David Weaver is an early caller: “I find it odd that since everyone’s woken up to the game-changing possibilities of the Diarra case, very little has been said about Andy Webster. Underachieving mid-level Scottish international centre back he may be, but when he broke his contract with Hearts to force a move to Rangers in 2006, many hailed that as “Bosman 2.0”, as it meant players could buy out their contracts. But it was never the revolution that many thought it would be. I wonder if you could explain why the consequences of that case were never as far reaching as anticipated, and why this case might be more significant?
“PS if you’re looking for some new music, I’d highly recommend the brand new album by Denver, Colorado’s Blood Incantation - a real analogue delight of proggy cosmic death metal, featuring none other than Tangerine Dream’s Thorsten Quaeschning; my album of the year so far”
Players have bought out contracts – this can happen in Spain, if I recall the Ander Herrera case – but it seems costly, so may not happen too often. Perhaps that’s it.
(I am off to see the mighty Dream – in whatever version it is – at the Barbican on Monday.)