He's Not The Messiah, He's A Very Naughty Boy!

So once again Coventry City have managed to take an age over what other clubs seem to manage to do in hours and signed a player. Although maybe this time the delay is justified, seeing as the player in question is the highly controversial figure of Marlon King, released on parole after a stint in prison for sexual assault.

The signing hardly came as a surprise, with him being strongly linked to the Sky Blues before he’d even been released due to his previous stint under Aidy Boothroyd at Watford, and then training with us for a month as a deal was ‘imminent’.

But the delays had the conspiracy theorists out in force, with some claiming that City were deliberately holding back because he wasn’t match fit and didn’t want to spend money paying him while he wasn’t able to play. More wild claims suggested that the club deliberately wanted to keep the charade going long enough so that everyone, include those vociferously protesting his signing, got bored and just wanted the saga to end one way or another (a largely successful ploy if true). One even ludicrously suggested that Boothroyd had deliberately played ineffective and negative tactics over the past month to make it seem like we desperately need King!

I’ll show my colours early on – I don’t support the signing of King. In fact I have no intention of seeing a game while he’s at the club, as I don’t want to contribute in any way towards his wages.

But fans opinion is split, with most polls around 50/50 in favour of and against him joining, although I’m sure some of those against his signing now may well change their tune should he perform on the pitch. Some opinions have bordered on the bizarre, saying they support the signing of King as he deserves another chance, but Dion Dublin should continue to be vilified because he refused to play against Luton in the Worthington Cup. Apparently for some violence towards your fellow man is forgivable, but showing a lack of loyalty to your employer is not…

Looking at the striking options in the squad, Coventry look like they need a ‘proper’ targetman. Someone who has the strength to compete with defenders, but also the ability to stick the ball in the net when the chance arises. King would appear to fit that description. And those in favour of him joining point this out – the Sky Blues need someone like King and if we hadn’t signed him someone else would have.

Those in favour also say it doesn’t matter about his previous convictions - morals get you nowhere in football and we’ve got a £5m Premier League striker for nothing who’ll bang in 20-25 goals no problem.

I disagree with all those points.

Firstly, King is not, and has never been, worth £5m. Granted, he was once bought for £5m, but his transfer fee was just another in the long line of vastly overpriced deals that happen all the time in football nowadays. Look at the likes of Benjani being bought for £6m, Jo for £18m and Roque Santa Cruz for £19m!

Secondly, King is a striker who’s played in the Premier League, which is very different from being a Premier League striker. He averaged a goal every 5.33 games in the top division. That’s 7 a season – not the figures of a Premier League class marksman.

His figures in the Championship, which are more important to the Sky Blues, are actually quite impressive, averaging a goal every three games. But over a season that’s still only 16 – not the 20-25 some people are expecting. If fact he’s only ever managed 20+ league goals in a season once in his career – five years ago at Watford under Boothroyd. He’s now 30 years old and not played for the best part of a year, so the chances of him repeating that feat aren’t exactly high. And he’s only on parole, so if he’s not on his best behaviour he could end up back inside.

In fact, his scoring stats are remarkably similar to another striker of a similar age, who’s not short of self confidence and isn’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea – Clinton Morrison. And during his two seasons at the Sky Blues he managed 10 and 11 league goals. Part of that modest tally for someone of his ability was due to a lack of service, which the club still appears to be struggling to provide, so I can’t see King faring much better that the Pimpmeister General.

So that’s his playing abilities considered, now let’s consider the moral implications.

King shouldn’t be ostracised from society. He’s paid his penance and should be allowed to work. If every ex-con was barred from working you’d have a massive problem with repeat offending and social welfare.

But being a footballer is quite different from your average job. Footballers are the biggest role models for many young boys, and therefore need to set an example. By employing someone who’s shown violence and contempt to women (let’s not forget the attack in question took place while his wife was heavily pregnant), the club can be seen to be condoning his actions and suggesting they’re acceptable.

Coventry City purports to be a family and community club. I often go with my sister to games, occasionally even with my mum. How can they feel welcome at a club that seemingly condones violence to women? Some fans argue it’s completely irrelevant that he attacked a woman. They’re right – violence against anybody is equally unacceptable, regardless of sex or creed. But imagine that woman was your daughter, girlfriend or sister. Would you be so happy to dismiss it then?

Everyone deserves a second chance, and I’d like to think anyone can become an upstanding and valuable member of society regardless of their past. But I also believe in the adage of “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me”.

King has 14 convictions since 1997. Some are quite trivial motoring offences, others more serious such as theft and receiving stolen goods (for which King also received a jail term) and some totally unacceptable, such as wounding (an incident which occurred on a football pitch no less) and sexual assault, following two earlier incidents of violence towards women.

Give someone a second chance – yes. A fifteenth chance? I’m not so sure. Perhaps if he’d shown some remorse or accountability I’d be more willing to still give him the benefit of the doubt, even after all his previous escapades. But he hasn’t. He’s even tried to make out he’s the victim in all this, claiming it was mistaken identity and that the assault wasn’t sexual (although how he’d know the assault wasn’t sexual if it was mistaken identity and therefore wasn’t him who committed the crime I’m not quite sure). Until King accepts what he did was wrong and deserved his punishment I fear it’s only a matter of time before he’s in trouble again.

To be honest, I’d consider his signing more of a success if he only scored a handful of goals but the penny finally dropped and he changed his ways than if he scored 30 goals for us and got in trouble again.

But as things stand I can’t see that happening. Undoubtedly Coventry City need a player with the abilities Marlon King has. But it does not need Marlon King.