Fans Comment
Michael Wynn

Have I Missed Something?
13 July 2004

Stretford: Leading them astray?

I've been thinking about the Rooney saga and how Everton FC seem to be helpless in the matter, but recent events appear to suggest that the Club have actually won back the upper ground and that Paul Stretford may have no option but to keep Wayne at Goodison for another three years at least.  Unless, of course, I've missed something...

Clearly, Wayne has been instructed to say nothing to anybody for fear he will reveal his actual wishes and weaken any negotiating position, and Stretford has nowhere to place him or else it would have happened by now.  [But for the small matter of a broken bone in his foot... — Ed]  At least the contract would have been rejected, so that the potential buyer could start proceedings. [Why is that, exactly?  The lad has a two years left on his contract; Everton made the new offer; it was (as far as we can tell) unsolicited by Wayne Rooney or his reps.  ]

There is no potential buyer, only Everton, and it must be breaking Stretford's heart that he will end up having to leave him with us for another three years. [So your baseless supposition now becomes fact? Carry on...] Rooney is Stretford's prime asset and the biggest meal ticket he's ever likely to find.  At a time when his other players are devaluing (witness the recent transfer of Sean Davis to Tottenham), Wayne can still command big bucks.  However, the three clubs that could afford the transfer fee plus the wages he would demand have all said they do not want him now.  Why not?  [I don't suppose the thought has occurred that it is all a load of media-contrived boillocks?  Though not.  Carry on... ]

It started with Chelsea, who felt he didn't fit their requirements but Man Utd went further.  The honourable Bobby Charlton felt Wayne was happy at Everton and should remain there.  Alex Ferguson has not asked their Board for funds to buy Wayne and is content with what he has got.  Real Madrid have stated that they may want him sometime in the future, but for now they would ideally like him to stay at Everton.  They both want him at Everton because, come the time, it will be easier to prise him away from Everton than a so called bigger club.

There are various reasons that these clubs could be taking this stance at this time, the most probable being that Wayne has been priced out of the market.  [You don't suppose for one minute that it was all a load of media-inspired hype of the most ridiculous nature and had not one once of truth or realism? Thought not; Carry on...] Not the transfer fee (because EFC would be forced to accept whatever is offered, if Wayne refuses to sign), but his wages. 

The proposed contract offered by Everton has already upset Radzinski; What would the effect be on a good, established striker who actually hit the target every now and then?  An unproven 18-year-old arriving on those kind of wages could upset the rest of the squad and lead to demands for parity or worse.  [Err... I'm not sure this actually happens, does it?  New players are arriving at clubs all the time, and some are inevitably paid more than those already there, but they've all signed contracts...  now, unless they have a Dunc Top-Dog Clause... (Does anyone know that to even be true, anyway?)]

Would Ronaldo at United, for example, consider he should be paid as much?  Would he pull a hissy fit if it was refused?  The damage to squad morale could be catastrophic and expensive.  Everton have pulled a masterstroke by offering such high wages for a teenager.  Stretford's answer was a pathetic demand to see the books.  Why?  Because he needs to discredit the offer so that there never was one, then he may be able to move Wayne on for more acceptable wages.  [Plausible, I suppose... although on one level you are giving them credit for Machiavellian cunning that seems just a little out of character... Carry on.]

Further to this, any club taking Wayne on, knows that, if they sign him for five years now, in three years time they will be going through the same long-winded, threat-ridden process.  "He needs to move abroad now to further his football education by playing with better players."  Imagine that being spouted at Alex Ferguson.  "Give me more money now or I'm going back to England."  That's if he fulfills his potential.  If he fails, no one will want to know, especially whilst he has the same agent, and that would have been very expensive. 

Now we arrive at the matter of the transfer fee.  To maximise his profit, Stretford needs this to be as high as possible.  He wants the £30M at least, preferably £40M.  That clearly isn't coming, so what can Stretford do?  Interested clubs will sit it out if Wayne doesn't sign a new contract, knowing that the price gets lower, the nearer the end of his current contract gets.  However, this will force Everton into a panic sale in the January transfer window. 

The Everton Board have stated they will not sell for less than £40M but they would probably have to accept nearer £20M, with the balance being made up with player exchanges.  How much would Stretford be entitled to if Smith and Butt came over as part of the deal?  What if Everton fashioned a deal that only involved player exchanges?  I don't know how his slice of the deal would be calculated, but I suggest it is not in the agent's best interest to let Everton undersell Wayne Rooney and the only way to prevent that is for him to re-sign for Everton, with a clause allowing Wayne to talk to any club that bids at least £40M. 

That's my reading of the situation, unless of course I've missed something.  (I've written this on the assumption that back-handers will play no part in the process and that the agent's fee is commission-based.)

Michael Wynn

©2004 ToffeeWeb