Hard to disagree with any of this. Ultimately the transfer suits both us & him so I can just wish him relatively well & move on. I had a similar 'aneurysm' moment early on this season when we played West Ham away. It was the most pathetic non effort I've seen from a Newcastle player & I was yelling for him to be subbed after 25 mins. I'd support any player, while playing for us, but deep down i was done with him after that
Great article - a really good read. And I completely agree. Your final paragraph says it all for me - we all shell out a lot of travel time & money to watch our team - don’t get me wrong that’s our choice & I wouldn’t change that - but I expect them, in return, to put a shift in. He’s looked disinterested for a while. Goodbye & good riddance. Thanks for some of the memories. But I won’t miss you.
A mercenary who did what he had to and no more. A luxury player who we dont have a squad deep enough to accommodate. I bear no ill will but will not miss him.
It’s funny isn’t it. I’m pleased he signed & played for us but I’m more than happy he’s moving on. It just goes to show, everyone has a ‘sell buy date’ (not to be confused with a ‘best before’ date) and he’d certainly reached his. I wish him well but I do think somehow his ability may have ‘peaked’
Spot on, it always felt like his mind was elsewhere after we touted him to the Mickey Mousers, and particularly this season he only seemed up for the Champions League games. He was a part of our progression but also culpable in our current funk as well - among many others, it must be said. The move suits him and us, but I dread to think who we’ll bring in to replace him. Probably Liam Delap and Jaidon Anthony…
P.S. Kudos to whoever was responsible for making him look like your man from The Goonies in that picture. 🤣
Fair summation. It seemed obvious to me that some kind of big time fallout occurred with Eddie and he was unlikely to play again. Keeping him on the bench was simply a means of advertising he was still fit and available… for sale!
Whatever your opinion on Anthony Gordon, I think the crucial thing about his sale is that we’ve shown we’re not to be fucked about anymore. You don’t want to be here? Fine. You can go. You want one of our players? Here’s the price. We don’t want to hang on to people anymore.
And there will be players like Tonali who we will be sad to see go, but it’s a business and we can’t do battle this summer with the big boys. Get the money and get rid, and reinvest it.
Absolutely. That's given me more optimism than anything else. We even negotiated a sell-on clause! Amazing what a director of football can do during the summer window
I just wish they'd hurry up with moving Tonali along next. Then use the money to try and get Anderson back. I know, I know, there's no way Anderson will come back.
Agreed. I was talking to a colleague eho is also a United fan and we agreed we'd happily see Tonali go if it meant getting Anderson back. Pie in the sky it may be but we can hope.
Somebody mentioned a "big-time" fallout with Eddie Howe as a possibility. I think there is more of that going on than people know. Many players now choosing how and when they "play up" in B&W. EH himself said this season "I don't know which team I am going to get anymore". Surely a case for considering bigger changes in the near future!?
So it would seem, though it took long enough for Eddie to stand up to him. The way he didn't get a minute even off the bench shows it, I think. I wonder how far the Isak fiasco fractured the dressing room. Plenty were on his side after he had been promised a new contract.
I think repercussions of the Isak fiasco are still poisoning the dressing room. I can well believe that Mitchell and Eales made promises to Isak which they failed to keep, breaking the all-important trust between management and players.
It's hard to know what exactly is going on in a players head but even if someone is unhappy and looking for a move they are being phenomenally well paid and only required to put a shift in for 90 or 180 minutes per week. If they are not prepared to do that then that is unforgiveable and there is something completely lacking in that players character. As with any of our big name players who might be leaving I am just glad he is going abroad and not to another premier league team. Hoping that might be the case with Tonali too as seeing him playing against us is going to be a tough watch for me.
Hard to disagree with any of this. Ultimately the transfer suits both us & him so I can just wish him relatively well & move on. I had a similar 'aneurysm' moment early on this season when we played West Ham away. It was the most pathetic non effort I've seen from a Newcastle player & I was yelling for him to be subbed after 25 mins. I'd support any player, while playing for us, but deep down i was done with him after that
Great article - a really good read. And I completely agree. Your final paragraph says it all for me - we all shell out a lot of travel time & money to watch our team - don’t get me wrong that’s our choice & I wouldn’t change that - but I expect them, in return, to put a shift in. He’s looked disinterested for a while. Goodbye & good riddance. Thanks for some of the memories. But I won’t miss you.
Spot on.
A mercenary who did what he had to and no more. A luxury player who we dont have a squad deep enough to accommodate. I bear no ill will but will not miss him.
It’s funny isn’t it. I’m pleased he signed & played for us but I’m more than happy he’s moving on. It just goes to show, everyone has a ‘sell buy date’ (not to be confused with a ‘best before’ date) and he’d certainly reached his. I wish him well but I do think somehow his ability may have ‘peaked’
Spot on, it always felt like his mind was elsewhere after we touted him to the Mickey Mousers, and particularly this season he only seemed up for the Champions League games. He was a part of our progression but also culpable in our current funk as well - among many others, it must be said. The move suits him and us, but I dread to think who we’ll bring in to replace him. Probably Liam Delap and Jaidon Anthony…
P.S. Kudos to whoever was responsible for making him look like your man from The Goonies in that picture. 🤣
Fair summation. It seemed obvious to me that some kind of big time fallout occurred with Eddie and he was unlikely to play again. Keeping him on the bench was simply a means of advertising he was still fit and available… for sale!
Hear, hear - agree totally.
Whatever your opinion on Anthony Gordon, I think the crucial thing about his sale is that we’ve shown we’re not to be fucked about anymore. You don’t want to be here? Fine. You can go. You want one of our players? Here’s the price. We don’t want to hang on to people anymore.
And there will be players like Tonali who we will be sad to see go, but it’s a business and we can’t do battle this summer with the big boys. Get the money and get rid, and reinvest it.
Absolutely. That's given me more optimism than anything else. We even negotiated a sell-on clause! Amazing what a director of football can do during the summer window
I just wish they'd hurry up with moving Tonali along next. Then use the money to try and get Anderson back. I know, I know, there's no way Anderson will come back.
Agreed. I was talking to a colleague eho is also a United fan and we agreed we'd happily see Tonali go if it meant getting Anderson back. Pie in the sky it may be but we can hope.
I agree with you about Tonali - as much as I hate myself for having to say it, I want to see the money banked and then see them go out and spend.
Spot on Matthew- unfortunately it’s been a long while since his best displays in the premier league, so I don’t see him being missed.
100% accurate Matthew. Gone. Forgotten. Move on.
He needs to give his body to science after he hangs his boots up, to see if they can discover how he fixed his hamstrings within a week!
He's a modern medical miracle!!
Somebody mentioned a "big-time" fallout with Eddie Howe as a possibility. I think there is more of that going on than people know. Many players now choosing how and when they "play up" in B&W. EH himself said this season "I don't know which team I am going to get anymore". Surely a case for considering bigger changes in the near future!?
So it would seem, though it took long enough for Eddie to stand up to him. The way he didn't get a minute even off the bench shows it, I think. I wonder how far the Isak fiasco fractured the dressing room. Plenty were on his side after he had been promised a new contract.
I think repercussions of the Isak fiasco are still poisoning the dressing room. I can well believe that Mitchell and Eales made promises to Isak which they failed to keep, breaking the all-important trust between management and players.
Bang on. Harvey Barnes must love the idea of playing for a truly progressive manager at Villa after being shafted all season. Baffling.
Bravo Matthew.
Never liked the lad. Pissed me off when we signed him. Glad he's gone, and we've seemingly become minted as a result.
Let's hope we can get a couple of decent lads in for the wedge.
Fully agree. I never liked his goal celebrations, excessive even when it was a penalty. It screamed he was more happy for himself rather than the team
It's hard to know what exactly is going on in a players head but even if someone is unhappy and looking for a move they are being phenomenally well paid and only required to put a shift in for 90 or 180 minutes per week. If they are not prepared to do that then that is unforgiveable and there is something completely lacking in that players character. As with any of our big name players who might be leaving I am just glad he is going abroad and not to another premier league team. Hoping that might be the case with Tonali too as seeing him playing against us is going to be a tough watch for me.
Absolutely!