Blomqvist's knee was always the problem.

Last updated : 19 May 2002 By Austin Rathe

The first sign if trouble came when he went home to Sweden to receive treatment a few months ago. When he played he played well, so everyone assumed he would be on his way to Japan this summer. When that didn't happen, questions started to be asked about his fitness. Blomqvist said he was surprised, maybe he was, but it appears that Everton weren't.

Had they been sure of keeping him then they would have offered him a contract long before his placed himself in the world cup shop window, the fact they didn't speaks volumes, they knew there were problems. Then when the negotiations were failing, it seemed obvious his departure was imminent. The stumbling block was not Blomqvist or his wage demands, so it could only be the club.

Its sad to see such a promising career cut short (I hate to sound so final here, he may still recover, but its looking more and more unlikely), and maybe next time everyone is whining about how much footballers earn they will stop and think about how fragile a career it is.