2005-06 Soccer Thread

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Cringer

They expected him to retire at 29?

Kinda like my first thought: "Are they crazy or something, expecting a player like Ronaldo to even concider playing in the MLS?" Then, after a good night of sleep, it makes sense. If the MLS really wants to compete with (in terms of being as good as) second tier European leagues, they have to work on trying to get other players than 35yo's or 2-caps and done international players.

[ISiddiqui]

That and it may be a PR move, indicating to European players that there is more money in the MLS than they may think.

[Cringer]

I agree with both of you ISiddiqui and MIJB, it really was a tongue in cheek statement from me. No the MLS is not a top world league, but it does have much more respect then it did 10 years ago obviously and I guess these kinds of moves are on the horizon if MLS is going to take that next step.

[Butter]

Not to harp too much, but Bobby Convey needs to be on the field for the USA in the World Cup somehow.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Cringer

I agree with both of you ISiddiqui and MIJB, it really was a tongue in cheek statement from me. No the MLS is not a top world league, but it does have much more respect then it did 10 years ago obviously and I guess these kinds of moves are on the horizon if MLS is going to take that next step.

I disagree actually - I think US soccer is helped more by investing that $120 million in young South Americans and American talent, keeping them here. The US has significant advantages over Europe for many of these talents (location, a larger melting pot with a strong South American community), and bringing them in would raise the level of the play significantly. Ronaldo would have been a publicity stunt, and I don't think it would have done well.

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

I disagree actually - I think US soccer is helped more by investing that $120 million in young South Americans and American talent, keeping them here. The US has significant advantages over Europe for many of these talents (location, a larger melting pot with a strong South American community), and bringing them in would raise the level of the play significantly. Ronaldo would have been a publicity stunt, and I don't think it would have done well.

Hopefully this doesn't sound contradicting (of what I already said), but I agree with this too. Making sure someone like a Freddie Adu plays most of his career in the US should be a top priority, along with all the top regional talent they can get their hands on. But moves like a Ronaldo signing probably are on the horizon a bit, as a big superstar is hard to resist in any sport if a team can get a guy to come play for them. It builds excitement for fans, and brings more attention to the team/sport from those 'on the fringe' fans who all of the sudden start to here about someone who is one of the best in their sport.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

That and it may be a PR move, indicating to European players that there is more money in the MLS than they may think.

It's interesting that Ronaldo didn't quite deny the rumors and said it's something to think about for the coming years, while his agent said it's stupid to think Ronaldo will ever play in the MLS.

Money is just half of the story, prestige seems to be important too. Just look at Michael Ballack's move to Chelsea, which is the place to be right now. Star players want to be where the other star players are, either on that team or in that league. The addition of a player like Ronaldo could make a bigger trend of star players moving to the USA, but right now there's a long way to go when the most familiar names are a 38yo (Djorkaeff) and a 16yo (Adu). And in the end the biggest problem for the MLS to really stand a chance is the lack of UEFA Champions' League football, as that appears to be the #1 decission for most of the players theses days.

Although, I also know from reading interviews with Dutch players, the MLS is an interesting league for players with a taste for adventure, it appears to already have reached the status just below the European big5 (Spain, Italy, England, Germany, France). two-time Dutch international Dave van den Bergh is moving from FC Utrecht to the KC Wiz in July, he'll be 'only' 30 when he's moving. I'm not sure how much of an improvement he would be for the Wizards, but I guess he should be. I honestly think he's on the talent level of an average team USA starter.

[Desnudo]

Bringing in people on big money contracts would be a huge, huge mistake. Unless there's TV money backing up such moves, it's a downward spiral financially.

[ISiddiqui]

Well the MLS just had its first TV deal with rights fees. So they apparently will have a lot more money than before.

[Desnudo]

How much though? Surely not enough to support $10 million contracts. I realize Red Bull is the one offering the cash, but I think it would set a bad standard.

[condors]

Ask the New York Cosmos how it worked out...

[ISiddiqui]

Well that's because the entire league went crazy. If they have it controlled, it could work. I don't think they expected Ronaldo to accept the offer. It was just to send a signal. I'm sure they are discussing that offer in some circles in Europe.

[Desnudo]

I agree that at some point, the salary structure will need to be looked at. Making a profit should be the priority first though.

[bulletsponge]

im curious, how much is Ronaldo paid now? and whos the highest paid soccer player? im talking playing contract not endorsments

[AlexB]

Iain Dowie resigned as manager of Crystal Palace last week due to family reasons (his sons are in the north of England, Palace are a London side) - Simon Jordan, the Palace chairman, released him from the £1m handcuff clause on compassionate grounds.

Today Iain Dowie was in a press conference being introduced as Charlton Athletic manager, another London club!

To be fair, Charlton is apparently about 7 miles further north than Crystal Palace, but Simon Jordan didn't think too much of this fact, and the press conference was interrupted by an attempt to serve a writ on Dowie issued by Jordan and Palace, citing misrepresentation in order to gain release from a binding contract!

Quality scenes, and while Jordan is a grandstander by nature, I do feel he has a point on this. His Sky Sports interview was lively to say the least

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

Iain Dowie resigned as manager of Crystal Palace last week due to family reasons (his sons are in the north of England, Palace are a London side) - Simon Jordan, the Palace chairman, released him from the £1m handcuff clause on compassionate grounds.

Today Iain Dowie was in a press conference being introduced as Charlton Athletic manager, another London club!

To be fair, Charlton is apparently about 7 miles further north than Crystal Palace, but Simon Jordan didn't think too much of this fact, and the press conference was interrupted by an attempt to serve a writ on Dowie issued by Jordan and Palace, citing misrepresentation in order to gain release from a binding contract!

Quality scenes, and while Jordan is a grandstander by nature, I do feel he has a point on this. His Sky Sports interview was lively to say the least

He has a good point in trying to fight it I think. Seems like BS to me.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Cringer

He has a good point in trying to fight it I think. Seems like BS to me.

Especially given that he let Dowie get away without paying a million because he thought "north" actually meant leaving the city.

In other news, it seems Chelsea have signed some Ukrainian or other.

[ISiddiqui]

30 million pounds... wow!

[Critch]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

30 million pounds... wow!

If Shaun Wright-Philips is worth 22mil, then that's the bargain of the century

[Desnudo]

I bet Kalou is real excited to have signed now.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Critch

If Shaun Wright-Philips is worth 22mil, then that's the bargain of the century

Or Drogba, or Essien . . .

How often do you see a player at Sheva's level move when they're still near their peak? The last time I can think of was Zidane, and he went for an even higher fee. Given how inflated our transfer fees have usually wound up being, 30 million is surprisingly reasonable.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

I bet Kalou is real excited to have signed now.

He had to know that was coming.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Katon

Or Drogba, or Essien . . .

How often do you see a player at Sheva's level move when they're still near their peak? The last time I can think of was Zidane, and he went for an even higher fee. Given how inflated our transfer fees have usually wound up being, 30 million is surprisingly reasonable.

You misinterpreted by 'wow'. I didn't say 'wow that was a high price'. Hell, Rooney was 25 mil when he was mostly potential.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

You misinterpreted by 'wow'. I didn't say 'wow that was a high price'. Hell, Rooney was 25 mil when he was mostly potential.

Oops. Just so used to people saying we're overpaying (and to be fair, they're usually right).

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

I bet Kalou is real excited to have signed now.

Muhahahaha. Serves mister Kalou right. I hope he'll sit out the season as the 8th stringer.

I agree with ISidiqqui, that transfer had been hanging in the air for months. This case was simple, Shevchenko's wife wanted to move to London and Milan wasn't a pain in the bottom.

Ballack and Shevchenko in, likely some over the top expensive guys out. Chelsea is turning even more into the Real Madrid of the 21st Century.

[tanglewood]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Muhahahaha. Serves mister Kalou right. I hope he'll sit out the season as the 8th stringer.

I agree with ISidiqqui, that transfer had been hanging in the air for months. This case was simple, Shevchenko's wife wanted to move to London and Milan wasn't a pain in the bottom.

Ballack and Shevchenko in, likely some over the top expensive guys out. Chelsea is turning even more into the Real Madrid of the 21st Century.

Except Real Madrid used to buy just one superstar per year.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by tanglewood

Except Real Madrid used to buy just one superstar per year.

If a player at Ballack's level had been available on a free, they would've bought two.

Anyway, Ballack and Sheva are really the first superstars we've signed - at least the first stars on the level of Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo & Beckham. Robben and Cech aren't there yet, Crespo's always been just the next level down (though in any context where he isn't being compared to Sheva and Ronaldo he's a wonderful player), and Makelele's too limited to quite reach that level.

[moriarty]

Man, as a Liverpool fan this gets sort of depressing. I'm desperately hoping we sign one decent striker and so far we've sent Morientes packing for a fraction of what we paid, looks like Cisse is on the way out as well ... w/ no one coming in yet. And meanwhile Chelsea signs Ballack, Sheva, and Kalou .... ahhhhgh. I just hope they implode under their own weight ala Real Madrid.

PS - whatever happened to Chelsea trying to become profitable by 2008?

[Katon]

Originally Posted by moriarty

PS - whatever happened to Chelsea trying to become profitable by 2008?

I think that was just Peter Kenyon trying to sound impressive. The financial situation should improve by 2008 - we're already at the stage where unless a real superstar comes on the market our transfers will just be replacements for people leaving & young prospects like Kalou, so we might actually run a profit in the transfer market one of these years - but expecting an overall profit is, er, slightly optimistic.

In addition, Sheva's meant to be Roman's favorite player, so he's probably not going to worry about profitability quite as much as usual (whatever usual is) in this case.

[daedalus]

I believe someone on BigSoccer made an interesting observation that this was an Abramovich move and not a Mourinho move. That supposedly Shevchenko's wife wanted to move to England (shades of Gretzky?) and, since she is friend with Abramovich's wife, he made it happen.

A couple of ways to approach this transfer, really. For sheer talent, 30M is probably a darn good price for a striker of this magnitude. For value, it's probably not the best deal, given that he's approaching 30 already. On the other hand, for all that Chelsea generally get flacks for, if you consider spending 30M and ending up with Shevchenko and Ballack, it REALLY isn't a bad offseason nor is it bad spending.

I don't think Kalou will really suffer the same fate as Wright-Phillips as, if Chelsea really does integrate the 4-4-2 into their gameplan more as some speculate, then Kalou will likely be the 3rd striker behind the Drogba-Shevchenko with Cole, Crespo and Gudjonsson likely gone. And, even in the 4-3-3 they played before, he should be able to get spot starts as one of the outside forwards since Duff and Robben have the same durability as Kerry Wood.

As for SWP and his choice to go to Chelsea to "improve" his chance with the national team . . . HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Say hello to Aaron Lennon. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. No, I'm not bitter. I have no idea why anyone would think that.

I'm curious about their central defense, however. Huth is pretty much gone, Carvalho seems about gone and Gallas wants out (and has been wanting to). I'm not sure where they go from there if or when they ever need to rest starters.

[MikeVick7]

I thought I heard on FSC yesterday that Shevchenko was Abramovich's favorite player?? I could be wrong on this.

[bulletsponge]

No, I'm not bitter. I have no idea why anyone would think that.

the laughing gave you away

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by moriarty

Man, as a Liverpool fan this gets sort of depressing. I'm desperately hoping we sign one decent striker and so far we've sent Morientes packing for a fraction of what we paid, looks like Cisse is on the way out as well ... w/ no one coming in yet. And meanwhile Chelsea signs Ballack, Sheva, and Kalou .... ahhhhgh. I just hope they implode under their own weight ala Real Madrid.

PS - whatever happened to Chelsea trying to become profitable by 2008?

Like you - I'm a Liverpool fan and yeah - I share your sympathies. Man, even Madrid didn't burn money the way Chelsea is doing - to put it in perspective - Chelsea has spent more this year than the rest of the premier league combined, and its not even close. Hell, I bet that's true since Roman took over. I'm starting to seriously dislike this team - almost as much as I dislike ManU. 20 million pounds for a backup right winger (SWP) ? Over 10 million for another backup striker (Kalou) ?

[Katon]

Originally Posted by daedalus

I believe someone on BigSoccer made an interesting observation that this was an Abramovich move and not a Mourinho move. That supposedly Shevchenko's wife wanted to move to England (shades of Gretzky?) and, since she is friend with Abramovich's wife, he made it happen.

I think Mourinho had some input on the decision - that is, if he'd strongly objected to Sheva then Sheva wouldn't be here. So the fact that this was one of the options was down to Jose, even if Roman decided that it was the one we'd take.

Originally Posted by daedalus

A couple of ways to approach this transfer, really. For sheer talent, 30M is probably a darn good price for a striker of this magnitude. For value, it's probably not the best deal, given that he's approaching 30 already. On the other hand, for all that Chelsea generally get flacks for, if you consider spending 30M and ending up with Shevchenko and Ballack, it REALLY isn't a bad offseason nor is it bad spending.

Yeah. He's probably about two years off actually being worth 30M on the pitch, but that's still better than most of the deals Kenyon's negotiated recently. Plus signing someone like Sheva has a noticeable impact on our brand image - not something I'd want to be the primary reason for signing someone (that way Galacticos lie), but it's a nice bonus.

Originally Posted by daedalus

I don't think Kalou will really suffer the same fate as Wright-Phillips as, if Chelsea really does integrate the 4-4-2 into their gameplan more as some speculate, then Kalou will likely be the 3rd striker behind the Drogba-Shevchenko with Cole, Crespo and Gudjonsson likely gone. And, even in the 4-3-3 they played before, he should be able to get spot starts as one of the outside forwards since Duff and Robben have the same durability as Kerry Wood.

As for SWP and his choice to go to Chelsea to "improve" his chance with the national team . . . HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Say hello to Aaron Lennon. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. No, I'm not bitter. I have no idea why anyone would think that.

Whereas if he'd gone to Arsenal, he wouldn't need to play to go to the World Cup . Seriously, signing a fourth winger was important mostly because, as you pointed out, only an idiot would bet on Duff and Robben both being fit all season. Guess what wound up happening? The decision backfired, sure, but not for reasons anyone should've expected beforehand.

Originally Posted by daedalus

I'm curious about their central defense, however. Huth is pretty much gone, Carvalho seems about gone and Gallas wants out (and has been wanting to). I'm not sure where they go from there if or when they ever need to rest starters.

I doubt we'll sell both Gallas and Carvalho. Beyond that, I'm not sure what's happening here. I suspect we'll sign a younger player for backup to replace Huth, but no idea who.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Katon

I doubt we'll sell both Gallas and Carvalho. Beyond that, I'm not sure what's happening here. I suspect we'll sign a younger player for backup to replace Huth, but no idea who.

If I were betting, I would say a central defender who shines in the World Cup.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Like you - I'm a Liverpool fan and yeah - I share your sympathies. Man, even Madrid didn't burn money the way Chelsea is doing - to put it in perspective - Chelsea has spent more this year than the rest of the premier league combined, and its not even close. Hell, I bet that's true since Roman took over. I'm starting to seriously dislike this team - almost as much as I dislike ManU. 20 million pounds for a backup right winger (SWP) ? Over 10 million for another backup striker (Kalou) ?

Er, are you sure Kalou was 10 million? Most of the figures I've seen quoted were much lower than that.

And Kalou's signing is as much about the future as the present, so describing him as a backup doesn't really tell the whole story.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

If I were betting, I would say a central defender who shines in the World Cup.

I hope not. That doesn't usually work very well.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Katon

Er, are you sure Kalou was 10 million? Most of the figures I've seen quoted were much lower than that.

And Kalou's signing is as much about the future as the present, so describing him as a backup doesn't really tell the whole story.

Fair enough - I'm not sure about Kalou and that was one of the numbers I'd seen. Its just getting ridiculous, as far as I'm concerned - they can pay so much over the top that once they declare interest in a player (seriously) - they can get him. Marcotti once made the point that they can't get the great ones - citing Shevchenko as an example. So much for that.

[MIJB#19]

Andrei Shevchenko will turn 30 in late September.

For Salomon Kalou it's a big question whether he'll even get a work permit. Afterall, he's not playing for any national team yet. For publicity reasons, I don't understand why Chelsea would want another troublemaker, though. I thought Drogba and Robben were already given enough bad publicity as divers, even that migh be more due to the anti-Chelsea hype because they have money that the rest of the world doesn't have.

[Critch]

I read something earlier that put the Shevchenko into perspective. He's Abramovich's favorite player, so he used his money to get him.

Shevchenko cost 30mil pounds, Abramovich earns 37mil pounds per day. Small change to him, really

[Critch]

dola.....

According to Sporting Life Chelsea are trying to sign both Roberto Carlos and Ashley Cole before the start of next season. Why have one of the best leftbacks in the world when you can afford two of them?

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Critch

dola.....

According to Sporting Life Chelsea are trying to sign both Roberto Carlos and Ashley Cole before the start of next season. Why have one of the best leftbacks in the world when you can afford two of them?

And why afford two of them when you can afford one of them and Roberto Carlos? I don't pretend to understand this.

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by Katon

I hope not. That doesn't usually work very well.

Yeah, see Liverpool's pickups of Salif Diao, and Diouf after the last world cup. Thanks Hollier.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Fair enough - I'm not sure about Kalou and that was one of the numbers I'd seen. Its just getting ridiculous, as far as I'm concerned - they can pay so much over the top that once they declare interest in a player (seriously) - they can get him. Marcotti once made the point that they can't get the great ones - citing Shevchenko as an example. So much for that.

Well, once we declare interest in a player we can get him if he plays for a club that are fairly insecure financially. Or if his wife wants to move to England and makes him ask for a transfer. We've only signed four players from the really big clubs - Makelele & Geremi from Real, Ballack, and Shevchenko. Ballack was a free, so we didn't have to negotiate with Bayern, Sheva and Makelele both asked for transfers, and Geremi isn't really the type of player most people complain about.

Apart from that, we've been getting people from clubs like Athletic Bilbao, Rennes, Porto when they were having their big sale, Blackburn, West Ham, and Manchester City. World-class players are at the Milans and Madrids of the world a lot more often than they are at West Ham. The level of player we're looking at now to improve the team is generally happily settled at a club which can ignore just about any bid if it wants to and potentially match our wage offers, which means it's going to be hard to keep building the starting lineup further. It's not completely impossible - just look at Sheva - but it's not nearly as easy as most people suggest. Which is why it hasn't happened much.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by Katon

We've only signed four players from the really big clubs - Makelele & Geremi from Real, Ballack, and Shevchenko.

Can kind of make it five now, Chelsea have paid Man Utd 12mil pounds to finally end their claim to John Obi Mikel. It'll be 16mil pounds in total as Lyn of Norway will get 4mil.

I'm not a fan of Arsenal/Man Utd/Liverpool, but I hope one of them wins the EPL next season, Chelsea are just wrecking the competition.

Ok, maybe not Liverpool. I hope they fail

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Critch

Can kind of make it five now, Chelsea have paid Man Utd 12mil pounds to finally end their claim to John Obi Mikel. It'll be 16mil pounds in total as Lyn of Norway will get 4mil.

I'm not a fan of Arsenal/Man Utd/Liverpool, but I hope one of them wins the EPL next season, Chelsea are just wrecking the competition.

You mean as opposed to the time Man U won seven titles in nine years? I agree that more of a title race would be a very good thing, but England's had a lot of teams dominate for longer than we have so far without permanently harming the league.

I suppose technically you could argue Mikel makes five, but that whole mess has been so odd I'm reluctant to include it in a discussion of general Chelsea transfer policy. At least, I hope we're not going to do that again.

For 16 million, the kid had better be a seriously special player. It'd be too ironic if after all this fuss he winds up busting.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Critch

Can kind of make it five now, Chelsea have paid Man Utd 12mil pounds to finally end their claim to John Obi Mikel. It'll be 16mil pounds in total as Lyn of Norway will get 4mil.

I'm not a fan of Arsenal/Man Utd/Liverpool, but I hope one of them wins the EPL next season, Chelsea are just wrecking the competition.

Ok, maybe not Liverpool. I hope they fail

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...ea/5043096.stm

This is getting fucking absurd. Is there no limit to the funds of this team ? They can ManU an extra 12 million pounds for a prospect who hasn't played for a season ?

[Critch]

Originally Posted by Katon

You mean as opposed to the time Man U won seven titles in nine years?

There's no comparison. Man Utd picked up good players for good bargain amounts (Schmeichel for 500k, Cantona for 1.2mil, Bruce for 700k, Irwin for 600k), they relied heavily on products of their own youth team (Scholes, the Nevilles, Beckham, loads of other bit players). The only expensive signing I remember that was part of the Man Utd peak was Keane for about 3.5mil.

Ferguson took years to build his team up to dynasty standard, he didn't just outspend everybody.

If there's any hope for non-Chelsea fans it's that Mourinho's transfer record is less than sparkling. Of the expensive signings you can't say Drogba for 24mil, Essien for 24mil, Carvalho for 18mil or Ferreira for 14mil were great bargains. Wright-Philips for 21mil has been disappointing, Del Horno has been poor, Jarosik failed quickly, Maniche was awful. All the players that the team is built around (Cech, Terry, Lampard, Robben, Cole, Makelele) were signed by previous managers.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Critch

There's no comparison. Man Utd picked up good players for good bargain amounts (Schmeichel for 500k, Cantona for 1.2mil, Bruce for 700k, Irwin for 600k), they relied heavily on products of their own youth team (Scholes, the Nevilles, Beckham, loads of other bit players). The only expensive signing I remember that was part of the Man Utd peak was Keane for about 3.5mil.

Ferguson took years to build his team up to dynasty standard, he didn't just outspend everybody.

I think this is a bit of an oversimplification, but fine (Andy Cole? Dwight Yorke?). I don't see how it's relevant to the topic at hand, though, since they were just as dominant however they were put together. No matter how much money we've spent, we still haven't dominated the league for nearly as long as that team did, so it's not at all clear that our dominance will be much worse for the league.

If you want some other examples, though, then let's try Real & Barca. Between them, they've won about two out of every three Spanish titles for the past three-quarters of a century, and yet the Primera Liga is thriving. Real's great team that won the first five(?) European Cups was based in large part on getting one of the top three players ever in a way that's actually kind of similar to how we just got Mikel. In Spain you've even got the shady financing; did Real earn the right to sell their training ground to the government and then borrow it back? We're not completely unique in the history of European football, and predictions of unprecedented doom aren't really justified by previous history.

Originally Posted by Critch

If there's any hope for non-Chelsea fans it's that Mourinho's transfer record is less than sparkling. Of the expensive signings you can't say Drogba for 24mil, Essien for 24mil, Carvalho for 18mil or Ferreira for 14mil were great bargains. Wright-Philips for 21mil has been disappointing, Del Horno has been poor, Jarosik failed quickly, Maniche was awful. All the players that the team is built around (Cech, Terry, Lampard, Robben, Cole, Makelele) were signed by previous managers.

Jarosik and Maniche were signed to be backup midfielders. Jarosik is good enough to be cover in the Premiership; just look at how he did for Birmingham. Far from a great player, but calling him a major failure overstates what we were expecting from him. Maniche . . . well, it was worth a gamble given what he can do when he's not hopelessly overweight, and on a loan as a backup there was really not much risk. Of the bigger signings, Drogba, Carvalho and Ferreira have all been good enough to justify their presence at the club. The fees were silly, but it's not clear how much Jose deserves the blame for that as opposed to Kenyon and the general Chelsea tax. Talent judgement is certainly Jose's weak spot - he's better at motivating players and training them, much like Ferguson - but he hasn't shown any signs of committing really major blunders.

[Critch]

Chelsea starting to clear some of the deadwood. Robert Huth off to Middlesbrough for 5.5mil pounds and a 30k a week salary according to Sky TV in the UK.