Cards on the table to begin with. I thought Upson was a bad buy when we signed him from Birmingham but his subsequent performances have obliged me to eat humble pie. He has been superb this season and is undoubtedly the cotter pin of our defence, marshalling and leading the defensive unit superbly. So why on earth might it make sense to sell?
Well every player has his price of course. We needed Bellyache but £14million to take away Period Pains was too good an offer to turn down. We overpaid when we bought the Welsh troubled troublemaker, so Manchester City's offer was nothing less than staggering. Remember, Tottenham started bidding at less than half that price!
Now something that both Upson and Bellamy have in common is a bad history of long term injuries. Upson still plays with bits of the Yellow Pages in his boots at the advice of some Quack and, sooner or later, he will break down. As Bellyache has since his move to City.
Then there is the age factor. Again, Bellyache and Upson are both in their late twenties. How many years does Upson have left at the top? Four years? Five if he is very lucky. As that body ages, so the accumulative build up of all his injuries will increase. He will miss more and more games as his ageometer ticks past 30, 31, 32...
Upson seems to think that playing in Europe will enhance his chances of playing for England. That is nonsense. He is in the England squad already so how does that make sense. Perhaps he thinks it will establish him as first choice over Ferdinand and Terry? If so, the guy is living on a different planet. He is good but he isn't going to displace either of Rio or JT, irrespective of whether or not he plays in Europe. Let's face it, he already plays against three of the best teams in Europe given this year's Champions League semifinal line up. Liverpool fans will argue that had they avoided Chelsea, they would also be in the last four - so four of the top five teams in Europe! What does the guy stand to gain by moving therefore? If he plays for Arsenal, he won't get the chance to test himself against them! So why does he REALLY want to move? Money perhaps?
Then there is the Clarke factor. Clarke can organise a defence and, to be honest, when Upson was missing, we coped OK. Upson might find himself a "squad player" at Arsenal and actually slipping down the England pecking order. If I was him, and I was really looking to further my England career, I would stay where my first team place was guaranteed, working with one of the top coaches in the game in the process.
If we wants to go, he will go. This is all paper talk at the moment but I do not expect him to stay if we end the season with a whimper. What would be a fair price? If we could get £12million I would sell.
I said this before the January window to the general amusement of many and attracted a fair amount of foul mouthed vitriol from others. However, I've noticed that it is an opinion that is gathering support. The same is also true for Parker.
ReplyDeleteBoth have been excellent this year, but as has proved to be the case with Bellamy, I can't help feeling that another extended absence is just around the corner. I wouldn't sell for peanuts but the sort of figures mentioned are too good to ignore. Both centre back and centre midfield are positions in which we have good cover and as long as the money from any sales goes to improving the squad I would sell.
I remember the original post Marty. I wasn't convinced myself at the time but watching us without Upson was reassuring. Still think we would need to sign a replacement though. Collins, Tomkins, Neill and Gabbidon would not be a perm good enough for a top 6 finish IMO
ReplyDeleteA replacement certainly, experienced too. That will give time for Jordan Spence to fill out, this lad could be very good, capped at all levels for England and the only Englishman ever to have scored a winning goal against Brazil. His loan spell at Orient has seen them move from danger of relegation to relative safety, definitely one for the future. I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for Gabbidon, I doubt whether he will ever make another serious contribution for us.
ReplyDeleteStill talking to yourself I see!
ReplyDeleteI would only sell if we received a really daft offer. I would bracket that at 12million+. We have to be careful not to sell off the players in their primes like Parker and Upson as their experience will be invaluable in bringing through the younger generations. I believe the education the likes of Rio got playing alongside Alvin Martin, Slaven Bilic and Stevie Potts helped him lay the foundations for the player he is today. Same goes with Tomka, he needs Upson to help him develop for me. Also, Upson seems a decent kind of character and you need that in your senior players. Zola would have to be 100% sure that Tomka is ready to step up yet and for me he isn't ready for that yet. I understand your point r.e. injuries but I say stick with Upson for now unless someone offers something silly. Denbighammer
ReplyDeleteMy big fear is that Wenger wants him and Wenger will not pay over the odds. It could be one of those no win deals Den. I don't think Upson will be a shoe in to the Arsenal team and so could end up kicking his heels in the stiffs / on the subs bench. Meanwhile, we may struggle to replace him. The Bellamy deal was a no brainer; the Upson "deal" is a real should we / shouldn't we?
ReplyDeleteWell if Wenger won't pay our price then we should tell him to sod off! Like I said, only if the offer is right! 12m+ would do it for me and no more. That would enable us to buy a good quality International replacement for Upson (8m roughly) and hopefully put the rest towards strengthening the side in an other area.
ReplyDeleteI'd agree with that Den, but you meant no less! That was where we got it wrong when we sold Carrick and Cole. "You want Carrick? £4million? You must be joking, we won't take a penny more!"
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