The Fishy - Grimsby Town FC

Question of the Week

Is football a business or a sport?




Meadow Reign
Meadow Reign

The Bigger Picture - Week One

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 22/07/2009

WHAT a terrible signing and waste of money Sven-Goran Eriksson is for Notts County. Firstly, do League Two clubs need Directors of Football? I have my doubts whether there is such a job even at the country's largest sides, let alone at clubs in our division.

Secondly, what does Sven know about League Two? How many of the teams has he ever heard of, let alone seen play, or ever taken an interest in? He's going to have to rely on other people for everything, which he seems to be very good at anyway judging from his time with England and Man City when his "hands on" involvement centred around women rather than his own players.

Thirdly if a director of football is all about signing players, and negotiating contracts is there really that much to do when most of the season falls outside the transfer window?

All in all he's just a pointless figurehead. I'd stake a large amount of money on Sven not seeing out his five year contract at Meadow Lane, and for that matter I doubt we will see Notts County in the Premiership in five years time.

Frankly it's criminal that when clubs like Darlo are struggling to make it through the summer, that others are throwing money away on headline-grabbing stunts.

  • So four players have been banned from playing in our own division. Their sentences of up to a year seem comparatively light, considering it's not infrequent for players to be injured for such periods.

    A lot of people save up all week to attend football matches, and there's no excuse for deliberately throwing games. Even at League Two level players are comparatively well paid compared to ordinary people, for doing a job which many of us would love to do for a lot less money. It's an abuse of the talents they've been given to even contemplate accepting bribes to under-perform.

    I was shocked when I first heard of this story, in our sport, and in the very division where I watch most games. I'd barely even contemplated that anyone playing in this country would ever try anything but their hardest to win. To me it was simply unthinkable.

    I'd like to have seen the book thrown at these players and see them receiving the sort of bans you get in athletics for taking drugs - 2 or 3 years at least.

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