Money talks, absurdity rules.

It is almost three weeks since the European Championships in France came to a climax, a tournament to forget for England and one to savour for the likes of Wales, Iceland and the eventual victors Portugal.
Since the completion of the European tournament I must say I have been struggling for inspiration to compose a meaningful post. I refuse to post generic rubbish about the transfer window using the 'insert player, club and price tag' framework, as let's be honest a good nine times out of ten nothing at all comes of posts like, as after all they are purely rumours, and away from the transfer window, no pre-season campaigns or any other footballing happenings for that matter have really struck a cord with me.
That was until a few days ago when it was revealed Juventus had shelled out a cool £75.3 million for Gonzalo Higuain, making him the third most expensive transfer in history.

Gonzalo Higuain unveiled to the media as a Juventus player

Now, this post may sound like a contradiction of myself - 'I refuse to post about the transfer window', but in this case this transfer is about much more than that, it is the astronomical, absurd figures that are becoming more and more ridiculous, but also more frequent in football, which makes me question whether owners of these 'mega clubs' are putting business first and almost amassing their own 'fantasy teams' to illustrate their riches and prestige before what should really matter - football itself.
In a world which has recently seen major volatility in the global economy following the UK's surprising exit from the European Union, football's own economy has not been effected one jot, instead fees for players and their along with contracted future wages have visibly sky rocketed.
Don't get me wrong a player such as Higuain comes with an impressive goal scoring record (36 goals in Serie A last season, a record) and will definitely bolster the Juventus front line. However, he by no means is the first name to pop into your head when you're thinking of a consistently world class performer, a few individual honours to his name, but nothing ground breaker, he didn't even feature in last season's Ballon D'Or squad. Yet still worth upwards of £75 million. On a side note, a deal likely to be around £100 million for Pogba?
Ten years ago that would be unheard of. The mind boggles. However, it just shows just how much money now talks at an elite European domestic level, if teams don't have the financial backing behind them they will get left behind at the highest level (in the most part - Leicester winning the Premier League will never happen again).
Market inflation is clear to see, to put things into perspective, in 2003 Manchester United acquired Cristiano Ronaldo for £15 million (after add-ons), in 2016, Jordon Ibe signed for Bournemouth for the same price. Now, no disrespect to Ibe, as a player who came through the ranks as a youngster at my club Wycombe before moving to Liverpool, I respect his talent, however, if you compare the two players abilities at this stage in their career, and their possible potential, there is no comparison.
But who is to blame for this baffling level of inflation we now see in the footballing market place? Well, clearly there are multiple factors that have a bearing.
A transfer has three main 'actors' - the clubs, the player himself and the player's agent, all of which have different requirements that should be adhered to in order to complete a deal. It seems to me that clubs are charging more for players to pay for their insane wage bills, as well the shear amount of money at clubs disposal the market level is being pushed ever more skywards. You could argue introducing wage caps would solve this problem, but players will just go elsewhere. In order to attract world class players you need to offer competitive wages, and with clubs becoming richer and China starting to entice players away e.g. Hulk, Ramires and Pelle to name a few, wages and player prices will continue to rapidly grow, it is a vicious cycle of greed from a player's perspective. Let's be honest no player dreams of playing in China.
Greed isn't a trait that used to really exist in football, players wanted to play football because they loved the sport, they wanted to play for their home team and they wanted to win for themselves and the fans. Back in 1996 Alan Shearer signed for Newcastle, at £15 million it was a lot at the time, a record fee, but the rest as they say is history - an enigma, a cult hero, he cared for the club and the club cared for him. However, these days things are different, players come and go, with many players (and their agents) always looking for that next big pay-day, a reason why China is such a coup for many players these days - who wouldn't say no to over £200,000 a week to kick the ball about a bit, without having to show any passion or care for the club you've signed for. It has become merely a power game - sign a player for obscene money - gain from commercialisation. This is business, not football.

Much has changed financially in football since Alan Shearer signed for Newcastle back in 1996

Unfortunately, the ever increasing popularity of football isn't benefiting football supporters, who dedicate their time and money to supporting a club, but instead football 'consumers', those who go to big game once in a lifetime, or sit in front of their Sky TVs week in, week out, those are the people these clubs at the top of the footballing pyramid are catering for - with clubs being obliged to sign big players by these so called fans, only ever seen on YouTube highlight reels, just to keep the peace. With the hardened supporters then having to pick up the pieces in terms of increased ticket prices, and watching eleven players on an ego trip kick a ball about for a six figure sum.
With broadcasters now shelling out £5.14 billion for broadcasting rights - a 71% increase from three years prior - and with Premier League teams seeing between £65 million and £100 million of this figure, you can understand why player prices are rapidly inflating - and why valuations that used to be outlandish now don't even raise a solitary eyebrow.
Regretfully this is the world of football we now live in, and it is very unlikely to change anytime soon, if anything the 21st century footballing mantra of money buying success and riches will only escalate. Give it 20 years and £75 million for a 28 year old will be a comparative steal.

Wycombe Wanderers - back to winning ways?

Without a shadow of a doubt, Wycombe Wanderers have been on a whirlwind journey over the past few seasons, surviving relegation to the conference by the skin of their teeth on the last day of the season, followed by Wembley heartbreak with the club being only seconds away from what would have been a well deserved promotion to League One. However, last season was somewhat of an anti-climax, high expectations going into the season, a chance to push on from the disappointment of a sickening play-off defeat. Ultimately, a lack of consistency was evident and any opportunity of promotion slowly ebbed away at the turn of the year.

The lack of consistency that was clearly visible was down to a number of factors. Not as the Chairboys manager Gareth Ainsworth suggested because Wycombe Wanderers is a small club, with a small squad and a lack of material and immaterial resources, this simply isn’t an argument, as after all Accrington Stanley, possibly the smallest club in the English professional leagues had an exceptionally strong season. Rather, poor results were down to loan signings not really paying off (they were pivotal in the previous season), a lack of tactical awareness at times, injuries to key players and probably the most significant of all – a distinct lack of goals (45 all season, only Yeovil and Newport scored less) – defensively the squad was sound, but if you don’t score goals, you don’t win matches, it is as simple as that.

The rationale behind a recognisable lack of goals was most probably the lack of an attacking mindset the team seem to have, it was as if the team knew to an extent how to go about scoring a goal, with brief spells of brilliant high tempo passing football on offer in nearly every fixture, which would nearly always lead to a goal or a significant chance, however, on the most part, aimless balls forward to strikers was the order of the day at Adams Park. Clearly, this wasn’t the right way to go about scoring goals, especially with the Chairboys’ regular strike partnership of Paul Hayes and Garry Thompson somewhat past their prime, yes, they work hard and when build-up is done in the right way they picked up goals, but more often than not they were out-paced by younger sprightlier opposition defences. Other younger attacking options such as Gozie Ugwu (Yeovil’s top scorer in 2014/15) and Rowan Liburd (11 goals for Reading U21s), who looked to offer a lot more panache up front had little or no impact when it came to scoring goals, mustering only two between them all season.

Paul Hayes celebrates his goal against Plymouth Argyle in the 2014/15 Playoff Semi Final

Reflecting on a dismal goalscoring season it is clear that Gareth Ainsworth has identified these concerns and has already opened up his black book of contacts in order to rectify this situation as he looks to construct a side capable of reaching the heights of League One which had slipped further and further from their grasps last season.

Prior to today, three signings had been made by Ainsworth, all of which looked to reignite the dwindling flame that the Wanderers strike force had become. The first signing – to whom I wrote about previously was Dayle Southwell from Boston United. Clearly, from Liburd’s performances and other self proclaimed academy wonder-kids in the past that have graced the hallow turf at Adams Park in the light and dark blue, Premier League academy players aren’t always the players to go for at League Two level, for the primary reason that most academy players won’t be able to adapt to a more aggressive game played by more seasoned and experienced professionals. Instead, bringing in a player like Southwell who was prolific at Boston (54 goals in two seasons), who has experience at playing at the uglier end of the footballing spectrum, and who also evidently has an eye for goal could well be much more beneficial when making the step up to League Two.

The second and third signings were both wingers, and both of which are likely to add an extra dimension to the attack. Paris Cowan-Hall – who returns to the Chairboys from disappointing spell at Millwall where ultimately a broken ankle saw any chance of becoming a seasoned player at The New Den impossible. Prior to leaving Wycombe for Millwall, Cowan-Hall impressed management and fans, with his footballing mind, blistering pace and flair, seeing him find the net on ten occasions, and also racked up multiple assists whilst at Wycombe. He is joined by Myles Weston. Weston, whom has played at a higher level at the likes of Brentford, Southend and Gillingham, as well as having 4 international caps for Antigua and Barbuda is another dangerous attacking player who in Ainsworth’s mind is a player who without a doubt will ‘bring pace, creativity and a goal threat’ to proceedings. Hopefully, once the season begins the link up play will improve and more crossing opportunities will emerge to assist the newest Wycombe Wanderers signing, iconic cult hero – Adebayo Akinfenwa.

Akinfenwa with manager Gareth Ainsworth

The question is, is the man known as ‘The Beast’ all he’s hyped up to be? Or have Wycombe Wanderers purely signed him to become the new face of the club’s main sponsors Beechdean Ice Cream?

Personally, as a fan, for the club it is a great coup, especially knowing that many other clubs, with much greater financial backing were pursuing his signature. Despite the fact Akinfenwa is coming to the end of his career aged 34, the stats don’t lie, 71 goals for Northampton, 21 at Gillingham and 19 goals at AFC Wimbledon. The fact he was released by AFC Wimbledon following their promotion to League One should be overlooked, regardless, it is clear that the strength of an ox and the eye for goal that he possesses has been a reason why he has been so successful wherever he has played – especially at League Two level, where most defences, including when he’s played against the Wanderers in the past just don’t have the capacity to deal with player built like Akinfenwa is. Combine this with the new impetus that the Chairboys will soon have on the wings in Cowan-Hall and Weston, there could be great scope for many more goal scoring opportunities than in the previous domestic campaign.

Even if Akinfenwa doesn’t slot into the Ainsworth’s starting XI, he could prove to be a great option if the team was searching for a goal, and also to give relative old-timers Hayes and Thompson some respite if fixtures got too congested.

Off the field, I feel as if ‘The Beast’ will also be beneficial to the rest of the squad and the whole club. In the dressing room, a big character such as Akinfenwa, along with all of his playing experience could really be beneficial to younger players coming through the ranks, and his leadership qualities and enthusiasm could see the team really pushing for promotion again. From a business point of view, Akinfenwa is also a very clever signing, following his unveiling as a Wycombe player earlier today, fans and social media went into relative meltdown, purely based on this, I’d expect ticket and merchandise sales to definitely increase, which can only be a good thing for a small team, with big aspirations.

Time will tell, Akinfenwa is expected to make his Wycombe Wanderers debut in a pre-season friendly against Le Havre on Tuesday 12th July.

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