Buzzin Championship Football

Showing his undisputed ‘loyalty’ to Birmingham City, James McFadden has apparently said that he wants to leave the club because of their relegation to the Championship. In case you hadn’t guessed - I was being sarcastic about the loyalty part.

James McFadden signed for Birmingham City in January for £5m from Everton, but despite scoring four times for his new club – they were relegated on the final day of the Premier League season. Now his agent, Wille McKay has said that the striker is seeking a move away from St Andrews.

This sort of thing annoys me. It is an example of everything wrong with football today. When James McFadden joined Birmingham City, there was a very good chance they were going to be relegated and he knew that. He also probably knew that if this happened – he would choose to move on. Despite this, he signed a three-year-contract. This leads me to ask – what is the point in a contract in football these days? It doesn’t commit you to the club anymore; it just means the players have a guaranteed income until they get a better offer elsewhere.

The same applies in the Cristiano Ronaldo saga. He is contracted to Manchester United until 2012, but if Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave, he will presumably get his wish.

As for James McFadden, he is being linked with a move to Celtic with his agent claiming that he wants to play football at the ‘highest level’ possible. This transfer saga seems remarkably similar to that of Kenny Miller early this summer.

James McFadden moved to Birmingham for first team football – which he will undoubtedly get at St Andrews this coming season. Despite this he is being linked with a move to a Scottish Premier League club, where is far from guaranteed anything other than a comfy seat on the bench. He should just stay where he is and score plenty of goals for Birmingham in the Championship. That way, three things could happen –

James McFadden could get snapped up by a Premier League club in January.
Birmingham could get promoted and he will be playing in the Premier League, as a regular starter next year.
He could bide his time and if Birmingham are still in the Championship next summer – consider a move then.

If one thing is for sure, it is that James McFadden is a big player for the Blues this season. Looking at the promotion odds will tell you that Alex McLeish’s men are one of the favourites and the former Motherwell striker is a big reason for that.

I guess it is a case of ‘wait and see’ with regards to James McFadden’s future. Birmingham chairman David Gold is confident the player will stay, but as we all know – player power is a strong force in football these days.