a blog about a lot of things

Irrational Market: The problem with valuing the Neymar transfer Note: I am aware that the transfer fee of £200 million was set by Barcelona as a release clause and so was not determined on the market at the time by PSG. I am also aware that the value of the release clause was set in a large part as a fee thought too high to really pay and to prohibit a move before the end of Neymar’s contract and not solely as Barcelona’s idea of the worth of Neymar. However, this article will assume largely that the estimation of £200 million as the value of Neymar’s release clause was chosen as a value of worth and not with a prohibitive element. At the time of writing, Brazilian footballer Neymar is the most expensive footballer in the world following his transfer from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain for €222 million (£200 million). This fee breaks the previous record of €105 million (£89.2 million) paid for Paul Pogba by Manchester United in 2016 and as this new record is more th...

Pricing Football Transfers: The market is flawed Football transfers have been increasing the maximum asking price possible for a footballer since the beginning of the professional era in the early part of the last century. It is not expected that transfer prices would decrease since due to inflation the price of few things have decreased from the last century to now. However, football players exist in a market that has become increasingly flush with money due to revenues from television and the cost of a football player now is far in excess of what would be expected under inflation. Football transfer fees are difficult to estimate in terms of being a good deal because there is little that is sure. Football and form is fragile and a good player in the past is not guaranteed to be so in the future. Furthermore, young players frequently fall short of expectations. A football transfer has to capture the current worth of the player, the worth of the potential of the player (w...

Football- 2006 World Cup – Trinidad On November 16 th 2005, Trinidad and Tobago created history by becoming the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup. By beating Bahrain (who would have been the smallest country had they qualified with a similar population of 1.2 million) 1-0 at the Bahrain national stadium, they provided Trinbagonian  fans with a once in a lifetime moment for many. Supporters were understandably circumspect about the possibility of qualification. In 1989, needing just a draw to qualify for Italia ’90, the national team, dubbed the “Strike Squad’ had been paraded across the entire country as heroes. The team bus to the national stadium for this final, all-important match was at the back of a slow moving motorcade to allow the fans to see their “World Cup heroes”. They lost 1-0 to the USA, who qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 50 years. They have been to every World Cup since then and 1989 is generally considered the turning po...

as Goal.com would say- this list is satirical (mostly anyway).Criteria for selection- must be an active player during world cup 2006(club or country).(so no complaints about leaving out Baggio and Maradona). in no particular order: 16. Cristiano Ronaldo - Winger/Forward - Real Madrid supporters : people who like tricks, people who like one man shows, women, people who like great free kicks haters: people who like team play, people who don't appreciate divers, homophobics, people who expect players to win back the ball when they lose it instead of turning away and shrugging. 15. David Beckham -Midfielder/Winger- LA Galaxy supporters: women, people who appreciate a good free kick, any fashion designer who gets him to wear their outfits haters: people who think going to MLS was a sellout for the $$, people who expect professionals to do more than deliver a good free kick, premier league goalkeepers (1993-2003) & primera liga goalkeepers (2003-2007) 14. Filippo Inzaghi- Striker- AC...

Height in sports – the impact on becoming successful Sport, regardless of the type, the emphasis should be fully upon talent, ability, (intelligence )and skill. These qualities would identify a young player as a potential professional and the honing of these qualities and dedication to training would then be the remaining determining factors for the path of the athlete’s future career. This much is a given fact and is known to followers of sports worldwide. The question that is being asked is not a contradiction of these given facts but instead a question of whether another factor is taken into account by coaches, the public and even the players themselves. This question is whether the height of an individual plays an impact on the success of the player in their chosen field. In a profession that is not sport related , the same qualities of ability , skill and intelligence come to the fore. But it is unlikely that any job interview will refer to the applicant’s de...