Ian Wright may have been a legend on the pitch, but he lacks the same fine touch off of it. Wrighty is at it again, giving misguided career advice to his son Shaun Wright-Phillips. It was Wright who steered his son towards a massive payday at Chelsea, even though Wright-Phillips consistently found himself firmly planted on the bench. The Chelsea move was so detrimental to Wright-Phillips’ development that he went from being in contention for the England squad to ultimately being nowhere close to the plane that left for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
You would think father and son would have learned their lesson, but no. The dynamic duo is now at odds with Manchester City executives over Wright-Phillips’ new contract offer. Wrighty has accused City’s chief executive of not knowing what he is doing and treating his son like a (drum roll please) … youth-team player. Apparently, youth-team players are offered contracts that pay upwards of £70,000 per week. Come on, Wrighty. Might all this have anything to do with the massive paydays bestowed on the new arrivals at City? Do you think Wright-Phillips is owed a similar payday?
Wrighty didn’t stop there. He also criticized the play of young Theo Walcott and reminded everyone that there is a lot of competition for his place. Why would he do that you ask? Well, little Shaunie needs to make the England squad as well. Granted, based on current form, Theo has no business even dreaming of South Africa, but Wright-Phillips shouldn’t exactly book his flight just yet. Wright’s expertise on English team selection is humorous at best. After all, this is the same guy who thinks Fabio Capello should take an injury prone Michael Owen to the World Cup. Seriously? The guy can’t even stay healthy long enough to finish a game, let alone a tournament.
Wright’s advocacy for his son is fast becoming embarrassing, especially since it may have a detrimental impact on his son’s career. Wright-Phillips’ only leverage with City is his play on the pitch. If his son’s play warrants a massive pay raise, he will get it, at City or elsewhere. Additionally, implying that your son’s bosses are inept may not guarantee that your boy gets the playing time he so dearly needs in order to impress Mr. Capello. Wright needs to back off and let an agent, who probably has a better sense of what he’s doing, advocate on his son’s behalf.
