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The Gaffer over at EPLTalk.com has just published a free ebook for overseas fans who may be thinking about traving to England to see some football.  The book is titled In Pursuit Of Real Football: The Soccer Fan’s Ultimate Travel Guide To Attending EPL Matches In England.

I’ve not had a chance to read it yet - it just came out this morning - but it looks to have some great information in there about planning a trip, getting around, and saving money.

Check it out if you’d like to see some Premier League action, live and in-person.

I had lunch a couple of months ago with a recruiter who I had become friendly with at work.  She was leaving her job with her firm and going to work for a rival.

At the end of the lunch I promised I’d call her if I had any openings in my team that she might help fill.

“Sorry”, she said, “I won’t be back around for a while.  I have a non-compete that says I can’t do business with any current clients of my old firm.  Maybe in two years…”.

Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t a football slave.  He can stop playing football for Manchester United whenever he wants to.  He just can’t go and play football for another team for a couple of years.  He can do anything else he wants to.

The restriction that he can’t play for any football team might seem overly restrictive.  If he went to play for a Championship team for a year, it’s unlikely he’d be competing against Manchester Untied.  And it’s not like my friend, the recruiter, is prevented from working for any other recruitment firm.

The football contract goes further than a non-compete, to the benefit of both the player and the club.  There’s a balance there -we’ll agree to pay you whatever happens, and you agree not to leave.

What Ronaldo is trying to do is take away the up-side that a club might enjoy.  Unless the players are happy if the clubs retore balance by limiting their down-side - we’ll sack you if you turn rubbish or get injured - I’d suggest the players just play ball.