Was Ollie right with his rant about the Bosman ruling?

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway is sometimes painted as a clown or a fool when in fact he has a very good footballing mind.

He has voiced his concerns about the Bosman ruling ruining the game. He particularly commented on the Wayne Rooney situation at Manchester United.

Trouble

Holloway told the press: “I’ve got big problems with the people who are running football. I know the reasons I think the game is in trouble and you cannot have a Bosman ruling they’ve got at the moment.

“Manchester United have helped Wayne Rooney’s career massively on and off the field. The manager, the club itself has invested in him. They bought him for massive amounts of money as a young man and they’re helping him blossom into the player that he is.

“He’s one of the best centre-forwards in the world. And if he sees his contract out he’s going to be able to walk out of there for nothing. That’s the people at the very top of the game’s fault”.

He has made a great point. Rooney could walk away from Old Trafford in 2012 for absolutely nothing after Manchester United developed his talent. United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has apparently treated Rooney like a son since his arrival at the club and he could lose him at a massive loss.

That doesn’t look like it’s going to happen as it appears that United are going to sell the 24 year-old in the winter transfer window. However other major players have benefitted from the Bosman ruling.

Bosman

The Bosman ruling came about in 1995. Belgian midfielder Jean-Marc Bosman was denied a transfer from RFC Liege to French club Dunkerque in 1990 despite his contract expiring. The clubs couldn’t agree a fee but Bosman was no longer wanted at RFC Liege.

He suffered a wage reduction and was no longer part of the first team but RFC refused to let him leave. He decided to take his case to the European Court of Justice, after a tough legal fight he finally won his case and in December 1995 the court decided that players should be given freedom of movement at the end of their contracts, as long as it was between clubs in the European Union.

The irony of it is that Bosman hardly benefitted from the case. After a short stint in French football of just 12 games he didn’t find another club. I bet when he brought about the case he could never have imagined the effect it would have on football.

Agents

The Bosman ruling was meant to help players have the same rights as most other workers in the European Union. Players should have those rights but unfortunately it has put the agents in charge of the game not the players.

The agents are getting richer and richer from players moving on Bosman ruling. The players are earning ridiculous signing-on fees but the agents get a massive slice of those fees.

Wages

Footballers are just cash cows to agents and the more money the players earn the more the agents earn. The clubs are being financially drained by these shady characters. Most agents don’t care about their clients or the clubs they play for its all about how much profit they can make from both of them.

The infestation of agents in the game has proved the downfall of a lot of clubs in recent times. Clubs fall into debt because when they sign a player, especially on a Bosman transfer and they end up paying far over the odds.

Realistic

I have always liked Ian Holloway and he is completely right on this issue. He is just the breath of fresh air and reality that the dream world of the Premier League need. I wish there was more of his kind in the English top flight.

Is Ollie right about the Bosman ruling?