Creating transfer headlines

Friday 25th September 2009

WITHIN days of their 2009 season coming to an end, Warrington publicly introduced three major new signings for 2010 in the shape of Ryan Atkins, Richard Myler and David Solomona. And nobody batted so much as an eyelid in surprise!

It wasn't even a matter of finally revealing one of the game's worst kept secrets, because there's nothing secret anymore about player recruitment among the Super League clubs.

I'm sure many people feel as uncomfortable as I do about seeing clubs announce new signings for the following year whilst the current season is still in progress, and - more to the point - whilst those players continue to play for other clubs. Ryan Atkins, for example, was unveiled as a new signing by Warrington and the following week was still playing for Wakefield Trinity in the play-offs. And it's months since Hull announced that Sean Long would be playing for them next season, meanwhile he has continued to do his best to get St.Helens to another championship title. 

Surely it would better serve Rugby League if it was stipulated that no such official  announcements of players moving to rival clubs could be made until after the end of the season, ie. at the end of the player's current contract. That wouldn't stop rumours circulating, in fact such a build up of speculation might help the game increase its coverage in the national press by giving the reporters something more to write about.

Indeed the game could create a massive media jamboree for itself by setting up a "signings day" in which all the Super League clubs could announce their new recruits for the following season together at a centralised event, in the same way as the NFL in America hosts its "draft day." That creates huge media and fan interest in the United States, and I believe it's something the Super League could adapt as an innovation that would be far better than the present situation of news emerging ad.hoc about players moving from one club to another.

There was a time when transfer speculation, and especially the chase to sign Rugby Union stars, was a massive part of the media coverage of Rugby League, and it certainly helped sell a lot of newspapers as fans flocked to find out the latest developments. Correspondents with the popular press like Eddie Waring of the "Sunday Pictorial" (later to become the "Sunday Mirror") and Phil King of the "People" wrote columns that were essential reading for everybody in Rugby League as they battled each other to get the biggest scoops of who was signing whom. Indeed, Eddie Waring was involved in setting up some of the game's biggest signings himself, acting as an unofficial agent in the days long before that term was invented, often just so he could ensure he got the exclusive story for his paper a week before any of his rival reporters.

Some of the biggest stories Eddie was personally involved in included Dickie Williams, a future Great Britain captain, being signed by him for Leeds whilst travelling in a railway carriage; his attempt to set up Billy Boston to be signed by Hunslet (Eddie's planned scoop was thwarted on this occasion when Boston signed for Wigan instead); and the Olympic sprint champion MacDonald Bailey joining Leigh, a deal in which Eddie did get his "world exclusive" for the "Sunday Pictorial."

All that kind of cloak and dagger excitement is a million miles away from what goes on in the transfer market these days. Everybody in the Rugby League media knew that Atkins, Myler and Solomona were heading for Warrington long before any official announcement was made at the Halliwell Jones Stadium - and, just for good measure, Myler's club Salford ensured that they stole some of the Wolves' thunder by confirming the news of his transfer a week before Warrington were able to do so. 

But for weeks all the talk in the game had been about young Myler leaving the Red Devils to go to Warrington. Ever since the teenage scrum-half broke into the England team he was destined to become a hot property and it must have been very disappointing for Salford that, as soon as he began to make a name for himself, it appeared inevitable he would leave for what were perceived as more lucrative pastures.

It's nothing new in Rugby League - and it's always been the same in football too - to see talented young players snapped up by the bigger clubs; and at least Salford did have the consolation of receiving a very substantial transfer-fee for Richard Myler as he was in contract with them. Transfer-fees, whilst still very much a part of the football world, have become something of a rarity in Rugby League and long gone are the days when the old adage about "money circulating in the game" rang true.

Being the man who commanded the game's biggest transfer fee was a very prestigious accolade in years gone by, and the game's records are highlighted by key milestones in the rise of those record fees. For example, the very first £1,000 transfer fee was for a full-back Harold Buck, signed by Leeds from Hunslet in the 1921-22 season. For many years afterwards, Harold was landlord of the Regent pub in Chapel Allerton, Leeds.

The first £100,000 fee was paid by Wigan to Widnes for Joe Lydon in 1985-86 and the first £1 million man was .... well, Rugby League hasn't reached that high yet, but Iestyn Harris was the first man ever to be transfer listed at over £1 million when Warrington put him on offer at a world record £1,350,000 in 1996.  Iestyn was only 20-years-old at the time, and eventually was signed by Leeds in a deal worth £350,000.

My favourite record transfer-fee story remains the one surrounding international winger Ike Southward, who set a new record of £10,650 when he left Workington Town for Oldham in 1959. Two years later, Ike wanted to return to his native Cumberland and Oldham were happy to receive their £10,650 back from Workington to seal the deal. But, just before the transfer went through, a new world record was set when St.Helens paid Wigan £11,000 for Mick Sullivan.

Tom Mitchell, the charismatic Workington director with a real flair for publicity, wanted his club to hold the accolade of paying the world record fee for Southward so he not only told Oldham they would raise the fee to match the £11,000 paid for Sullivan, but would also add an extra £2-10 shillings on top to set a brand new record of their own. The extra £2-10 shillings apparently was for the Oldham chairman to buy a bottle of whiskey.

A true story? Well, according to Tom it was, but it's just another example of the drama and intrigue that the transfer market could create.

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