Luton: Vine on Newell

Rowan Vine, whose £2.5 million transfer to Birmingham was sanctioned by former Town Manager Mike Newell, had ‘an inkling’ that Newell might have been on a percentage, but now feels bitter about it.

Vine was quoted on the Daily Mail website as saying:

‘The Luton players knew nothing about his cut of the transfer fees but, when I left, I had an inkling that he might have been on a percentage.

‘I was very surprised when he came out so strongly and said there should be an investigation into transfer dealings. Then it came out that he was on a percentage of transfers and… well, it made him look silly.

‘OK, the percentage clause was in his deal, but there is a clear conflict of interest. I still can`t believe he had that in his contract. Or that he was allowed a clause like that by the chairman.

‘For me, it`s clear; what`s to stop him selling someone just to line his own pockets? After everything he said about bungs, too. It seems to me like it is a similar kind of payment, only his was legal.

‘The club has suffered because on one hand he told supporters that it was taken out of his hands as all the best players were sold off. On the other, he probably wasn`t too disappointed about it because, financially, it was good for him.

‘It has left a bit of a nasty taste in the mouth for me. I feel sorry for the fans because he had a good relationship with them. They were all for him, even when he was sacked. They were throwing things at the directors when he went. Then, this came out and it all changed.

‘I think it`s fair to say he`ll be lucky to get a similar deal in his next job.’

It’s hard to disagree with anything Rowan has said there, and also nice to see that he feels for the fans in what has become a debacle of a season.