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Football for many is portrayed upon us via the media. Whether it's sports magazines, televisions programs, the radio or the tabloids. The press and professional determine how we perceive football as an audience. The newspaper here at Soccer All Stars is the first place to publish all the big news stories as they happen as well as generating it's own amount of fuss throughout the league through exaggerated or inaccurate articles!

WALKER THE BAD BOY OF SAS?
SKY BLUES BOSS CAUGHT UP IN TRANSFER WAR

Coventry City's new manager Alex Walker has come under intense scrutiny from fellow Soccer All Stars managers in recent weeks due to what many feel is unprofessional behaviour.

Walker, whose not long been in the Coventry City hot seat, has angered many of the managerial community with his transfer dealings, in which many feel is a breach of trust, if not worse.

Walker is thought to have recently gone back on his word on a number of verbally agreed deals, in which he has reportedly told other clubs to go ahead and fill out the Transfer Forms, only for himself to hold back and hope to get a better deal.

Earlier this season, Mark Kinsella looked to have completed a move back to Charlton Athletic after manager Roger Mole agreed to pay £1 million to bring the midfielder back to The Valley. On submitting the deal officially to the Soccer All Stars Executive Board, and believing Coventry's Walker to be doing the same, Mole was stunned to find out later that Kinsella had then been sold to Middlesbrough for £1.2 million.

The Addicks boss was left empty handed after SAS officials stated that no documentation whatsoever had been received on behalf of Coventry City Football Club. This was later confirmed when two officially signed documents, one from Coventry and the other from Middlesbrough, with the written details of Kinsella's move to Teeside.

At the time though, Kinsella's £1.2 million move could not be completed as the club had too many players in their squad.  After a long period of delays, the deal was eventually put through only a few days ago, thanks to many departures from The Riverside Stadium, including the £12.5 million sale of Patrik Vieira to SAS Champions Derby County.

Other managers, including Southampton's Drazen Relzic and Ipswich Town's Anipalat had also complained that the Sky Blues supremo had gone back on his word, losing their trust as he seeked a better deal, or just plain sabotaging other moves that had made the morning headlines.  

Walker though fought back to these claims, insisting that verbal agreement does not mean anything, and is not a breach of contract. In the harsh world of football, he can throw his weight around in that direction, as there is no rule suggesting otherwise.

Several clubs got involved in the argument, including Arsenal manager Marco Sousa, who vented his anger to the Board with a vicious club letter, which could lead to serious consequences for the Gunners.  However, no official comment or statement has yet been released by the Executive Board, although punishment for his outburst is surely imminent.

However, after several complaints and the recent fiasco regarding Rio Ferdinand, where a deal was agreed between Southampton and Ipswich Town, only for Coventry to find out and hijack the deal has left certain members of the SAS community furious, including an outraged Sousa.

Ferdinand clinched a move to Coventry after both Transfer Forms were sent in allowing Walker to have the last laugh over his rivals. Southampton manager Drazen Relzic, who realised he was sucked into a tricky situation tried to pull out of the deal, and resurrect a move with Ipswich Town but it was too late. The paper work had already been processed and there wasn't anything anybody could do about it.

More fuel was added to the fire after Soccer All Stars official club Newsletter was published, with a statement saying that Ferdinand was still a Southampton player.  This led many to believe that the players move to Coventry was cancelled.  This was not the case though, as many transfers had yet to be processed, and amongst them were Drazen Relzic and Alex Walker's signatures for the sale of Rio Ferdinand to Coventry.

Ipswich Town manager Anipalat was left red in the face after also submitting documents to the Soccer All Stars Board, detailing every aspect of what he thought was a straight forward transfer. The argument between the three clubs blew high into the sky, and caused a rift amongst all three. However, Southampton attempted to do the gentlemanly thing by re-negotiating the deal with Anipalat's Ipswich... however, all was left in vein. Relzic had already processed his side of the paper work and the Executive Board had no alternative but to process the deal.

Just how severe Walker's actions will bare against him in the future though is anybody's guess. Will anyone ever deal with the controversial manager again? Will they trust his word on any potential deal?

Whatever the case, Coventry will have to wake up to the fact that these players will take up huge amounts in wages. It's thought that each man will pick up at least £50,000 per week, adding more to the potential high wage bill the club is expecting. With the likes of Sol Campbell and Alan Shearer also on the books, Alex Walker will know that his side must produce the goods in order to ensure they can afford to keep their long list of top stars.

In the long run, it is Walker who may eventually suffer, as managers are bound to think twice about doing business with him. But with the Highfield Road club clinching the signings of Rio Ferdinand and David Beckham in the light of the arguments, it looks as though Coventry are the ones who are winning the battle at the moment.

A spokeswoman for Soccer All Stars issued this statement late last night, which stated that whilst the Executive Board did "sympathize with Ipswich Town Football Club, we cant only act upon two identical documents."  The Board also stated that clubs "cannot pull out of a deal if two forms match." meaning that Coventry City's move for Rio Ferdinand was legitimate.

Coventry City are still pushing hard for the title. Last season they were odds on favourites to win the league, only to be pipped to the title by then Jeet Padaruth's Derby County. The Rams defied all odds in a wonderful first season to win the SAS Championship for the first time, creating history.

Although Derby don't look likely to even keep their First Division status, Coventry, Leeds United and league leaders Manchester United are all locked in a three-way horse for the title. Last season all six teams were still in with a shout with just a couple of weeks to go. 

With the title pretty much the same this time around, Coventry will feel the additions of Rio Ferdinand and David Beckham will only help them in their conquest for silver.  They finished third on the final game of the season, behind Leeds United who slipped into second place.  Martin Smutov will hope his side's experience of finishing second will lift them to new heights.

Whatever the case now, all will be believing that they have enough to take home the silverware...  the final chapter to Season Two/S2 is just heating up.