Everton deny that they didn’t want to keep Gosling
After Dan Gosling’s move on a free transfer to newly promoted Newcastle United, the player’s agent claimed that Everton had been ‘lazy’ in offering the former Plymouth man a new contract because the club believed a serious injury would be enough to prevent other clubs from making an offer for him.
Gosling’s agent used a technicality to ensure his move to Newcastle was on a free transfer because Everton had failed to make a written offer and without such an offer, Newcastle owed no compensation to the Liverpool club.
When contract negotiations started in 2009, Gosling stated that there was no other club he would rather be at. His initial contract was worth around Eight Thousand Pounds a week and the contract extension offered was believed to be around Fifteen Thousand Pounds, which he rejected. Everton had until 30 May 2010 to make another offer but apparently failed to do so.
After the situation was reviewed by a tribunal, it was ruled that Everton would not receive any compensation if Gosling moved to an English club. Had Everton made a formal offer for the player, the compensation would have been around Four Million Pounds but only if he had moved to an English club.
Everton have since accused Gosling’s agent, David Hodgson, of deliberately setting up a free transfer for the player by ensuring the club that a verbal agreement was enough and the player would be staying. Everton manager David Moyes has also expressed his disappointment at the manner in which Gosling has left the club after maintaining that he was never informed by the player of his desire to leave and after an impressive start to his career at the club, there was no reason for the club to let him go otherwise.
The Club Chairman Bill Kenwright has moved to clear the doubts over claims by the Hodgson that the club did not take the contract negotiations seriously, stating that over the entire history of the club the board has never taken such matters lightly and in the case of Dan Gosling, it is the agent who is to blame for manipulating the situation in order to secure a move away from the club for his client.
Dan Gosling became an instant hit with the fans and players after scoring against bitter rivals Liverpool in the 4th round of the FA Cup. The goal came in the 118th minute and meant Liverpool had no chance of coming back into the game. Gosling’s winner meant Everton recorded a famous victory over their rivals, one which will not easily be forgotten.
The deal brings attention to an issue which has been raised by managers in the Premier League a number of times, the involvement of agents. The Premier League has over the years tried to limit the role played by agents but, unfortunately, it seems that the role has, if anything, increased. Agents who started off as people defending the rights of players have become a nuisance for clubs because it no longer means anything to have an agreement with a player, the agent is the one who seemingly has all the decision making power.
It is unclear who exactly is responsible for the transfer of Dan Gosling to Newcastle, but no matter how one looks at it, it is Everton who have suffered because Gosling could have gone on to become a regular in their side and they have had a player taken away from them that they wanted, without receiving any sort of compensation for him.
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