Football Diary
by Patrick O'Connor
FABIO Capello and Harry Redknapp have been the names in the headlines this past week but for the majority of football clubs in England there are more pressing matters.
Apparently those wise men at Fifa are planning to scrap the emergency loan window (whereby clubs outside the Premier League can loan players outside the main transfer windows) in 2014.
Greg Abbott, manager of League One club Carlisle United told the BBC Late Kick Off TV show: “It's an absolute outrage. For us it would be a disaster and it would crucify us financially. We know at the start of the season the revenue is not going to be there so we have to gamble.”
He went on: “"The bigger clubs might just get away with it, but for the smaller clubs it will be a torrid thing to happen.
“It doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever. If that's the case then they must scrap the window and allow us to do our business the whole year round."
According to Fifa: “Emergency loans are not compatible with general principles of the Fifa regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.”
And it's not just lower league managers who are concerned. Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew said: “For our younger players the experience they gain out on loan is essential for them to play at the level we're at.”
Martin O'Neill, manager of Sunderland, added: "We are loaning some players out at this moment to Championship and Football League teams to further their education.
“It's great, and hopefully they can come back having played five or six games, and are getting themselves prepared for the Premier League which can only be good news."
No such worries for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich – he's more concerned about what his manager Andre Villas-Boas is up to.
According to the Daily Mail newspaper, the Russian is taking a more hands-on approach by paying visits to the club's training ground.
This comes after the news that it cost Chelsea £28million to get rid of previous boss Carlo Ancelotti and bring in Villas-Boas.
Money well spent Roman?
For footballers of past generations the vast fortunes earned by today's superstars must seem like from a different universe.
A report in the Liverpool Echo newspaper has revealed that Tommy Smith, one of the greatest players in Liverpool's history, is selling all his medals.
His collection which includes league title, FA Cup, UEFA Cup and European Cup winners' medals is expected to raise around £120,000.
Smith told the Echo: “I’m getting old and the money is of more use to me now than the medals. This is about me putting my family first."
The 66 year old former defender, who made 638 appearances for the Reds, said: “I had them all packed up in the loft and then a few years ago I moved them to a bank for safe keeping. It’s not as if I’ve been used to having my medals all out on display at home and seeing them every day.”
If Smith had been playing today he would have been a multi-millionaire!
Maybe Roman Abramovich could buy the medals instead of wasting £28 million on changing managers?