Huth, Tuncay and Stoke - a little perspective
By Shaun • Aug 27th, 2009 • Category: Featured ArticlesIt is clear that the decision to sell Robert Huth and Tuncay to Stoke has split the Boro fans straight down the middle. Some are incandescent with rage at the thought of the two lining up for Stoke and see it as a betrayal by the club whilst others, myself included, are disappointed that the two have gone but understand the reasoning behind it.
Relegation from the Premier League, coupled with the reported debt that Boro are operating with have meant that the top earners at the club have to be moved on. The likes of Huth, Tuncay, Alves, Downing and Mido are going to be the big earners at the club and so it was inevitable that we would be open to offers for these players.
Whilst it is a shame that we couldn't keep the Huth-Wheater central defensive pairing together, I think we have to be realistic over his transfer. A reported £6m fee, on a par with what we paid for him, represents a fee that we can't afford to turn down in our current situation. Trying to compare Huth to Lescott and lamenting the fee we received as paltry in comparison is not really fair, for one Manchester City are paying way over the odds for players because they can afford to (it was a great bit of business for Everton), and secondly as an England international his fee was always going to be inflated.
Lets be honest, Huth's injury record does not make for great reading and the chances of him playing even 75% of our league games had he remained were slim to none.
The question now is, do we go out and try to sign a replacement or do we look at what we already have to plug the gap? One player who really impressed me, but who is probably out of our price range right now, was Sheffield United's Matt Kilgallon and he would be a superb addition. Personally I feel the club will look at the current squad and feel that with the likes of Chris Riggot, Emanuel Pogatetz, Seb Hines, Jon Grounds, John Johnson and Rhys Williams all able to play centre half then any available cash would be better spent elsewhere.
That brings us to the Turkish enigma Tuncay, a player who can be equal parts brilliant and exasperating. It has been expected since the final nail in our Premier League coffin was finally hammered home that Tuncay would be leaving the Boro. Rumours of interest from Chelsea, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Koln and other European sides all came and went as Tuncay started the Championship season with 2 goals. His move to Stoke comes as a shock, not only due to the status of the club (no offence to Stoke but Tuncay was being linked with Chelsea last season), but also due to the playing style of Stoke. Tuncay struggled last season, along with the rest of his team mates, as Boro too often reverted to a long ball game, completely bypassing the Turkish International. Unless Stoke change their playing style to suit Tuncay I can see him becoming a luxury that they can ill afford.
One of the major criticisms of Tuncay is that it is so hard to find a suitable position in a rigid formation and for all of his work-rate and fancy flicks, his presence in the team can completely unbalance a side. I believe this was evident in the Doncaster game, where Tuncay came on for the injured Emnes and immediately got on the scoresheet. Unfortunately for the rest of the game he faded in and out, tried too many fancy touches and conceded possesion way too much. Will we miss Tuncay? Of course we will. Will his sale ruin our chances of promotion? Probably not.
The £5/6M fee for Tuncay has been labelled as derisory by some but we got the player on a free and it did not seem like Boro had teams banging on the door trying to sign the player. With just a few days of the window remaining, with Tuncay wanting to be away and being a high earner, it was inevitable that he would leave.
I actually feel sorry for Gareth Southgate in all of this as I don't believe he has had much, if any, say in these deals. I think, particularly Huth, was sold by Gibson/Lamb without Southgate being involved. It is vital now though that we hold on to David Wheater and get Adam Johnson signed up to a new contract, a few new faces wouldn't go amiss either.
Shaun is A Boro fan and owner of BoroMania.com. Born and brought up in the North East. Favourite players are Juninho, Slaven and David Wheater.
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We are selling any saleable asset we have, so i wouldn’t be surprised to see Johnson, Wheater and O’Neil follow them out the door.
Sensible piece Shaun. All the fuss about something we all knew was on the cards makes me despair at fellow Boro fans. I too am disappointed that he has gone but as you wrote we are well catered for in the centre back department. These decisions I’m sure are not taken lightly by anybody at the club . I think it hurts more because they are on the way to Stoke and not a big club - but relegation kicks you where it hurts I’m afraid!
On the otherside of the coin although a fans favourite Tuncay was part of the forward line that couldn’t cut it for us in the big time. If these two are such a loss why was nobody overly keen on taking them. Stoke put their money down and have taken a chance. The window hasn’t shut yet and the last time I checked we were in a very healthy postion in this league. Onwards and upwards.
I’d have to agree, no-one can be surprised at these and any further departures and while Stoke are not Chelsea they do offer Premier League football in a World Cup year and no doubt Huth and perhaps Tuncay will become Stokes highest earning players - whether injury prone Huth and a luxury player such as Tuncay will prosper in Stoke is yet to be seen - I have my doubts.
Onwards is the only option for us fans, Gareth, Gibson, Lamb and the players staying with us, for the next 4-5 months at least.
Balancing the books is obviously a priority - no point being further and further in debt in an economy such as this. Why else would attitude and endeavour be the traits we’ve been hunting for in new recruits - they usual equal a bargain.
And so it is sure to be with future signings, if Webster is to join it’ll be on a free, Hulse sure to be a bargain for debt ridden Derby and so it goes on. And that’s my point about clearing high overheads and debt.
The stronger our financial situation, the stronger our ability to protect the team, not just to the next transfer window, but onwards and upwards (we all hope). When Downing wanted out we were 96m in debt, thanks to Gibson that was reduced to 30 something, with another 20m of sales and limited spending the books will look strong - the increased games in the Championship mean potential gate receipts. A new kit sponsor means increase sales, and despite the average perception of the Championship it is the third most watched league in the world, meaning the TV deal might not be the silly money of the top tier but it’s not to be sniffed at.
So, some controlled pain today, continuing caution and some canny purchases could well mean we have a club ready to return to the top flight, and be able to fight in the future?
I think you are all forgetting the impact tuncay had at middlesborough, or is it just easier to deny and forget just how much passion and graft he provided for us in nearly every game he played. Yes the fact that he has gone too stoke is probably a bad move for him on a personal note, but it is a great transfer for stoke. We must remember this guy played in a side last year which probably posseses the worst midfield in the league, the strikers had no service at all, even the high earning downing had an awful season, so how was Tuncay meant to score or meant to save middlesborough on his own?
I think we should all be thanking Tuncay and remembering him for what he done not saying he couldnt cut it in the forward line like DAVWIND Stated. This guy was capable of playing in any team, but it seems like he has choosen the wrong team again.
Good luck Tuncay thanks for your passion, your skills and your true graft, I personally will not forget your fantastic goals against Derby and your scissors kick against villa, true class.
There’s no denying that Tuncay is a very talented player but the fact remains that after he was linked with Chelsea in January and nothing came of it he seemed to go missing in matches and was nowhere near the player he was at the start of the season. He is incredibly skillful but I think the fact that no top 6 teams came in for him speaks volumes, his work rate and flair are not matched by an end product and he was a luxury player in the same way Juninho was, just nowhere near as good or effective as The Little Fella.
I wish him all the best and thank him for some wonderful goals and pieces of skill but the world moves on and so do the Boro!
If you were Wheater or Johnson would you want to stay? The club has made it quite clear what their ambitions are with regards to getting back in the Premiership, not just through the sales but also the calibre of player we are supposedly targeting. I mean Rob Hulse?(1 goal every 4 games in the last 3 seasons and 30 years old!!), Danny Webber(1 Goal every 5 games over his whole career!!). These players are terrible look at Shola Ameobi even he can score a bagful in this division. Rob Hulse and Danny Webber struggle at this level so the idea of them improving our team is idiotic.
If i was Wheater i would have walked in this morning with a written transfer request filled in ready to be plonked on the bosses desk. At the end of the day he has England ambitions and playing for a mediocre championship side will not fulfil them and as much as it pains me to admit it that is what we are now. Can anyone tell me what we will say to Adam Johnson to try and get him to sign a new contract? I would like to see them try the spin and rhetoric now.
Hi junthegun,
Unfortunately that is my biggest fear in all of this, that Wheater and Johnson lose faith in the direction the club are going and want to move on also.
I have no desire to see Hulse or Webber in a Boro shirt, just out of interest who would you realistically like to see come in? I would have liked us to have made a loan bid for Jay Simpson from Arsenal but he’s gone to QPR now.
Lets be completely honest, neither Huth or Tuncay wanted to play for us in the championship, its our fault as a club we are there but if they didn’t want to play for us in a lower league then good riddance, lets give people like Danny Webber and Leroy Lita a chance, bolster the team with a couple of sensible signings maybe a loan signing and let the BEST academy in the country stand up and produce a promotion winning team, let this be clear there are probably four or five Boro academy players playing in the premiership still, why not have boro academy players putting in the shift and developing in to Premier players in a boro strip, for the club we (and they) Love instead of playing for Sunderland, Birmingham, Villa (eventually) etc.
Onwards and Upwards sounds like a bloody good slogan for the promotion push so lets get behind the team, manager and club, trust that they who once led us in to Europe still know best and ROAR the boro back to the promised land !!!!
UP THE BORO
I have been chatting to a sheff utd fan, he says webber is a good player, blessed with good pace and has been unlucky a Utd, he creates a lot of havoc in opposing back lines with his pace, lets look at him as cover for Yeates or Johnson or an impact sub instead of a striker which as you have stated with his record he clearly is not, remember we have a lot of games to play and another quick, direct player will not hurt the squad and half a dozen goals a season is more than the entire midfield scored last year !!!
Give players a chance before writing them off sometimes a player just needs to be at the right club with the right team and he can be a superstar !!! Look at shevchenko, player of the year in Italy, golden boot winner and European player of the year and a DUD at chelski
Couldn’t agree more Colin, whether you want to believe it or not Southgate, Gibson and Lamb have the best interests of the club at heart and these players had to be moved on.
All this bedwetting and cries of betrayal are a joke, did anyone really expect Huth and Tuncay to play a full season of Championship football? We got what we could for them, taking into the account the position we are in and the interest in the players I think it was a fair price.
Come on Boro! Onwards and Upwards!