Smashed time after time since those golden days
TOON’S CURRENT TOP-FLIGHT RIVALS HAVE BROKEN THEIR TRANSFER RECORDS 101 TIMES SINCE THIS DAY
WHEN it was reported that Newcastle United might break their club record transfer fee last month, the fans were filled with excitement.
It’s no surprise given the fact 12-and-half years have passed since Michael Owen joined the club for £16 million.
His arrival showed ambition from the then-owner Freddy Shepherd. It showed forward thinking, knowing that Alan Shearer was to retire at the end of the season. It was a gamble – it was a big fee and huge wages but it was a gamble that brought fans excitement and allowed them to dream of what might be.
Nowadays United fans are accustomed to a different kind of gamble – one of doing things with as little spend as possible and hoping that it all works out.
As 20,000 fans filled the Sir John Hall stand to witness Owen paraded on the pitch, few would have imagined that this would be the last time United’s record fee would be broken in the ensuing dozen or so years.
Since 2005, we’ve seen some changes – three prime ministers, the first black President of the United States and the average price of a pint rise from £2.10 to £3.60. Oh, and the current crop of Premier League sides collectively breaking their record fee 101 times.
Out of the other current 19 top-flight teams, all have broken their own record transfer fees and 15 clubs have paid more than United’s £16million fee. Plus there are another three currently in the Championship which have done that too.
That includes North East rivals Sunderland and current leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers. Of course a big fee doesn’t guarantee success; Southampton and Leicester City are great examples. Since 2005, Southampton – who were in the Championship at that time and even slipped in to League One in 2009 – have broken their record seven times, with the current record fee standing at £19.5m for Guido Carrillo. Carrillo, who moved from Monaco this January, although a gamble, represents a board going out and getting the player their manager wanted. It shows trust, ambition and desire to
Again, a record fee doesn’t guarantee success but constant backing in the market goes a long way.
remain in the Premier League.
The Saints have fallen victim of a gamble going wrong – a record fee of £15m was paid to Roma for Dani Osvaldo in 2013, only for the Italian to have his contract terminated in July 2015 after 12 games.
Big fees don’t guarantee quality, but do show a desire to do more than survive in the top flight.
Leicester City are another side to have spent big – largely thanks to winning the Premier League. Since 2005, they’ve broken their record seven times but have been stung by purchases such as Andrej Kramaric (£9m), Ahmed Musa (£16.6m) and Islam Slimani (£29m), who ironically is now at Newcastle United on loan. West Brom are top of the list having broken their record eight times. Another side who have suffered the yo-yo nature of the Premier League and Championship but have seen a progression over 13 years. In context, like many of the clubs, their record fee at the time was nowhere near Newcastle United – who it must be remembered broke the record for a British defender (£4m Warren Barton in 1995) before breaking the world record for Alan Shearer in 1996, paying £15m to bring him back to Tyneside. It took Freddy Shepherd nearly a decade to break that record, but his ambition to turn United into a Premier League side battling for top football meant it didn’t matter. He still backed his managers – sometimes ridiculously.
Albert Luque and Jean-Alain Boumsong, are examples where Shepherd afforded his managers a free reign and was left with a mistake on his hands, and Ashley seemingly has gone in the other direction without getting the balance right.
Ten years under the Sports Director has left United forgetting what excitement on the pitch is like let alone off it. Instead of a team being built for the top flight and a squad that is constantly improved, fans have suffered two relegations and watched their best players being sold. Ashley may argue that upon his arrival in 2007, he backed Sam Allardyce in the transfer market and doesn’t now have the wealth to compete with other teams. But a large part of that is down to his own mismanagement which led to United’s relegation in 2016; which in turn meant they missed out on valuable TV money.
Again, a record fee doesn’t guarantee success but constant backing in the market goes a long way. A decade of penny-pinching and working within a budget has set United back years – from European football to the Championship and now battling relegation with a world-class manager but with a squad short of Premier League quality.
This January showed just where Ashley stands in terms of United and the long term aim, and despite having Benitez in charge, a man with a fine record in the transfer market, the aim of putting the balance sheet first instead of United’s Premier League future is all too clear.