Fans Comment
Kevin Sparke

Cui Bono? (Who stands to gain?)
3/5/06

Let�s examine the motives and actions of the six main actors in our little cameo and try to make some sense of it all: The player himself; the chairman; the agent; the manager; the other club(s) involved; the supporters.

The player� how did a transfer benefit him?

He was reportedly offered the most lucrative contract in Everton�s history, yet he did not put pen to paper; why? Why would he not sign? He supposedly loved the club as a supporter and Everton was in his blood� Yet declined to stay� why?

Firstly, I don�t believe that it was a personality clash with the manager. I�m quite sure that if the sainted HK or HC himself would have been at the club it would made not a jot of difference. Let me let you into an open secret; players and managers clash, they fall out over tactics, team selection, name calling, you name it� it happens at all clubs; it hardly ever leads to transfer demands. I�m sure that this �he never got on with Moyes� theory is a non-starter.

I also don�t believe that Wayne suddenly woke up one morning and said to himself �bollocks, I hate Everton� I want out!� I do believe that Wayne�s advisers through a constant drip, drip, drip of comments such as �You are wasted here� do you want to win things?� it won�t happen here son� you�re too good for this lot� eventually convinced him to think �Yeah, I am too big for this place�.

How did a transfer benefit Rooney? The answer; A whopping big pay rise, a more realistic chance of winning silverware at the �biggest club in the world�, financial security guaranteed, profile raised and worldwide exposure to potential product endorsement.

Cui Bono? � The player most definitely

The Chairman. How a transfer benefited him.

Bill has got a number of headaches. Headache number one; he�s at the helm of a sinking ship and does not want to let go of the rudder in case he loses any chance of steering his ship in the direction he wants it to go. But fortune favours the stubborn as well as the brave and he discovers he�s got a pot of gold in amongst his crew.

This is headache number two: Bill�s a traditionalist he�s seen the Everton greats and he knows that this kid has the potential to outshine the lot of them� he also knows that potential doesn�t always lead to actual (Anyone remember Tony Kay?). The wolves are circling, the coffers are empty and Bill knows that doing the unthinkable and cashing in on his prodigy will stave off the bailiffs for a while and just might save the thing he loves more than Everton � his reputation.

Headache number three � If Bill sells Rooney he might have a mutiny on his hands. What can he do? He needs that cash?

He could always play it clever, make all the right noises, say all the right things, build the player up at every opportunity. If he plays this right, wrings his hands in woe and proclaims that he did every thing he could to keep his golden boy at the club, whilst playing a dark and devious Machiavellian game behind the scenes � who knows? The 'fucking stupid pea-brained peasants' might blame the monkey and not the organ grinder� and they did.

Cui Bono? - The Chairman.

The Agent How a transfer benefited him.

His product made him a huge profit, a nice pay day, a pocket full of golden guineas. So what if I broke a few rules� who remembers that when you�re rich enough to buy people as well as sell them down the river?

Cui Bono? � The Agent.

The Manager. How a transfer benefited him.

I don�t believe for one second that anything David Moyes could have said, done or not done, would have made a blind bit of difference to Rooney�s departure. I do believe that if Moyes would have gone to Blue Bill and said �If the kid goes I go� he�d have been on the next train to palookaville. I believe that Moyes was essentially powerless and whatever his feelings on the matter they did not count for anything once Bill had decided that he wanted to cash in.

Cui Bono? � Not the manager� he lost a damn good player, a lot of credibility, and respect from some of the supporters. He gained some money for the transfer kitty.

The other Clubs involved. (How Newcastle United 'lost a deal' but pulled out a plum)

Picture the scene; Fat Freddie Shepherd gets a phone call. �Hiya mate� we need a stalking horse� you up for it?� Freddie makes a call to a yes-man �Phone The Sun and tell them we're putting a bid in for Rooney� yes, I know he�s not for sale; Bill said so� well I know different� The upshot of the tale is Newcastle United go public, which allows the real suitor for Wayne�s hand in an unholy tryst to declare their interest�

�and all the pieces suddenly fall together. The player expresses his carefully manipulated discontent, the agent demands the best deal for his product, the Everton chairman voices his absolute despair whilst secretly shitting himself in case the player fails the medical, the manager makes all the right noises and the most pathetic excuse for a deal for the best player of a generation is thrashed out � �29 measly million pounds for crying out loud!

Cui Bono? � Manchester United and Newcastle � (Where were the Manchester United bids when Owen went on sale?)

Finally, the supporters. The only place where loyalty can be found in the modern game and, boy, do those in power play upon it!

Take this little vignette.

The prodigal son comes home, the media whip up a frenzy, the game is held after an all-day drinking session and the sheep all bleat as one �Judas, Judas, Judas� and the real culprits in the sale of the wonder boy get away with it Scott free� just like they always do and they always will because the sheep are still bleating even now about outlandish and outmoded concepts such as player loyalty and love for their club� is it any wonder that a large number of players openly despise the supporters of their own team?

Cui Bono? The football industry, the media whores, the ticket touts, the FA nabobs, the peddlers of mass entertainment.

So who loses?

We all do; and until we all wake up one day or learn to think and burn our season tickets, send back our Sky digital, throw away our replica kits, turn off MotD� we�ll always lose.

Me? I just like to see 11 blokes play another 11 blokes whilst all the time hoping I�m going to see one or two of them do something special � and fuck all the bullshit that goes with it.

Cui Bono? ... Me, I don't hate Rooney the footballer � I hate the system that created Rooney the hate figure, for if our tale has a real villain it is surely this.
Kevin Sparke


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