Wenger speaks out on the Webster Law re Transfers

[lily_lane]

Some are saying that the top clubs across Europe have a Gentleman's Agreement not to sign a player on the Webster Law, as it will cause mayhem.

But this Telegraph article, and Wenger, seem to think it will be evoked should a player wish it to.

Arsene Wenger: Transfer system will end soon
By Andrew Warshaw

Last Updated: 1:31am BST 01/06/2008

Premier League stars could soon only be signing one-year contracts as competition for the world's finest players reaches new heights across Europe. Chelsea pair Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, Arsenal's Alexander Hleb and Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov are just four of a group of top-flight players linked with big-money transfers this summer, with managers, officials and agents blaming each other for clubs' inability to build a settled squad.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is struggling to hold on to midfielder Hleb, believes the lure of inflated wages is tempting players to routinely break their contracts. "A team sport needs time and stability and all the rules in our game go against that," he said.

Wenger is increasingly worried that players could soon be buying out their contracts after just a year, destroying any hope of squad building. A loophole in Fifa rules allows players to hand in their notice if they have fulfilled three years of a four or five-year contract and are under the age of 28. If they are over 28, they can do so after two years.
So far only one player, former Wigan and Hearts defender Andy Webster, has taken advantage of the escape route in what has become a Bosman-style landmark case. Wenger believes it could open the floodgates.
"At the moment it's either three years or two but believe me, soon someone will challenge that and ask why at 28 years old and not, say, at 27," he said. "And then it will be why after two years and not one? Once you get to that stage, the transfer system is dead. You'd have a team built for a year - then you are in big trouble."
Although the rule has been in place for several years and is designed to strike a compromise with the European Commission's desire to bring employment rights of footballers into line with workers in other fields, no one until Webster had utilised the right. More players, including two with German Bundesliga teams, seem certain to follow suit.
Many believe the loophole will provide a bonanza for agents eager to move players on when their contracts have passed the protected period.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has described the Webster case as "a Pyrrhic victory for players and their agents who toy with the idea of rescinding contracts before they have been fulfilled."
But agents don't see it that way, insisting that more clubs want to get rid of players than the other way round. "In real terms, it's the clubs who invariably force players to break contracts," said Jonathan Barnett, who represents Liverpool's unsettled striker Peter Crouch. "Peter, for instance, has never asked to leave."
Barnett says clubs are too often willing to blame agents when in reality they are rubbing their hands in anticipation of a massive transfer fee for a player whose worth has increased considerably. "Every time a club decides to sell a player they, too, are guilty of breaking a contract," he said. "Players are increasingly regarded as assets."
League Managers Association chairman Howard Wilkinson says shorter contracts have become de rigeur in the lower leagues due to financial necessity but that there is no reason for this to be repeated at the top end. "Players have chased, and always will chase, the money," he said.
Former agent Jon Holmes says this interpretation is unfair but admits top players are no more than commercial assets. "Of course more players will start buying out their contracts. But there is no concept of any kind of loyalty left in the game. Owners are exploiting it in the short run for everything they can get."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2008/06/01/sfnwen101.xml

 

[Locotoro]

very interesting......mmmm

bring the whole berba silence into a new light me thinks

 

[mkkid]

Hopefuly fans,will decide enough is enough and go to watch something else.The tail is really leading the dog now!
Wenger right,there is simply too much money in football and too much player/Agent power!
What is Football is all about now, is simply money, what happen to playing the game for the love it.
I get more enjoyment watching kids play then multi millionaire diving and cheating and acting like spolit brats every week.

 

[Kendall]

Agree with Wenger, this rule is very worrying.

 

[yanno]

Since it's relevant to this thread, this is what journalist Graham Hunter had to say about the big clubs having a gentlemen's agreement refusing to utilize the "Webster Clause":


Hunter: "This [Webster] clause is one that lets players have greater freedom of movement in their careers - even when they're under contract, given certain age and length of contract criteria.

"There is a concord between all big clubs not to use this in a bid to avoid 'another Bosman'. They want to stick together against the players and avoid opening Pandora's Box".
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11828_3375747,00.html

If "Webster" transfers became as commonplace as Bosman transfers, then players would effectively not be bound by contracts, transfer fees would disappear, and world class players would have minimal value as assets on club balance sheets. Of course, at one level, it's pretty horrible that players are considered "assets" but that's the reality of football clubs as businesses.

Widespread use of "Webster" would fundamentally change the financial structure of football.

 

[Locotoro]

Since it's relevant to this thread, this is what journalist Graham Hunter had to say about the big clubs having a gentlemen's agreement refusing to utilize the "Webster Clause":


Hunter: "This [Webster] clause is one that lets players have greater freedom of movement in their careers - even when they're under contract, given certain age and length of contract criteria.

"There is a concord between all big clubs not to use this in a bid to avoid 'another Bosman'. They want to stick together against the players and avoid opening Pandora's Box".
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11828_3375747,00.html

If "Webster" transfers became as commonplace as Bosman transfers, then players would effectively not be bound by contracts, transfer fees would disappear, and world class players would have minimal value as assets on club balance sheets. Of course, at one level, it's pretty horrible that players are considered "assets" but that's the reality of football clubs as businesses.

Widespread use of "Webster" would fundamentally change the financial structure of football.

I think I like the sound of this to be honest, please tell me my logic isnt deluded:
-> sounds pretty similar to the MLS (and other US sports)transfer systems whereby clubs end up trading players for players rather than money.

-> Better for Managers who can really work the market rather than and a rich tycoon, (who wont be able to just come along and buy everyone up.)

->Clubs lower down the divisions would also benefit because their talented youngsters would only be traded for seasoned veterans.

-> Less money recieved from transfers means less money in the game = Lower wages for players, lower signing on fees, no money for agents (Yipeee!).

->Football era of big spending is over and we turn back to the day when it was about the glory of winning and the support of the fans!!


....i wish:duh:

 

[spurslenny]

..or the abolishment of large transfer fees frees up massive amounts of cash which in turn will increase players wages.
Either way, it won't be long before the top players demand wages of 200/250k a week.
anyway you cut it, the top clubs will benefit in terms of the pick of the best players both young and old