#5 The man who sold himself
What do you do when you are a football club on tight finances and need to save money in order to survive? You appoint your 23-year-old star player as the player-manager. What do you do when you are the player-manager of a football club on tight finances that are showing signs of trouble and need money to ensure survival? Simple: you sell yourself!
In 1946, just after the war ended, Carlisle United signed a talented forward as their player-manager, Ivor Broadis. Three years later, when the finances started to show worrying signs, Sunderland came knocking for the player-manager.
Sunderland were willing to pay 18000 pounds to acquire the services of the inside-forward—and Broadis saw the chance to leave a strong financial legacy that could potentially save the club from obscurity. And so he sold himself and went on to play for England 18 times before returning to the club for a second spell.
