Tevez and Mascherano sign for West Ham
Finally nearly two years later, this matter has come to a close. As a Sheffield United fan i found the behaviour of my own club at times to be embarrassing.
The blame though has to be laid at the Premier Leagues door. The initial punishment for West Ham United’s actions at the time was pathetic. A £5.5 million fine at a time when the club was spending freely in the transfer market under who appeared (how wrong we were!) to have very deep pockets . The actions were no doubt worthy of a points deduction, 3 points probably would have been fair.
Instead the Premier League was able to hide behind the legislation determines that such matters are referred to an independent tribunal. What this does is create a grey area and leaves the rules and punishments open to interpretation. Surely at some point when the rules and regulations were drawn up there could have been a set punishment for fielding i players or withholding transfer documentation? This matter could have been sorted within two weeks of the accusation but the matter dragged on until the end of April, smack-bang in the middle of a dramatic relegation dogfight involving both clubs.
There can be little doubt that West Ham’s conduct over the transfers was deceitful but Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe became obsessed with the matter. The so-called campaign for fairness dragged the Blades name through the mud. This reached its peak when McCabe wanted reinstatement to the top-flight, something that would not and could not happen. I remember seeing Blades fans at Westminster with campaign banners, posters and T-shirts naively protesting after the Blades were relegated. I remember the protest on the steps of Sheffield city hall and cringed. Yes, every club has the obsessive and over-biased fans who somehow always manage to get interviewed about their club on the television, but this was on the national news!
So here we are after 2 years, endless court proceedings that even affected the blades preparations for the 2007/08 championship and for what? £15million in installments that equate to about £3million per year with United (who are no strangers to controversy!) with a tarnished reputation.
I sincerely hope that the Premier League and the FA learn it’s lessons and set punishments in stone for similar matters and address them swiftly. I don’t know about everyone else but i never want to see a debacle like that EVER again.
it’s not over. now the manager and some players what their money too.
didn’t sheffield lose their own game that fateful day?
What can be said that hasn’t been said before in hundreds of internet pages: I say above any team loyalty, I value sportsmanship and fairness.
I agree, the Hammers should have been docked 3 points and that would have sent them down I’m rather sure.
The whole situation is bizarre even with my elementary understanding. The businessman Kia was interested in buy WHU. He was also the agent of these two. Kia buying the club fell through but they still had the two. Maybe the consequences would have been different if he’d become the owner, maybe not.
The fans had little to do with it on both sides. I don’t like it even though I am a West Ham fan that a little club may have been pushed around for the interest of a bigger club and this makes it a bit like Brian Glanville’s often used phrase in http://www.worldsoccer.com , the “greed is good” league.
We watch the Champions League, the big teams and it is high calibre football, fine entertainment but on the other hand, there are so many other things that are disheartening about football.
they did indeed mate. Lost 2-1 to wigan at home as west ham beat man united at old trafford, tevez scored to complicate things further. And yesterday it appeared to be over, former manager Neil Warnock wants the money. It is not confirmed as to whether the players want any, it is however rumoured to be the case
West Ham got off so easy its not even funny. They should have been docked points for this. The only reason I can think of why Sheffield United even accepted this pittance is they would rather get something then nothing. The FA is a joke and if this had been a smaller team other the WHU they would have gotten hammered by the FA.
Sheffield United’s fate was in their own hands, and they blew it. Their entire pursuit of West Ham is so pathetic.