When It Comes to Buying Players, George Graham Had It Right!

With the summer transfer market in full swing with clubs up and down the country looking to wheel-and-deal, it’s a difficult job for managers to recruit the correct talent.

But ex-Arsenal boss George Graham had it right.

He maintained to never buy a player who thinks he is taking a step down to join you, Graham believed the player would act as if he was doing you a favour by just being there.

Graham built title-winning teams at Highbury in 1989 and 1991 based on hungry players from so-called lesser clubs and although it’s almost impossible to repeat that feat at the very top now, it’s a theory that still holds water lower down the leagues in English football.

It’s often seen by lower league managers as the way forward to draft in players who have played at a higher level, but more often than not it doesn’t work out.

It’s vital players arrive for the right reasons and to achieve success and further their footballing careers rather than just picking up their wages at the end of the week.

Time after time you see players who have enjoyed most of their careers higher up the league moving down the pyramid for a final payday before hanging up their boots.

And it was always a scenario that Graham used to avoid in his time at the helm at Arsenal. He believed the mentality of the players he signed had to be right and that recruiting players who were improving was the way forward and it seems a good football bet that it's still worth adhering to today.