This article is from page 56 of the 2011-02-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 56 JPG
IN a career that spanned more than three decades and included spells with the biggest clubs in England, John Giles has seen and done it all when it comes to football.
So the dramatic events of last week when English clubs splashed over € 200 million on transfer fees for new players, came as no surprise to the former Leeds and Manchester United great.
Recalling how in the 1950s Albert Quixall signed for Manchester United for a then record fee, Giles told The Clare People that big money has always been part and parcel of professional football.
He explained, “I go back to the time when I was playing with Manchester United and we had a lad in 1958, Albert Quixall, joined Manchester United for a record fee of £45,000. So it was always there. I believe even before my time there was a man called Tommy Lawton, a great player, an international. I think he was transferred for 30,000 and people thought this was it. It will never go higher than that.
Then we had the first million pound player with Trevor Francis and everybody thought, my god a million pounds. There’s nothing you can do about it really because if the clubs want to pay it, they want to pay it. Whether you think it’s too much or I think its too much, it doesn’t matter”.
The former Republic of Ireland player/manager was speaking in Ennis on Saturday at the Clare launch of the John Giles Foundation, ‘Walk of Dreams’.
Commenting on the multi-million euro deals that saw Fernando Torres trade Liverpool for Chelsea, and Andy Carroll swap Newcastle for the Anfield club, Giles said inflated transfer fees can sometimes weigh heavily on players’ minds.
He said, “I think it does tell on some players. I don’t know what Carroll is like. He looks quite a confident lad. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by anything, whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing I don’t know.
But he could take it in his stride. But we’ve seen players before like Garry Birtles and Peter Davenport. He went from Forest to United and it was too much for him.
“It can happen. Certainly Old Trafford seem to affect players more than others”.
Gile also believes Ireland have a “reasonable” chance of qualifying for the 2012 European Championships. Citing the emergence of young talent like Seamus Coleman, Keith Fahy and Greg Cunningham, Giles reckons that captain and new West Ham United signing Robbie Keane remains an integral part of Giovanni Trapattoni’s team, despite an unsettled season to date.
H explained, “He’s got 48 goals, he scored on his debut for West Ham. I don’t think players lose that and I don’t think Robbie Keane has…. I don’t think the players do. What I found happens when I turned 30, was that if you had a bad number of games, it was down to your age. And then they are wondering if you are past it”.
Giles added, “You go beyond that then and you actually become ageless. Ryan Giggs is 37. Now I remember they were saying is he finished? It was the same as Paul Scholes. So what can they say now? Scholes is 35, 36. He can still play. Giggs is playing as well as ever. So you become ageless.”