John Boyle
The hypocrisy of Motherwell FC and chairman John Boyle in particular is breathtaking.
The man that binned 19 under contract Motherwell players in 2002- including future Wigan manager Roberto Martinez- is chasing the SFA for compensation for losing Craig Brown and Archie Knox to Aberdeen.
Neither Brown or Knox were under contract at Motherwell but have signed two and a half year deals at Aberdeen.
As Celtic discovered with Tony Mowbray contracts work two ways with Mowbray continuing to be paid by Celtic until he was appointed as Middlesbrough manager.
Accordingly to reports this morning Motherwell believe that a UEFA ruling against Chelsea when they were fined for signing Gael Kakuta as a 17-year-old from Lens gives them grounds for compensation from Aberdeen.
There is no question that Motherwell are entitled to claim compensation- what the SFA, SPL and most importantly the players union should do is remind them of the 19 players sacked by Boyle as his crazy finances plunged the club into administration eight years ago.
James McFadden and Stephen Pearson were amongst the Motherwell squad at that time with Boyle’s double standards allowing the club to net £2m from the sale of both players.
Contracts are clearly quite a difficult issue for Boyle to understand with former boss Jim Gannon working without one for four months last season- before the former Stockport boss was sacked and replaced by Brown- again without a contract.
Every contract works both ways.
Clubs are desperate to renew contracts for promising players and just as keen to move on those who aren’t living upto expectations.
Managerial contracts are a different matter with no compensation structure in place.
While Motherwell have been happy to have managers without a contract Hamilton manager Billy Reid is on a long term deal at New Douglas Park.
If Reid hadn’t been under contract he’d have been a strong candidate for the Hibs or Aberdeen jobs that have cropped up this season.
Should Motherwell cast envious eyes across the M74 at Reid as a replacement for Brown they may find two stumbling blocks to a deal- Hamilton’s request for compensation and Reid’s demand for a contract!
Amongst the 19 players sacked by John Boyle in April 2002 were: Mark Brown, Greg Strong, Karl Ready, Andy Dow, Brian Macdonald, Eddie Forrest, Roberto Martinez Stephen Cosgrove, Kevin Twaddle.
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