Ben Herd: Footballers need to provide for their families like everyone else - just ask Bullard

English Football League / Ben Herd / 28 January 2009 / Leave a Comment

Shrewsbury's right-back on factors that affect your choice of club, getting snubbed by West Brom's Paul Robinson, extortionate ticket prices in League Two and Emile Heskey's dream start at Aston Villa.

The January transfer window never fails to amuse me when it comes to players moving to clubs you might not expect them to go to.

The latest one that seemed a strange one to me was the transfer of Jimmy Bullard. I spoke about Jimmy "The Cheeky Chappy" Bullard a few weeks ago now and how well he was playing having done it the hard way, i.e. working his way from non-league.

If ever a player seemed suited to his surroundings, it appeared to be Bullard. It just shows you how as a footballer, it's not just home comforts that can keep you at a club. Many would have thought that with Bullard being a Londoner, he wouldn't have been prepared to move up north again.

A number of things can turn a player's head: money, length of contract and, probably most importantly as a player, a club's ambitions. For me personally, a club's ambitions is paramount, that's why I first joined Shrewsbury Town. The then manager Gary Peters, sold a vision to me that I bought into 100 per cent.

As Bullard reaches the prime of his career, I suppose his stock is at its most valuable. On the flipside of the coin, footballers are a commodity as well. We are responsible like any individual to provide for our family's well-being. So it could be argued, Jimmy is doing the best he can financially for himself and his family, at a club that clearly wants him and has stated its intent to stay in the Premier League.

I must admit though, Bullard's decision to swap shirts to Hull's black & amber wouldn't do him any favours with the Gok Wans of this world! Speaking of swapping shirts, it is something a) that rarely happens in League Two and b) something that since our new manager came in, is apparently not in our financial interest to do as a fine awaits any "offenders",

To be honest, it would be nice to get on the pitch and be in a position to swap shirts with people! In all seriousness though, there is one player I'd like to swap shirts with - Paul Robinson of West Brom. He used to be a team-mate of mine, and has done extremely well for himself. However he gave me the biggest custard pie when he informed me that due to Albion's lack of a shirt sponsor, they had to keep the same kit.

I suppose if I had the luxury of gracing any pitch on the world stage, I would plump for the San Siro; maybe not for the obvious one, Kaka, but for an absolute legend of the game, David Beckham. That's one fine I would gladly pay.

As I write this, I've just made the round trip from Barnet, ironically another team that play in black & amber. For those of you that have been there, it's not a patch on the facilities at The Prostar. Once again, I was in the stands as I wasn't in the 16. I try to take the positives out of everything, but the only one I could come up with for this one was that I didn't have to pay the £20 ticket admission. What a joke for fourth division football! I felt sorry for my mum and sister who braved the cold and the astronomical price in the hope of seeing me in action.

I find it hard to understand lower-league football clubs sometimes. They're rarely full and in these times of financial crisis, fans would appreciate some goodwill on ticket prices. I've often thought why clubs don't let fans under a certain age in for say £1, accompanied with a full-paying adult. Not only does this use up empty seats, but it also safeguards the club fan base for the future. As the kids grow up, they've already laid down their loyalty to that club.

One transfer which was slightly less shocking for me was that of Emile Heskey. Let's face it, the only option Wigan had was to sell in this window as Heskey's contract was due to expire in the summer. I have the utmost respect for someone like Emile, because, let's face it, he has had his knockers in the past. In my opinion he should be called "Ronseal" (does exactly what it says on the tin).

If I was a football manager, I would have a Heskey-esque type player up top with someone like an Agbonlahor. These two players will complement each other well. Heskey has got off to the best possible start at any new club by scoring on his debut as Villa beat Portsmouth at Fratton Park.

Villa will be looking to firmly cement themselves in the top four for the remainder of the season, and they take on Wigan this weekend. I believe in Villa's quest to gatecrash the 'Big Four' this season and think the Wigan match will help their cause so I'm looking at the Half-Time/Full-Time where Villa/Villa looks appealing at [2.36].