English soccer's unholy trinity hits new high
By Vic Mills
LONDON (JP): With the new Premiership season just days away, soccer's unholy trinity of transfer, injury and crisis has already reached Richter scale proportions and nowhere more so than at Newcastle United.
Having sold French winger David Ginola to Tottenham Hotspur for US$3.5 million, manager Kenny Dalglish was then obliged to accede to the wishes of his directors and sell center forward Les Ferdinand to Tottenham for $10 million.
The transfer was unusual in that its basis was more financial than footballing. With the fee to Ferdinand, 30, too good to refuse, the sale was completed just days before the club's financial year end. Valued at $220 million on the London stock market, the Tyneside club lost $40 million last year, largely due to the purchase of Alan Shearer from Blackburn Rovers.
The bad news did not end there, however, for at virtually the same time that Ferdinand was signing for Tottenham, Alan Shearer was being stretchered off at Goodison Park after fracturing his fibula and rupturing ankle ligaments in the last minute of a meaningless Umbro Cup match against Chelsea.
Operated on the following day, the injury will keep Shearer out of soccer until at least the new year. The news that Newcastle had lost both its top strikers in the space of a weekend wiped $20 million of the club's valuation when the stock market opened on the Monday morning.
The injury will not only rob Newcastle of the best striker in the Premiership, but will also leave England without its most talismanic striker for the remaining World Cup qualifying games against Moldova and Italy.
Dalglish's immediate reaction was to block the transfer to Bolton Wanderers of Peter Beardsley. Until a replacement can be found, Newcastle's forward resources will evolve around the aging Beardsley, Colombian Faustino Asprilla and the recently signed Dane, Jon Dahl Tomasson.
While his attempts to find a top class striker have proved elusive, Dalglish has gone some way to strengthening his defense by signing England's defender, Stuart Pearce, on a free transfer from Nottingham Forrest and by securing the services of Alessandro Pistone from Internazionale for $7 million.
Lure
The lure of Merseyside, in contrast to that of Tyneside, was again evidenced last week as Liverpool completed the transfer of German international striker, Karl Heinz Riedle, from Borussia Dortmund for $3 million. A quality player, Riedle headed two fine goals in Dortmund's surprising European Cup final victory over Juventus in May.
The signing brought the Merseyside club's spending this summer to $20 million. Roy Evans, its manager, having already acquired Paul Ince from Internazionale, Oyvind Leonhardsen from Wimbledon and Danny Murphy from Crewe Alexandra.
The arrival of Riedle prompted bookmakers to quote Liverpool as second favorite to Manchester United to win the Premiership.
Riedle will get an early chance to show his worth as Robbie Fowler damaged knee ligaments in a pre-season friendly in Oslo last week and will be out for about four weeks. The injury will also offer a rare chance for Liverpool's brilliant 17-year-old center forward, Michael Owen.
Frustration and fitness cloud Manchester United's preparations, too, as the Department for Education and Employment confirmed last week that Brazilian center half, Celio Silva, would not be granted a work permit to play in the Premiership.
Collapse
The collapse of the deal came at the worst possible time for manager, Alex Ferguson, with David May (thigh) and Gary Neville (thigh) already sidelined. Ankle ligament trouble will also keep striker, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, out for four weeks to six weeks.
Ferguson has hinted that he will rest David Beckham for the first three weeks of the season to enable him to recover fully from the Tournoi de France. Beckham came on as a late substitute in United's win over Chelsea in the Charity Shield at Wembley on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace added to the growing ranks of the foreign legion by signing Attilio Lombardo from Juventus for $3.5 million. An Italian international, Lombardo spent six years at Sampdoria and two with Juventus, although his spell in Turin was hampered by serious injury.
Derby Country brought the number of overseas players in the Premiership to 130 when they signed Francesco Baiano from Fiorentina for $1 million. Baiano will join his Italian compatriot, Stefano Eranio, at the newly constructed Pride Park.
Fixtures
Saturday, Aug. 9: English premier league: Barnsley v West Ham, Blackburn v Derbyshire, Coventry v Chelsea, Everton v Crystal Palace, Leeds v Arsenal, Leicester v Aston Villa, Newcastle v Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton v Bolton, Wimbledon v Liverpool. English division one: Birmingham v Stoke, Bradford v Stockport, Bury v Reading, Manchester City v Portsmouth, Middlesbrough v Charlton, Norwich v Wolverhampton, Oxford United v Huddersfield, Port Vale v Nottingham Forest, Queens Park Rangers v Ipswich, Swindon v Crewe, West Bromwich v Tranmere. Scottish League Cup second round: Queen of South v Dundee United, Berwick v Celtic, Dumbarton v Aberdeen, Dundee v East Stirling, Dunfermline v Ayr, East Fife v Kilmarnock, Greenock Morton v Airdrieonians, Hibernian v Alloa, Livingston v Hearts, Motherwell v Inverness Thistle, Partick v Stirling, Raith v Forfar, Ross County v Falkirk, St Johnstone v Clyde, St Mirren v Clydebank.
Sunday, Aug. 10: English premier league: Manchester United v Tottenham English division one: Sunderland v Sheffield United