Hatchet man
Mon May 05 08:52AM
Early Doors knows it has stuck up for them in the past, but it sees a growing body of evidence suggesting that foreign owners can be a menace.
The merest mention of Tom Hicks, Thaksin Shinawatra or Those Guys Who Bought Derby can cause palpitations among many fans, while next week we may see a foreign businessman get a club relegated without ever buying them.
While in the process of trying to purchase Birmingham, Carson Yeung made it abundantly clear that he didn't think much of Steve Bruce.
Yeung never sealed the deal, but Brucey still bolted for Wigan, since which time things have gone seriously downhill at St Andrew's. So seriously that Radhi Jaidi is now their most effective attacker.
Of course, some foreign owners are fine. Mainly those who, like the Glazers or (Confessions Of A) Randy Lerner, seem to have forgotten they ever bought the club.
But as soon as they start trying to make the big decisions instead of just bankrolling them, disaster is rarely far away.
Which brings ED to Milan Mandaric, a trailblazer with nearly a decade under his belt undermining men in the dugout, and who has now overseen Leicester City's relegation to League One.
During seven years at Portsmouth, Mandaric went through Alan Ball, Bob McNab, Tony Pulis, Steve Claridge, Graeme Rix, Harry Redknapp, Velimir Zajec, Alain Perrin and Joe Jordan before deciding that in fact he liked Redknapp after all.
After moving to Crisp Packet Cul-de-sac, Mandaric became even more prolific. In less than a year he went from Rob Kelly to Nigel Worthington to Martin Allen to Gary Megson to Ian Holloway with no fewer than five co-caretakers thrown in for good measure.
That is considerably more managers than the six who guided the Foxes in the 31 years between 1946 and 1977. Not so coincidentally, the same period contained their longest unbroken spell in the top flight and saw them play in three FA Cup finals and the UEFA Cup.
Of course, there is a bit of a chicken-and-egg about this point; are the managers secure because they are successful, or successful because they are secure?
But screw the philosophy - Mandaric has shanked Leicester, big time, and should henceforth be banned from running anything bigger than a kebab van.
Leicester's relegation also denies them East Midlands derbies against Nottingham Forest and, er, Derby; a deadly three-way rivalry much overlooked by anyone west of Swadlincote or east of Melton Mowbray.
Nonetheless, it is a feud so bitter that it makes Stalin and Trotsky look like Ant and Dec; and that one ended with a pickaxe in the side of somebody's head.
(The Commies, not the loveable Geordie entertainers - although that partnership also has to fall apart at some stage, right?)
- - -
It seems Stoke fans were able to sit through 4,140 minutes of football as they moved to the brink of promotion, but found that extra 30 seconds of stoppage time all too much and took the the field en masse with their last game of the season still in progress.
Nobody seemed to mind too much that the club's moment of glory was being jeopardised by several hundred spotty youths and a bloke dressed as Mr Blobby, but the ramifications could have been serious.
Beitar Jerusalem were recently docked six points (two this season, four next) after their fans invaded the pitch to celebrate their imminent league title.
The incident prompted club owner Arkady Gaydamak to describe the culprit as "idiot bastards", adding: "It's my club, not theirs."
A similar penalty for Stoke could have seen them plunged into playoff hell, but thankfully their indiscretion was fairly minor.
Certainly not a patch on Roma fans in 2001, who ran onto the pitch in their thousands, 85 minutes into a game against Parma, to celebrate winning Serie A.
Not only was the game still going, play had to be held up for 20 minutes after the players were stripped to their underpants by souvenir-hungry scavengers.
Roma then traipsed back to the dressing room in their y-fronts, put on some more kit and finished the game.
One overzealous tifoso even tried to debag Parma's Lilian Thuram, who managed to ward off any potential assailants with a glare that said in no uncertain terms: "I will kill you with my bare hands."
- - -
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Sav is a fantastic boy and ever since he left the dressing room has gone awfully quiet ... Technically, he is the worst player I have ever seen and he knows it but he just gives everyone that edge with his adrenaline. He knows he has no skill at all but he works awfully hard for the team and it makes us work even harder." What must Benni McCarthy say about Robbie Savage when he isn't trying to be nice?
CELEBRITY GUEST OF THE WEEKEND: Flavio Briatore, who pitched up at Fulham to watch Big Mo Fayed's men climb majestically out of the relegation zone.
NOT CELEBRITY GUEST OF THE WEEKEND: Sir Trevor McDonald, who plonked himself alongside John Madejski in the padded seats at Reading only to see the Royals get stuffed by Tottenham. Bong!
RUMOUR OF THE WEEKEND: Signor Briatore's QPR want Zinedine Zidane to be their manager. He can't speak English, he's never managed before, he's got anger 'issues' and seems uniquely unsuited to the rigours of second-tier football, but Early Doors would still love it to be true.
DESPATCHES FROM SEPP BLATTER'S PICK TO HOST WORLD CUP 2018: Recreativo Huelva forward Florent Sinama-Pongolle has expressed disbelief at the racist abuse he received at the hands of Atletico Madrid fans on Saturday
"I just don't understand that there are still people that go to football matches to insult people of another race," he said.
Referee Miguel Angel Perez Lasa noted the incident in his match report, saying the crowd had made monkey noises when the player came near the stands.
TALKING POINT: To all the people who always bang on about how the smaller clubs are overlooked, make yourselves heard.
If Early Doors comes back after today's minnows-only edition to find only 20 user comments it'll be a solid diet of the Big Four from here to eternity.
ED might be chained to its desk, but today is a Bank Holiday. Got anything nice planned? No, course you haven't. Otherwise you wouldn't be reading this.
COMING UP: Yeah, yeah. Fergie would indeed 'love it' if Kev Keegan helped him win the league. Newcastle play Chelsea at 4pm. Join us for that if you find yourself without a TV or a pub.
E-mail this story
IM this storyyeah. boring day = boring ED
From vitali_oiltrade on Mon May 05 08:59AMhaha..true
ED's probably waiting for a Chelsea loss or draw...or worse: for Moscow
From tosinsbox on Mon May 05 09:17AMGiven Mandaric's obvious failings there can surely only be one possible next step for him. The English FA Board.
From kevmun82 on Mon May 05 09:23AMtotally agree wiv the foreign owner nonsense that seems to b ruinin the game. apart from a few they are power hungry and dont care about the club or the fans. but as long as there is money to be made its gonna keep on happening. you see it happening again wiv shinawatra at city just now and of course mandaric at leiscester. many clubs look upon foreign investments as a must but there has got to be a bit of caution, id rather see my club stable and living within its means opposed to a couple of years of success followed by 10years of getting back to where u were. just ask hearts and dundee fans
From marcgrant7 on Mon May 05 09:33AMWasn't it an icepick? The Stranglers definitely thought so.
From khsnowball on Mon May 05 09:34AMThink ED should give AFC Bournemouth a mention!!
After going into administration, no-one gave us a chance, but a heroic comeback that so almost led to the greatest escape of all time!We will be back though!!!
From xellokelly on Mon May 05 09:38AMWas Leicester not relegated yesterday?.....Coventry just escaped, these teams were in the prem not so long ago, whats going on? Remember oh so well the Leicester side under Martin O'Neill, and a classic between them and Arsenal ending in 3-3, (Bergkamp classic goal)...Sad state of affairs for these clubs, happening all too often, as for foreign investors in the game, have said my bit on many occasions lately, but it don't look good.
From barny1158 on Mon May 05 09:50AMI'm only commenting to support the 'small 16' clubs - if we all pull together we can get over 20 comments!
From not_blonde_really on Mon May 05 09:51AMSOMEONE HAS GOT TO TELL FERGIE TO STOP CHEWING GUM ALL THE TIME! HE USED TO LOOK LIKE A RAGING BULL WHEN HE WAS YOUNG NOW HE LOOKS LIKE A @#$% COW!
From alzer3 on Mon May 05 09:56AMED
No Bank holiday for you guys then? Must be like being a sportsperson, but without the financial benefits eh?....Tough life !! lol.From barny1158 on Mon May 05 09:59AMI wonder how many people are not commenting in order to keep the numbers down?
From michelangeloindeed on Mon May 05 10:02AMMANDERIC PROMISED THE THE FOXES FANS THAT HE WOULD GET THEM OUT OF THE THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2 YEARS SO WELL DONE MILAN ON ACHIEVING YOUR OWN GOAL
From coe606 on Mon May 05 10:02AMI only like to hear about premiership teams so I hope you don't get twenty messages. errrr, Hang on a minute!!!!
From kwmccormack on Mon May 05 10:22AMContinental Europe holidays for ED like myself. May Day was last week. Football Clubs used to be like rich men's mistresses: desirable, expensive (it would be dishonourable to make a profit out of them), often in the news with a balding, self-effacing bloke in attendance, and passed on when said bloke became either bankrupt or too senile to know what he was doing. Now clubs are no more than glamourous cash cows, not mistresses, but ... Barny will thump me verbally for this bit of sexist hyperbole.
Talking of dodgy Balkan types and dubious businesses I can recommend a film with Marianne Faithfull called "Irina Palm" - very funny, shocking certainly.
From james_ssmith on Mon May 05 10:28AMI'm just commenting to ensure it doesn't go 'big four' from now on. At least, not until Zizou lifts QPR to the top of the Premier League.
From benhumphry on Mon May 05 10:32AMim commennting to keep the number up can we comment more than once.......
From skhalid23 on Mon May 05 10:33AMit is good to hear about the smaller teams but they dont seem to do much to be able to wright about some get promoted some get relegated end of season
From omrobbie on Mon May 05 10:39AMjust curious but does anyone know of the last racial insident happening in english football
From omrobbie on Mon May 05 10:48AMYep, it WAS an icepick; the job on Trotsky was done in Mexico City and it'd be too warm to be lugging a pickaxe around...
From kennethkeenan9 on Mon May 05 10:50AMcome on Chelsea
From sav46e on Mon May 05 10:59AMRoll on the MK Dons v Leicester City matches! (20th comment)
From crickmarina on Mon May 05 10:59AMBarny, congrats on your Gooners turning Everton over yesterday, although sad to say it is way too easy to do that right recently. Even Nicklas "you're cr@p" Bendtner scored - well, that's what Adebayor said to him that time they had handbags! The match had a very end of season feel to it. At least we didn't get our normal tonking in this fixture!
From andywalker269 on Mon May 05 11:05AMGateshead, Barrow, the two Bradfords, the two Bristols (and I do mean football clubs), is there room for nostalgia? Third Division North, Third Division South. I suppose it's like the era of steam trains when the tear in one's eye was caused by dirt not sorrow.
From james_ssmith on Mon May 05 11:06AMhibernain for the uefa cup next season
From georgemartinesz on Mon May 05 11:08AMNo James, no thumping today.
Talking of M.K Dons, I voted for Incey to get manager of the year on the poll, shame that there are just too many voting for their own teams managers just for the sake of it and they don't look beyond the prem. I have been a gooner since my early days in North London, but now living elsewhere I take a keen interest in my local teams too. Go on you Shrimpers!!From barny1158 on Mon May 05 11:12AMPickaxe!? Ed the horse, you wally. Here are a few lower league definitions for the posh premiership readers. Doing a Derby: just being hopeless and getting relegated. Doing a Sunderland Under Mick McCarthy: getting promoted, deliberately not buying anyone and trousering the cash and not worrying about getting relegated. Doing an Ipswich: getting promoted, thinking you're in the Big Time for ever and signing loads of dodgy foreigners on expensive long-term contracts, then getting relegated and going into administration. Sorry about that last one being a long one. Must dash. Off to B&Q.
From duck.preston on Mon May 05 11:13AMAndywalker
Indeed Andy, I nearly turned it off. Was not the greatest of contests was it? Good goal in the end, dour match, livened up a touch after the subs were made. The eurosport commentary could not differentiate between Walcott and Traore it seems in the run up to the goal, maybe they had been on the lag the night before? Oh well toffees only need a point , sure they will get it.From barny1158 on Mon May 05 11:19AMForeign ownership - unless you get a hands-off style owner who will chuck zillions at the club without landing it in debt, it is a nightmare as many clubs are now finding out. However, people should be more concerned about where the money has come from (Chelsea fans in particular, listen up). There are significant question marks over the legality of Romanov's and Abramovich's dosh, and Gaydamak (quoted by ED) is actually the subject of an international money laundering investigation as we speak. Probably only Evertonians will remember this, but in 2004 a group called Fortress Sports Fund was supposed to inject 30 million quid into Everton, and their representative was to take a seat on the Board. He was called Chris Samuelson, a guy with an immensely shady track record of being associated with individuals and companies who have laundered money for the Russian Mafia and other criminals, as well as being seriously connected with the Russian Oligarchs, Abramovich being one. The money was to be from private individuals who wanted their identity kept secret (!), and the money was to come from all sorts of shady little islands around the world synonymous with dodgy money. Unbelievably Everton actually seemed willing to do business with these people. The whole thing went away with barely a whimper in the end, but sadly not because Everton sent them away with a flea in their ear saying "we don't want your dirty cash thanks". I put a post along these lines on an Everton discussion forum at the time, and the general response was "who cares where the cash is from, we are being left behind and need money". I would rather the club kept its integrity and soul personally. Of course, the funny thing is that 30 million quid wouldn't even buy you Lionel Messi's armpit hair now........
From andywalker269 on Mon May 05 11:25AMNot much integrity or soul anymore Andy. Its who can be the biggest, as fast as possible , and not give a hoot about tradition etc..or indeed where the 'money' comes from. Us mere mortal fans go along with it cos we are powerless to do anything. I have been nervous all season with the various implications of Arsenal being taken over, personally I hope any takeover is fought all the way.
From barny1158 on Mon May 05 11:37AMAh! There is indeed a gulf between the Premiership and the lower leagues! Today was meant to be a Championship celebration, but look at how the Premiership readers have shown their superiority and style! Barny comtemptuously sidesteps all preceding Championship comments and plays a safe one about Everton. And then Andy plays a blinder about foreign owners that's not only relevant but witty as well! You have to know your place when you follow the Championship.
From duck.preston on Mon May 05 11:38AM
Comment on this article
Please sign in to add your comments.
This site is Copyright © 2008 Yahoo! and Eurosport. All rights reserved.
- Terms of Service
- Updated Privacy Policy
- Copyright/IP Policy
- Remarks and Suggestions
- Corporate info
- Jobs at Eurosport
Notice: We collect personal information on this site. To learn more about how we use your information, see our Privacy Policy.