The Bosman Mark 2 Debate

By: David Peasgood
Date: 05/09/2000

The Bosman Mark 2 Debate

David Peasgood this week finds Fred and Bert are trying to understand the 'BOSMAN MARK 2' EU transfer saga...
Hear their views and YOU decide in our latest 'fishy' poll.

The Bosman Mark 2 Debate

FRED:
What's it all mean Bert?

BERT:
In a nutshell, the suggestion is that if you were an accountant, manager, fish filleter or whatever, and wanted to change jobs and work for someone else, you can just do so (after working notice). So why can't footballers do the same without money having to change hands? Why are footballers held back by their bosses demanding huge multi million transfer fees?

FRED:
So if this plan goes through then will it mean the end of transfer fees?

BERT:
Yes and no. There will be an alternative. The new employer must pay the old employer a compensation package instead of a transfer fee, but it won't be zillions of quid as at present, it will be based on the players wages, I think it is currently proposed as twice their annual wage.

FRED:
So at present if say Beckham transfers from Man utd. to Real Madrid the transfer fee suggested is about forty million quid, but under the new deal, cos he's on forty grand a week, or two million a year, he'd go for just four million.

BERT:
That's the deal. In our case we got 300 grand for Jack Lester from Forest. I guess he was on about fifteen hundred a week or seventy five grand a year, so under the new deal we'd have got just 150 grand.

FRED:
So clubs lose out then all round.

BERT:
No. You only lose if you are selling a good player, but the buying club gets a better deal. It also knocks these stupid mega million transfer fees on the head, which are insulting to fans.

FRED:
But town rely on selling the odd good player to balance the books. Oster, Croft, Mendonca and the like. We'll lose out.

BERT:
Yes we'll lose there, but we'll be on equal terms when it comes to competing in the market. We can't compete with Wolves, Bolton or Fulham etc right now 'cos they can offer millions for players, but under the new deal even players on five grand a week would cost just half a million max.

FRED:
Under the new deal Ashcroft would have cost less than half what we paid.

BERT:
Correct. Whether it is good for us depends on what we value most. Is it making a windfall on the odd John Oster that comes along, or being able to compete on transfer fees?

FRED:
Problem then though is the deciding factor for who players move to will be wages, and the big clubs will still beat us on that score.

BERT:
We will always lose out on ability to pay wages, that's not new, but at least being able to bid for more players will help us.

FRED:
So what about the premiership clubs. What will it mean to them?

BERT:
It will lose them big transfer incomes when they sell to Italy but it will benefit them in being able to compete against the Italians and Spanish clubs when looking to buy big name players.

FRED:
So who does lose out?

BERT:
I suspect div two and below clubs who rely more than us on outgoing transfers, and also the players themselves, especially at the top level, who will now miss the big transfer pay offs.

FRED:
Where does this leave the Bosman ruling?

BERT:
I'm not sure. I reckon that players who currently hang on for a Bosman may well find that prospective new clubs still need to pay the old club the compensation package. Bosman players wont find it so easy to run out on their clubs, and clubs wont be blackmailed into giving expensive new contracts and signing on fees to stop players leaving at the year end.

FRED:
In other words this European thing effectively kills off contracts?

BERT:
Not totally but they won't be worth the paper they are written on.

FRED:
I await the ruling with interest.

Now for the vote...

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