existed. Young men needing a short-term contract that provides brief stability, in the hope they will perform well enough and stay fit enough to earn another year, or a slightly more lucrative move. After all, every summer, the number of professional players without a contract runs into the hundreds.
The format is usually the same once the deal is done; a player is given his new club’s shirt to wear in the stands of an empty stadium and then lofts a scarf above his head to prove his desire to play for this new employer, potentially hundreds of miles from home. He may have left his family behind, forcing himself to share long car rides with his teammates or a small flat with five people in a similar position, debating if nights of thumb-twiddling on the PlayStation are really what they fancy in their late 20s.
We salute you, professional footballers in the lower reaches, those wonderfully committed individuals living out the dream across the nation, unable to complain about playing twice a week in the wind and the rain for less than a banker earns in a week. Your transfer may go unnoticed by those desperate to see if their favourite Fifa star jumps on a private plane to move to another club to earn another gazillion pounds. The announcement tweet may look hurried and only get a handful of RTs. But we care, we notice and we wish you all the best.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The BK8 agreement is a cynical last-minute attempt to scoop the financial gains ahead of the voluntary ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsors. Fans, players and club staff alike want Villa to be as successful as possible, [but] that should not come at the expense of exposing fans to the exploitative practices of gambling operators” – the Aston Villa Supporters’ Trust reacts to the club’s new sponsorship deal with BK8, a mysterious betting firm who saw a previous deal with Norwich cancelled over sexualised online marketing content.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
“I’m informed by [Thursday’s] Football Daily I’ve only been receiving a Daily extract each day. If I follow the instructions will I be sent the version with all the carefully crafted, cutting-edge jokes? Hmm, tempting” – Ian Sharp (and 1,056 others).
“Really enjoying the Memory Lane photos [Thursday’s email], do keep it up. Reading about the international franchise situation – could I suggest a daily Spot The B0ll0cks update? Or would that be too easy?” – Steve Malone.
“Declan Rice keen to join Arsenal despite interest from Manchester City? I had to check if I was reading Big Website or The Onion” – Krishna Moorthy.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Ian Sharp. Next week, we have three copies of Against All Odds: The Greatest World Cup Upsets to give away. So get writing!
This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
