Richard Dunne

[SoccerHQ]

Warnock left in January.

[Toronto Villa]

the club moved quickly to fire TSM last summer. I imagine they'll do likewise with players that they no longer want. Expect similar news to land on the doorstep of messrs Ireland, Hutton, Given that they'll need to find pastures new. We'll take a bath on the fees paid and might even have to subsidise the contracts when they go elsewhere, but the bottom line is none of these players will be at the club come August.

There's no playing hardball with footballers these days.

Certainly not with Dunne. His contract has expired. There's no tough action on behalf of the club, and what's more, even if we decided to do so, there are limits to what we can do.

I would imagine Warnock, for example, is entirely clear he has no future as he'd spent months training with the under 12s, but he's still quite capable of sitting on his arse kerchinging in his 50k a week till the end of his contract if he wanted to do so. If he decides he still wants to be at the club in August, he still will be.

Look at how we managed the likes of Makoun. Does he even play for us, in the legal sense? Is he a Villa player? He's not pulled on a Villa shirt for, what, two years, but most of that time he has been on our books.

The club can't act the tough guy here, no matter how much they want to. The amount of money we have pissed away on situations like this is just remarkable.

thing is it's not about acting tough. It's about finding a financial deal to get the player out of the club. Makoun has gone, Warnock was essentially released in January with I'm sure the club footing part of his salary to Leeds. Hutton is no longer welcome, and I reckon that one or two others will find the same fate. They've all been financial nightmares so if they are not going to contribute then they no longer need to be a distraction. I see today it's being suggested that Given might need a pay off to go. Not surprising considering his age and contract. We are going to have to sweeten the pot to move one or two others too.

[eamonn]

Makoun and Warnock are long gone. As much as we loved them we have to accept it.

[supertom]

Makoun and Warnock are long gone. As much as we loved them we have to accept it.

[JUAN PABLO]

Did we get any money for Makoun?

[cdbearsfan]

Did we get any money for Makoun?

"Undisclosed fee".

So, your guess is as good as mine. We'll probably be able to make an educated guess when the 2012-13 accounts get published. In 2014.

[pauliewalnuts]

Makoun and Warnock are long gone. As much as we loved them we have to accept it.

Makoun isn't actually gone until July 1st, despite having been on loan for two entire seasons. What a gigantic waste of money.

[pauliewalnuts]

thing is it's not about acting tough. It's about finding a financial deal to get the player out of the club. Makoun has gone, Warnock was essentially released in January with I'm sure the club footing part of his salary to Leeds. Hutton is no longer welcome, and I reckon that one or two others will find the same fate. They've all been financial nightmares so if they are not going to contribute then they no longer need to be a distraction. I see today it's being suggested that Given might need a pay off to go. Not surprising considering his age and contract. We are going to have to sweeten the pot to move one or two others too.

It's not about acting tough, no, but this club has a terrible recent record in lumbering itself with players we pay decent money for, then don't use, and watch them sit out their contracts before fucking off for nothing, having sucked millions of pounds out of us.

Hutton might not be welcome, but I won't be celebrating him fucking off until he actually fucks off - we could end up paying him 40k a week for a fair while yet, unfortunately.

Then there's the likes of Beye, NRC and Heskey who realised they were on to a corker of a deal and sat out their contracts to the last moment. Given is supposedly going to cost us £5m to get shot of.

This isn't about giving players some kind of firm message they're no longer wanted and shipping them out, it is about paying them loads and loads of money to go, all on top of the money we've already wasted on them.

I shudder to think how much money we've spunked away like that, it's abysmal, and there are people in the upper reaches of the club who need to learn a lesson and make sure it never happens again.

[Toronto Villa]

It's without doubt a terrible recent record of putting ourselves in a hole financially. We need to get out of it even if it means just taking it on the chin one final time and ridding ourselves of those players. As much as the money part is horrific to chew on, the fact that these players continue to hover over us like a black cloud keep us from properly shedding the stench of those years.

This isn't so much a firm message to any players, it's more a change for themselves. If nothing else it will help to draw a line firmly in the sand that those kinds of contracts and that era of careless financial management is very much a thing of the past.

[brontebilly]

Best of luck to Dunne too. His attitude to his profession could often be called into question but was a huge loss for us last season. Id take a pissed Richard Dunne over Ron Vlaar any day. Had many outstanding performances for us and his country but Id say he is finished now.

[LeeB]

Best of luck to Dunne too. His attitude to his profession could often be called into question but was a huge loss for us last season. Id take a pissed Richard Dunne over Ron Vlaar any day. Had many outstanding performances for us and his country but Id say he is finished now.

Fuck him, and I'd take Vlaar all day long and twice on Sunday.

[bobdylan]

I thought Makoun going was a joke, wasn't it announced on 1 April?  I'll believe that one when it happens.  If true we will now have lost Dunne, Makoun, Lichaj, Marshall, Petrov and Dawkins from the "playing" staff since the end of the season.  Just Hutton, N'Zogbia, Bent, Given and Ireland left of the high paid non playing element of the squad.  No matter people's thoughts on Bowery, Bannan, Fonz, Albie, KEA and Holman etc., they wont be on mega bucks so it wont break the bank if they can't/aren't shifted.  The big question is the first five, I'd be amazed, but thrilled if we shifted all of them in one transfer window, i think it could take 2 or 3 before we are rid of them all.

[rob_bridge]

I thought Makoun going was a joke, wasn't it announced on 1 April?  I'll believe that one when it happens.  If true we will now have lost Dunne, Makoun, Lichaj, Marshall, Petrov and Dawkins from the "playing" staff since the end of the season.  Just Hutton, N'Zogbia, Bent, Given and Ireland left of the high paid non playing element of the squad.  No matter people's thoughts on Bowery, Bannan, Fonz, Albie, KEA and Holman etc., they wont be on mega bucks so it wont break the bank if they can't/aren't shifted.  The big question is the first five, I'd be amazed, but thrilled if we shifted all of them in one transfer window, i think it could take 2 or 3 before we are rid of them all.

Makoun coming was a joke - he'd been a £13m flop previously and we still paid £7m for him

[eamonn]

Didn't Houllier put the journos' right on Makoun's cost? About £4m wasn't it?

[Toronto Villa]

Makoun is the modern day Matthieu Berson