He had passion, drive, stature. Here was a player, a person I knew we needed. David expects a certain attitude, a team ethic. Look at companies like Coca-Cola, who create an environment which encourages the desire to succeed. They make people want to work for them.
Football is, of course, a law unto itself.
Inevitably, the transfer became tainted by greed, and self-interest. The one moment Ridsdale wondered 'whether it was all going pear-shaped' was at lunchtime on Friday, when Harry Redknapp voiced doubts about the defender's intentions. It is a signal that others are starting to take notice of what we are trying to do. In five years there will be a Premier League and a European League, a refinement of the current system. Entry to that must be based on performance, rather than history.