We've come a long way, baby...

Because of lots of different things going on, I've been incredibly lazy in getting around to regular updates over the last month - deepest apologies.

But let's get right back into it.

The 100million pound man:

So, it has come to this. Should any of us be surprised that in 2009, a player is reported to be the subject of a 100% serious 100 million pound bid from a Premier League club.? The answer is no but, that hasn't stopped miscellaneous red-top and broadsheet hyperbole from being in awe of the story.

The hard fact remains that everything is eventual. When Brian Clough signed Trevor Francis for a million pounds from Birmingham City in 1979, people scoffed - 'No player is worth 1 million pounds...ever'. Fast forward thirty years and the English Premier League, maybe even global association football in general, find themselves in a position whereby one million pounds gets you a modern day equivalent of a bag of jerseys.

It is interesting to note that it's only been in the last fifteen years that the logic regarding transfer fees has ceased to be even vaguely mentioned in the same breath as 'business acumen'. Rewind to 1993 and Alan Shearer moved from Southampton to Blackburn for a then British record of 3.3 million quid. Andy Cole smashed that record two years later when he joined Manchester United from Newcastle for 5.5 million plus Keith Gillespie...The reason why the Premier League worked within these financial restrictions was because there were clear financial restrictions in place - if clubs required to splash a couple of million on a player then they had to put two on the transfer list.

The way deals were done in England at this time was still incredibly innocent and naive - but in hindsight, refreshingly so. Sir Alex Ferguson tells the story of how Eric Cantona made the move to Old Trafford from Elland Road. The Scot received a call from Leeds United about the possibility of Dennis Irwin moving to Yorkshire. Ferguson dismissed the proposed move but enquired about Eric Cantona. By the end of the day, Fergie had got his man - no fuss, no red tape, no agent fees, no merchandising clause, no last-minute hijacking from other clubs.

So what has happened regarding the transfer of players? There's now a media circus when a deal is struck between two clubs for the most medial of footballers usually because the fee involved is the season budget for lower league clubs. Over the last five years or so, the money has moved to the Premier League. For decades, the best players in the world were drawn to Serie A, the Budesliga, La Liga but never England. Why move there? Old Blighty, stiff upper lips, crumpets and tea, the Queen - no thanks. These players preferred Ferraris, super-model girlfriends, mansions overlooking a Wonder of the World. Alan Shearer returned to his hometown and signed for Newcastle for 15 million pounds in the summer of 1996 - the deal was the world transfer record...for about two days. (The original) Ronaldo moved to Barcelona from PSV in 1996 for 18 million quid. Suddenly, a deal that Newcastle had been finalising and bank-balancing precariously for twelve months previous was ripped to shreds in the blink of an eye.

The Premier League tried in vain to catch up - clubs attempted to entice glamorous continental players. Instead, clubs got pros coming to the end of their careers - Fabrizio Ravenelli was a super signing for Middlesbrough - scoring a hat-trick on his debut against Liverpool. But it always seemed such an incredibly weird relationship between player and club - League of Gentlemen-esque. Ravanelli didn't exactly warm himself to the supporters or his team-mates by criticising the training regime and the area of Middlesbrough itself. Hutton Rudby was a long way from Turin and it was clear that clubs would need time to get the process right...

With the concentration of power now permanently fixed within the Premier League, it's taken the FA a decade to establish the League as the self-proclaimed 'best in the world' but are we talking quality of football or quality of life for its players? When Manchester City fork out 10 million quid for an out-of-favour full back Wayne Bridge (signed by Chelsea for 7 million when he was first-choice) and when Liverpool splash over 20 million on Robbie Keane, one can only look on in amazement. Even Manchester United were held to ransom by Spurs when they signed Dimi Berbatov - paying, at least, between 5 and 7 million more than they should have.

There appears very little research as to the overall costing of modern day footballers across the Barclays Premier League. Why? Because they don't have to worry about the price. Where does the proposed Kaka fee for 100 million plus originate? How does a club come up with a bid like that? When Zizou Zidane moved to Real Madrid for 46.7 million, the fee appeared bulked up with clauses and various other financial elements. 100 million seems like a figure plucked from thin air and it's incredibly worrying when the richest businessmen in the world conduct such unhealthy and bizarre business practices as fanciful and badly-researched as the proposed Kaka deal.

Half of me wants Kaka to come and play for City. Because when the deal falls flat on its face and the club are relegated, perhaps the lunatics will have eventually left the asylum.