All summer long, even in the midst of arguably the most exciting World Cup ever, we have been treated to several transfer sagas that are seemingly endless. Todays big news in the transfer market, however, is that Jack Rodwell is moving from Manchester City to Sunderland.
Rodwell, sold to Manchester City by Everton in 2012, was a promising talent not too long ago. With the physical build of a center back and the technical skills of a central midfielder, Rodwell was touted as one of the next big things in the premier league. His versatility and first-team experience gave him this reputation, while his manager David Moyes was hailed for turning out such a skilled prospect.
Two years later, it’s safe to say this entire situation has been a failure from all parties, and here’s why. At the tender age of seven, Rodwell joined Everton’s academy in 1998. By 2007, he was already in the first team under David Moyes as a teenager. By 2012, Rodwell was considered one of Englands brightest young talents next to Tom Cleverly and Jack Wilshere (how the times have changed...), and was promptly sold to Manchester City by Moyes.
Since then, Rodwell has struggled to make any impact at all at Manchester City, and has not appeared for England since March, 2013 when the Three Lions took on Brazil at the Maracana. He has had his fair share of injury problems, but the problems with Rodwell’s development started with his sale by David Moyes. The first-team opportunities in Manchester were nothing compared to those on Merseyside, and Rodwell was never been given a chance to prove himself.
Up against the likes of Yaya Toure, James Milner, Fernandinho, and Javi Garcia for selection, Rodwell’s opportunities in Manchester were limited at best. The case of Morgan Schneiderlin illustrates that moving to bigger clubs give no guarantees of development at all. In 2008, Schneiderlin was heavily courted by Arsenal, but instead moved to Southampton for the reason of developing his own skills and receiving near-unconditional playing time. Six years later, Schneiderlin is a hot commodity to say the least, and he has accomplished more with club and country than Rodwell has by a mile. From this angle, some of the fault must lie with Rodwell himself.
It is always easiest to judge the transfer market in hindsight; at the time, Rodwell’s move to city was promising. In turn, David Moyes also earned the club a cool 12 million pounds in the process. Again, Moyes’ made the wrong decision in this case. Sure, the sale helped set up the future purchases of Gareth Barry and James McCarthy who fill the defensive midfield role for Everton today, but Moyes must look at what Roberto Martinez has done with Ross Barkley as a barometer for future business.
Barkley could have moved to a bigger club this summer for a massive fee, one that would give Everton more flexibility, but instead signed a new long-term contract. It’s impossible to say whether or not Rodwell would have blossomed if he had stayed at Everton, but his situation couldn’t be much worse than it has been for the last two years. Barkley, meanwhile, has committed himself to Everton, but more importantly has committed himself to seeing the field regularly and showcasing his talents much more frequently than he would at a big club.
Rodwell is also a victim of the cruel system in which premier league teams operate. This is a case where a move to a big club definitely hurt the players career. The worst part though, is that the move was exactly what was expected of him, and not the other way around. The media looks at players who do the opposite of Rodwell and assume that there is something wrong with the player for not wanting a move to a big club, and speculate over and over again about a possible transfer.
Rodwell is still young and his future is still promising, and he will certainly see the field under Gus Poyet at Sunderland. When I got up this morning to see that Rodwell had moved away from Manchester City, I smiled. He needs to see the field more, and it was a nice bit to news to see that City had finally done something to benefit him.
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