by Stuart Crowther

Date: 9th July 2002

Rich pickings for French contingent?  Not now... Zitelli, Adam find it rough on the outside THEY HAVE A GREAT DEAL IN COMMON in that they are both French strikers who found some rich pickings in the Scottish Capital.  Now David Zitelli and Stephane Adam are both finding that the cash has not only dried up in Scotland, but clubs in their homeland are no longer keen to pay the demands they believe their experience deserves.  Now Zitelli looks set to feature in the lowly third league in France, while Adam is just a couple of months from being forced out of the game at just 33-years-old. After an indifferent season at Easter Road, Zitelli's days were clearly numbered when his close friend Franck Sauzee was unceremoniously booted from the Easter Road managers office.  Zitelli had already fallen out of favour with Alex McLeish, and a brief return to the side during Sauzee's short reign ended in injury.  By the time Bobby Williamson had arrived it was clear his contract was not going to be renewed at the end of the season, so Zitelli negotiated an early end and set out to find other employment.  Given his pedigree and some pretty good times at Easter Road, Zitelli might have been forgiven for thinking that it would not be such a difficult task to obtain that one final deal most professionals in his category expect.  The downturn in fortunes for most players however is not just a Scottish thing, as Zitelli has discovered - the whole world of football is realigning itself, and for the first time since Bosman turned the game on its head, players are finding work difficult to come by. Happier days for David Zitelli Zitelli now it seems has found a temporary jot at least in the lower reaches of the French league, for Adam things are tough - perhaps because the former Hearts striker is still aiming his sights too high?  A number of highly successful years in Edinburgh, including scoring for Hearts in a Scottish Cup Final against Rangers, accorded Adam legendary status with one half of the Edinburgh support and one hopes respect from the other.  These days are gone now.  Adam admitted yesterday that he could be out of the game in a couple of months, the player saying:  "A few clubs have been interested but in France there are a lot of clubs with financial difficulties just like Scotland, but hopefully something will come up. However, sometimes you have to stop.  It happens to all players. Maybe this is the day, I don't know. If nothing happens, I will get into coaching so I can do my badges through the French FA." The foreign players who have done well from Scotland over the last ten years will now find themselves increasingly looking back to their roots for employment, as Scottish clubs look more and more to their own back yard for talent at a cheaper rate.  Some will argue that this is no bad thing for the game in Scotland, but the truth is that a great many more Scots will find themselves out of the game this summer than foreign 'stars'.  Few clubs are increasing the size of their playing staff, and those that are will likely find the financial burden weighs heavily, in particular if their risk strategy does not pay off with some success on the field.  Dundee yesterday revealed the high price they have paid pandering to the wishes of Ivano Bonetti, leaving the Tayside club with a £2.5m loss last season going into a new SPL campaign with income greatly reduced. Times are changing rapidly for football and it would seem the 2002/03 season could prove a watershed for a large number of clubs in Scotland.  The problems of the SPL are just the tip of the iceberg, and the only real question is who which club will be next to feel the blast of receivership?