PantherPower83
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Sheringham may be the saviour
February 11, 2007
SYDNEY FC can add another item to the club's to-do list for next season - sign Teddy Sheringham.
The English Premier League legend is available on a free transfer when his contract with West Ham United expires at the end of this season and Sydney has emerged as a possible destination.
Sheringham's agent has confirmed to The Sun-Herald that the former England international is keen to extend his playing career and the A-League is very much on his agenda.
"At the end of the season, Teddy will do what he always does and that is look at his options," agent Barry Neville said. "Australia is not out of the question. The question is, how big is your radar screen?"
Sydney will have to compete with Major League Soccer in the US and the riches on offer in the Middle East for players winding down their careers.
A deal equal to the $1 million a season earned by inaugural marquee star Dwight Yorke will be required to compete with MLS's designated-player rule that allowed David Beckham to sign for Los Angeles Galaxy.
Clubs in Qatar's spectator-poor but oil-rich league are granted $10 million from the country's Olympic committee to sign European stars as a talent booster.
"Teddy wants to carry on playing football and whether that is in Australia, the United States, England or the Middle East, he will make his mind up at the end of the season," Neville said. "He doesn't want to coach - he is only interested in playing at the moment."
Super-fit Sheringham turns 41 in April but is widely acknowledged as still being capable of playing at the top level.
In 1999, he created history with Manchester United alongside Yorke, winning the UEFA Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup - the famed "treble" - in one season and scored a dramatic injury-time goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.
He has since played for Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth, then played an instrumental role in West Ham's promotion to the Premier League in 2005.
In 2006, with West Ham, he was officially the oldest outfield player to take the field in the league, as well as the oldest to score.
Signing Sheringham would be a big piece of the puzzle Sydney officials need to solve to restore faith with fans after one of the most tumultuous periods in the club's short history.
As lawyers for departing coach Terry Butcher and Sydney argued over the details of their divorce, a dartboard of speculation was surrounding Butcher's replacement.
Almost every coach in Australia has been linked with the position, which has fast become the sport's most poisoned chalice.
Privately, several board members are scratching their heads about Butcher's initial appointment and feel the club's former administration and Butcher's agent railroaded the board into appointing a coach with no established track record.
"We somehow went from a championship team to a pub team in a very short period of time," one source said. "We must make sure this never happens again."
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He's 41, I don't think that should be the way Sydney FC should be going. If they are going to sign a marquee player, they should seek someone slightly younger.
Having said that I'm sure Sheringham would provide alot of experience and leadership.
Source: SMH - http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/sheringham-the-saviour/2007/02/10/1170524347721.html
February 11, 2007
SYDNEY FC can add another item to the club's to-do list for next season - sign Teddy Sheringham.
The English Premier League legend is available on a free transfer when his contract with West Ham United expires at the end of this season and Sydney has emerged as a possible destination.
Sheringham's agent has confirmed to The Sun-Herald that the former England international is keen to extend his playing career and the A-League is very much on his agenda.
"At the end of the season, Teddy will do what he always does and that is look at his options," agent Barry Neville said. "Australia is not out of the question. The question is, how big is your radar screen?"
Sydney will have to compete with Major League Soccer in the US and the riches on offer in the Middle East for players winding down their careers.
A deal equal to the $1 million a season earned by inaugural marquee star Dwight Yorke will be required to compete with MLS's designated-player rule that allowed David Beckham to sign for Los Angeles Galaxy.
Clubs in Qatar's spectator-poor but oil-rich league are granted $10 million from the country's Olympic committee to sign European stars as a talent booster.
"Teddy wants to carry on playing football and whether that is in Australia, the United States, England or the Middle East, he will make his mind up at the end of the season," Neville said. "He doesn't want to coach - he is only interested in playing at the moment."
Super-fit Sheringham turns 41 in April but is widely acknowledged as still being capable of playing at the top level.
In 1999, he created history with Manchester United alongside Yorke, winning the UEFA Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup - the famed "treble" - in one season and scored a dramatic injury-time goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.
He has since played for Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth, then played an instrumental role in West Ham's promotion to the Premier League in 2005.
In 2006, with West Ham, he was officially the oldest outfield player to take the field in the league, as well as the oldest to score.
Signing Sheringham would be a big piece of the puzzle Sydney officials need to solve to restore faith with fans after one of the most tumultuous periods in the club's short history.
As lawyers for departing coach Terry Butcher and Sydney argued over the details of their divorce, a dartboard of speculation was surrounding Butcher's replacement.
Almost every coach in Australia has been linked with the position, which has fast become the sport's most poisoned chalice.
Privately, several board members are scratching their heads about Butcher's initial appointment and feel the club's former administration and Butcher's agent railroaded the board into appointing a coach with no established track record.
"We somehow went from a championship team to a pub team in a very short period of time," one source said. "We must make sure this never happens again."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
He's 41, I don't think that should be the way Sydney FC should be going. If they are going to sign a marquee player, they should seek someone slightly younger.
Having said that I'm sure Sheringham would provide alot of experience and leadership.
Source: SMH - http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/sheringham-the-saviour/2007/02/10/1170524347721.html