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| Close Season 1997 At 30 years and 220 days Les Ferdinand is the 13th most expensive 30 ‘something’ to sign for over a million when he becomes Tottenham’s record £6 million man in a move from Newcastle United. The fee is not quite double what Manchester United pay Spurs for Teddy Sheringham, later in the close season. Graeme Souness resigns as Southampton manager and Lawrie McMenemy steps down as director of football. Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed buys a controlling interest in Fulham for an initial £30 million. Arsenal take their French complement to five when they buy Emmanuel Petit, £3 million, and Gilles Grimandi, £2 million, from Monaco. Leeds sign Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, from Boavista, for £2 million. Marc Overmars moves from Ajax to Arsenal for £7 million taking The Gunners’ investment in foreign players, inside a fortnight, to more than £14 million. Andy Gray rejects Everton advances to make the former Goodison favourite their new manager and stays a football pundit with Sky TV. The club, instead, turns to Howard Kendall who starts his third stint as manager. David Ginola joins Spurs, from Newcastle, for £ 2.5 million. Liverpool pay Crewe an initial fee of £1.5 million, rising to £3 million, for midfielder Danny Murphy. Alex Ferguson makes Roy Keane captain of Manchester United. Fabrizio Ravanelli’s proposed £7.5 million move to Everton collapses when the club refuse to meet his wage demands. ‘The White Feather’ then decides to stay at Middlesbrough. Liverpool sign Paul Ince from Inter Milan, for £4.2 million and Stuart Pearce signs a two-year deal with Newcastle after being given a free transfer by Nottingham Forest. Manchester United beat Chelsea 4–2 on penalties to win the Charity Shield but United spell David’s name Beckam on his number 7 shirt, clearly visible after he spends 77 minutes on the bench. |
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The
above article is an extract from The Breedon Book of Premiership Records by Brian Beard. For details of this essential addition to the bookshelves of any football fan click HERE. |
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