Gosling’s Glory

By: Jim | January 15th, 2008

After a somewhat protracted (and well-trawled) set of negotiations, Argyle completed their second (and second-ever) £1million plus sale this week with the move of England U18 midfield star Dan Gosling to Everton. In their official statements, both Pauls (Sturrock and Stapleton) indicated their unwillingness to stand in Gossie’s way, and sent him off with the best wishes of all on the good ship Mayflower.

While £1 million rising to £2 million isn’t quite the same as the originally-trawled £1.5 rising to £3 (million), the deal nevertheless represents good business for Argyle. Dan was, at best, a fringe player with bags of potential, with barely 25 appearances, most as a sub, under his belt. Provided – big if – provided we can use the money to bring in a quality replacement, it’s fair to say “well done, Board” on this one.

Dan’s best performance to date was probably New Year’s Day at Home Park against Southampton. Playing out of position at right-back, he kept Welsh international wunderkid Gareth Bale in his pocket all afternoon – to put this in some context, Bale signed for Tottenham at the end of the season for £10 million. Since then, he’s blown hot and cold somewhat and if truth be told it was probably his performances at the U17 World Cup that have really won him this move. Don’t expect to see him on MoTD any time soon – Everton manager David Moyes has been at pains to emphasise he sees Gosling as “one for the future”. Whilst wishing the lad all the best, it’s worth observing for a moment that this sort of approach from PL clubs really does no-one any favours: racking and stacking the talent and then leaving them to fester in the reserves and occasional Carling Cup games cannot (despite all the much trumpeted benefits of training with the stars) be good for a young player’s development: meanwhile FL clubs are left to feed off the scraps and such loan deals as the Prem deign to toss their way. It’s all a bit “let them eat cake” from my point of view. But then, the relationship between the Prem and the rest is a whole other blog post.

Meanwhile, the mood at Argyle goes from bleak to suicidal, following revelations today that Aberdeen full-back Michael Hart has opted to sign a pre-contract agreement with PNE rather than come now to Argyle immediately (trousering, presumably, a significant signing-on fee). That Hart prefers to take his chances in a relegation battle than move so far south – and that the league’s third-bottom club are seen as having more ambition than Argyle – is a devastating indictment. It’s rabbits-out-of-hats time now, Mr Stapleton. What have you got for us?