Guest Post by Rugby Iron
Is a Marquee signing all it’s cracked up to be or is this just the media and all the clubs owners playing the game? There is no clear definition of what a marquee signing is. It’s not judged on the price , the international appearances, the goals scored , saves made, girls pulled, pints drunk or any known recognisable criteria. So what does it mean? Is it an excuse to spend too much money on a player any number of clubs are gambling on taking. Is it just an excuse to buy a player no one has heard of but you tell the fans he scored 30 goals last season in the Gibraltarian fourth division or that he played in the Euros so must be good. For me it just seems like an excuse to be seen to saying something in the press to keep the fans excited and play the media game.
Is this so wrong? Well not for the clubs with thick fans (i.e top five and Chelski) who need constant drivel throwing at them, not unlike Moronio joining United for the last six months or whatever. But what of the clubs with managers that can think? In this I would include Bilic, Ronald Koeman and possibly even Mark Hughes. All three have picked players who have added to the total package rather than high profile individuals as the answer to their ‘Marquee’ problem.
And here is where I think there is some really clever management going on and Slaven is definitely in there. Football is for ever changing. Take Leicester this season. Could anyone have envisaged this? Well perhaps, but probably not Leicester. It could have perhaps been West Ham, Southampton, Stoke or Everton. Payet fit all season, Lukaku scoring all season long, having a Vardy could all have changed the fortunes. But I digress. What I think is happening is a change in thinking brought on by some mega rich clubs out buying the rest. The purchases however don’t all come off and the mega rich clubs are finding that big names don’t guarantee success, as a few have found out this season. But the clever managers have changed tack and are taking football in a new direction.
And despite the waffle the crux of it seems to be that the managers are thinking: "If I spend £10 million each on three players who each score 11 goals that’s better than a £30 million ‘Marquee’ player (£35m in Andy Carroll’s case and that was years ago) who only scores the magic 30. If you change the calculation to four Michail Antonios at £7m each , who each score 8 goals plus Cup and don’t play in every game , ie only three of them play and one rotates, you still get the goals, results and, at only 26, you have a good age and sell on, if necessary. If you were offered 11 Antonios, one who was a goalie and ten outfield players, who wouldn’t risk it? His work rate alone would keep you up and his goals would get you top four easily.
So as Slaven will need a bigger squad for next season (and for once I will leave all the youths to come through next season out of this for now) I for one would trust the club’s scouts to pick up players who aren’t ‘big name charlies’ but who can come in and excel in a fresh exciting environment. If we can pick up another Antonio, Payet, Ogbonna and Obiang over the summer I would probably know no more about the new crop than I did these four until Slaven brought them in, but he’s a proper manager and if he thinks this is the way forward then I would very strongly suggest he will succeed. I don’t worry about the Davids getting Zlatan and the like. I worry more that Saints, Stoke and others will pick up better value players that Slaven wants. I think Marquee signings are a thing of the past. Now it’s all about the team.
In Slaven I trust.