[Confirmed] Slew to Blackburn

[SwissBlade]

Here's something I'd like to see at united - get the contracted players to submit a transfer request if they want to leave.

 

[Jonny G]

I think we prefer to just have the fee in as a clause in their contract!

I just think it appears Slew has gone a long way around ultimately playing no higher than the Championship with an regularity. That is terribly sad when a young player would rather go about this by chasing money rather than finding first team football. Now that is upto Slew and the relationship he has with his agent as much as anything, but in these circumstances we have got the best deal possible for SUFC. Whether that benefits McCabe doesn't matter. A player who isn't committed to our future isn't an asset worth keeping and so I think we've done the right thing.

So far DW seems to have done the right thing in his transfer dealings and the only thing that possibly sours this deal is the feeling the final decision wasn't Wilson's. We are a work in progress and I'd say we are going about things the right way.

 

[gavtheblade]

dont see him doing much at ewood park.
to big a jump for a little frog imo

 

[Ollessendro]

Here's something I'd like to see at united - get the contracted players to submit a transfer request if they want to leave.

Interesting point Swiss. It would certainly give us more confidence that the deal was actually pushed through by the agent/player, rather than just SUFC (for financial reasons). That is not to mention the fact that the (greedy) player loses out on their transfer fee and the clubs gets more money.

 

[geekblade]

How much did he go for £1.3 million?? We need the money and Slew is clearly happy to spend his formative professional footballing years on the bench for silly money. Everyone's happy.

Despite the hype, anyone who's seen him this season should know that he was never going to be the deciding factor in where we finish this season. Good player, great potential but red and white messiah he is not.

 

[Beighton_Blade]

Slew was the only player with pace and whilst he only had potential, it's potential which could be realised and he could come good for us.

Like I said, we need to keep the young talent as long as we can, but on the other hand, the manager picks the team and selects his squad. If slew can be replaced with an expensive, ageing loanee for 3 months then hey let's get the loanee on the treatment table

Good luck to slew, but let's also hope the club know what they are doing for the sake of the team first and secondly for cutting the wage bill. Odd really as we gave him a pay rise in the summer, now we can't afford to turn bids down for him. Why not just sell him then if were so desperate? Clearly we haven't received bids anywhere else

I must say i'm puzzled by everyone constantly talking about Slew being the only player available with pace - for one, Slew (imho) was not even remotely fast never mind "pacey", his physique and running technique alone even suggested as such, and on all the evidence i have seen he was anything but "fast" - quicker over 10 yards than Cressy/Hendo/Porter? maybe so, but fast? not a chance! I'd be happy to bet that Squinny, Philliskirk, Flynn, McCallister maybe and Mendez-Laing (ignoring the fact that he is otherwise rubbish) are all much quicker than Slew.

Similarly i struggled to see where his main threat was going to be developed, for a guy with a decent size frame he was very weak (in comparison to Squinny for example who is tiny in comparison but stronger with the ball at his feet), the only time he showed his power was when the ball was dead i.e. the corner flag v Walsall. In the air he was nothing special and again came 2nd most times against defenders. He doesn't look like a natural finisher/poacher either (anyone in any false assumption that he could be anything like a 20 goal a season forward should take a look at the Burton highlights and see his late effort - any striker with an actual instinctive finishing ability would bury a chance like that a la ALF, Long, SEB, Sharp, CMS), the main benefits i did see was a willingness to shoot at any decent opportunity and a nack of getting into the right sort of positions - certainly something i wouldn't value him at £1m for!

Also the dig at replacing him with an aging crock loanee is a bit harsh - clearly DW has tried to replace him with two young lads with potentional im sure we can hardly blame him for the fax farce which has ensued.

Also, the very reason we have sold him now after signing a new contract (as opposed to Fulham earlier in the summer) is to get the best deal for SUFC - for someone suggesting this has been a bad deal at £1.1m+, im puzzled to see how you could think selling him earlier for half this figure would have therefore been better? Personally i think we've cashed in at the right time while people still see him as a potential star, whereas we have seen from even his few appearances so far that a player of the Kyle(s) or Jags standard he is NOT! I could easily have seen him staying, not playing as much as he'd thought he would be, and playing quite averagely when doing so and scoring little - what would have been his benefit (to the team) or potential fee then?

As a choice between losing Slew for £1m or Quinny (whatever the bid) it'd be adios Slew for me EVERY time!

whether he is right or wrong McCabe is intent on getting the club to pay majority of the debts back to him.

Whether you think Slew was a potential world beater or just another Ched the idea that selling him for a million somehow gives United a million is fallacy.

The financial blackhole McCabe wants us to fill won't even notice a million being sucked in.

I've only seen Slew a handful of times but I actually think £1m a good price.

But my point is don't get carried away thinking that's the end of our problems. Quinn and the rest will go on loan/be sold if and when we get decent offers.

For example all we've done by selling Slew is cover Ched's wages from the end of last season to next summer's transfer window which may be our next chance to get rid of him.

Im not overly disagreeing with you on part of this, as anyone can see that the Ched situation has cost us (but admittedly this is nothing SUFC have any control of so can hardly be accounted responsible for) however, this idea that McCabe is now calling in all his debt and is selling players to cover his losses is absolute rubbish - the guy has recently written off £17m in the form of a debt-to-shares transfer, having already done so previously with approx. £10m. If he was so desperate to cash in and regain his money, why then would he have wiped out this debt and replaced it with shares which will earn him sweet FA, and will only become worth something if a takeover is completed (which again would still certainly not cover the amount he has spent on his shareholding).

Do you think a guy who has essentially spunked/written off around £30m recently on the hope of us finding a rich suggar daddy or returning to the Prem is overly concerned enough about £1m to force a sale through for the sake of wiping this £1m off the "debt" owed to him? it'd be the equivalent of taking a leak in the atlantic and hoping to see the ocean level rise!

What is sure is that we can not sustain our current level of expenditure at this level - that was always going to be the case, and the fact that we have only really lost two (high earning) "1st team" players (Yeates & Hendo) since relegation means this is still the case. The Ched situation has clearly affected this, and with that not being rectified anytime soon, the fact is someone was bound to leave - just so we can continue to operate as a going concern - in affect the money from Slew will going into the working capital, not a mysterious "black-hole" from McCabes "debt". The fact that this has income has come from Slew's sale (who has not lived up to the hype and i feel will prove to be a good bit of business in time to come) is imho the preferable option to the other ways this could have been done i.e. selling Squinny for less than the £1.5m-£2m i feel he is worth to us at the moment, selling Monty for peanuts to Leeds, or ripping up the contracts (which is not as cheap as many might think) of Willo/Cressy/Doyle who are all proving assets at this level.

Overall i cant say im overly fussed about Slew going (as you can probably have guessed) i think he was a decent player but very overrated for someone with no obvious exceptional attributes, and in addition to losing Boggy (who was and never would have been a fundamental part of our team) think this is the best scenario we could have hoped for after accepting that something had to give! The only unfortunate thing for me is that we haven't been able to sell Ched (not SUFC fault) and that the loans for the two Rangers lads has still not happened (yet, and again this is not entirely SUFC fault).

UTB!

 

[Maidenhead]

Good piece in this morning Yorkshire Post with several quotes from Slew.

To paraphraase it seems he was disappointed United couldn't agree a fee with Fulham and he feels very fortunate to have got a second chance to go to a premiership club.

Puts a lot into context for me.

He couldn't wait to get away and well done United for holding out for realistic money.

With attitude and committment like that it's good riddance to me.

 

[Pinchy]

Breaking News:

After decades of speculation, research and satellite observations, intelligent lifeforms found in Beighton!

 

[JohnDenver]

What do we reckon a signing-on fee would be for a £1.1m transfer? £100k perhaps? Follow that up with Premier League wages - £10k a week maybe? Over four years that's a lot of cash.

I don't blame him for taking it one bit. But he has never shown himself to be good enough to be actively pushing for such a move. He's unproven and should have wound his neck in.

As it happens, I think he's got good goalscoring potential, and I'd like him to have had a chance to develop that here. But with his apparent attitude in these matters having just signed a two year contract a few weeks earlier...

Suffice to say I'm not mourning his leaving as much as I might have.

 

[DazBlade88]

Good piece in this morning Yorkshire Post with several quotes from Slew.

To paraphraase it seems he was disappointed United couldn't agree a fee with Fulham and he feels very fortunate to have got a second chance to go to a premiership club.

Puts a lot into context for me.

He couldn't wait to get away and well done United for holding out for realistic money.

With attitude and committment like that it's good riddance to me.

This has been my thoughts all along. I had a feeling this would end up happening aswell.

Foxy and Linz may recall this from last year actually... I go to watch the under 18s quite regularly, and not long after Slew had been on the fringes of the first team I went to watch us play Wednesday at Shirecliffe. His attitude in that game was a joke, he barely put any effort in and it was obvious he thought he was better than the under 18s. I said that day if he made it to the first team and had a chance to move on to 'bigger and better' things he would do exactly the same.

The FA Youth Cup was a different story because it was a big stage and a chance for him to impress 'bigger' clubs. I have to say I'm extremely dissappointed a local lad has acted in this way. I don't mind anyone going after money, but to show the attitude he did once he had a chance I think is very poor.

I concur with Beighton Blade. When you look at his footballing ability, United have done well in this deal.

 

[Foxy]

Foxy and Linz may recall this from last year actually... I go to watch the under 18s quite regularly, and not long after Slew had been on the fringes of the first team I went to watch us play Wednesday at Shirecliffe. His attitude in that game was a joke, he barely put any effort in and it was obvious he thought he was better than the under 18s. I said that day if he made it to the first team and had a chance to move on to 'bigger and better' things he would do exactly the same.

Aye, I remember bumping into you at Shirecliffe and us having that very discussion multiple times during the game

 

[shorehamview]

Aye, I remember bumping into you at Shirecliffe and us having that very discussion multiple times during the game

I remember it well. Slew couldn't be arsed. There were several players that looked a lot better than he did.

 

[Bergen Blade]

I must say i'm puzzled by everyone constantly talking about Slew being the only player available with pace - for one, Slew (imho) was not even remotely fast never mind "pacey", his physique and running technique alone even suggested as such, and on all the evidence i have seen he was anything but "fast" - quicker over 10 yards than Cressy/Hendo/Porter? maybe so, but fast? not a chance! I'd be happy to bet that Squinny, Philliskirk, Flynn, McCallister maybe and Mendez-Laing (ignoring the fact that he is otherwise rubbish) are all much quicker than Slew.


UTB!

While I don't think Slew's as quick as Forte for example, I've always thought he's looked to have good pace when I've seen him. For the youth team he's worked the channels well and been very direct, good at running at full backs and while his touch can be frustrating, he's shown the ability to get past defenders, often getting to the byline before crossing. I don't think he was really motivated this season, and he may well have continued to frustrate us if he'd stayed.

Quinn's pace is below average, but his close control is good and the last few months he's looked very sharp and focused, I suppose this can make him look quicker than what he is. I think McAllister's pace is average, as is (apparantly) Philliskirk's. I had hoped Flynn would offer us pace and dribbling, but so far it seems he's yet to take on a full back. This leaves Mendez-Laing, who obviously is quick, but judging by his Walsall performance he currently lacks confidence or concentration to make effective use of it.

Our lack of pace remains a major weakness, and we need to enter the loan market before it starts costing us points.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

The fact that we have only really lost two (high earning) "1st team" players (Yeates & Hendo) since relegation...

+ Ward, France, Jordan, Nosworthy, Bent, Calve, Lowry, Mattock, Riise, Vokes, Wright, Kozluk and Bogdanovic.

 

[DazBlade88]

To be fair Sothall, 7 of those were on loan, and Wright, Kozluk & Bogdanovic probably played about 20 games between them last season so you can't really class them as first teamers.

Ward probably counts as first team, although I wish he wasn't!

 

[Sothall_Blade]

To be fair Sothall, 7 of those were on loan, and Wright, Kozluk & Bogdanovic probably played about 20 games between them last season so you can't really class them as first teamers. Ward probably counts as first team, although I wish he wasn't!

The original point being made was that we'd only removed TWO high earners from the wage bill, when we've actually removed FIFTEEN.
McCabe promised on Radio Sheffield he would be willing to fund the expected shortfall in income this season himself.
How would his radio interview have been received, if he'd said instead "We're going to sell Slew to fund the wage bill this season"?
He also said we won't be going for the "easy fix" of loan players.
Yet that's exactly what Wilson will be forced to do in order to plug the gaping holes left in the squad.

http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/foot...e_chief_ready_to_pump_in_extra_cash_1_3364663

 

[stannyblade]

I actually dont mind loan players that are there with a view to a permenant deal or season loan if they give something to the team (like Halford did) Now the loan option is the only thing we have till January should we not use it just because Mccabe has said he didnt want to. If this was to be the case we could be very short in some positions.

 

[Nick Jansky]

I actually dont mind loan players that are there with a view to a permenant deal or season loan if they give something to the team (like Halford did) Now the loan option is the only thing we have till January should we not use it just because Mccabe has said he didnt want to. If this was to be the case we could be very short in some positions.

Of course we should use it Stanny. Even top PL sides use it. The point is that, in the past, we used it wrongly, over-relying on it, and it cost us massively. This year we have the nucleus of a decent squad in place on permanent contracts. It's still a bit light, because it is a work in progress, and there will be nowt at all wrong with judiciously adding a handful of loanees to flesh it out. If they are coming in with a view to a permanent deal, all the better.

NML was on Radio Sheffield this morning saying that he would like to extend his time here beyond January. I know he hasn't set the world alight so far, but he is young & developing, and I don't think we should be writing him off just yet.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

I can't believe I'm reading this.
Yet another home-grown youngster apparently sold at the first opportunity and most people seem to be turning cartwheels over it!
What happened to United's new way of doing things and building a team around our own young talent?
Slew has scored 3 goals in 8 matches. He looked brilliant at the end of last season and for the academy.
He's only 18 and people are moaning because he hasn't set the division alight yet. After 2 starts!
So what if we've signed two Rangers central midfielders on loan. How many more central midfielders do we need?
Where is the long-term planning involved in grooming players for Glasgow Rangers?
What sort of message does that send to the likes of Harriot and McAllister?
Who will provide the pace and skill up front now? Porter and Creswell? Evans?
United have chuffed it again, gone back on everything they said about building solid foundations and all for £1M. Brilliant!

I would add that we still only have 5 defenders in the first team squad who it seems are expected to remain injury and suspension fee until at least Xmas. Meanwhile, in central midfield we've signed McDonald, Hutton and Fleck to compete with Montgomery, Doyle, Williamson, Quinn, McAllister and Harriot. And we thought last years squad was unbalanced!

Well, it's good to see that DW has now recognised that "we need more pace in key areas".
Some of the more astute amongst us pointed this out when we sold our only pacy striker back in August.
In the build-up to the transfer window we kept being reassured that if any of our players left, we could quickly pull in a replacement from our list of potential targets.
Now apparently, “It’s very difficult to try and persuade people to let their best centre-forwards go. We need pace up top but in terms of availability, it’s tough”
Who would have thought it? Perhaps we shouldn't have been so eager to let Slew go then?

 

[Trafford]

Perhaps he's coming back.....

 

[Foxy]

Well, it's good to see that DW has now recognised that "we need more pace in key areas".
Some of the more astute amongst us pointed this out when we sold our only pacy striker back in August.
In the build-up to the transfer window we kept being reassured that if any of our players left, we could quickly pull in a replacement from our list of potential targets.
Now apparently, “It’s very difficult to try and persuade people to let their best centre-forwards go. We need pace up top but in terms of availability, it’s tough”
Who would have thought it? Perhaps we shouldn't have been so eager to let Slew go then?

Problem being we need pacey players that can consistantly control a football and that don't think they are too good. Still Jordan's soon realising that despite the money, car and house, its not all its cracked up to be

 

[Bergen Blade]

Foxy, was Tønne awful in the reserves the other day? Really surprised he was left out of the squad tonight. Is he injured?

 

[judge]

slews gone

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Well, it's good to see that DW has now recognised that "we need more pace in key areas".
Some of the more astute amongst us pointed this out when we sold our only pacy striker back in August.
In the build-up to the transfer window we kept being reassured that if any of our players left, we could quickly pull in a replacement from our list of potential targets.
Now apparently, “It’s very difficult to try and persuade people to let their best centre-forwards go. We need pace up top but in terms of availability, it’s tough”
Who would have thought it? Perhaps we shouldn't have been so eager to let Slew go then?

Problem being we need pacey players that can consistantly control a football and that don't think they are too good. Still Jordan's soon realising that despite the money, car and house, its not all its cracked up to be

Except that Wilson is still trying to bring a better replacement in and has found that he isn’t able to.

(17/08/11) Danny Wilson:- "Whether anyone is going to come in for any of our lads I don't know. What we are trying to do is ensure we are in a position whereby, if something does happen, we are ready to move. We're trying to cover every eventuality."

Despite what Wilson said on the 17th August, he clearly wasn’t “ready to move” for a pacy striker when allowing Slew to leave. He’s still looking now, 2 months later.

Slew might not be the finished article but he is only 18 and would have given us a different type of option to Porter, Creswell and Evans.
He has all the attributes Wilson is currently looking for and he was already our player. Under contract until 2013.
Slew could and should have been told to knuckle down and stay put. For his own good and for United's.
Even if Wilson does sign a loan player now, it will only be a short-term fix for 3 months before the loan ends, the team is disrupted and he has to start looking all over again.
That's exactly the type of "on the hoof" squad building that McCabe admitted had been our downfall and that he had vowed to avoid happening again.

 

[Rudders]

but you can't keep a player who is unhappy. It disrupts the squad and his performances would not be good. We should now be trying the likes of Philliskirk and Tonne who at 21/22 are older than Slew and hopefully better developed. If they can't make it at this age, lets decide quickly, they should be cleared out and other players brought in.

I agree though about your general point re. lack of structured and considered team building/strengthening at first team level, BUT the "development squad" was put together in a quite thoughtful way. Bizarre really. I think Wilson should really be looking at those players to strengthen the first team before he goes into the loan market.

 

[Patrick Suffaux]

There is of course the possiblity that they're not better than those in the first team.

Personally would like to see Philly and Tonne given a chance but I dont assume they will solve our problems.

The manager is paid to make those sort of decisions. We supporters tend to clutch at straws a little bit.

One has to assume they would have played if he thought they could make a difference.

 

[davidpinder]

slew isn't getting a sniff any reason why we haven't tried to get him back on loan??

 

[SwissBlade]

Was Slew unhappy?

I honestly can't believe how precious footballers are. In any other job they'd be given a kick up the backside and they'd be out on their arse looking for a new job - no matter how good they were.

I go back to the point of a contract. Players, clubs and agents need to start respecting contracts and this can ONLY come now from the football authorities, but we all know they won't do anything.

 

[sheffielder]

I understand Slew is alot unhappier now than he was when he was with us!

 

[Wapping Blade]

Was Slew unhappy?

I honestly can't believe how precious footballers are. In any other job they'd be given a kick up the backside and they'd be out on their arse looking for a new job - no matter how good they were.

I go back to the point of a contract. Players, clubs and agents need to start respecting contracts and this can ONLY come now from the football authorities, but we all know they won't do anything.

Football is different to other jobs in that there is asset value in the players and they are on fixed term contracts. If you have a disaffected player, sure you can hold them to their contract and pay their wages but at the end of their contract they can go for nowt. So...do you cash in now or pay their wages for potentially non/poor performance?