# UK football, season 2008/09, forecasts **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 7, 2008, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150 "2008-08-07T12:09:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 60
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1181 "2009-06-11T09:35:15Z")
Just as a coda to the season it looks like Ronaldo is off to Real Madrid for the trifling sum of £80m. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man\_utd/8094720.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/8094720.stm) Eclipses the £56m for Kaka last week, but it’s hard to know which club has the best deal. Ronaldo will obviously be quids in - I hate to think what his weekly salary is going to be. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1182 "2009-06-11T10:35:08Z")
Worship and Tribute due to Ferg once again. Buy a player for 10 million, he becomes the best in the world for a few seasons, then jib him off for 80 million once he starts to become a pain in the arse. If SirAlex had a sense of humour, which I don’t think he does, he should table a 40 million bid for Gerrard. The RS would be forced to accept given their parlous financial situation, and big Stevie gets to win a Championship medal or two as his career winds down. Serious point is that the sale might help Rooney - he’s been overshadowed since Ronaldo properly stepped it up a few seasons back. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1183 "2009-06-11T10:44:26Z")
Losing Ronaldo and Tevez in a season might cause some problems - they added 40 goals between then this season, which is a lot for Rooney and Berbatov to pick up. If Rooney gets injured early next season (20 goals this year), it doesn’t leave many other avenues for scoring, so Fergie will have to get a proven goalscorer in. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1184 "2009-06-11T11:03:40Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > Losing Ronaldo and Tevez in a season might cause some problems - they added 40 goals between then this season, which is a lot for Rooney and Berbatov to pick up. > > If Rooney gets injured early next season (20 goals this year), it doesn’t leave many other avenues for scoring, so Fergie will have to get a proven goalscorer in. Like Torres 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1185 "2009-06-12T14:48:31Z")
According to BBC Ceefax: Man City _appear_ to have beaten Manure in the race to sign Tevez. Nothing confirmed as yet but I wait with bated breath ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1186 "2009-06-12T17:43:55Z")
Tevez to City would be really good for City. IF they can keep him happy. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1187 "2009-06-13T21:34:26Z")
I’m a big fan of Tevez. He’s not a prima donna and will play his heart out when he’s on the pitch regardless of off pitch goings on. If I was a manager I would rather have a team of Tevezes than sulky old Berbetovs or even dare I say Ronaldos. If Man C. can get him it will be a good buy and will piss off a load of Man U. supporters too. I’m amazed that he apparently isn’t being retained by United. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1188 "2009-06-14T03:09:28Z")
Tevez is my favorite player. What he did at West Ham was a near miracle. He always seems to have boundless energy. Anyway, it was my impression that the reason he wasn’t that happy at ManU was because he was basically on the second team (or first-and-a-half). In my opinion, for Tevez to become a truly elite player, he needs to play every week. Argentina would probably like him to play every week too. Anyway, I hope he does get away from ManU so he can get off the damn bench! ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1189 "2009-06-14T07:14:15Z")
Again according to The Gruniad: Robinho has been exhorting Tevez to sign for Man City. Please God make it so, you know it makes sense ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1190 "2009-06-14T10:45:57Z")
In all honesty people the ridiculous sums of money being offered for players is getting out of hand. So are the wage demands of players. Eto’o of Barcelona has demanded 1 million Euros a month after tax, this demand being made to Man City who had shown interest in signing him. I don’t care who you are or how good, no athlete on this planet is worth this outrageous and obscene wage. Time a cap on wages was re-introduced, that’ll sort the greedy fuckers out ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1191 "2009-06-15T11:45:29Z")
I agree. I’m sure I’ve heard arguments against wage-caps in the past, but I can’t remember them (apart from the obvious chestnut about interfering with a free market, which I generally agree with but I think is outweighed in this case by the good it could do for the game). Any such cap would obviously have to be implemented by FIFA, though, otherwise talent will drain from countries who implement a cap unilaterally. And I guess that’s not going to happen because it’s generally in FIFA’s interests to have as much money flowing around the game as possible, at least in the short term, for the personal gain of those involved. In the long term, of course, it could kill the game, if for example all the big clubs spend so much smaller clubs are forced into extinction (which may already be happening to some degree, viz Southampton, Luton, Bournemouth et al), and then go bankrupt because they have overstretched themselves (coming close to happening to Liverpool, Man U, Arsenal, Real Madrid?). ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1192 "2009-06-15T12:00:00Z")
One thing that’s always puzzled me about player’s wages is, I know they get performance bonuses, but do they ever get performance wage cuts? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1193 "2009-06-15T13:15:40Z")
If they did Micah Richards would owe City plenty. He went from brilliant to mediocre to fucking useless ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1194 "2009-06-15T15:28:02Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > If they did Micah Richards would owe City plenty. > > He went from brilliant to mediocre to fucking useless That’s gotta be a confidence crisis, rather than a loss of ability tho’, surely? Poor Micah! ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1195 "2009-06-20T15:44:53Z")
Tevez declines to stay at manure 🙂 Here you are Carlos, a nice blue shirt just waiting for you 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150/1196 "2009-06-20T18:11:03Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > Tevez declines to stay at manure 🙂 > > Here you are Carlos, a nice blue shirt just waiting for you 😃 We’ve opened a thread to speculate on next year already. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-football-season-2008-09-forecasts/459150.md?page=59)