Gartside should keep quiet

Last updated : 14 July 2006 By Ben Collins
It's never nice to be snubbed by a player but just look at us, it's not as if we're that good at the minute, it's not as if we're a club going places. Look at last season's table, Bolton finished 7 places above us in 8th, yet he'd still rather join City - how embarrassing!!

Well, to be fair, I'm sure it will have something to do with money, but he wouldn't exactly be the first footballer in the world to chase the big bucks.

Bolton have managed to make £400k out of it as compensation and although manager Sam Allardyce was disappointed, at least he accepted they've done quite well out of it.

"Didi Hamann is a history breaker," he told the Bolton website. "I am the only manager to get £400,000 for a player who never kicked a ball for the club.

"Hamann has disappointed me for two reasons. The first reason is that the player and his agent resurrected the interest in Bolton at the end of last season after we'd missed out on him 12 months before.

"Secondly, he didn't tell the full story when he tried to get out of the
agreement he had with us. Because of that, this is the best transfer deal I have ever done in my life."

Gartside, however, was clearly still fuming when he did an interview with Sky Sports News.

"He must have been tapped up by Manchester City," he said. "There's something that's gone on - Dietmar and his agent went into Liverpool and said the only club he wanted to sign for was Bolton.

"I feel very insulted and I think Bolton fans deserve better than that,'' he continued. "For someone like Dietmar Hamann to have treated us the way he has, is absolutely disgraceful.

"I've little respect for him. He rang me when I was in Germany and he felt like he couldn't travel to Bolton because it's too far from the Wirral, irrespective of the fact that City is probably further away than Bolton.''

Gartside then added: "You don't want someone who doesn't want to play for you, obviously a spineless player who doesn't want to play for you and wants to change his mind just for the sake of money.''

That right, Phil? Well, why do you think the likes of Djorkaeff, Okocha, Bobic, Hierro, Jardel and Nakata went to the Reebok? To win trophies?

If Hamann did really want to join City for better money then get over it, that's the modern game - the modern game which your very own manager knows full well and he's done very well for your club from exploiting it.

As for the tapping claims, why don't you take it to the FA? You admitting "there's no point" indicates that, deep down, you know there's no truth in it.

Yes, Hamann's U-turn was a slap in the face but accusing other clubs of tapping up when you've no proof is just as bad. Keep your trap shut, go back to your half-full stadium and count your blessings before you make a fool of yourself any more.