Monday 25 May 2009

Relegated Wheater ticks all the right boxes

A weekend newspaper headline suggested Mick McCarthy was going to pick over the bones of North East football as he builds a team that will hopefully be competitive at Premier League level.

Well this evening, while I listen to a fascinating Radio 5 Live debate involving Chris Waddle, Mark Lawrenson, Mike Ingham and North East expert Ian Dennis, that thought fills me with absolute dread.

Except one player, who I think would be an excellent addition to the Molineux ranks - step forward Middlesbrough central defender David Wheater.

The situation at Newcastle is beyond belief - 15 players earning £50,000 each and every week, and a staggering level of club debt.

And 15 players plus who singularly failed to halt a slide out of the Premier League with hardly a whimper.

It's an unmitigated disaster at St James' - and I want McCarthy to steer completely clear of any player who failed in this season in the black and white stripes.

Damaged goods on mega money - that's not the kind of player we need to add to our thrusting young guns, all desperate to establish our team in the only league that matters.

Middlesbrough don't have the astronomical wage bill, but they do have eye-watering debts. On 5 Live this evening, it was suggested the debt could top £90m - with at least £69m attributed to chairman Steve Gibson's haulage business.

And in a recession, a haulage business is not a sure-fire financial winner.

If ever there was a warning for Steve Morgan and Jez Moxey, it's what I've been hearing on national radio tonight.

But Wolves will be shrewder than that as they take their place in a Premier League that gives me real hope of survival at the very least next season.

Burnley, Blues, Hull, cash-strapped Pompey.... we have to believe that we can properly compete at this level.

And I think Wheater would be an excellent signing, if nothing else for the dignified way he's conducted himself since relegation at the Riverside was confirmed.

This is what Wheater said in the aftermath of the weekend defeat at West Ham: "I've got two more years left here so it is up to the manager.

"I'm happy to stay. I've supported Boro all my life. They are a team I want to play for and try to get them back up."

What an outstandingly loyal attitude from a 22-year-old with England squad experience, and the benefit of a loan spell already under McCarthy at Molineux.

But there's a but, and that but gives Wolves the chink of light to make their move and land a central defender with plenty of Premier League experience.

Wheater went on to say: "I won't ask for a transfer but if the manager accepts another bid then that is a different matter."

Middlesbrough need to sell, Wolves need to buy. And Wheater would be a great signing.

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