Wimbledon – GAME OF THE PEOPLE

VICTOR OSIMHEN of Napoli has signed a new contract that will take him through to 2026. The much-coveted Nigerian striker, who netted 26 goals as his club won their first scudetto since 1990 in 2022-23, has been the subject of considerable interest from abroad. Still only 24, Osimhen has scored eight goals this season but has suffered from injuries. Osimhen will be part of the Nigeria squad that takes part in the Africa Cup of Nations in January, so Napoli, whose season has been disappointing, will be without their key man. He has won 28 caps and scored 20 goals for his country.

Arsenal slipped up at home to West Ham and blew the chance of returning to the top of the Premier League table. The Gunners were beaten 2-0 with a goal in each half by the Hammers. Needless to say, there a VAR controversy surrounding the visitors’ first goal. Arsenal dominated the game, carving out 30 shots on goal and enjoying 74% of the possession, but West Ham took their chance and scored in the 13^th minute through Soucek and with a 55^th minute header by Mavropanos. It could have been even worse, but goalkeeper David Raya saved a penalty from Said Benrahma. Arsenal are two points behind leaders Liverpool. West Ham, in sixth, didn’t apologise for their defensive performance. “If you remember, Arsenal used to make a living out it,” said manager David Moyes.

The lack of understanding of football by politicians has been highlighted once more by leaked papers that reveal Sir Tony Blair’s enthusiasm for a possible relocation of Wimbledon FC to Belfast in the late 1990s. Blair, who was Prime Minister at the time, felt a move to Northern Ireland would be a “significant breakthrough”. While he may have been thinking of the possible PR gains it would bring, Wimbledon were a poorly supported club and would have surely struggled to win over the Belfast population, even if they had changed their name to Belfast United. The city has a number of clubs with strong roots, such as Cliftonville, Linfield, Crusaders and Glentoran. Furthermore, what would such a relocation have done for Wimbledon and its fans?

Jenni Hermoso of Spain has been named the Guardian newspaper’s footballer of the year for 2023, the fourth time in six years that a women has won the award. The much-travelled 33 year-old, who plays for Mexican club Pachuca, was a member of Spain’s World Cup winning team. She missed a penalty in the final against England, but it was an incident during the trophy presentation that sparked off the most news from the competition’s climax. Spanish Football Federation president, Luis Rubiales, planted a kiss on Hermoso’s lips, and in the aftermath, this became a symbol of the sexism and misogyny that often prevails in attitudes towards women’s football.

BRITAIN may be on the brink of a burgeoning economic crisis that is characterised by deteriorating infrastructure, neglected schools and hospitals and the rising cost of living, but the Premier League just carries on as if it is business as normal. While so many people are struggling to make ends meet, football at the highest level continues to extend the gap between itself and reality. Last summer it was Chelsea, this year Arsenal are spending big, about to secure their first £ 100 million player and paying more than £ 60 million for a forward who needed to move to rediscover his verve. Both have come from London clubs, and in the case of West Ham’s Declan Rice, it could be the most significant inter-London transaction of all time.

In the past the big London clubs were reluctant to trade players with each other, although it was perfectly acceptable to plunder talent from the next tier, including Fulham, Crystal Palace, QPR and others. But in the case of Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham, cash transfers were surprisingly rare between them. “Never sell your best players to neighbours or rivals,” said one manager back in the 1970s. There’s some logic in that statement; after all, why would any club willingly weaken itself while strengthening their main competitors? Financial crisis permitting, of course. In any climate, it would be difficult for any club to resist the temptation of cashing in on a prime asset.

It is difficult find a relevant signing by Arsenal from West Ham in their entire history. Players have gone in the other direction and there have been some loans, but generally the two clubs rarely get round the table to discuss business. One transfer that failed to deliver was John Radford’s in 1976, the double-winning Gunner was very out-of-sorts at Upton Park.

Arsenal seldom enter into transfer relationships with Tottenham, the last major deal was in 2001-02 when Sol Campbell, very controversially, moved from Spurs to Arsenal on a free. Other notables include Pat Jennings joining Arsenal in 1977-78 from Tottenham and a swap deal involving Jimmy Robertson and David Jenkins, with the former, a FA Cup final scorer in 1967, moving to Highbury.

Chelsea and Tottenham have also rarely traded on a grand scale, the last players to join Chelsea from Spurs were Micky Hazard (1985 £ 325,000) and Colin Lee (1979 £ 225,000). There have been more taking the route to Tottenham, including Gus Poyet and Gordon Durie. The most fruitful Chelsea-Tottenham deals were, arguably, the low-key transfers of Les Allen and Bobby Smith to White Hart Lane, with both players becoming part of Bill Nicholson’s double winners in 1961. Terry Venables, in 1966, found himself surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge and was sold to Spur.

Chelsea raided West Ham on a number of occasions in the early 21^st century, acquiring Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Glen Johnson, deals that earned the Hammers close to £ 35 million when that was a significant sum of money. The biggest deal going the other way was Kurt Zouma’s £ 35 million farewell in 2021-22.

Arsenal, have, in recent years, been happy to take Chelsea players who have run their course at Stamford Bridge, including David Luiz, Willian, Peter Cech and Jorginho. Havertz is a far different story, he has mileage left in this career. Prior to this quintent, William Gallas in 2006, made the short journey from South-West to North London. Go back further, and George Graham and Tommy Baldwin exchanged employers, with the latter joining Tommy Docherty’s young side in 1966.

West Ham and Spurs have completed some notable business, the sales of Michael Carrick for £ 4.1 million in 2004-05 and Jermaine Defoe a year earlier for £ 10.5 million among the highlights. But a transaction in 1970 stole the headlines when Martin Peters, a member of England’s 1966 World Cup winners, moved to Spurs for £ 220,000 with Jimmy Greaves used as part of the deal in exchange. Greaves would bow out of the professional games in 1971, but Peters had a very durable and long career that saw him win three major trophies with Spurs.

Many players have played for more than one London club – Clive Allen, for example, turned out for QPR, Crystal Palace, Tottenham, Chelsea, West Ham and Millwall, and he was also signed by Arsenal in 1980 but after three pre-season games, was sold to Palace in exchange for Kenny Sansom. Another Palace man, Barry Silkman, a journeyman if ever there was one, also appeared for QPR, Wimbledon, Brentford and Leyton Orient. There are others.

It may be that London rivalry is not what it used to be, and that wouldn’t be surprising given the cosmopolitan nature of first team squads. The average number of foreign players in the capital’s seven Premier clubs is currently 70% and across all 12 London clubs, the figure is 59%. The top players of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham could be forgiven for feeling that matches against each other are just another high-profile Premier fixture. For the fans it will always be different. But this may explain why clubs are now more open to selling to any club that can give them a good deal and for West Ham United and Chelsea, Arsenal have provided a big pay day for them, and at the same time, added some quality to their squad.