Sorry Scouse you cant defend the inexcusable. The father has every right to do whats best for his child which in this case was a move to a top clubs academy. The F'ed up part is that even after the tapping up why have we left the family in limbo, If i recall correctly didn't City also get caught tapping up and do the decent thing and at least pay up the cost. It's not a non-story for me sorry.
I'm not defending anything. Just saying it's a complete non-story as the only person still pushing this is the only person that will listen to the lad's father who's only
threatening legal action. It more than likely won't go any further than that as he has no case. (Falsifying documents indeed .....). He was completely complicit in the move to L'pool for the club to pay the private school fees. The rules changed. L'pool then couldn't, the league were informed, and the move collapsed. The league found L'pool at fault and gave them the Academy transfer ban, half suspended, and fine.
How do you figure that Liverpool are now responsible for this lad being in limbo and somehow 'owe' him?
Stoke want the compensation for the three years they put in and are refusing to give up his registration without it. That's between them, the PL and the child and his family. Why can't the PL pay that out of the money they got from Liverpool for the fine? Should we be seen to 'do the right thing' and pay his school costs like City have? I guess you could argue that, but it's hardly hitting us from a PR standpoint as again nobody is touching this bar Rumsby. And from the clubs POV is why should they pay costs for a lad they can't sign, when they've already paid more than that in a fine to the PL? Why is he still in private school if they can't pay the tuition fees? We aren't obliged to anything further here.
Until the deal fell apart with the change of rules, Liverpool were doing everything to meet the family's needs. Who were completely complicit in that and moving their son from Stoke. Then it fell apart as we couldn't do that on an individual basis with the rule change. No question club messed up there in not being aware. (This was all before Inglethorpe and the restructuring of the academy so thankfully nothing as embarrassing as this will happen again.). And they have subsequently been punished with the transfer ban and fine. Again, why wasn't part of that £100K fine sent to Stoke for the £49K compensation they continue to demand?
It's a messy, sad situation for the lad involved. And more embarrassing from the football clubs POV than anything else. But I just don't see why it's Liverpool's (or any other club in the same situation) responsibility to STILL sort out their problems for a lad they can no longer sign who've they already been punished over? The family's grievance now should be with Stoke and the PL. The more the father continues to come up with spurious arguments like the falsifying dated documents bunkum in his desperation at holding someone accountable to get the costs he's after, the more sympathy for him and his family wanes.
