The Mail Bag
The World Cup affecting a Player's Value
Comments (20)
Here on ToffeeWeb and all over the television are continuous references to guys having a "Great" World Cup and increasing their value in their Club career.
I find it hard to believe this actually happens? That is, some fellow playing out of his mind in a World Cup and Clubs thinking, "My God, who's that, where does he play, and how much will he cost to get"?
I understand the media have to fill time and/or space and players/agents/sponsors have an interest in World Cup performance being viewed a legitimate measurement of player worth. But how many genuine talents can there be on some World Cup national team who are not already known?
I don't doubt some club team has tossed big bucks at a player based on the World Cup. If nothing else, pro sports ownership proves riches and stupidity are not incompatible.
But how do you come to the conclusion a player is worth substantially more based on one 7 game-maximum sample of his play?
James Flynn, Posted 14/06/2010 at 21:35:09
Comments
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer
There are other, lesser known players who play in lower quality leagues who have the opportunity to prove their worth this month. Andrei Arshavin's Euro 2008 campaign is a great example of this type of player. He had played in the Russian league for a few years and shown his potential but it wasn't until he played well at The Euros that everyone saw that he could compete at the highest level. Arsenal picked him up and it has worked out well for them.
There's always one, but I doubt if there will be many surprises. The top clubs will already be aware of the ability these players have. In fact, with the TV coverage we enjoy these days, even the fans will have seen most of the players before.
Let's face it, if you were guided only by what you had seen so far, you would spend a fortune on who you know to be average players, but you wouldn't pay a penny on the likes of Rooney. If you're the sort who watches footy from all around the world, you are unlikely to discover "new talent". You will however find out who can hold his nerve when the world is watching,
I can't see how this exposure wouldn't affect their potential value, if a team hadn't scouted them before they get to for free and players that might not have been on the radar of managers certainly would be after a good performance.
I had never heard of Mehmut Ozil of Germany until 2 nights ago — he currently plies his trade with Werder Bremen but if he continues in that vein of form some of the really big boys will be knocking the door.
I find that these big international tournaments can kick start a really big career for someone who was always going to be good — it's just that it now gets highlighted. We found this out with Rooney in Euro 2004 unfortunately.
Lineker in '86, Gascoigne and Platt in '90. And then there were others in the 1970s- 1990s whose names I forget. Normally they flopped in their new environments. The star of Euro '96 was a Czech right midfielder who Man U bought but who was then kept out of the team by a young David Beckham.
However nowadays the scouting of the bigger clubs is much more sophisticated so I would have thought they place much less value on World Cup performances than before.
I watched M'Bia (a supposed Everton target a couple of seasons ago) play for Cameroon last night — I thought he was very ordinary (if playing out of position at right back. Tony Hibbert would have done a much better job, including distribution).
The other problem with World Cup football is that compared to Premier League football it is incredibly slow. This requires a different skill set, so World Cup stars often find it hard to perform in the PL, which on the evidence so far is a higher average standard.
You see, we were a selling club back then. Treble the money after one year? On your way son....
There's little in the way of undiscovered talent these days at the World Cup – it's fast becoming a thing of the past, but it's definitely an opportunity for a player plying his trade in a lesser league to make a name.
I very much doubt that any of Everton's lads are little known enough to make much difference to their value, although it could give a timely reminder in the case of Pienaar. Our lads are seen week-in, week-out in the most popular league in the world, so don't expect anyone's value to triple overnight.
One exception could have been Anichebe, if he'd gone and played well.... but he didn't, so he won't...
I would have liked us to have taken A Johnson from Citeh as I think he has a touch of class about him, but if Capello is going to take Heskey & Carra it's obvious our youth aren't going to get a look in.
In fact, James, I'd say I find it hard to believe values wouldn't go significantly up and down during the World Cup.
It just struck me listening to one of the games and hearing the announcer talk about so-and-so's value might go up if he has a big WC.
Which brought to mind the talk of Pienaar supposedly wanting to wait until after the WC to resolve his contract. The implication being a great WC = more dough. And that I don't get. Someone like Peanuts: late-20s, proven, good pro... Who's going to offer him more because of the WC? I find that hard to believe.
Now some very young players, like the German youngster? OK. Maybe I can see a little bidding by moneyed teams or his current club moving to tie him up. But the Pienaar's and Landon's? Seems to me their salary value is established.
Alright then, maybe if we attach their monetary value as a club getting a larger transfer fee based on a higher profile from the WC. That I could see, I suppose.
Add Your Comments
In order to post a comment to the MailBag, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.
Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and MailBag submissions across the site.
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
1 Posted 15/06/2010 at 05:47:10
Report abuse
I think his value doubled based not even on one World Cup James, but purely on one moment of brilliance during one World Cup game.
Having said that, his substitute appearance in the 4-1 FA Cup victory over Spurs in '95 actually made him, to my mind, worth every penny we spent on him! A truely priceless moment!