What's happening around the world
By Tony Malone (12/1/06)
Unfortunately, it looks like I was right. The following Sunday, on SBS's excellent football programme "The World Game", reports surfaced of a possible loan deal for Thompson. Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink is apparently keen to sign Thompson for his Dutch club side, PSV Eindhoven. If it happens, it will be a good move for Archie; not only will he get regular game time and be under the close scrutiny of his national coach, he may also get the chance to play in the UEFA Champions' League. Of course, Melbourne will miss their star-striker and fan favourite (he may even miss vitally important games at the end of the current A-League season), but it's more important for Archie to enjoy regular run-outs to ensure that he's fit for the World Cup.
This was two weeks ago. Last week PSV confirmed that they were interested in taking Thompson on loan and officially submitted their offer to Melbourne, but the deal, which looked to be a certainty a matter of days ago, could yet fail. Melbourne and PSV have been unable to agree on the terms of the contract, which could mean that Archie will be unable to pursue his dream of playing for the Dutch giants. Thompson is, understandably, angry at the delay; playing in Europe is a huge step forward for any Australian player, and , with the A-League finishing in March (and Melbourne's season as good as over already), missing this opportunity would mean going four months without regular games in the most important time of his professional life. In the build up to the World Cup, the Socceroos striker needs regular match practice if he is to keep his place in the Australian squad; in addition, playing under the watchful eye of national coach Hiddink would do his selection chances no harm.
Both sides are refusing to back down and blame the other for the lack of progress with the deal. PSV offered to pay Thompson's hefty wages for the length of the six-month loan deal while obtaining an option to buy Thompson for $500,000 at the end of this period. What's more, any future transfer that Thompson makes would net Melbourne Victory twenty percent of the fee. While this looks like a good deal on paper, freeing Victory of the burden of paying for a player during the holidays and ensuring that they make a profit on a player who came to them on a free transfer, Melbourne disagree. They are holding out for a loan fee of $160,000 and wish to negotiate any permanent transfer fee at the end of the loan deal.
It is difficult to say who is in the wrong. Of course, it is the responsibility of the Melbourne board of directors to get the best deal possible for the club; they know that it may be possible to sell Thompson for a lot more than $500,000 if Archie impresses at the World Cup. However, PSV are already offering a lot of money for a player who, while certainly talented, is not a regular international. At the age of twenty-nine, he is unlikely to command a huge transfer fee, so the Melbourne club should be happy with the profit they are in line to make.
Whatever the outcome, the relationship between the player and the club has been almost irreparably damaged. It is unlikely that Thompson will play many more games for the Victory, even if this deal should fall through. In a press conference on the 12th of January (which the club had tried to prevent him from giving), he spoke of his anger at the events of the past week and resigned the captaincy. He also said that he was unsure as to whether he would play at the weekend and insisted that he wanted to leave the club.
Unfortunately, many supporters have already begun to criticise Thompson; some believe that he shouldn't be allowed to play for the club again after betraying them in the media. I find this stance disappotinting. Thompson has been the only bright spot in a very disappointing debut season for the Victory, and the fans should be thanking him for everything he has done for the club. We mustn't forget that he was already playing in Europe and rejected offers from other clubs to come back to Australia to help out the new league.
Whatever the outcome of this story, it has been a setback for the progress of football in Australia. After a year of unparallelled success for the sport Down Under, it was perhaps inevitable that something would go wrong. We can only hope that ithis episode does not have any far-reaching effects for the A-League and the game in general.