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Money game is spiralling out of control Authorities have to stop rising fees and wages

Writer: WARAT THAVISIN

Published: 16/08/2009 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: Sports

Given the economic downturn, one might have been in shock to witness such a costly transfer market.

BIG BUCKS: Real Madrid bought Kaka from AC Milan for 56 million pounds.

With two transfer records and the rise of transfer fees, we have seen one of the most hectic transfer windows of all time.

In 1893, Aston Villa were criticised for damaging the game's spirit for buying Willie Groves from West Bromwich Albion for 100 - a world record fee that stood for 11 years.

With that sum, you can't even buy a pair of top-end boots these days. Kaka became the most expensive player when Real Madrid bought him from AC Milan for 56 million.

The record was soon broken when Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid for an outrageous fee of 80 million.

These days 10 million seems to be able to buy only a decent player, and the effect of the rising transfer fees is wide ranging.

Firstly, there is the question about the clubs' financial status and stability.

Big English clubs such as Manchester United and Liverpool are operating in debt. Being forced to spend more money on players during the current economic crisis could have a damaging effect.

Value of many clubs have fallen significantly. The financial situation of English clubs could become worse if they still spend absurd sums on players as Uefa general-secretary David Taylor said: "It is raising the ante in terms of players cost, in terms of the general market place, which is not a thing that gives us a great deal of comfort in these difficult times."

TOP RANK: Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s most expensive player at 80 million pounds.

Secondly, clubs with more money will undoubtedly become more and more influential. The obvious example is Manchester City who have spent some 100 million for new players in their attempt to challenge the Big Four.

With unlimited funds from their owners from the Middle East, City manager Mark Hughes may be the most envious coach although many fear that he could soon be sacked if his expensive side fail to deliver.

In the near future, a championship may be determined by money rather than ability.

The rise of the transfer fees has come with the increase in players' wages. Nowadays, many good - but not great - players enjoy a weekly wage in the region of 100,000 a week.

Over the years, we have seen a shift in the players' motivation from competing at the highest level to getting the highest wage.

No matter what players like Gareth Barry and Robinho told you, money was undoubtedly a major factor in their decision to join Man City.

Before his move from Aston Villa, Barry, who was once chased by Liverpool, said he wanted to play Champions League football but City did not qualify for the competition.

Is there a way to stop the money trend?

Salary cap or a limit to transfer fee could be an option for European football governing body Uefa. But this would affect or put an end to the "free market".

Clubs may be allowed to pay more than the limit of transfer fee but a percentage of the additional fee - say 10% - must be used to develop home-grown players.

For example, if the limit of transfer fee for a player is 25 million and a club pay 30 million, the club must give 500,000 (10% of the extra 5 million) to their academy.

This way, they may save millions of pounds in the future and get a new star from their own acdemy.

But it is not likely that big clubs would accept any measure that would curb their financial power because they are used to "buying" success.

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Asean to get $25bn loan from China ANOTHER $10BN TO BE OFFERED IN THE FORM OF A FUND FOR EMERGENCY USE

Writer: PHUSADEE ARUNMAS

Published: 16/08/2009 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: News

China yesterday agreed to provide a US$15 billion (510 billion baht) loan to help Southeast Asian countries with infrastructure development and another $10 billion in the form of an emergency investment fund to help the region cope with future economic crises.

China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming shakes hands with Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai to seal the deal.

Beijing made the pledges in a meeting between Asean commerce ministers and their Chinese counterpart Chen Deming.

The loan will be used to improve transport and telecommunications infrastructures in the region, said Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai, who chaired the meeting.

Railway connections between Kunming in southern China to Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore will benefit from the injection of cash, which will also be used to boost trade, investment and tourism between Asean and China.

The Asean Secretariat will prioritise the infrastructure projects that will benefit from this loan.

Details would be hammered out at the Asean summit in October.

As for the $10 billion emergency fund, China hoped that it will help Asean solve its future economic problems.

Asean and China also signed the Asean-China Investment Agreement yesterday, which the two sides have been negotiating since 2003.

The agreement will expand trade and investment and will come into effect on Jan 1.

Mr Chen called the agreement a "milestone" in fostering trade and investment ties between China and Southeast Asia.

Ms Porntiva said she hoped the accord will also benefit trade and investment between Thailand and China.

China is the eighth largest investor in Asean with a total investment of $60 billion. Last year, investment from China rose 125% from 2007.

In a related development, Asean ministers and their counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India supported efforts to turn their countries into a free trade area.

According to a study by an expert group, the free trade area of 16 countries would boost GDP by 1.3%.

Thailand's economic growth would rise 4.8% and the Asean economy would grow 3.8% once the 16 countries have been turned into one free trade zone, the study said.

Also yesterday, Asean and South Korea agreed to set up a special fund to support cooperation schemes including projects aimed at reducing the economic gap in Southeast Asia. South Korea contributed $1.5 billion to the fund.

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Wichien told to prevent city clashes

Writer: POST REPORTERS

Published: 16/08/2009 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: News

Caretaker national police chief Wichien Pojphosri has been ordered to ensure no clashes between supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and those of Newin Chidchob tomorrow.

Don't let them clash

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva gave the order to head off any confrontation between the groups, which are likely to gather close to each other in the city.

At the Grand Palace, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship will submit to the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary their petition seeking a royal pardon for Thaksin.

At nearby Sanam Luang, supporters of Mr Newin will gather at the Criminal Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to hear its verdict on the rubber sapling project. Mr Newin has been implicated in irregularities in the scheme.

Pol Gen Wichien has told the prime minister that police alone will be able to control the situation.

Special Branch Police chief Pol Lt Gen Theeradet Rodphothong estimated that about 20,000 red shirt supporters from northern and northeastern provinces would be in Bangkok to take part in the royal pardon petition submission.

A source close to Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said the army had been asked to support the police anti-riot operation if rallies by the two groups slide into unrest.

The 1st Army has been asked to put its troops from 21 Bangkok-based companies and three other companies from nearby provinces on standby.

Chaisit Shinawatra, former supreme commander and a cousin of Thaksin, said the red shirts would stop their campaign for a royal pardon once they had submitted the petition.

They would leave the decision to His Majesty the King, said Gen Chaisit.

But Mr Abhisit said that after the royal pardon petition is submitted, the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary is likely to seek suggestions on the petition from the government.

The Justice Ministry then will be asked to look into the petition's content, said the prime minister.

If the content of the petition and the petition submission procedures did not comply with required legal criteria, the government would tell the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary that the petition does not meet the criteria, said Mr Abhisit.

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US senator visits Suu Kyi

Sen James Webb thanked the Burmese icon for defending democracy, won a pardon and freedom for the American linked to her latest detention (inset), and talked with reclusive military ruler Than Shwe. (AFP Photo)

Published: 16/08/2009 at 04:50 AM

Rangoon (AFP) - US Senator Jim Webb met Burmese military ruler Than Shwe and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday after securing the release of the US citizen jailed for visiting Suu Kyi's house in May.

John Yettaw, bound for Bangkok Sunday afternoon.

Webb, a Democrat with close links to US President Barack Obama, became the first official US visitor to hold talks with the reclusive Than Shwe, encountering the regime's supremo in his bunker-like capital, Naypyidaw, officials said.

Webb then flew to Rangoon to meet Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi at a government guesthouse near her home - her first meeting with a foreign official since her house arrest was extended by 18 months earlier this week.

Webb's office later issued a statement in Washington saying he had secured an agreement from the junta to release John Yettaw, who was jailed for seven years this week over an incident in which he swam to Suu Kyi's lakeside home.

"I am grateful to the Myanmar government," Webb was quoted as saying, using the military dictatorship's name for Burma..

"It is my hope that we can take advantage of these gestures as a way to begin laying a foundation of goodwill and confidence-building in the future," Webb said.

The statement said Yettaw would be officially deported Sunday morning, adding that "Senator Webb will bring him out of the country on a military aircraft that is returning to Bangkok on Sunday afternoon."

A Burmese official confirmed Yettaw's deportation.

"Yettaw will be deported and leave with Webb," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Webb had also urged the Burmese military regime to free Suu Kyi, who has spent most of the last two decades under house arrest, the senator's office said.

She was driven to the meeting with Webb from her crumbling mansion in a convoy comprising her car and several police vehicles, witnesses said. She left the guesthouse about 45 minutes later.

The Burmese regime sparked international outrage when a court in the army-ruled nation convicted Yettaw and Suu Kyi over the May incident in which the American swam uninvited to her home.

According to earlier reports, Webb was not due to meet Yettaw, a diabetic and epileptic former military veteran who is being held at Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison. Yettaw was hospitalised earlier this month after suffering a series of fits.

Dissident groups have warned that Webb's visit could be manipulated by the Burmese government to "endorse" its treatment of Suu Kyi and the more than 2,100 other political prisoners in the country's jails.

The UN Security Council issued a watered-down statement Thursday expressing "serious concern" about her detention, while the European Union the same day extended sanctions against the junta, including the judges in the trial.

Critics have accused the junta of trumping up the charges to keep Suu Kyi locked up during elections next year, and of using the polls themselves to legitimise their grip on power since 1962.

The junta refused to recognise the NLD's victory in elections in 1990.

Both the White House and State Department welcomed Webb's trip, even though it was officially being made in a private capacity by the senator, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific affairs.

The Obama administration said earlier this year that it was reviewing his predecessor George W Bush's tough stance on Burma, even though Obama recently renewed sanctions against the regime.

Webb, a gruff Vietnam veteran, said in April that Washington should seek "constructive" engagement towards Burma with the aim of lifting sanctions, while admitting in July that the Suu Kyi trial made it more difficult.

Webb, 63, has written six novels and served in the late 1980s as secretary of the US Navy under Republican President Ronald Reagan.

Than Shwe has, meanwhile, been a long-term bete noire of the United States. A former postman, he has ruled Burma since 1992 with an iron-fist, ruthlessly suppressing his rivals.

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