Opinion: Feeder Teams
Written by: The Other Special One
“Buy low” they said, “sell high” they said, “it’s a successful business model” they said. Erm No it’s not! To prove that money is not everything and that teams should rather hold onto their players, achieve longevity through trophies and legendary status rather than sell their assets in exchange for money.
When people say the names of Cannavaro, Thuram, Buffon, Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Veron, David Villa, Claudio Lopez, Mendieta and Carrick. A few teams names come to mind namely Juventus, Lazio, Manchester United and Barcelona. Staples of the European Giant game, Maybe not Lazio as much anymore but at one point they were at the forefront of the Top Teams in Europe with a squad that could rival all.
Things did not have to be this way, these players have all come from teams we commonly refer to as “Feeder Teams”. These “feeder teams” have all adopted a model of selling their best players when the European giants come knocking have mostly languished, never really achieving what they could have with the assets at their disposal. Whereas the players themselves have gone onto achieve legendary status and are still remembered fondly today for their achievements.
If you know anything about football, you would remember a team called Parma, they have in recent years returned to Serie A, after a period they would rather forget in Serie B. Once upon a time Parma had a team filled with the best players in the world with a starting line-up consisting of Buffon – Thuram, Cannavaro, Fernando Couto, Sergio Conceicao, Ortega, Dino Baggio, Veron, Boghossian, Almeyda, Crespo and Gilardino. If you were to go up against a team as strong as that you would not be certain of a win at all. Parma were building a world-beating team, all the elements were there to start a period of domination and then as is in most cases, the giants started taking an interest in these players. In an exodus of us transfers that would see Parma be ripped to shreds and the core of their team vanish in instant, to the extent of which they have never recovered.
We move now to Spain, where Valencia have again been ransacked by Barcelona for the umpteenth time, Jordi Alba has followed in the footsteps of Mendieta, Gerard and David Villa and made the move to Catalonia. Valencia in the early 2000’s were becoming a force in Europe blessed with a squad that could hold their own in Europe and had been in two Champions League finals in a row. A team of fresh-faced youngsters looking to take on the world growing season upon season and on the verge of being genuine European team to look out for. Blessed in riches with the talents of Farinos offloaded to Inter, Claudio Lopez (Lazio), Kily Gonzalez (Inter), Gerard (Barca), Mendieta (Lazio) and in more recent years David Silva (Manchester City), David Villa (Barca) and Jordi Alba (Barca). Every year they start their rebuilding process again and promise much success, and that lasts until they inevitably getting ransacked again.
England beckons now, and we move to a little club called West Ham. A team with fiery supporters, heart and a traditional hard playing English team. West Ham have just rejoined the EPL, after a season out of the top flight, when you delve into West Hams past you see a team of players that have been allowed to leave, players who are with some of England’s top teams, players who are or have been mainstay’s in their national team fold for years. These players are all household names from Defoe, Carrick, Rio Ferdinand, Lampard and Joe Cole.
All this talk of feeder teams and under achievement leaves a sour taste in one’s mouth, a sense of what could have been rather than what is. Proving that the only thing you can do is to hold on to one’s players. Yes the green of the money might be somewhat appealing, but in the end does money buy you success? Does it save you from being relegated, the short answer is no. If you do support a feeder team, my heart ultimately bleeds for you, to watch stars walk out season after season it must be a terrible feeling. What are you’re thoughts on the matter, is it just the circle of life in the football world? The Lion eating the Gazelle as it were?
Kak Tackle 
Fucking brilliant. Loved it.
MS.Coates taught you well!
This piece was written by ‘The Other Special One’ not myself. His identity is a secret. Some say he taught Beckham how to take a free-kick