PSG, what's the plan?

Paris St. Germain became the talk of football in June 2011 when Qatar Sports Investment purchased 70% of the club. Former AC Milan manager Leonardo was installed as Director of Football and was in charge of recruitment with what seemed to be a limitless budget.

The most notable signing was Argentinean playmaker Javier Pastore for 42 million Euros. Pastore was a player supposedly tracked by some of Europe’s more elite clubs but the Palermo man opted to go to Paris.  Other high profile signings were made including French Striker Kevin Gamiero and the midfield strengthen with Jeremy Minez, Blaise Matuidi and Mohamed Sissoko. A total of nine players joined in the summer for a total of 84 million Euros. Far eclipsing all the other clubs in the league and making them one of the biggest spenders in Europe.

Some of these players are not ones that may have considered moves to France and when you look at it the assumption is they are there for the money.

Was it just a case of huge contracts being put in front of them or did Leonardo sell them on the club with a vision and a plan for the future. If so what how did he sell the club to them?

As a club PSG is very young, formed in 1970, and in that time they have 2 league titles to their name as well as a UEFA Cup. So no danger of history calling these players. Paris itself is unique as PSG is the only club in a city or around 12 million people the scope for support is something other Capital clubs could only dream off.

Pastore and Gamiero, the two most expensive signings, are 22 and 24. 2 or 3 good years in France and they could be sold on with their best years ahead. PSG get titles and a transfer fee, the players get Medals, Champions League football and the chance of a move to one of the elite leagues in Europe.

The main lure for these players must be the Champions League. With the squad they have PSG are odds on to be champions and compete at the top level again (they are currently 3 points clear of Montpellier after 20 games). However if they continue to outspend their rivals the lack of competition domestically would make European success near impossible.

The teams you normally associate with Champions league success tend to come from the same countries. England, Spain, Italy. These are normally quite competitive leagues where 2 or 3 teams have similar budgets and can have a good go at being Champions. This means all league games are important and there is a high level of focus, fitness and match sharpness. If PSG’s spending power eliminates the competition domestically some of these elements could be missing when the stronger test of Europe comes along. When Lyon dominated in the early part of the decade their best performance was a Semi Final appearance in 2010.

So could a lack of competition at home be the downfall of PSG?

In 1993 Marseille became the first, and to date only, French club to win the European Cup. It was very close between them and Rangers to win the group to earn the right to face AC Milan in the final. Due to charges of bribery Marseille were unable to defend their title. Rangers however seemed to get a belief that the European Cup was not out with their reach. This led to a club from the Scottish league trying to become a force in Europe, but without any domestic competition to really test them. A situation that PSG could find themselves in.

In summer of 1993, after nearly making the final, Rangers broke the British transfer record to sign striker Duncan Ferguson from Dundee Utd. A further 1.2million was spent on Gordon Durie. Although being crowned league Champions they went out in the 1^st Round of the Champions league. 

The following season the league championship was won again, but the club fell at the qualifying stage in Europe even though Basile Boli, the scorer of Marseilles’ European Cup winning goal (2.7m) and Brian Laudrup, easily one of the best players to play in Scotland (2.5m) were added to the squad.

The following 2 years they made the group stages but were out classed both years. 95 - 96 saw home and away defeats to a great Juventus team. The following year saw them win only 1 game in the group. Players like Paul Gascoinge (4.3m) Oleg Salenko (2.5m) Jorg Albertz (4m) and Seb Rozental (3.5m) arrived during this time and domestic glory was nearly taken for granted. The 96 – 97 win was a 9^th consecutive championship.

During this nine year period the rest of Scottish football had nothing like this spending power. The early part of the run saw Aberdeen run them close. Celtic, the great Old Firm rivals, were in financial peril. Only the arrival of Fergus McCann stopped the club going out of business. 

Season 97 – 98 saw Amoruso (5m) Sergio Porrini (3m) and Marco Negri, a striker who scored for fun till he went for a game of squash, for 3.75m. They were defeated in the second qualifying round of the Champions league 4 -1 by IFK Gothemburg. Celtic won the title under the guidance of Wim Jansen. Preventing 10 in a Row. Celtic also signed a Swedish striker called Larsson.

During the 97 -98 season Walter Smith announced his intention to leave Rangers so 98 -99 started with the appointment of Dick Advocaat. His first season saw the club spend an almost unbelievable 35.95million on players such as Arthur Numan, Anderi Kanchelskis, Colin Hendry and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst. A domestic treble was won. With no Champions league football a Uefa Cup run was ended by Parma.

The following season saw only 2 transfer fees paid out for Michael Mols and Billy Dodds and a second league title won. Again however they failed to get out of a Champions League group.

Season 00 -01 saw Rangers break the SPL transfer record to sign Flo for 12million. Across Glasgow however Martin O’Neill took over at Celtic and they too began to spend big. Celtic were Champions and Rangers finished 3^rd in their Champions league group.

It took until season 05 -06 under Alex Mcleish for Rangers to finally get to the last 16 of the Champions League. Finishing 2^nd behind Inter in the Group. They were eliminated at the next phase by Villarreal.

It took 13 season for the club to finally make another real impact on the European stage and this was a at time when their spending was finally catching up with them and Mcleish’s budget was considerably less than his predecessors.

Although the French League is generally a higher standard than that of the SPL, the ability to outspend rivals and win titles does not make a team for European competition. You could argue Manchester City are doing this in England, but there is also the chance Chelsea or Man Utd could spend 20 or 30 million on a player.

The question as to whether PSG’s new owners would have this kind of patience to continue investing without any European success is one that can’t really be answered now. You would have to assume that domestic glory will be demanded this season by new coach Carlo Ancelotti and given his European pedigree a good Champions league showing next season too.

Do the Qatari owners think they have a club that can win the Champions League or are they building a promotional exercise and money making machine?

Can the French League provide enough competition to prepare the players for a shot at European glory? If PSG want true competition perhaps the best they could hope is for a Saudi Prince to but Marseille.

I shall watch this develop with interest over the next couple of years, but I have a feeling that Paris Saint Germain is not a name we will see on the Champions League trophy in the near future. It just seems if you come from a league where you are dominant it doesn’t matter the quality of your squad European glory is always going to be a step too far.

Revenge? Not even close!

On February 4^th Aberdeen play a Scottish Cup fifth round game at home against a team from a lower league. As a Don I always worry about such ties. Earlier this season East Fife came to Pittodrie and knocked us out the League Cup. The majority of their players that night had done a days work before, one even had to get up for school the next day! The opponents in this coming cup tie are a team whose name still haunts me, Queen of the South.

April 12^th 2008

This is not a piece about a classic seven goal thrilling semi final, in fact I remember very little about the game itself. It’s about hope, disbelief, frustrating, anger and even heartbreak.

I had just started working in Glasgow and was enjoying taunting the Celtic fans the day before the game as we had knocked them out in the quarter final and we were off to Hampden to play a first division team. Even as reds we were confident of reaching our first cup final since Robbie Winters was our keeper!

The first annoying thing was the kick off time 12.00, great for those coming from the North! There was an air of optimism around our end of the ground and sprits were high.  I remember going 1 down, and as always an ex Aberdeen player scored, there was a kid in front of me who took a picture of the scoreboard and he continued to do this all game! We equalised soon after and with the scores level at half time doubts began to creep into mind but the general chat was there’s still the second half and we’ll come through.

The second half was mental! 5 goals in 11 minutes. It was difficult to keep up with the score, although the wee boy with the scoreboard obsession was still snapping away. They scored then we scored, they scored again, we equalise again every time we levelled we thought “right we’ll sort it now” Then they scored again and we didn’t. We didn’t! There was still half an hour to go and time just slipped away. What was happening? is this real? I spent the last 5 minutes looking at the mix of confusion, dismay, and rage around me everything but the pitch.

The final whistle went, we lost! Lee Miller was the only player who dared to walk towards the fans so bared the brunt of the thousands of people whose shirt colour matched their mood.

It felt like bereavement, some may say that’s a bit extreme others will know exactly what I mean. Groups of people wondering round the South side of Glasgow not knowing what to say. We went into the town for a much needed beer but before that my mates checked into their hotel where we met 2 guys at the reception with Red scarves that, like us, were limp and lifeless. We didn’t talk; we exchanged a dismayed look at a shake of the head.

The cherry on top was I had to work that night. I wasn’t ready for the banter, it’s said it’s only too soon if it’s not funny. It wasn’t funny!

Soutar, Maybury, Diamond, Considine, McNamara, Nicholson, Sevrin, Foster, Aluko, Miller Maguire

A Dons starting line up that will be remembered for the wrong reasons.

When the draw was made some people were posting about revenge. This game is not about revenge it’s about getting to the next round. I won’t forget that day, but I could forgive if in May a man in a Red shirt lifts the cup. Well, a fella can dream!

Taking A Loan of the Rules

As I watch the Manchester City v Tottenham game a thought comes into my head about something I’d previously wondered. Spurs play this game, against a near league rival, without Emmanuel Adebayor as he is on loan from City. So in effect the Citizens have weakened their opponents before the game has started. Which gets me thinking “is this a form of cheating?”

On March 3^rd Tottenham go to Old Trafford and you would assume that Adebayor will feature. So the possible scenario could rise where he could score the winner in this game, great for Spurs of course but also for City. Adebayor has the chance to hurt Utd but not City.

It is very rare two rivals would do such a deal, I remember Mancini saying last season he wouldn’t loan Shay Given to Spurs as they were a rival for Champions League positions. Maybe you underestimated Tottenham this year Roberto!

I see the benefit of loan signings for young players to gain first team experience, Sturridge and Wilshire at Bolton are great examples, or as a short term cover but season long loans for players such as Adebayor are a little baffling. He is clearly done at City and spends the second half of last season at Real Madrid. Clearly he is on stupid money at City, around 170 grand a week, and probably wouldn’t want to make less elsewhere. The football lover in us all would ask why not take less money and just play football? But we all know that’s not how it works.

On the FIFA website there appears to be only 3 rules regarding the loaning of players:

1. A professional may be loaned to another club on the basis of a written

agreement between him and the clubs concerned. Any such loan is subject to the

same rules as apply to the transfer of players, including the provisions on training

compensation and the solidarity mechanism.

2. Subject to article 5 paragraph 3, the minimum loan period shall be the time

between two registration periods.

3. The club that has accepted a player on a loan basis is not entitled to transfer

him to a third club without the written authorisation of the club that released

the player on loan and the player concerned.

These are only really regarding the clubs agree to the loan, a deal falls between 2 transfer window and the loaning club can’t sell the player. All pretty obvious stuff. So how far could a club take this?

Does City’s spending power mean they could buy a player and loan him to a rival safe in the knowledge he can’t play against them.

This not have been a issue in years gone by but Manchester City in theory have the means to do such a thing, PSG and the wealth they now have could come into that group too. It’s something that should be looked at before it becomes are real problem.

If a club want to loan a player out who is on big money maybe they should not be allowed to loan players in the same division, young players could still get required experience in The Championship, and situations like the one with Adebayor would be avoided.

In my opinion for deal like this the loaning club should pay the players wages and the player is available to play against anyone. If he was sold there wouldn’t be a clause saying he couldn’t play against City. Spurs train him, treat any injuries so I don’t see the problem with it. I don’t think there’d be a problem with him not trying against City as Spurs would be paying his wages. There does need to be some kind of regulation or what could stop City and their seemingly limitless resources buying the best players from other Premier League clubs loaning them back and as a result never having to face that player.

I appreciate that this may be a little farfetched but so was City being top of the the league not so long ago. 

In injury time Adebayor’s replacement Jermaine Defoe missed a great chance to win the game for Spurs. Would Adebayor have scored it? We’ll never know. City ended up winning 3 – 2. What price he gets the winner on March 3^rd?