We live in changing times as the years pass. Many for the better, of course, as new and exciting discoveries are made, but not all offer ecstatic joy. Football, I’m afraid, has fallen victim to its own constant tinkering.
The unseemly hurry to comply with FFP laws, which resulted in Newcastle United selling two of their bright young players, has left a nasty taste in every fan’s mouth. Certainly mine.
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I wanted to see Elliot Anderson in particular, as well as Yankuba Minteh, grow encased in black-and-white, but United were left with little choice but to tout someone, principally them, around the country with increasing urgency.
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The only comfort for the Toon Army, aside from the certainty that no points will be deducted, is that swapping Anderson and Minteh for £68 million will presumably ensure that bigger-hitters Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon, whose names had been bandied about, will continue to battle for the cause.
It’s unsettling that United had to consider selling Isak and, more likely, Gordon to Liverpool. What kind of trouble had the Magpies’ owners gotten themselves into, and how did they get there? If FFP should be abolished, which it is, the abiding impression is that the club was not as astute in their transfer operations as they claim, or there would have been no blind panic with practically every first-team member on the verge of being released.
Losing anyone like them would mean abandoning all hopes of winning trophies in the future. Alan Shearer, a club veteran, has advised against allowing Isak go, and he speaks for everyone in his Geordie accent.
Frankly, I haven’t seen enough of Minteh to be upset about his leaving, though a rising reputation scares me that a star is on the way, but I’m incredibly sad to see a Geordie youngster with true potential who loves the club being forced to go for the greater good.
Of course, his grandfather is Geoff Allen, United’s 1969 European Fairs Cup winger, and when I spoke with him 24 hours ago, he was clear about what prompted the transaction.
“Elliot took one for the club,” Geoff insisted. “He loves Newcastle United as I do but if he had been awkward and the transfer hadn’t gone through they would have been in real trouble.”
Anderson ‘took one for the club’ is backed by the evidence of how the transfer played out. I can reveal that Elliot left a family vacation to complete the transfer on time. When Forest reached out, he was in Portugal with his mother, father, and girlfriend. They immediately flew them to Nottingham by private aircraft to complete transactions with the clock ticking away, and then on Monday afternoon placed on a car to return the entire family to Tyneside because they had no transportation after flying direct from Newcastle to their vacation destination.
Allen went on to say, “United will regrettably discover what they are losing since this will be the beginning of Elliot’s successful career. He is only 21 years old, and great genius never goes away.”
Football may be full of irony; Allen’s career ended at Nottingham Forest, and his grandson’s is about to begin there. Geoff was unfortunately killed at the age of 23, only a few years older than Elliot, when he was gravely hurt against Forest shortly after his magnificent performance against Feyenoord in United’s first European match in 1968. He had only played 26 first-team games.
Due to a dressing-room fire at Forest, the league match was moved to Notts County’s field across town. Geoff never blamed Peter Hindley for the tackle that killed him; he claimed it was an accident, but by a weird twist of fate, his grandson will now wear the Forest colors.
I know how delighted Allen was that Elliot, his daughter Helen’s son, was a player making through at his old club, but if there is one consolation, it is that granddad will be able to see him a lot more often. Because, by another coincidence, Geoff resides in Mansfield, which is only 18 miles from Nottingham on the M1. Allen’s final coaching role was as an assistant to former Newcastle defender Stuart Boam at Mansfield, and he has remained in the region.
“Aye, I am only half an hour away, so it will be easier for me to watch Elliot,” laughed Allen, who used to drive up north whenever Anderson played in South Yorkshire for Newcastle at the under 13, 15, and 16 levels. It will now be as simple as going to get a bottle of milk.
Allen will very certainly be rubbing shoulders with his Fairs Cup teammate Frank Clark at the City Ground. Frank resides near outside Nottingham and has a unique connection to the club, having won the European Cup as a player, manager, chairman, and ambassador. Eddie Howe would have rather that Anderson and Minteh have remained, but he accepted the unavoidable. I wrote a diatribe against FFP in my Monday column, and I stand by it. The sooner it gets kicked into the tall grass, the better.
Still, United require a top signing and significant financial outlay to counteract a faint sense of gloom. May it come sooner rather than later to dispel suspicions that the Mags have had to rethink their transfer market strategy after appearing to lower the level of their goalkeeper recruiting. They began out seeking Georgia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was estimated at £40 million, then moved down to James Trafford for £17 million, but have now signed 30-year-old Odysseas Vlachodimos from Forest for a cheap £5 million and John Ruddy, 37, on a free transfer to sit as third choice.
Meanwhile, as the transfer carousel spins once more, I wish Elliot Anderson all the best for next season, with the exception of Forest’s two games against us.
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