Football Food For Thought / Frank Gregan / 01 February 2008 /

Legendary non-league manager Frank Gregan considers the potential consequences of Marlon King's move to Wigan over Craven Cottage

My missus normally takes a visit to Harrods everytime she heads up to London on a shopping trip. Fortunately, the visits are not that frequent. She always comes back with a bag of tees for me in the racing car green with the Harrods logo on them. My golf game heads south for a while because on every drive I'm concentrating on where the most expensive tee in Britain has gone! However, my wife is one of those people who loathe paying the full asking price and points out to the poor harassed shop assistant that her cardigan has a tiny pull in it. It often leads to a price reduction. If last week's events are anything to go by, it seems that Mr Al Fayed has been studying some of his shop floor videos and has tried his hand at some of the same.

The recent failed medical of Marlon King is a case in point. A fee had been agreed and then the player was subjected to a medical by the Fulham staff and then by Mr Al Fayeds' personal physician. The conclusion was that they deemed Marlon to be faulty goods and I would imagine that as such, the Fulham chairman would have been looking for a price reduction. Along come Wigan with an agreeable bid and the player gets his move to the Premier League and with a team far more likely to be playing there next year than Fulham.

It's ridiculous, a player is either fit or not and the inclusion of the chairman's personal physician in the loop seems extraordinary. I also believe that the decision will probably come back and haunt them - goals win matches and Marlon Kings' goals may well prove to be the difference between the two clubs at the end of the season.

I've been involved in a lot of transfers in my time right through the football pyramid from the depths of non league through to the Premiership. There are two medicals that stick in my mind. The first was at Bristol City. The manager was someone who I had worked with before and I was in his office discussing a future role within his club. At the same time he was trying to buy a full back from Bristol Rovers. A fee had been agreed, personal terms were sorted and the player was signing subject to a medical. The chairman of City, (who is no longer in post) was in Ireland on business but insisted on speaking to the club doctor personally. The player failed the medical. The manager was livid and convinced it was purely because the chairman, a lifelong Bristol City fan, could not bring himself to buy a Rovers player.

The other incident was in relation to a player I was buying. He had moved two years previously between league clubs for £150,000 but had subsequently retired from the pro game due to a lower back injury. He was setting the world alight at non league level and we had agreed a fee of £20,000 for him and agreed personal terms. The chairman and I were haggling over paying for a medical, which including an MRI scan was going to set us back around £1800. It was the close season, the chairman took the programme from the last game of the season of his previous club and checked his appearances. He had missed three games in total throughout the campaign. "He's fit," announced my chairman - some medical! The player played half a dozen games for us before having to retire permanently through injury. It cost us a packet!

But the Marlon King saga makes the market of the relegation battle in the Premiership mouth watering. It's a given that Derby are down. Britney Spears has a better chance of making a comeback. I like a big price but I think the [1.55] available on Fulham to be relegated is free money. It's a fantastic return over a three-month period. A friend of mine gives out the worlds' worst share tips up the pub which we all (me included) follow like Phil Neal behind Graham Taylor. I'm about to end that and the stock I am going to invest in the short term is Fulham to be playing in the Championship next year.

The third team down is much harder to find and that is reflected in the market. Birmingham are currently third-favourites at [2.84] with Wigan [3.1] at and Bolton at [4.3] the other likely candidates. If my pockets were deep enough and my heart strong enough I would lay Sunderland at [4.6]. I think the Roy Keane factor and their home form will be enough to guide them to safety. But for me it has to be Fulham relegated at [1.55]. I'm not looking at this as a bet, I'm looking it a high risk equity investment. I prefer my chances on the Betfair exchange ahead of the stock exchange in the current climate.

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