For us sports guys, July’s usually a quiet month. With only MLS soccer, Major League Baseball, and a splash of tennis and golf, there isn’t much on the docket.

July is about a couple things; vacation and player movement in all major leagues.

Well, I’m done my vacation, so what about the player movement? Largely in the North American sports, the movement for the most part is done. It’s all about racing to get signatures right when the trade embargos are lifted or when free agents are allowed to be swooped up. So now, teams are just filling wholes.

In European football, the transfer window opened July 1st. As always, there was a spattering of movement that was pre-arranged prior to July. But for the most part, transfers are drawn out and are tedious teasers for supporters of various football clubs. All fans want to know who they’re teams are getting. The rumour mill is one thing, but people want signatures and finalized transfers.

Some significant movement has gone in Italy and Spain, but very little movement have come from the typical big spenders; the big four in England.

Yearly, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United all compete for the signatures of the world’s brightest stars. This year, they’ve sold more players than they’ve got in return.

Why has this happened?

I say the issue is two-fold.

As the global market continues to struggle, so do the big spenders in balancing fielding a competitive team and spending with reckless abandon. And the weakened financial situation of the clubs has something to do with it.

Although television revenue is providing clubs with unprecedented wealth, the costs of investing in the product have caught up to Liverpool and Arsenal.

In North London, Arsene Wenger has even conceded Arsenal will be sellers, rather than buyers for the foreseeable future. Chairman Peter Hill-Wood has echoed those sentiments, saying the days of free-spending are behind them. From now on, Arsenal’s going to have to rely on Wenger’s savvy eye for emerging talent and selling high on players to capitalize on their value, much like they did with Thierry Henry last summer.

Striker Emmanuel Adebayor and midfielder Alexander Hleb look to be surely exiting Emirates by the end of the month, further signaling the shift in team-building approach.

It’s not just the global market affecting the clubs. Arsenal’s debts can be attributed to the funding of Emirates Stadium, which will surely be more profitable in the long haul.

Despite the crunch, Arsenal have still brought in up-and-comers Aaron Ramsey and Samir Nasri; another pair of players they hope can contribute and continue to develop under Wenger.

Much like Arsenal, Liverpool’s crying poor as well. A new stadium (surprise, surprise) is on the way in Stanley Park come 2011, and considerable resources will have to be put towards that project. And, who can forget, the dreaded presence of American ownership is always an easy target to blame on the Merseyside.

A drawn out transfer saga with Aston Villa over midfielder Gareth Barry has dominated the headlines. Englishmen striker Peter Crouch and goalkeeper Scott Carson, and defender John Arne Riise are now gone. In their place, a group of little known foreign players Rafa Benitez hopes can contribute. Benitez himself acknowledged that Liverpool has to sell finance any purchases. He says signings are on the way, but one has to wonder.

In the case of Barry, and Irish target, striker Robbie Keane, the Reds haven’t been able to get anything done. This may have something to do with their nationality more than anything else, further signaling foreign players will have an even greater presence as the backbone at the club.

Liverpool, much like Arsenal is finding more value in foreign players. That’s because the price for English, British, and Irish players are inflated; too expensive for what the commodity brings to the table.

And the price of ‘home-grown’ players is just the tip of the iceberg. Enter Manchester United and Chelsea into the equation.

Manchester United has yet to buy anyone, and Chelsea, aside from the signing of Barcelona cast-away midfielder Deco, has been unusually quiet.

Both teams have deep pockets, but are showing restraint not spending aimlessly. Is striker Dimitar Berbatov worth 30 million pounds? Not a chance. But Tottenham will play hardball and demand that kind of money from Manchester United to add him to the squad. How much is emerging Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin worth? Obviously Chelsea and Arsenal’s estimation’s worth less than what Zenit St. Petersburg deems their asset to be worth.

Is there anything wrong with smaller clubs trying to pinch every penny they can from the big four? Absolutely not – that’s the beauty of the free market. But when the big four collectively make the decision not to loose their minds to bring marginal talent into their side for ridiculous prices, the market will even out. Same thing goes for star players – there comes a point where money is an object.

So in the end, this summer has been frustrated for the supporters of big and small clubs alike. People love player movement, so the standstill benefits nobody. And usually what it takes is for the big hands to show their hands first, putting the big money out their on the table, only for subsequent moves to follow place.

So no longer should supporters of smaller clubs curse and complain about the free-spending ways of the big clubs. They fuel the market. You see, overpaying works for everyone involved.

Being held hostage by smaller clubs is counter-productive. In the end, greed will get them nowhere and cripple them in their own attempts to build their respective squads. Not to paint smaller sides in a bad light, because the big four are culprits of abusing the system too. Player tampering, both directly or indirectly, unsettles players with dreams of the European stage, and makes what could be an amicable transfer process into a long and drawn out saga played through the media.

Bottom-line is, the market sets itself, and no matter what, the bigger clubs are going to over-pay. So there’s no need for Sepp Blatter or any other figure governing football to evoke change to the process through legislative means. The 6 + 5 rule or limiting the age of transferred players does very little to help anyone. Let the free market reign supreme. Let the small clubs capitalize on what the big clubs spend and let the big clubs overpay as much as they like.

The big four will spend, and it’s good for football - it’s how the world goes around.

gw

gareth.wheeler@suntv.canoe.ca

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