Villas-Boas' 'transfer' to change the market?

How much is a manager worth? One of those interesting questions which needs everything laid out in order to make an educated guess. Just by looking at the facts, however, I believe they're under-priced.

It doesn't cost much to 'buy' a manager. Under a two-and-a-quarter year deal, Alex McLeish's proposed move to Aston Villa saw Birmingham City's acting chairman Peter Pannu place a £5.4m price tag on the Scot. His resignation was received by email just hours later, with City having no choice but to reluctantly accept a £2m compensation package for the handing over of McLeish. Pannu has threatened to take the matter to court for breach of contract, but its doubtful as to whether he'll go ahead with it now the dust has settled. To evaluate, it took £2m to land an ex-manager of the Scottish national side, a two time SPL winner with Rangers, not to mention a League Cup holder with Birmingham. Despite their eventual relegation from the top-flight, this doesn't seem much at all. Just a thought, but if Craig Gardner re-signed for Villa from Birmingham, he'd come in at around £5m. Now, who do you think would have more of an impact on the season: a midfielder not 100% assured of a place in the starting line-up, or the manager? At the other end of the spectrum, the price Chelsea have been quoted at to buy out the remainder of Porto boss Andre Villas-Boas' current deal is looking to be set around the £13m mark due to a release clause: £5m less than the purchase of Yuri Zhirkov.

McLeish: a bargain at £2m

The system of course is different to the one that is applied to the signing of a player. Player's tend to regularly demand more wages (player power, ennit) and can be signed for fees. Indeed, that's the general exit route players take; they are purchased. Its unheard of for a players to 'resign' from the club as a payout wouldn't be issued, so they stick around till they are either released at the end of the deal or sold on. With managers, there's two ways of departing: walk or get the boot. Resignations are often the popular choice rather than a fee should another club come calling, however, there's something about the Villas-Boas deal that seems similar to the transfer of a player.

This could be down to a number things, but the media have certainly played their part in making this seem like a big summer-signing for Chelsea. For starters, there's no compensation being mentioned; its all 'fee' and 'price'. The papers are doing their usual, 'ooozzee this Portu-geeezzeeerr, then' fact-files, while Villa-Boas' proposed wage is also attracting the headlines. The wage, in fact, is one thing that can be directly compared with that of a players. A treble winner last season with Porto at the ripe old age of 33-years-old, Boas is THE hottest property on the market. Upon arrival, his new employers had only just scraped into Europe after finishing their league season in 3rd place: their worst position in eight years. Midfielder Joao Moutinho arrived from Sporting Libson along with Argentinian defender Nicolas Otamendi for decent sums of money, but the rest of Villa-Boas' signings were younger players to accompany the first-team squad that led Porto to 3rd in the previous campaign. Without spending lavishly, the man from Porto had turned the fortunes of his local club around in the space of a year. His wage? £4m a year. To put it into perspective, Milan Jovanovic is on £40,000 more per-week.

Porto: Europa League champions

For what Chelsea are getting, £13.3m may as well be all it takes for any club to land any manager. Villas-Boas matched the hype surrounding his appointment as Porto boss in June 2010 with a treble in the form of the Primeira Liga, Portuguese Cup and UEFA Europa League in his opening season, and at 33-years-old, it doesn't get much better than that. However, this is unlikely to be the end of the trend. Now its been tried and tested, how long will it be before contracts include resignation pay for the club should a manager walk out? Will the option of a resignation be scrapped altogether, replaced possibly by mutual-agreements for termination or fees for a transfer, perhaps? The fees that are being touted around for managers I expect will rise, and sooner or later clubs will start having to pay a fee for a manager. Who knows, maybe clubs will start having reserve managers: teenagers wearing over sized suits (I'm thinking sleeves too long, tie down to the knees) that have shown 'managerial qualities' at three-years-old .. In all seriousness, modern day football is always looking for ways to evolve, and I think this may be one for the very near future. After all, you wouldn't pay a scrubber more than the captain of the ship..

Big player, big move, appropriate fee.

By the time you've started reading this Phil Jones will have probably joined Manchester United. If not, keep reading anyway, because its all about him..

Jones only made his Premier League debut last year at the tender age of 18: standing tall in a home match against Chelsea that saw the usual patch of over-expecting sports writers publish their 24th edition of 'England's stars of the future' for this year, with Jones installed as captain. The Preston-born defender went on to appear a further 23 times in the league with Blackburn as well as making his England u21 debut in an incredible season for the teenager. In addition to this, most of his appearances at the tail-end of last season came from holding-midfield: further enhancing his reputation as a utility man at the back. After what seemed like years of speculation, Sir Alex Ferguson finally took a huge step-forward towards landing a player he's allegedly had eyes on for a while by making an offer for Jones that could rise to as much as £17m. But despite figures for players constantly on the rise, people have questioned whether the burly 19-year-old is really worth the price tag.

From Phil's perspective, the move couldn't have come at a better time. While Manchester United were preparing their bid, Liverpool were looking to tie up a deal of their own for Sunderland winger Jordan Henderson for an astronomical fee of £20m. Now, judging by the success of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, I don't dare question Kenny Dalglish's transfer policy, or what he pays for his players. But to me the figure just seems around £5-7m too much. I imagine Sunderland and Niall Quinn in particular drive a hard bargain which is where the valuation has come from, but the numbers for Luka Modric have come in at around £20m.. Nevertheless, this has definitely taken the limelight off the £17m for Jones and focused it on whether he can make it at Old Trafford. This is the same problem that any player joining the club has to face, and Jones can take comfort in knowing that he doesn't have any added pressure of being the summers biggest 'over-buy'.

He actually shouldn't have to think about this anyway: if he's great, he'll make it. This is the point that I believe everyone has to focus on rather than making early predictions and deciding his future before he's even put on the shirt. At 6ft 2in the physique is there, at 19 age is on his side; he just needs nurturing. Where better to be nurtured than at United? The £17m is what his new club will pay should Jones meet certain requirements, so the initial fee is probably based around the £13-4m mark, if that. Those requirements will most probably include England caps, United appearances and anything else that will see Jones realise his price tag, and then some. So if Sir Alex's new recruit does make future England squads, become a regular in the side and force the extra payments, he'll surely be worth it. Yes?

The two deals this week serve as prime examples of clubs paying over the odds for English players. Whether both Liverpool and United could have found something better abroad is up for question, but the scouting systems at both clubs are fantastic. Countless players graduating from both set-ups have gone on to ply their trade in the Premier League and gone on to represent their countries. To focus on Jones, its hard to think what more he needs to have to warrant a big move. Seemingly a down to earth guy, he will learn how to play at the highest level if he has patience and listens. The only slight reservation he might have is that United can afford this not to work out. Set to make a heavy loss on Bebe and Gabriel Obertan, the fees paid for these young starlets are just numbers on a screen to United. Why? Because one of them always works out. On paper, Jones could easily be the one that made the grade.. So, is he worth it? When adding it up, most definitely.