[Confirmed] Killa HAS gone

[Houso]

Do we detect the hand of Trevor Birch here? This is the first time I can remember where we seem to have held our nerve and got some sort of auction going, ending up with a top-end market price for a player - except when we were buying of course......

BB will be insistent that we got what we did due to Tricky Trev.

But then, BB would send a letter of gratitude to Birchy if his Gert gave him more than the usual yearly festive fumble.

 

[SRBlade]

I will believe it when it's on the OS.

The news will be on the OS sometime next month.

 

[Houso]

Reports that he's now goin to Boro? Wat? :S

 

[beightonblade]

BB will be insistent that we got what we did due to Tricky Trev.

But then, BB would send a letter of gratitude to Birchy if his Gert gave him more than the usual yearly festive fumble.

Sir Trevor is doing a wundefull job at BDTBL ! not like sum of the other fookers i cud mention !

festive fumble ? ....... what thar on about ?

 

[happyhippy]

Reports that he's now goin to Boro? Wat? :S

Thank God(TM) that someone else noticed that. I caught the arse end of a report on SSN earlier which mentioned a medical at Middlesboghorror, but it says nowt on the strapline ...

 

[SwissBlade]

Confirmed on SUFC text

To Sunderland

 

[dansufc]

on OS now
http://www.sufc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10418~1940132,00.html

For those without the ability to click

Killa leaves the Lane
Posted on: Thu 21 Jan 2010
United have agreed to the sale of defender Matt Kilgallon to Premiership outfit Sunderland.

The 26-year-old, who would be out of contract in the summer, has moved to the Stadium of Light for an undisclosed fee.

Kilgallon's future has been in the spotlight since the early Autumn and several bids or inquiries were received.

The uncertainty made Kevin Blackwell's task in selection and possible recruitment difficult as he was aware that the Club was vulnerable in the transfer window:

"There was nothing more that the Club could do because Matt was in the final months of his contract and exercising his right to speak to other clubs.

"Having lost first Michael Tonge and then James Beattie at the death in previous transfer windows, I didn't want the same thing to happen at the last minute again without having the chance to find a replacement.

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"We have had to keep searching for someone of Killa's quality in case he went but that is difficult. I don't think there are many centre-backs like that around and that is why Premiership clubs have been looking at Killa."

Kilgallon joined United three years ago for £1.75m and has played 124 times for the club, although recently he has been out of the side with hamstring problem.

He will be ineligible for Sunderland's FA Cup tie at Portsmouth on Saturday but could make his debut for the Black Cats in the Premiership encounter at Everton on Wednesday.

United Chief Executive Trevor Birch said: "Given that Mathew could have walked away for nothing at the end of the season we were always going to be under some pressure if a sensible bid was received.

"I think both parties would have been happy to run out the contract, but once an offer of substance had been received which satisfied the club and the player then it was pretty difficult to ignore.

"We are sorry to see Matt go but our thoughts now are focussed on assisting the manager in further strengthening the squad after the arrivals of Mark Yeates and Marcel Seip."

 

[TheSwollengland]

I for am not that bothered about him going always thought he was one of those players that somehow crowds take to and build up beyond ther actual capabilities.

He came from Leeds with a reputation from the scum I work with that he needs a strong (Morgan) defender by his side and anyone who witnessed the debacle that was his pairing alongside Lee Bromby in the League Cup v Port Vale ealier in the season would struggle to say that that was still not the case

That said like all the others who have moved on to "better" things he now, in my opinion, becomes just another shit player who passed on the chance to play for the finest football club in all the world and settled for second best

 

[boo radley]

Sir Trevor is doing a wundefull job at BDTBL ! not like sum of the other fookers i cud mention !

festive fumble ? ....... what thar on about ?

You know its when you get your trouser material stuck in your zip and she has to undo it for you.

 

[Autumn]

Considering the cash at Sunderland's disposal, and despite their recent form, I think he''ll definitely see them as a long term guarantee.

Spot on, the advice he's been given was that too.

His contract is lucrative over the next 3 years, he's on a lot more, and has things in place for more money.

Everyone is happy...me more so....no more arrogant little shithead yay :thumbup: good times

 

[jimbobblade81]

just seen skysports news(11.00pm),killa gone ,3 n half year deal undisclosed fee-another deal we dont no the money of again!!,im for one is happy,got some cash and all the speculation has ended,maybe we might just spend it wisely and move on and upwards!!!
utb!!!

 

[Melbourne Blade]

Good bit of business (for once), probably thanks to Birch being here we haven't been shafted again on the transfer fee. Once the seed was planted in Killa's mind about a move he was always off. Time will tell between now and the end of the season if the 2m rec'd is better than missing him in the side.... just hope we can avoid injuried to Siep and Morgs.

I'd also be keen to hold onto the funds and no fritter them away on a typical Blackwell transfer target - although I'm very happy with the Yeates signing and think he'll have a significant influence on the remainder of the season.

 

[Bladesman]

Well we got some money.

Wait and see if we can get some quality in to replace him.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Having lost first Michael Tonge and then James Beattie at the death in previous transfer windows, I didn't want the same thing to happen at the last minute again without having the chance to find a replacement.

Urgh. I honestly don't know why Blackwell does this. This is one of those over-exaggerations (aka lies) that he will repeatedly and needlessly throw in to make his arguments seem stronger. Last season it was the two or three 23 year olds that he claimed were under 21 to emphasise the youth of the team, earlier this season he said the number he had out injured were a few higher than was actually the case to emphasise how tough it's been to get a team together, and now reading that you'd have thought Beattie was sold at 11pm on January 31st last year. It might come as a shock then to discover that he was sold on January 12th - that isn't even halfway through the window and cannot remotely be considered "at the death of the window". He had plenty of days to move for someone should he have wanted to, or been able to financially.

 

[marko1889]

sure its always like that and we have to deal wiv it... we sell james beattie and get craig beattie on loan, tosser and espect them to do the same job, ant gonna happen.. but we will follow this team what ever happens, cuz we all love the BLADES...... UTB

 

[GAZBLADE]

Good luck to Killa. He's been great for us, so, i wish him all the best.

 

[scouseblade]

yes good luck to him, tend to agree that unless Sunderland have a strong defender next to him he might struggle. Time will tell.

So, at present do we only have Morgan, Seip (loanee), Fortune and Walker (loanee) as cover at CB?

 

[LouTheBlade]

Good luck to Killa. I'm just glad this saga is over and we can get on with our season. Good bit of business if as reported, we got £2M for him or even close to that.

Best thing we can do first of all is sign Seip permanently and then look to strengthen one more area of the team.

UTB

 

[SotonBlade]

Happy with the cover we have there for the rest of the season. Walker can play there if necessary.

If we were to spend any of the Killa money now, then i'd rather it went elsewhere. The better option however would be to save it for the summer

 

[Ollessendro]

Happy with the cover we have there for the rest of the season. Walker can play there if necessary.

Why do people keep saying this?

Walker is not a centre back. He is not big enough, strong enough or experienced enough. He is simply not an option there!

Does none remember Coverntry earlier this season. Killa had flu and we didn't have centre back cover, Walker played and looked out of his depth. We conceded 3 goals.

Seip is class and this softens the blow of Kilgallon leaving. I'm happy that we actually have cover this time around. Howrever is anyone convincing by Fortune? the couple of times I've seen him he has been awful.

 

[Robbie]

Walker is not a centre back. He is not big enough, strong enough or experienced enough. He is simply not an option there!

I'd agree if he didn't have someone like Morgan at the side of him. Yes, he may have played poorly vs Coventry, but we've also seen him play well vs better opposition too.

Howrever is anyone convincing by Fortune? the couple of times I've seen him he has been awful.

Convinced? No chance. I never saw the point in signing him ni the first place (well obviously he was 'cover', but not adequate cover).

We should be looking at other options, who are less injury prone and not as suspectable to making mistakes.

 

[HoodedClaw]

Further cover at CB is the first place the money should be spent.

If people think that having Fortune as cover with Walker able to play there at a push is good enough cover they are mad.

Fortune is too injury prone, even more so due to not playing much football in the last 12 months, if one of our regular CB's is out for a month you're trying to tell me Fortune would be capable of playing Saturday/Tuesday for a month :lol:

If we play Walker there, personally dont think he's good enough at the moment, then who plays right back Saturday/Tuesday?? Del?? He can barely manage Saturday/Saturday??

IMO the rest of the squad is pretty OK, maybe could do with a LW or CM but we already have adequate cover in those positions, certainly when compared to CB.

 

[LouTheBlade]

We will be ok at centre back. What we need to do is sign Seip permanently. We then have Morgs, Seip and Fortune (who I think will be a decent player when fit). Despite what some people say I think Walker can play centre back but strictly as cover. He played very well for Northampton there - albeit at a lower level.

I would spend the money (if KB gets any of it at all) on Seip and a quality left winger. After that I think we're fine. I dont see the point of spending good money on another centre back at the moment. All we will have then is a situation where either that player doesnt get a game or Seip doesnt - which is just dead money in my opinion. We need to invest in areas that lack a little quality or any sort of real cover (i.e left wing).

 

[Ollessendro]

We will be ok at centre back. What we need to do is sign Seip permanently. We then have Morgs, Seip and Fortune (who I think will be a decent player when fit). Despite what some people say I think Walker can play centre back but strictly as cover. He played very well for Northampton there - albeit at a lower level.

I would spend the money (if KB gets any of it at all) on Seip and a quality left winger. After that I think we're fine.

Are you mad???

When Morgan or Seip gets injured or suspended you really think that Fortune is up to the task?

All this stuff about Walker playing centre back is bollocks. At this level he will get found out! In fact he already has. It's ridiculously naive to think that our 20 year old righ back can fill in as centre back as and when. The guy is talented. He is a grar full back. He may go onto become a centre back. Right now he is not up to it.

if we sign Seip permanently (which I agree we should) then we need a centre back on loan. Simple. This area should be the first we address.

Our current style of play is based around being solid. We don't concede, grind teams down and nick games. Defence is our most important area. Anyone notice that we won games when Morgs and Killa where fit and playing togehter? Our purple patch was when one or the other was unfit/out of form. Yes Seip is a good signing, but we need someone else!!!!

 

[Houso]

If we believe Blackwell *cough* then we'll be signing another CB so untangle ya kecks!

 

[HoodedClaw]

We will be ok at centre back. What we need to do is sign Seip permanently. We then have Morgs, Seip and Fortune (who I think will be a decent player when fit). Despite what some people say I think Walker can play centre back but strictly as cover. He played very well for Northampton there - albeit at a lower level.

I would spend the money (if KB gets any of it at all) on Seip and a quality left winger. After that I think we're fine. I dont see the point of spending good money on another centre back at the moment. All we will have then is a situation where either that player doesnt get a game or Seip doesnt - which is just dead money in my opinion. We need to invest in areas that lack a little quality or any sort of real cover (i.e left wing).

A big gamble in my book considering he's really yet to be fit this season.

As Ollessendro points out our gameplan is about being solid at the back first and foremost, relying on Fortune and Walker blows a big hole in that plan.

I can see you're argument about signing another CB would mean we just have dead money with a player not getting a game, to me this is more a reflection on KB thinking that and injury prone Fortune is adequate cover than us actually having good cover. If we had a decent CB already in as cover or pushing to play I would totally agree with you, but to rely on someone who has hardly played in 12+ months due to injury just seems a bit bonkers to me.

 

[LouTheBlade]

Are you mad???

When Morgan or Seip gets injured or suspended you really think that Fortune is up to the task?

All this stuff about Walker playing centre back is bollocks. At this level he will get found out! In fact he already has. It's ridiculously naive to think that our 20 year old righ back can fill in as centre back as and when. The guy is talented. He is a grar full back. He may go onto become a centre back. Right now he is not up to it.

if we sign Seip permanently (which I agree we should) then we need a centre back on loan. Simple. This area should be the first we address.

Our current style of play is based around being solid. We don't concede, grind teams down and nick games. Defence is our most important area. Anyone notice that we won games when Morgs and Killa where fit and playing togehter? Our purple patch was when one or the other was unfit/out of form. Yes Seip is a good signing, but we need someone else!!!!

No not mad - although if you met my family you would wonder how I hadnt inherited the genes.

There is nothing wrong with Fortune. He's just incredibly unfit and out of match practice at the moment. Thats what made the signing ridiculous - not his actual ability. Ive seen him plenty of times for Charlton before in the Prem and he was always steady. Once he's fit and ready he is more than adequate cover. As I said however, he shouldnt have been brought in judging from his condition at the time but I suppose he was free....

Personally I dont think Kyle Walker playing centre back once or twice in games we played crap in are a good judge of his ability to play there. I used to be a centre back/centre mid and he has more than enough attributes to play there. The thing I do agree with you on is that he lacks experience in that role - but he will only get it by playing there.

 

[LouTheBlade]

A big gamble in my book considering he's really yet to be fit this season.

As Ollessendro points out our gameplan is about being solid at the back first and foremost, relying on Fortune and Walker blows a big hole in that plan.

I can see you're argument about signing another CB would mean we just have dead money with a player not getting a game, to me this is more a reflection on KB thinking that and injury prone Fortune is adequate cover than us actually having good cover. If we had a decent CB already in as cover or pushing to play I would totally agree with you, but to rely on someone who has hardly played in 12+ months due to injury just seems a bit bonkers to me.

I think that's a more fair assessment and yes relying on a player struggling for fitness as cover is quite risky. As I said previously it was daft signing a player in that condition in the first place so I kind of agree with you but while he's there and seems to be progressing with his training - he might provide a surprise solution. If there was a good centre half in the academy that would cost us fuck all - then that would be a better solution in my opinion.

At the present time I am not aware of anyone though?.....

I just think we need to focus on being a more potent threat up the other end of the pitch and take our chances with what we have at the back. If we dont put a little faith in Fortune its a waste of time him being there really.

 

[HoodedClaw]

If there was a good centre half in the academy that would cost us fuck all - then that would be a better solution in my opinion.

At the present time I am not aware of anyone though?.....

I just think we need to focus on being a more potent threat up the other end of the pitch and take our chances with what we have at the back. If we dont put a little faith in Fortune its a waste of time him being there really.

One from the academy would be a great solution but Im not aware of anyone either

I couldnt agree more, its just unfortunate that our footballing philosophy differs so much from our managers LTB.

Would much rather us play with the old Brasil mentality of we can score more goals than you

 

[the magic man]

Good luck to Killa. He's been great for us, so, i wish him all the best.

I agree with you Gaz. He did a decent job for us, and to get nigh on 2m for a player with 5 months or so is an excellent bit of business. Clever Trevor is justifying his wages with this deal i reckon. And as echoed in some other posts, it will be interesting to see how good he is without Captain Morgan to do the dirty work