Poor Tomasz Kuszczak. Not only is his name nigh on unspellable, at least without Wikipedia’s aid, but the Polish goalkeeper has become a last bastion of a modern-day slavery. Trafficked from his place of birth in Krosno Odrzańskie, Poland to Old Trafford, Kuszczak has been asked, no, compelled to play for the world’s most supported football club, Manchester United, on no less than 61 occasions.
That Kuszczak has endured this horror five seasons long, comforted only – for what little comfort money can bring – with compensation of £25,000 per week only adds to the indignity of it all. No wonder that it proved all too much for the Pole, who has finally cracked after being denied a loan move to Leeds United.
“I’ve become a slave to Manchester. I’m frustrated but I don’t want to slander or criticise Ferguson,” said the 29-year-old stopper, before criticising and then slandering Sir Alex Ferguson.
“It’s not my style. I’ve talked to Ferguson recently. I asked him to let me leave the club now, before the January transfer window. I told him I want to play and get back into the national team, because Euro 2012 is just around the corner – but it seems he doesn’t care. The possibility of a two-month loan to Leeds United came up two weeks later. The club blocked it. It was a glimmer of hope for me. It would have reminded the Poland manager about me – but I didn’t get the club’s approval. I have respect for Ferguson because, for me, he’s a great manager, but I hope he will let me go in January.”
Fortunately for Kuszczak, whose contract runs to June 2012, there is almost nobody at Old Trafford – fans, players, coaching staff, manager or tea lady – that wants any different for the big-mouthed Pole, who has become increasingly vocal in his failure to land a more permanent role at United. Five years after joining the Reds from West Bromwich Albion, Kuszczak’s inability to land the number on spot in Ferguson’s side has surprised few. Save for a brief spell two years ago, when Edwin van der Sar took time off to spend with his sick wife, Kuszczak has rarely looked a man with United-calibre talents.
Moreover, now relegated to fourth choice behind David de Gea, Anders Lindegaard and Ben Amos, Kuszczak’s bizarre decision to self-publicise a desired move to Leeds is unlikely ingratiate the ‘keeper with anybody at the club. Least of all his manager, who has never reacted well to being embarrassed in the media. It is a fact Jaap Stam will recall well.
Yet, this is a sad end for a stopper whose talent was good enough to take him to Old Trafford, but not to propel the former Hertha Berlin player ahead of van der Sar in the pecking order. Ferguson’s decision to recruit first Lindegaard, and then De Gea, was the final nail in Kuszczak’s United career. In that there is some sympathy; United reportedly asked for £4 million in the past summer. It is a fee that would have represented a profit on a player, who has never been more than a reserve, and less than a year to run on his contract.
However, with three Premier League winners’ medals – each via special dispensation – two League Cups, three FA Community Shields, the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup, Kuszczak will carry away more silverware than a man of his limited talents would normally. It is a good haul, especially for a player who has completed just one full season in an entire career, and that was just 28 games.
At international level Kuszczak was selected by coach Franciszek Smuda for friendly matches against Romania and Canada last year, but is considered far from first choice. Indeed, the player’s 10 caps have been spread over eight years. With Arsenal duo Wojciech Szczęsny and Łukasz Fabiański available, it is unlikely Kuszczak was ever going to start Poland’s attempt to win Euro 2012 when it kicks off in Warsaw on 8 June 2012, even had a move to Leeds materialised.
Having insulted club and manager, Kuszczak’s fate is now out of his own hands. At least until his contract runs down and the 29-year-old can negotiate a free transfer away from his personal hell.
Tomasz Kuszczak Facts
Hertha BSC – 2001–2004 – 0 appearances
West Bromwich Albion – 2004–2006 – 35 appearances
Manchester United – 2007– present 61 appearances
Poland national team – 2003-present – 10 appearances
DFB-Ligapokal: 2001, 2002
Premier League: 2007, 2008, 2011
League Cup: 2009, 2010
FA Community Shield: 2007, 2008, 2010
UEFA Champions League: 2008
FIFA Club World Cup: 2008
surely when foster first started getting games ahead of him he shouldve realised the game was up
It’s a bad choice of words but you can’t blame him for feeling frustrated – it is his career thats being run down now, not just his united contract.
The decent thing for us to have done would’ve been to sell him last summer with our good wishes, not block any sales by asking for too much. He’s been a dependable back up for 5 seasons now, the least he deserves is for us to help him find another club and not block him going.
Christ, let the pig go and play football. I imagine he’ll go in Jan. Be an ok keeper for someone given the chance. Just not for us.
I personally thought the 1st two paragraphs of the article were humorous although my humour is sarcasm.
.
The manager could make a stand and just let him rot in the background.If he is sold he gets his wish and the manager and United lose face.It shows other players around the world you can intimidate a football club, particularly Manchester United.
The Glazer however will not be delighted in wasting an asset in the football necropolis, to end up with zero for the player.
I think he should be sold, a disturbing influence now around the football club.The damage is done effectively, but Sir Alex will I am sure find a way to turn this back in United’s favour as he did with the Rooney situation during Mr Ambitiongate.
Make a stand? Turn this back in United’s favour? Disturbing influence? Bit melodramatic. I doubt the football world is glued to its TV keenly watching the latest episode of “United’s fourth choice goalkeeper wants to leave Old Trafford”… The damage to United is nothing whatever Fergie chooses to do. The decent thing would be to let him go – no wages for us to pay and no player wasting his career in the stands. Why keep him? Wayne Rooney he is not
Do you not think this is all round the Globe bye now?
Its featured on the Sky news, discussed on numerous world wide information channels.Yes it is all those three aspects I raised….Discuss?
I only gave the various choices if you care to read what i posted!
Sorry For the delay I was communicating elsewhere.
Cheers.
I don’t think anyone cares. Complete non-story. Ben Amos spraining his pinky would be a bigger story.
I wish I was a slave, I have to work 40 hrs a week for £300, he not even sitting on the bench for ten times that, life must be really hard being a slave at United
Ha Ha spot on Spangle its such a hard life.
Me knocking my pan in for a measly £180 squids, its such a bitch, shopping in Lidl raking through the knockdown section in Tesco’s rubbing shoulders with crazy students. lol
so at 29 he’s played one season of football in his life, he pockets 25 grand a week and he’s won 12 medals
fair play
Fergie should do the right thing and let the lad go. It is not his fault that we had VDS and he didn’t get games. Why United couldn’t allow him to go to Leeds fook knows – not like they are in PL or likely to be anytime soon. United trying to humiliate him by saying he can only go to sheffield or doncaster – bloody mean spirited – and that is a fact. And yes I do watch the reds – home and away!
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Kevin Pilkington has hit back: “Embarrassing statement from kuszczak! Slave my a***. 1 he has had chances to impress. 2 he’s on a very good wage. Should think himself lucky.”
G’won
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2011/11/08/2747907/slave-my-a-former-manchester-united-goalkeeper-kevin
To be fair to Tomasz, he’s hardly been playing games at all and with the European Championships around the corner, he needs games.
And at present he isn’t getting that at the so called most supported club in the world.
It’s disappointing that Fergie did not grant him his wish back in the summer.
Why should Fergie loan him out when he is looking to sell him? If Kuszczak gets injured when he is on loan, then we stand to lose out on a couple of million quids. Makes perfect sense as to why Fergie stopped him from going out on loan to Leeds.
Its nothing to do with him getting injured if he goes out. SAF is more than happy to allow him to go to Doncaster at the bottom of the second division or Sheffield United at the top end of the third but not to Leeds at the top end of ther second.Reason is simple. SAF bears grundges. Always has always will whether it be towards players who step out of line, other managers and other clubs and he has an outstanding grudge against former rivals Leeds.
knobhead. i cant stand it when footballers use that turn of phrase when they are not simply allowed to leave a football club as and when they choose. he signed a contract, and earns a hell of a lot of money in return for his ‘slavery, he should accept that if the club want him to see out that contract, its their prerogative.
be that as it may, i do think we should have just sold him in the summer. we have three keepers on our books who are ahead of him so hes not going to get a game, even in the carling cup. we may as well have saved the 25k a week, taken a million or two for him and everyone would have been happy.
either way, i dont think he has (or would have had if sold in the summer) any chance of starting for poland in the euros!
I can understand Kuszczak’s frustration at not playing regularly but surely if he was that upset about “Slavery” he would have asked for a transfer in the summer. He must have seen the writing on the wall when De Gea was brought in and he wasn’t even touted as a possible Van Der Sar replacement.
Don’t think we will miss him at all when he is sold in January.
Not sure about the manacles around his wrists in your image. He always played with his ankles shackled together!
i reckon SAF should keep him to clean out the toilets at the cliff
It’s obvious to me the club are concerned, and rightly so, about a possible loss in shirt sales should he go…………………………
No really………………
why cus he is polish…really…you are one racist cunt at times.
oh ffs cap’n
not because he’s a pole
cos he is a knob if he really said he was being treated like a slave
Haul in your lines Lads…
Cap’s got a”fish on”.
“Badges, to god-damned hell with badges! We have no badges. In fact, we don’t need badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges, you god-damned cabrón and ching’ tu madre! Come out from that shit-hole of yours. I have to speak to you.”
youre a disgrace
there were clearly racist undertones in your statement, as well as fascist sexist and benderist, oh wait maybe not benderist, since youre a bender
shameful
I was wondering what that fishy smell was. I thought he had thrush.
Sorry about that…
Your missus says hello
it would be helpful if you actually specified who your half arsed comments are about;
and since it was presumably me you were referring to, then clearly you haven’t a clue.
so now youre saying im disabled
in fairness it takes a while to notice that its kevin Davis in your avatar and not a disabled man .
I’d really love to punch David Platt in his smug face. Nothing to do with Tomas “Mandela” Kuszczak but that just needed to be said and I feel much better now.
That is all.
tbf, he looks like he has been smacked in his face anyway.
He must be finding it hard to wash the taste of Mankeenee’s bunghole out of his mouth, no matter how much Listerine he uses.
I think SAF is holding on to Kuszczak a bit longer because DeGea looked pretty shaky in his first few games and they maybe still monitoring DeGea’s performances. DeGea is still very young and inexperienced in the English League.
He didn’t use the word slave, he was mis quoted, so this whole article and the racist debate is redundant.
Doesn’t matter what he said, it’s the way he said it!
Nice redundant post though tbf