When the transfer window slammed shut on Friday evening and fans surveyed the scene before them, one transfer seemed to particularly leave a bad taste in the mouth for both the partisan and the neutral. Scott Sinclair’s move to Manchester City is a rare move that seemed to unite everyone, City fans excepted.
On message boards and pubs up and down the county Sinclair was labelled as a mercenary, another Premier League footballer more concerned with the trappings of wealth and fame than actually playing games on the pitch. The assumption of course is that he will get very little game time, and so what could be the motivation for the move up the M6 beyond money?
The transfer was further enraging to many by Sinclair appearing to be a direct replacement for Adam Johnson, now of Sunderland, but formerly another City squad member and promising wing talent. It was as if his career trajectory was being laid out in front of him by exactly the man that he was being brought in to replace. And then on top of that, Sinclair had also been forced to leave Chelsea earlier in his career in order to find some first team football. How could he not see it, they claimed? It must be the money, was the answer.
Sinclair’s career has led him up to the fringes of the England team without having thus far being selected. Starring in a Swansea team that surprised everyone last season, and catching the eye in the Olympic squad has left his stock high. The move makes an enormous amount of sense for Manchester City who need to keep their quota of homegrown players up since that rule was introduced in the 2010-2011 season. Not blessed with burgeoning academy talent, bids for good young players at other clubs will continue. So if it makes sense for City, does it make sense for Scott? Are we quick to label players as money grasping, or could there be other motives for Sinclair opting for the Etihad?
Confidence is vital for a footballer, arrogance even. You need to believe that you’re better than the players against you, that you can take them on and win. Scott will believe that he’s good enough to be there. He’s proved himself to be one of the best young players in the Premiership, and the natural next step is to move to a club where those talents can really flourish. In his first interview for the club, he mentioned the challenge being a key factor in his decision. There isn’t a challenge left for him at Swansea, and not a lot more that he can hope to achieve, so battling for position in a team that will be challenging for the title represents a way for him to push forwards and not become stale.
Pushing forwards is actually the key objective for him in this deal. He wants to become a better player, and by having access to the best coaches and facilities in the world, he has an amazing opportunity to learn. He’s also going to training day in and day out with some of the finest talent on the planet. Of course it’s a gamble, but one that you would regret as a professional if you didn’t take. These are some of the key years in a player’s development, and so learning in the best environment that you can find is surely something to be applauded. We’ve all chastised the Matt Le Tissier’s of the world who chose to remain a big fish in a small pond rather than extend themselves with the best in the world.
Lastly, he will also have serious international ambitions, and playing for one of the big clubs even in a limited capacity puts you in the shop window for international selection. Roy Hodgson will want to know that his players can handle the pressure of intense scrutiny, and matches of tremendous importance. With Manchester City, Scott Sinclair has much more opportunity to get experience in those games. He might not play in every singe one, but appearances against the likes of Real Madrid, Ajaxand Borussia Dortmund add strings to his bow that make it more likely to succeed at international level.
I’m sure that a large increase in salary doesn’t hurt and is a delightful perk to a young man, but there are plenty of other factors involved, and as supporters of the game we should be applauding Scott’s bravery and desire to succeed instead of cynically beating him down over his wage packet.
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How come when young players sign for Man United nothing is said of them being mercenary? Sometimes they never get to see the first team. Everybody said the same about Rodwell when he signed, but he has started 2 games and been sub for the other, of the 3 games played this season.
There’s another factor you might have mentioned: Sinclair’s best season for the Swans was the one before last, when they were promoted out of the Championship; he struggled to replicate that form in the Premier League and frankly would not have had anything like as much game time last season had Brendan Rodgers not been an unswervingly loyal fan – Dyer and Routledge are the natural first choice wingers at Swansea now. When Sinclair’s mentor moved to Liverpool, the only real surprise was that SS didn’t follow him there. It came down to a choice of whether to warm the bench at Swansea or Man City, and with Man City paying so much more (and Sinclair’s Manchester-based girlfriend publicly complaining about how bored she was by Wales) I imagine it was a no-brainer for him.
asolute Rubbish he wasnt in the top 5 players at swansea last year
he couldnt break into the under 21s last season was only a frnge player at the olypics til giggs ran out of puff
money money money plus girlfriends wishes he will be another adam johnson
if as you say city wanted homegrown talent why let johson leave
cos Johnson made his money from sitting on the bench and told Man city he wants to play now,also Scott is only on half the wages Johnson was on,so they banked a few million in the deal and saving 50grand a week on wages as books got to be balanced in a few years time
totally agree with taffy–whoever wrote this article obviously has not followed the swans .it hopelessly wrong—sinclair did absolutely nothing last year bar for the goal against chelsea–he was molly-coddled by rodgers at dyers expense..how he got selected for gb amazes me,he must have been recommended by rodgers–sinclair is lazy and frightened of his own shadow –he scored loads of penalties in the championship but certainly wouldnt get in swansea team this year–he will start one game for city and then you wont hear of him again .mancini will suss him out ,sorry boys we dont do refunds hes all yours
Plus Helen told him she wanted to be closer to her friends so she can spend time goin out for lunch with her friend as she was “bored in Wales”and maybe get her job back on the set !
He didn’t put a foot wrong on Saturday against QPR, and will have many more games like that…. he best investment will be some nice blankets for the winter, watching football can be fun…
Cheers for the comments folks
A lot of people mentioning the relationship with Helen Flanagan. I think it’s probably a very valid point, and he wants to be in a place where he can be closer to her.
Sophie – I think there’s a chance that Man City could end up ‘re-cycling’ players like that. If anything it’s a failure on their part to be able to develop the talent that they have on the books. Having said that Adam Johnson particularly irritated Mancini with his inability to do much in the way of defensive or strategic work when he didn’t have the ball. Scott Sinclair shows a bit more effort in those situations. That may actually help him a lot if Mancini persists with a 3 at the back formation with wingbacks. Maicon certainly seems to be a signing geared around that.
I really enjoyed the article. Even more than that, I enjoy all the whingeing in the comments. Best of luck Scott!!!
When Barry, Milner, Lescott, Nasri and Rodwell joined City the internet and media were full of predictions of life on the bench for all of them. In fact, we have this nonsense when any player joins City. Imagine my surprise then, when I find that these players actually play regularly for us!
Scott’s best season was in the Championship. If he’d have stayed at Swansea he would have become a better player as a result of the freedom he’d have been given to play inside by Laudrup.
He was firmly anchored to the touchline with Rodgers. On advice to keep possession most of his passes were back to Neil Taylor. All five goals against QPR were scored from a central position, three of them by two wingers, Dyer and Sinclair. These guys would normally be scrubbing the touchline paint off their boots at the end of a game.
Best of luck to Scott, he has commented on his great memories at Swansea,he left the fans with quite a few too.
It’s a lot simpler than that. His girlfriend wants to live in Manchester and between that and getting an offer from a Manc club .. . he’s off. Fair enough.
What an awesome article. You’ve really blown my mind – where did you learn to write like that?
Cheers Nick whoever you are.