Young Exit Raises Stakes For Southgate
LETTING Luke Young go is a disaster. Cashing in on fringe players is one thing but selling your best performers - and let's be emphatic about this, Luke Young was the best perfromer last season - is a high-risk strategy that sends out chilling messages to supporters, to the rest of the dressing room and to other clubs.
To the fans it screams a lack of ambition, that we have become a selling club that sees transfer dealings as purely financial arrangement srather than long term structural investments and even hints that we are edging back towards being a selling club. To the other players, especially the more ambitious players, it suggests that any hopes of winning things may have to be played out elsewhere and that their own futures are far from secure if good offers are likely to be accepted. And to other clubs it is a green light to move in with predatory bids for the players that had previously been thought to be cast iron first team fixtures. If Luke Young is available, for whatever reason, then why not Stewy Downing?
Young is a brilliant player, a solid defender with a cool head and a potent attacking force. He has energy, good control, excellent distribution and is strong in the tackle. It is incredible he hasn't been a regular in the England team - he is better than Wes Brown - and surely only the fact that he is not playing for a bigger side is keeping him out. Indded, that may well be a factor in his own thinking.
Coming the week before the season starts it is doubly worrying. It is a political and startegic disaster. Had it come early in pre-season it could be factored in. Now, it leaves a club who already have a questionmark over the key position of keeper - there is literally no number one - suddenly without its most stabilising, consistent, injury-free and experienced performer. Unless there is an ace up Southgate's sleeve the unmistakeable air of pre-season optimism will be replaced with an air of endemic panic.
Southgate had already taken a massive gamble with his stance on the keeping position. In letting such an important player leave on the eve of the season has doubled the stakes.
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I had hoped to read some words along the lines of 'don't panic, it's covered', but now I'm more worried than ever. I can't help wondering what has stimulated this, seemingly inevitable, exit?
Your words "It is incredible he hasn't been in the England team and surely only the fact that he is not playing for a bigger side is keeping him out. Indded, that may well be a factor in his own thinking." - is this a clue? Was Young uncommitted to the cause this year and Gate decided to act now rather than let a farce ensue??
There MUST be a 'Plan B' - going forward we've looked OK in pre-season, but the goals leaked is a real worry and clearly we have some defensive issues, so moving Young on just makes no sense. OK we double our money from the sound of it, but £2.5m to £5m is hardly earth shattering and he still represents a snip at that price.
I was looking forward with eager anticipation for a change, now I'm back to 'here we go again'.....Keep Repeating, PLAN B, PLAN C, PLAN B, PLAN C THERE MUST BE A PLAN THERE MUST.......
This transfer scares me no end but you can see why its been done. Young was captured on the cheap after serious injury, more than likely he would of been on a wage on par with the leading earners at the club, so when Gibson is faced with doubling his money, scrapping a high wage and easing the debt issues you can see his thinking. I only hope a bargain replacement is in talks at the very least.
I am actually furious, this has to be worst managerial decicion southgate could ever have made. Young was by far our most consistent performer and there is going to be a serious backlash from the fans if quality new signings are not brought in quickly....it feels like one massive kick in the teeth, i knew it was too good to be true to be feeling optimistic about the new season!
What is Southgate thinking? Letting one of our better more proven players leave so close to the start of the new season.
So who is going to play at right back now? We only have Tony McMahon and although when he has been given the chance he has proved he is a good player, he has an uncanny nack of picking up serious injuries. With this in mind he will be lucky to play for the entire season and so then who would we turn to?
I agree with Vickers if we are seen to be selling our first teamers then who is next to go, Wheater, Downing, Alves?
Southgate said only last week that he didn't want to sell any more players, so why are we? Surely we can't need more money, after shedding god knows how many millions from the wage bill by releasing Fabio R, Dong Gook, Mendi and Schwarzer add to the that £4.5M from Boateng and Catts transfers.
I can't believe it. Even though we have spent very little, there was an air of optimism amongst the fans, but now that has been shattered as far as I am concerned. I think this proves we are now willing to sell anyone as long as we make a little profit. I can't wait to here the explanation for this one.
what a gamble and more than likely what a nightmare!!! i cant see any right backs who are available who would improve us in the slightest. chimbonda has his moments but we have missed the boat on that one already!! compounded with missing various good sound solid gks, my optomisim for the new season has instantly evapourated!
AV - has this move been in the pipeline, therefore GS would have a plan, or has it come out of the blue, therefore meaning GS doesnt have a plan?
**AV writes: I don't think it was in the pipeline for long. Young was in the team picture taken two days ago.
There has to be something here we have not been told about.
was it Young who hadnt settled and not O-Neill?
was it another Ziege-style contract clasue inserted by the player to the effect of if an ofer of 5m comes in OR an offer from a club in Europe he has to be told about it?
was there a Southgate-Young bust-up?
or is it just a case of anyone can go if we make a profit - so Southgate has nos ay what happens - if that is the case how can he just sit back and accept any plans he might make being undermined from the boardroom?
Yes AV you are right - this smacks of the old Boro pre-Gibson. This is 1970s/80s Boro all over again.
Agree totally. I cannot believe that we have sold Young willingly - surely he must be unsettled or wanted a move to Villa (a team that can offer European football).
As you say, Gareth has really put his head on the block with some of his decisions this summer - we all knew this was the season he had to deliver, even more so now.
I'm looking forward to hear what he thinks about the sale.
AV,
Absolutely spot on. I cannot believe this piece of news, we are going to be hit by late bids for all kinds of players and the squad is going to be de-stabilised.
I think Tony McMahon is a good player and will become a top quality player, but he is not yet the finished article and needs someone like LY to look up to and learn from.
We do not have a ready made replacement and I do not see anyone else in the league that I would rather have at right back. Youngy has been sound all season, even during his "settling in" period.
I was starting to feel quite confident about the new season, if this news has wobbled an ardent supporter, what will it do to the players whose careers and futures could be on the line.
I think GS is showing his naivety with this move, I fully understand the financial incentive for making a good profit, but not when he is arguably your most consistent performer.
You've said it all AV, watch the optimism dissipate in hours as everyone heads back to the trenches. It's a mugs game supporting the Boro, always was, always will be.
I am a little bit concerned that this has happened so close to season starting. Meaning if any new player were to come in they won't off been involved in all the pre season games.
People will say its good business financially and i agree. Making quick money on a 29 year old. However from a playing perspective it was the only last week Southgate was concerned with the lack of experience the squad had.
Secondly people will say we have people to cover the position i.e. McMahon, Hines, Williams. However McMahon is coming back after 2yrs of injuries and Williams is actually a CB by trade. Hines is also a CB by trade but in fact is actually injured at the moment and has not featured during the pre season. Add to this that Riggott and Pogatetz are not 100% fit this is risky.
I just wonder if we will now buy a RB not a CM if money is tight because we still need to bulk up the CM as Arca is injured. This shows how fragile our squad actually is as with 7 subs each games we need 18 players every week.
People will say we have the youngsters but I know how the fans can quickly turn and the promise of youth may be destroyed if the season starts badly.
What do you think?
I am absolutely disgusted by this decision so close to the season. How can GS even contemplate this. He now has the job of finding a new midfielder a new right back and a new keeper in a week and 2 days and if he does not get at least 2 of these positions filled and we have a bad start to the season then it just might be the final nail in his coffin.
Well that`s done it. With Luke Young being sold the feelings of cautious optimism have become feelings of impending disaster. Its not that one player makes that massive a difference (although Young was our best player last season), it`s the signals that this sends out. We`re apparently a selling club destined to be mired in mid-table - if we`re lucky. And don`t even mention the keeper situation. Alves has got to be in form of his life this season to try and score more goals than the defence are sure to concede.
Oh dear!
Excellent distribution?? I always thought away from home he was a weak link. The Gate must have other options - if McMahon can play as well as he did in his 1st season then it's good business and could Hines or Huth not do a job there? I was sat in the Spurs end for our match there and they were all glad to be rid of him.... Great effort and engine but I'm not too bothered...
Southgate is uneccessarily exposing his already dodgy keepers by letting Young go like this. McMahon did OK on Tuesday v Darlington but he is way off the pace still, and he doesn't have the speed, power, and drive that Young has anyway. It's OK saying we have lots of talent coming through but that potential has to be realised. In the meantime we need GOOD players and Young is one of those. Very disappointed.
Well done someone at the gazette actually finally says something truthful and crtical at the club. This is a terrible blow for the team and all supporters FACT.
Anthony, spot on with your comments, the most worrying thing is how Southgate has been feeding us all about the clubs ambition this close season.
This is not ambition. This is the biggest kick in teeth and the clubs dishonesty with the fans is unacceptable in what i can only imagine was a failing attempt to secure more season tickets.
They should have come out at the end of the season and said that money is not available. Bitterly disappointed with the club for the first time in years.
Boro are sell sell selling; doesn't Young want to stay with a forward thinking club with prospects ? Young joined thinking the England management would be watching the likes of Woodgate. A few seasons ago, Villa players were coming to Boro in droves (including Southgate). We haven't heard much recently from the chairman or the chief executive, the usual form. Where is the extra £30 million clubs are getting from the TV ?
It's the habitual bull shine , possibly now the small time off the field organisation realising they ARE small time. As Southgate has repeatedly (too often) said, he is balancing the books, but he's supposed to be a football manager in the making, not an accountant. Maybe Mrs Gibson has the answers.
I think you are over-reacting a little
My first response to Young leaving was also shock. But then I thought about it and decided it was good business.
Young did a job last season, but he is by no means the best right back Boro have had or in the premiership at the moment. Abel Xavier was better (no I'm not on the same stuff he was... :) ). Anyway, if we are that reliant on one player, then we are in big trouble. Young could easily have been injured in the first game or in the match with Rotterdam...
Yes, I also worry about Tony McMahon - he makes Malcolm Christie look indestructible... but I think he has the ability to be better than Young.
But I think that losing Jonathan Woodgate was far worse for the defence than losing Luke Young, and we (sort of) survived that.
Kevin.
**AV writes: It is only good business if you can replace him with better quality , or the same quality more cheaply. I already thought the squad was light on defensive cover.
AV
All you say is true - and reflects the content of the thread on the topic that started in the previous section.
But if all of that is true why is the tone of that nice Mr. Paylor's piece in the Gazette so upbeat - starting, as it does, with an assertion that this is in some way a good piece of business.
It's only good business in the narrow sense that we may have sold a player for more than we bought him for a year ago.
In every other sense - as you and we have pointed out - it's a shockingly bad piece of business.
One is reminded of Dickensian quotes about people who know the price of everything but the value of nothing.
I shall hold back on further comment until I've heard more from MFC and Gate about why they have done this and quite what they propose to do about it now.
I fear the pronouncement may be infuriating.
This sends out the wrong message to Boro fans worldwide. How can we sell our most consistent performer from last season.
Southgate must have a worldclass right back almost signed to appease the masses.
C'mon Boro.
Simon..... USA
This sounds like a disaster.
Ok, 5mil for a 29-year-old, on paper, looks like a good deal. But Young was invaluable for us last season. A real bargain.
Just who is there to replace him? Tony McMahon's the only recognised right-back that springs to mind, but can his glass legs handle the step-up to consistent Premiership football week-in-week-out?
Hopefully Southgate hasn't forgotten the carry-on of finding a right back after Reiziger left a couple of years ago and has something big that were not hearing.
If sacrificing Young is just to pave the way for another holding midfielder like James Harper though - I'm sorry. No deal, for me.
I am in shock at this announcement, i just cannot believe southgate has agreed to this, 5mil is a lot of money for a right back but then again 5mil wont replace young with the same amount of quality, it shows little ambition, would everton sell one of there better players in lescott for a fee of 5mil? they certainly would not.
Once again we will start the season with holes in the squad and i am just waiting for southgate to come out and say he has confidence players like mcmahon, hines and whoever else can fight it out for the right back slot, bit like what he did with the keeper situation.
I arent going to mention any number of names who we could potentially sign because thats southgates job and hopefully southgate and the scouts have a bit of sense and go and look for a quality right back replacement and not what we did a few years ago by picking up an aging xavier on a short term deal.
I renewed my season ticket but things like this just makes me sick, it would ease the pain if we found out there was a quality replacement set up but i cant see that happening. I really felt young ccould be our man for a number of years, he brought solid and quality to the defence, he was my player of the year last season and the man you can always depend on, selling him is a tterrible, wrong choice to make
As the usual pre-season gossip of every Boro on the move to another club, I thought this was another headline to sell papers (in the south!). However it appears to be true and I have to agree with you AV that aside from the financial aspect, the sale of Young is not good. In particular, having had a good pre-season, it seems a bit retro-grade to sell a player that must have been one of the first names on the team sheet.
I can only hope the GS has something up his sleeve and we are not going to be subjected to Jones/Turnbull style battle for the right back slot!!!
Sell our best signing of last year when our only back-up is a perma crock and a kid who's never played in the first team.
And as for Harper...why have we spent the summer obsessed with this no-mark who didn't stand out in a relegated team? A poor man's Robbie Mustoe.
What signal does this send out to Downing, Johnson, Alves the next time Spurs or Man City or someone else with money to burn comes along (bearing in mind that Spurs just offered £15m for Dean Ashton)
It shows a complete lack of ambition. There had better be a damn good excuse for this.
I won't hold my breath.
Gobsmacked, devastated, disgusted and absolutely livid.
AV, your last blog was about which sides Boro will match up with this season. I'm afraid that the loss of Young so late might put us back into category D and probably fending off relegation yet again - so much for the talk of pushing on for a top 8 spot. If this had happened earlier in the Summer I definitely wouldn't have renewed my season card.
As long as the club doesn't go the way of Leeds they can sell who they want.
Trying to be self sufficient is the way forward, if the tv deal gets pulled for some reason we'll be well placed to deal with it where as other clubs will be facing financial ruin.
I hope McMahon can find his form of old, with a run in the team he hopefully can get back there.
Yong was a good right back for us, but it's not the end of the world.
This does at first seem to be a real problem deal for the BORO especially as you say 8 days before the big kick off. But let's not hit the panic button just yet. Tony Mcmahon seemed to have first choice right back slot booked for a few years to come before his succession of injuries and is back fighting for a contract beyond next year. Maybe its time for Seb Hines to step forward.
Southgate has mentioned previously that ARSENAL and MAN CITY amongst other clubs gave youth their head last year with decent results. It does seem worth mentioning that YOUNG is 30 years of age and a decent profit(according to reports) of £3 million plus is not to be discounted.
Southgate was a top quality defender and should know what it takes to put a tight defensive unit together. Whose to say this wouldn't pave the way for the new arrivals Southgate said last week would still happen. Remember the furore when Woodgate left citing lack of ambition but Wheater hasn't proved a bad successor has he?
Things were progressing so well pre-season let's not remove the excitement that the majority of us were feeling because one player has "gone back south". Players will come always and go. Keep the faith the transfer window will throw open a few more surprises yet!
Im really angry about this transfer and the state of our transfer dealings as whole. No experienced goalkeeper, No Experienced CM to partner Digard and Now No Right Back!
To be honest and know people will shoot be down for saying this but it has "lacks ambition" all over it, what must be rolling through Downings head right now - we tell him he can fufil his ambitions here but then sell our best players! I honestly couldnt blame the lad if he wanted to leave and play for a new club.
I feel like i have paid my season ticket money to go and watch the Under 18s play, i applaud southgate for bringing through the youngsters but normally this is done with a mixture of experience - and there isnt any!
We have Sold/Released..
Schwarzer, Boateng, Cattermole, Young, Rochemback, Dong Gook-Lee, Gaizka Mendieta
and brought in...
Emnes, Digard
has anyone got any spare packing tape to fill in the holes??
(sorry about the rant...but needs must...)
Bryan Robson: Promises repeatedly broken.
Steve McClaren: More concerned about his ego than the club.
Gareth Southgate: Creates hurdles, overcomes them startlingly well to give us new promise... only to create a new hurdle and face repeating the process.
Yes, we survived the sale of Vids, the sale of the Yak and the sale of Woody. But is "surviving" enough? How long before the likes of Wheater, Downing and Alves run out of patience?
I found the news a little hard to take this morning but then consoled myself with the fact that £5m was good business for a 29-year old, and we had cover. However, Vic, your article has brought me crashing down to earth. I still don't believe Luke actually wanted to leave us, but rather that Boro's bankers wanted the extra cash. That, and his head was probably turned by the temptations of European football, the international scene and city life.
I can picture the smirks on Toon fans' faces getting wider and wider by the minute.
This isn't just shooting yourself in the foot. It is an above the knee amputation. What a clear lack of vision
never mind a right back going,the most crucial part of a good side is a class keeper even though a lot of folk will disagree with me i rated mark swartzer as a first class premier league goalie.the keepers we are left with arent that bad but neither one is of premiership quality,watch the goals against column this season
I can't see why people are getting so upset about Young going. Yes I'm sad to see him go but doubling your money in 1 year on a 29 year old steady eddie is good business for the club.
Like it or not Southgate has to balance the books at Boro & has to look at each deal on merit, this IS a good deal.
We have had dwindling attendances for a few years now & we have to rely on wheeling & dealing in the transfer market. Mcmahon is a good player & is a readymade replacement with plenty of games under his belt, yes he has to keep fit but then the same can be said for the whole squad.
Again like it or not EVERY Boro player has their price, even Downing.
In recent years ive not heard an outcry such as this over the sale of one player.
The masses are gutted that such a quality player is leaving for what seems like a snip at £5 million. Young was our best player last year and i dont think anyone will dispute this fact. He was quality and showed real class throughout the season.
My thoughts are he must have had a £5 million clause in his contract and his someone has leaked it to villa once he knew they where interested. Can't blame him for going like but it shouldnt be this way. With Young we had a chance of catching villa now he has swapped us for them that step seems even further and further away.
Group C AV? Make that Group D now unless we get 3 quality players in. Keeper, Attackin Midfielder, Right back.
Shocking MFC, really shocking
Received my season tickets this morning at the same time as the news about Young. The accompanying blurb talks about moving forward and positive transfer activity but, as everyone else says, this weakens the team considerably, removes the most consistent performer and sends out all the wrong messages a week before the season starts. A real kick in the teeth ! The club will have to come up with some very good answers and a replacement fast.
My paper said Gate 'reluctantly agreed' to let him go. His arm twisted up his back may have helped.
Whatever the reason for him leaving will make no difference to the line up for the first match. With the niggles we have it looks like
Jones/Turnbull
McMahon, Wheats, Huth, Taylor.
A very young(less) and inexperienced defence and a real danger of a rocky start to the season.
The messages are distinctly rocky. We are either concentration on debt management or Young was unhappy. If it was the latter the rumour mill is normally in action for far longer than in this case.
Truth is it doesnt matter, the fans who were looking forward to the brave new world are now waiting for 'typical Boro' to reappear. Many may think they already have.
Poor Neil Bausor is building bridges but someone is blowing them up behind him.
A terrible piece of business that is sending all the wrong messages to everyone involved at the club and the outside world. Gate is now on a hiding to nothing with few senior pros in his squad and only likely to get in scraps, plodders and money grabbing old pros.
Renewed my Boro World sub, paid for my Pride Card, planning to attend the Spurs match. Hoping to persuade my son to go before he flies back to US on Sunday 17th. Gloomy is the word.
Got to say that I was shocked when I read the news. However, I think we need to wait and see what the manager and chairman have to say (I presume the Evening Gazette is on the case).
We need to remember that Gibbo is a Boro fan, and I presume savvy enough to realise that there's no profit in football. He also supports his manager.
For now, based on previous quotes from the manager, I assume that either something untoward has happened to the club's finances that required this move, or the player himself has decided it suits him and GS has accepted that if that's the way the player wants to go then there's no point in keeping him as a potential de-stabilising influence.
If it's the latter, then it depends on how much notice GS had of the situation and whether he has already been considering cover for the position (taking account of most people's concerns about the position without Young). He has said that he is always looking to strenghten the team, without being specific about which positions. It might be that the club is playing it's cards close to it's chest until a signing is in the bag.
I thought abosolute disaster until i heard the latest rumour. Steve Finnan apparently is in talks with the club. Not a bad signing if cheap and has bags of premiership and european experience. A year or two out of him with mcmahon learning off him would mean getting 5mil for young is good business.
Now I understand we need to sell to buy, but in no way do we need to get rid of one of our most consistent players last season at right back.
I've said to people time and time again, I back Gareth Southgate and his management team 100%. But how can anyone defend this move? As other people have stated - Mcmahon is injury prone and one that i wouldn't put my hopes in. We need to bring somebody really experienced in and somebody who is better then Young, or there will be problems with the fans and Gareth.
Spot on A.V This bit of business smacks of small club thinking which I thought we had seen the last of at the Boro. could it be Mr Gibson has had enough of looking out over empty red seats and hoping the thousands of fickle missing fans return.I hope we are a bit premature in the dismay and doom and by the end of the day are linked with three or four quality signings, I doubt it
If this nonsense IS all about money would you rather have today: Digard (all promise, limited experience, some cover) plus £1m or Young (proven talent in an area where we're thin)?
If it isn't about money then why do we seem to have had so many unsettled players in the past year or so? Young would be just the latest in a distinguished line.
And now we hear Arca will be out for weeks and we will be looking for a central midfield player. We have needed that since May.
We are also told that there may well be a new keeper brought in - and that takes me back to the lunacy of stating categorically that there will be no new keeper. Another player we have needed since May.
It is starting to unravel and there is the fear that it will do so at an alarming rate. It is very close to the seasons start.
A.V.
A year or so ago I was called "an idiot" on this board for suggesting that asset stripping was in full swing at the Riverside.
A year on we have sold, Morrison, Yakubu, Woodgate, Cattermole and now Young, as well as releasing Schwarzer, Viduka, Boateng, Rochemback etc.
If that is not asset stripping I do not know what is.
Why do contribtors to the board think that Southgate has anything to do with the transfers in or out? I am sure he is in charge of team affairs only. Just think back, when Schwarzer moved on, it was the Count who first said we have two good replacements set to battle it out, this was immediately used by the "on message" Southgate.
Before I am condemned by the glad handers or those who think that a big money signing is lined up, I am still optimistic, we still have a lot of talent in the squad, if they are handled properly, who knows we may spring a few surprises
Best of luck Gareth, I have a feeling you are going to need it.
relax,young gave 100% yes,but i always felt ,he wasnt as good defencively,and if you wish to attack,more you need good cover at the back,(genuine defenders)anyway i hear they are after Stenson the rb at Bolton ,who i think is better than young,we tried for him last year
relax,he was a good tryer,but poor defencively,were after Stenson at bolton we tried to get him last year,and hes younger and stronger
Shocking, absolutely shocking. I am gutted.
BORO WEBSITE IS SHOCKING, ITS PUT SOUTHGATE INTERVIEW ABOUT YOUNG ON BORO WORLD SO YOU HAVE TO PAY.
AV can you het any snippets of quotes from SG about why he has gone?
I cannot belive Gareth is going to let Young go. I go on the Boro website everyday with out fail to seen if there is any news ie new players in. The last thing i expected to see was Young going to villa, and Boro also acccepting the offer. Crazy.
I am a season ticket holder and for me Young was amazing last season best right back Ive seen at boro for years, so consistent. So who is going to replace him now? Hines? Williams? Mcmahon? i really dont think so.
And also another worrying fact for me now is not only we are short on a right back goal keeper as well. Mr Southgate this one could certainly come back and bite you.
One very worried season ticket holder and life long boro fan.
How *can* the reason for Young's departure for Villa be that he was unsettled, unless he was lying through his teeth when he gave his interview to Radio Tees (extract on the Beeb's web site here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/middlesbrough/7537835.stm)?
If that is the case, he deserves the same sort of barracking from Boro fans when he returns to The Riverside as that meted out to Gareth Barry by some Villa fans! In the absence of a credible explanation, Gareth Southgate couldn't have found a better way to forfeit the loyalty of Boro fans if he'd tried! :(
This is an e-mail I sent to MFC this afternoon. I will post any reply.
"On a day when most fans are furious at the sale of Young it beggars belief that most will be denied access to Southgate's first interview on the subject. It's only available to Boro World subscribers. This is another kick in the teeth for the average long suffering fan and another PR disaster from MFC."
I think GS the fans will now call in your chirp about 'one out, one in'... you owe us replacements for Catts and now Young.
Lacking senior players was also a chirp, now what? Opening day no captain, and no senior rb and no experianced keeper - this is a disaster all good work done now blown away. Can't wait to hear the clubs response to this one
Same old Boro! Season tickets go out along with our best player. Looks like we are preparing for life in the Championship!
Worrying....
News says we are looking to get Justin Hoyte off the gunners.
ITS A DISGRACE.
The offer was to good to turn down? hang on a minute he was our best player last season and hes only going for £5million? Shorey is also going for £4 million so when ya look at it is he £1million better than him? Baines last year £6million, everton wanna sell, chimbonda £6million £56,000 a week at sunderland. Its average money for a quality player, we needed cover for right back aswell so now hes gone its even more players we need. hope we dont get struck down with a mystery flu bug around December time.... oh dear
TWO WORDS 2SAY ON THE SALE OF LUKE YOUNG "SOUTHGATE OUT"
blahhh blahhhh blahhhh blahhhhh
Yes he was a consistant performer last season, he was neat, tidy and efficient with the rare bit of skill down the flank. But at the end of the day, we got him for a cheap price, making a good profit, releasing another high earner and someone who is approaching there 30s.
Yes he may have another consistant season next year and maybe the one after but then we are left with a high earning right back nobody wants. Boro are creating a team of youth and energy and if Young doesent want to be apart of this, then so be it.
Boro have already announced they plan to make a quick replacment - Justin Hoyte looks like a good bet. Jimmy Bullard for 3 million please!
Totally disgusted,
Gareth should come out and explain this now, and explain why we do not have a keeper either,
Im absolutely gutted.....
Ok Gareth says the offer was too good to turn down....i can see egg on his face when as he says he tries to replace /sign another
I am just as annoyed about the Young sale as most of the other fans on here.
Let's look at the close season deals as a whole...
Out:
Rochemback
LDG
Mendieta
Schwarzer
Boateng
Cattermole
Goulon
Young
In:
Digard
Emnes
That is 8 players out, with 2 in. !!!!!
Not exactly a case of strengthening the squad IMO. Just getting Schwarzer & Mendieta out should have freed up over 3Million per annum in wages.
Our squad should be increasing in size, not shrinking.
The only plus point can be the managers comments that he will be looking to replace Young as soon as the transfer is completed.
We need at least 2 new players in, & before next Sat ideally. A new RB & a creative midfielder are the minimum requirement. If they are not recruited before the deadline day at the end of the month, the club hierarchy could find the goodwill of the Boro fans is lost completely.
Matt
Now seen what Gate says on the MFC site.
Relaxed, huh! Expecting the unexpected? Bring in a quality replacement before the season starts.
Problem is Gate, given what's happened, how do we believe a word that you say, now? And more to the point, how do the players.
Having met the man, I have to believe that he was as taken by surprise by this as were the rest of us - including Luke Young.
He doesn't have much choice now but to take the party line but I cannot believe now that he has any say whatsoever in transfer matters except for the identification of who he may want as targets or to move on.
The decisions on who we buy and let go are clearly now in the hands of The Count and Gibbo - maybe they always were - and Gate should more properly be called First Team Coach than Manager.
My suggestion in future, AV, is that the Gazette addresses all questions on transfers to The Count and Gibbo directly. I notice they are both conspicuous by their absence.
All the stuff from some few on this blog about Young must have wanted away or he must have had a release clause or he's had a row with Gate as they try to make sense of this debacle is clearly not right.
Gate has admitted as much and it will be revealed as such when Young says shortly that he knew nothing about it until the club told him the offer had come in and they'd accepted it.
There's no grand plan on Gate's or The Count's part to replace Young either or they'd have kept this under wraps until they'd sorted the replacement out.
Of the other right backs that have been mentioned as maybe being available - Finnan and Hoyte - Hoyte is a flying machine but his defensive frailties were shown up many times last season.
That leaves Finnan who is clearly surplus at The Scousers but who has always seemed OK to me and he's younger than Young.
Tying him up in the next day or two may salve the wounds a little. But either way you'd not choose to do this now unless you had no choice.
But you can't help feeling that we'll end up with some out of contract loafer like the Peroxide Portugueser.
Or the other terrible thought that struck me was that The Count may go for Geremi and make Gate claim him as solving both the right back and midfield problems.
The only remedy is 3 good players through the door in the next few days - and I don't mean Geremi, Harper and some hack superannuated goalie who is prepared to act as stooge to The Corporal and Turnbull.
Boro are short of money and this may be the beginning of the end of Steve Gibson going it alone (although he is and has been magnificent) it may be time for him to try to bring in another backer/consortium to invest fresh funds , but would his pride accept this ?
Gareth Southgate is not to blame , he HAS to toe the line.
I still think we have a good squad and will score more than we concede.
You're abslutely right AV, this is a crazy, crazy move.
I can't believe this decision, and as for the offer according to Southgate being, 'too good to refuse', well £4m? Too good to refuse? What rubbish. We paid £2.5m so would make £1.5m on the deal. Is Boro, this established Premier league club who are looking to kick on up into the top half of the league so desperate for £1.5m?
Are season ticket sales so poor this time that there is no option but to sell Young?
Has he asked to go? Has there been any hint from the player that he was not happy here? This move begs so many questions and on top of the goalkeeper situation.
Tony McMahon is a good fullback, but has just come back from a long term injury, what if he gets crocked again? As for a replacement for Young, at what price? Does Southgate think he can get as good a fullback on the cheap? Dream on.
It's so difficult not to be negative about this, but having seen the academy players the other night at Darlo and the quality we have coming through, maybe one can rise to the occasion as cover for McMahon. I only hope so.
I'm very very depressed and very very angry. I feel we've been let down badly and the only conclusion I can come to is that the finances of the club must be in a much worse state than we think. Looks like another hard Winter, and just when we thought a bit of global warming was coming to our rescue in the shape of Hull and Stoke Cities.
Mal from Ingleby
gareth southgate.............. what the ?????
I have just got in from work and read this Luke Young story. What the hell is Southgate thinking about? i know everyone above has already said it but its bang out of order and looks like we are turning into a selling club.
This is Southgte's judgement season and so far he is getting off to a bad start imo. The keeper situation was bad enough but now this.
Does he forget he still has problems on the right wing as well and Young with his experience would have helped bed either Emnes or Aliadiere in there?
Complete lack of ambition from us and I can only think of 2 right backs that are available at the minute.... Stuart Parnaby & Stephen Carr. How many of you would be happy with either of them replacing Young?
Other option is Riggott and McMahon to fight it out. Unless Southgate is planning on using Wheater as a right back as that could be his way of playing Wheats, Poggi & Huth in the same team.
Maybe a change in formation that we havent practiced will happen and he will go 3-5-2.
After reading GS's views on Youngs impending departure, it seems obvious this is clearly Gibbo's decision. I can't think of any logical reason to sell a class RB and leave yourself a week to get a new one. It is clear now that Gibbo has lost all his ambition and bottle.
Astonished is a gross under exaggeration when learning about the imminent sale of Luke Young to Villa, a profit of about £3 million, so what! A pittance for one of our best players last season and any optimism for the season is now well and trully blown out of the water.
Does this mean that if we get offered a £3 million plus cost bid for any player we will sell? and what signal does this send to the academy lads who cost nothing? Is it my cynical mentality or is it just coincidence that this happens the day season cards are sent out and news that sales are up by at least four figures.
My 14 year old son with his new £97 season card, full of teenage enthusiam said we will finish in a European position, after a brief discussion it was agreed that the big 4, Spurs, Everton, Pompey, Villa, West Ham, Mags, Blackburn and Man City were better teams than us, then thirteenth at best was our conclusion.
Thankfully Hull and Stoke are as good as relegated, West Brom have one foot back in the championship, so we should have another mediocre season, what do other fans class as a good, bad or mediocre season?
On a sad note Sir Bobby Robson is not to well, our thoughts are with you sir bobby a true gentleman and ambassador for the north east and indeed england.
I can't believe this decision was made by Southgate. It smacks more of a business decision by Gibson/Lamb. We ahve searched for years for a top class right back and now we let him go. To think we aspired to compete with the likes of Villa a few years ago.
AV: Two observations on your blog before making a point or two of my own -
1) There are so many typos in it that you must have been really angry when you typed it and banged it up there, and
2) I've never seen your blog to have so many negative response posts in as short a time, on any topic.
This one has clearly touched a few raw nerves amongst the Boro faithful and turned (most of) them into the Boro fretful.
Since finding out about it, I've been trying to keep my powder dry, hoping that there may be a silver lining to the cloud that today descended over Teesside. However, If the silver cloud proves to be a knee-jerk foray into the transfer market for a replacement right back who'll come close to Luke Young's capabilities for less money than we got for Young, it begs the serious question - "Why didn't Aston Villa go for him instead?"
At this stage in the pre-season, only 9 days off the first competitive match, it will also be apparent to clubs who MAY be prepared to release a good right back, that Middlesbrough are now likely to be distressed purchasers and the asking price for their man will go up - or at least they'll hang out for as much as they can get, knowing that Boro are light in that department and of course we've possibly got (at least some of) the money from Luke Young's transfer in the kitty.
If there's a business advantage to Boro's preparedness to part company with one of the best footballers we have (had), it must surely only be the need for cash. Because we're unlikely, at short notice, to get anyone with a better footballing pedigree than Luke Young for a sum that will leave us with change from the cash than we've received.
Once again, money seems to be taking precedence over sporting ambition. I'm beginning to understand a bit more why Jonathan Woodgate went to Spurs and Yak went to Everton.
Middlesbrough have settled for trying to remain a successful BUSINESS in the lower half of the Premier League. And THAT is not the same as a successful football club. Ask your supporters what constitutes a successful football club and the focus will always be on trophies or long cup runs or high league position finishes. NOT mediocrity season after season, but hope for the future based on sporting achievement - NOT what the bloody balance sheet looks like!
Will Middlesbrough supporters be prepared to settle for that?
I know that I won't. Another season of lower mid-table mediocrity and I'm gone! And when I'm gone, I'm gone for good!
Disappointed? Me?
You can bet your sweet touche I am!
**AV writes: Yes there are a lot of typos. I was suffering blog rage. Hopefully I will be able to get to the innards today to do a few corrections. Who can say?
I am not that bothered. I thought last season he was often slow and ponderous. Tony McMahon was the best right back at the club before and is now. Lets give the local lads a chance.
AV
Hopefully you are sat at home with a well deserved beer. It must be terrible being a Boro fan who has to keep mum about situations and then being the repsistory of bile. Then you have smarty pants like me who poke fun at you.
I tend not to go on other message boards but am reliably informed that it has been all sweetness and light on the blog compared to elsewhere so there is some relief. I worry that the goodwill has now eroded so that the Spurs match may have an audience waiting to explode. It is all very well wheeling poor Gate out to do his best but it is hardly fair if as we suspect he was left holding the baby. We could all be wrong and we start a week Saturday with reinorcements in place and I will be delighted.
I am going to put you in a very difficult position but will still pose the question. What do the powers that be believe the fans reaction will be. I will also give you a get out - delete this part of the post if it is appropriate, delete it all if you want.
Ahhhhhh!!! who's next?? what price Downing to go?? i can't believe that after selling Young we are now linked again with Harper/Hoyte....is Harper better than Catts??Hoyte better than Young?....NO!! 8 players out 2 in...do the Math it =s relegation battle.
Panic in the streets of Middlesbrough....
Looks like they are cashing Young in for a tidy profit and have a decent replacement lined up.
Panic over.
Give the club some credit.
We should only truly panic if they opt to sell the Pogo, Wheater, Alves or Stuey, or decide to start the season with Turnbull or Jones in goal.
I am absolutely gutted about Boro agreeing to the transfer of Luke Young to Villa.
If Boro do not sign anybody then we all know that the club is in a financial mess and is getting pressure from the bank to reduce its overdraft.
If Young wanted to go (which I do not believe) then Southgate should have said you can go when I have bought a replacement.
The club only said last week that nobody else is leaving then this happens, why should we believe a word the club tells us, wehave constantly been lied to as fans.No doubt that it will be Downing etc that will be sold next.I wrote to the club a while ago asking some direct questions about their debt situation but they did not reply.I think a lot of fans need to realise how much debt that we are in and the money is not owed to Gibson as some people think but to the banks.Gibson and co have used their assets in their holding company as a gurantee to the bank,if the value of those assets has gone down then the bank will be looking for hard cash to reduce their exposure.
It looks like we are in deep poo poo but the club will no doubt try and cover it up.
I was looking forward to the new season but I aint anymore.
Luke Young's gone! In his remarks immediately after signing for Villa he is quoted as saying,
"I think this is a great opportunity for me to try and win something. I think at the minute Villa are a notch above Boro and there's a great opportunity for me to play European football as well."
Yes Luke, and as long as MFC continues to sell off our best playing asseets to the clubs we should be seeking to trounce, it will always be the case!!
That's the difference between sporting ambition and business ambition. And so it will continue for as long as we have money dominating "the sport" (which it clearly isn't any more - not in the true sense of the word)
D'you know - the season hasn't even started and I'm sick of it already!
The fee isnt £5m its £8.5m iv been told by someone with contacts at the club,far too good to turn down for a player that age. We got a good year out of him an made a cracking profit now we move on.
A new right back will be at the club before the first home game,and we have bids in for three players,could be a new centre midfielder here before Spurs too.
It really is quite depressing when you look at most of the other clubs in the premier league who are willing to spend a bit of money. Although I don't think we will go down this season, I think it is only a matter of time before we join Sheff Wed and Notts Forest etc before we disappear into the lower leagues. Why is this happening SG?, an explanation would be nice.
I am one of Steve McClarens biggest critics, but I dont think this sale would have happened if he was here. Do you think Vic, honestly now, that GS had any say in the Young decision?
Well, Vic, the avalanche of posts so very soon after your piece tells its own story. Pity the poor PR guru who has to attempt to make the sale of Young seem like a masterpiece of strategy.
Pity the journalist who might want to ask the same questions your posters are raising, but realises he hopes to get another interview next week and won’t be welcome if waves are caused. There must be thousands of fans looking at their blank computer screens in disbelief, wondering how to temper their language or they will fall foul of the sensor.
We are told we can only bring players in if there are balancing players going out, and we will all remember hearing “We will only bring players in if they are better than the ones we already have�.
Well on that basis, the right back we would like to believe GS has secretly had in his sights as being “better� than Young must be more than a bit special. Does anyone reading this blog think we are likely to announce the purchase of a right back better than Young? I hope we do, but it wouldn’t be sensible to hold the breath, would it?
Is there a chance of being told, at some stage, what the plan is? I think the football club should realise that, whilst thousands of fans are, and will remain loyal, a sizeable proportion of the fans are not drunk all the time, are not insane and are not so blindly loyal that they will accept every incredible line that may be peddled. If the club really has to sell to pay crushing debts then let us know, chaps!
There is a credit crunch going on in the real world that football would like to feel insulated from, some businesses are struggling, and in the face of mounting expenses many are at risk of losing their jobs. It isn’t unreasonable to think that a number of football clubs might also feel a chill wind, and since our club won’t be creaming off the Champions League gold or the TV and other sponsorship deals some of the larger city clubs will get, it isn’t unreasonable to think Boro might be one of the clubs wishing to be a bit “careful with the money�. No-one wants to do a Leeds. We don’t want to hear the word “administration� mentioned again anywhere near Middlesbrough.
If that is a problem, please don’t tell us in a week’s time that the “Player X�, bought to replace Young, was someone who had been in the club’s sights for some time, a player with potential who is ready to take the next step with the team, and somebody it was felt could make a longer and more valuable contribution to the team effort than the player just sold who was, after all, 29 years old….etc. Do football clubs think their supporters deserve to be told the truth, or is it acceptable to be “economical� with the truth?
It’s all very strange. One would have thought of most centre-halves as being reliable, percentage players, not ones who take unnecessary risks. If the ball is bobbling about on the edge of your six-yard box, you wouldn’t expect the centre half to play around with the ball, put in a feint or two and then start to dribble it out of the penalty area. A foot put firmly through the centre of the ball, to propel it as fast as possible into Row Z is more the expected (and safer) style.
In the circumstances there are several very serious risks being taken here by our ex-centre half. A risk with the goalkeeping situation (when just a few million would have seen our choice of England keepers brought to the club to fill the single most important position in the team), a risk with the obvious lack of a skilful ball-playing midfielder in the centre or on the right of the field, and a risk now with the sale of the right back who was a nailed on certainty to start every game he was fit to play. Suddenly it seems as though GS has become a compulsive gambler. But it’s not just a few quid at stake, it is the Premier League life of our club.
I have never been a professional footballer. I have never been a manager. No doubt those who have been, will say they know better than us “punters�. Well I do hope GS, or whoever it is at our club who sanctioned this move, really does know best, because if it goes wrong, it has all the makings of a “Gerald Ratner moment�.
Look, it’s late, and I have one more day’s work before the long anticipated holiday. The news has deflated the balloon.
NOW is the time to see if some fans believe the decision they themselves made. When Southgate was appointed and O'Neill not given the managers job many fans said they were pleased, some of the reasons were;
Gibson apparently made it clear the new manager had to blood new young talent from the Academy
O'Neill had his heart set on older players.
If back then you believed in Southgate and the home grown approach then now is the time to prove it, we as a club take pride in our academy, prove it! $5 million for a 30 year old out, McMahon or whoever.....you're up!
I would be worried about this move, if it were not for one factor that everyone has overlooked.
Southgate has various different strengths and weaknesses as a manager.
But, if I were looking to pick one person to evaluate the talent of defenders, it would be Gareth Southgate.
SO, we can be sure he is exactly sure of the pluses and minuses of Young, and how he compares to McMahon and other Boro youth.
If Southgate thought it was a major problem, he would have said "no" and would have given a "hands off Young" message to the press, as he done for other players who would go for much more dosh than Young.
Also, I definitely saw Young's name in the same list of "unsettled Boro players" that included O'Neil and circulated a couple of months back, so it seems to me that it may not be so "out of the blue". For example, The Times said on June 24:
" Fulham have inquired with Middlesbrough about signing Luke Young, the full back, with Jimmy Bullard, their midfield player, moving in the opposite direction as part of the deal. Fulham’s first choice was Steve Finnan, but the Liverpool right back’s salary demands are prohibitive."
I think there are two subjects of debate here. The first is
- how will Young’s loss affect the team? and more importantly,
- was Young sold purely for profit, and will this occur again with more of our better players?
I have seen adjectives of “brilliant� and even “amazing� aimed at Luke Young. The truth is, he is neither of them. He is a solid full back. No more, no less. To lose a solid full back, replaced with an alternative with good potential is not a disaster, compared to say, losing a proven striker and replacing him with an alternative with good potential.
So, from a technical point of view I don’t think this move will have such a big affect as others are predicting.
What is very disappointing, is the timing. Had this happened in June then we would have had more time to bed in McMahon in the friendless, or bring in a replacement if thought necessary. Such disruption, nine days before kick off is the last thing we needed.
The question, “was Young sold purely for profit�? raises more concerns than the actual loss of the player. I haven’t seen, or heard, any reports yet of how this particular move came about, nor of the decision making process.
Reading JP’s post it seems like MFC sold the player without much regard to the manager’s feelings. If so, this is not just concerning, it is disturbing. I don’t believe we have been “asset stripping� as suggested by other posters, prior to the last few weeks. Yak, Viduka, Woodgate etc wanted to leave and the club had little option other than to release them .
However the Cattermole and Young transfers could very well be described as profit-taking. As long as this is on a small scale (i.e. two players out of a squad of 30) then the nett effect of this can be absorbed. But if this trend continues (potentially Johnson, Tuncay, Downing, Wheater, Mido, several youngsters) then we are in trouble. And, if it done without adequate input and due cognisance of the manager’s views, then we are in deep trouble.
Whilst disapointed that Young has gone I don't think it's the end of the world. Once the news was out Villa wanted him I think it was a move that Young was happy to go along with (read his comments)and the chances of keeping him were slim.
He is not a youngster and at 29 is probably looking for another financial windfall and a better salary for the back end of his career. To try and hold him back could have been a disaster for the team moral.
Lets give McMahon a chance in the position - he was certainly more highly rated than Wheater in the early part of his career and I see another star emerging.He has been injured a lot but deserves the chance.
I said in an earlier Blog that I hoped the Chicken Runners would not come out of their cages too early if things started badly - it seems they can't even wait until the season starts before the cry of "Southgate Out" has started.
The loss of Young is certainly no worse than Vidulka, Yakubu or Woodgate and we have replaced all of them with in my opinion better players.
WHAT SPEED WAS YOUNG'S SIGNING BY ASTON VILLA.
IT IS HOPED THE SAME SPEED CAN BE USED TO SIGN AN EQUALLY GOOD REPLACEMENT.
It is difficult to imagine how GARETH SOUTGATE accepted this transfer.I doubt if BRYAN ROBSON or STEVE McCLAREN would have agreed to this decicission without a fight. Something funny seems to be going on at BORO
This is what he has to say after his arrival at Villa:
"I'm really pleased to be here at Villa. It's happened quite quickly.One minute I was training up at Boro and the next I'm down here for a medical.
"Obviously I'm glad to be here now but it could have been a year earlier. There was interest last summer but it didn't quite happen for whatever reason. I'm just glad to find myself here now."
Loyalty? What loyalty??? Good old Boro.......One step forward 3 back......
"The Times" this morning says Boro are a "decent bet" to sign the German, Moritz Volz, from Fulham (£15,000 a week, year left on his contract & now available for transfer!). How would the experts on here rate him?
If a player wants to go, he wants to go. At least we made a decent turn on this one. Southgate obviously thinks McMahon can do a job, at least until December.
Moritz Volz is not the answer, however.
Richard -I'm afraid your rant is utter spherical objects. Sporting ambition and money are inseparable in this day and age. The sooner everybody accepts the fact that Premier League football is purely a business, the better for all concerned.
The costs attached to every aspect of a FC mean that it cannot be anything other than a business and the days of Corinthian competition are long gone. Hurworths, Sports scientists, psychologists, ice baths and the rest all cost lots of money, and if you don't have them, you're not in the race.
I was depressed when I heard of the sale of Young, but then I thought that if we depended on one full back to save us then we are probably in deeper do-do than anyone imagined.
Admittedly, the sale doesn't seem to 'send out the right signals' (can't believe I just typed that), but to be honest what does it matter? So if this sort of news leads people like Richard to throw the towel in, then so be it, but this is by no means the worst news ever to befall MFC is it? If Boro are to remain in the PL, or even simply in existence, then a business it must be, no ifs, no buts.
The Teesside public evidently doesn't wish to manifest its wholehearted support on a Saturday, Sunday or whatever day Sky commands, so a diminishing revenue stream dictates that other measures must be taken to service a rather large debt. Let's not be surprised by that simple economic fact...
I can't believe the massive assumptions some people are making, and then treating them as fact.
This deal was pretty simple - team that can offer european football and offers us at least double our money on a player we bought 1yr ago.
We might not want to lose Young, but he will have wanted to go to play in Europe (who can blame him at 29?), and ultimately it's a no-brainer.
Some people on here really should calm themselves down before they post.
Relax, GS has made an 3 million offer for 23-year-old Hoyte of Arsenal. He has made 68 senior appearances for Arsenal I think.
So GS tries to replace our oldest pleyer Young. Of course we do not have much experience in the team now.
I still think we need most an attacking midfielder.
Well....
same old boro
same old southgate
one thing im holding onto is gibbos a boro fan and would not sell and leave us snookered, so i am hoping they have 2 or 3 siginings on the brink in the next week.
Vic, most of what has been said I agree with. However I wonder how the club will square the circle with fans by claiming to want progression and cite ambition and then have actions like this.
Boro fans are I am afraid being taken as mugs. The season ticket sales nearing the optimum level of all those interested and the club do this.
Even the gullible,red spec wearers will be seeing through this ambition we supposedly have as little more than lip service to help put a few bums on seats.
Gibbo - we're awaiting your words of reassurance.
I'm looking out for 3 worse clubs than us in the Prem already.
Gibbos out on website saying we got £6million for young. Hoyte seems to be number one target but cant get a look in at arsenal and was ripped to shreds defensively on numerous occassions when he has played. was on loan at the maccams a while back and even they didnt want him. Hes 23 years old and the side is loosing all its experience and premier league ethos. £6million for a 29 year old right back or £30 million for another season in the Premier League.???????????
Gibson has broken his silence....
"Selling a 29-year-old full-back for £6million a year after we bought him for £2.5million, and doing so in the knowledge that we will replace him, is right for the football club in the short term, medium term and the long term."
"We're already busy working on bringing in a replacement."
So it was 6 million...
Never mind about the old gadgey Young, we are replacing him with Jocelyn Hoyte so thats fine. Lets laugh at the Jawdees and Makums instead.The Jawdees they think that they are signing Gomis today,and the Makums think that they will finish 5th in the Premier League.
Boro are getting dangerously low of experienced players.
If things go wrong and certain players get injured, you need experience to get you out of the brown stuff (like Owen, Viduka Butt and Geremi did with the barcodes last season)
Its great having a team with lots of local kids in it but you still need experience and GS seems to be getting rid of all of our experienced playes.
As I suggested above, Luke Young's comments indicate that he (as well as Gate) knew nothing about the transfer before it happened.
His view that Villa are 'a notch above Boro at present' and that they have UEFA football as an attraction are self-evident.
If you are offered the chance to better yourself in terms of the team you play for, doubtless improve your wages and pick up a signing on fee and the team you currently play for greet you as you come off the training pitch with the news that they no longer want you and have agreed a fee with another club, then you can't blame Luke Young for getting in his car and going straight to Villa.
A couple of more things of interest.
Firstly, the speed at which Villa are able to move to sign players when we get told from The Count how difficult and complicated it all is.
From Luke Young being told to the deal being signed - approximately 12 hours. And they were doing another one with Shorey at exactly the same time that they completed even quicker.
Don't know how long the fee took to be agreed - evidently not long since the day before Luke Young was part of the official squad photo and, of course, had been allocated a squad number.
So that's one more line from MFC that will take some swallowing next time it's trotted out. So let’s hear less of the feeble ‘hope to bring someone in within 72 hours’ as appears in today’s Gazette.
Secondly, the reaction in the national media to the move confirms that they see this as the 'natural order of things' - that when a club like Villa (let alone the top 4) come calling for a player we're just supposed to roll over.
That backs up the view that AV and others on here have outlined - that we're now seen as, and have confirmed by our actions that we are, a selling club.
That has dangers beyond this one transfer.
But Young's gone now and though it leaves a bad taste, increased mistrust and a dent in the emerging optimism lets move on to what MFC do about it and how they convince us and the other players who may well be targeted by clubs like Villa or better that the club still means business.
Football business that is.
That means players in.
On full backs - we're being linked with 4 so far. Finnan, Volz and Hoyte and Orr. The first 3 are available from their clubs.
As has been raised above, the first 3 can be judged as the 'best of the rest' - if they'd been regarded as better than Young then Villa would have gone to one of them instead.
My strong preference would be in the order above - largely on the basis that the defensive qualities of the first two outweigh the raw speed of Hoyte. But any of those would be acceptable.
Bradley Orr from Bristol City – with the greatest of respect to him as an unremarkable Championship defender – would be seen as an insult to fans already injured by the loss of Young. Forget it.
But let The Count show the same alacrity as Villa in doing the deal. This is important not only to get all the key people positively focused ag