Crowley Sold to MK Dons

[jackal2]

It's not just that though is it, he wanted away in the summer apparently and a fair few people, still think that he was withholding his services during that long, lay off he had. It's the way he did thing that rankles and people have also since commented that he's made some disparaging remarks about Notts but I haven't see that myself, regardless, his departure was less than amicable in many fans eyes.

I know it's all part of the football fan mentality and it will probably never change, but I get tired of this vilification of players who leave the club for more money, and the often dubious narratives that spring up around it. Let's face it, Dan Crowley was offered a considerable pay rise and he took it, as would many if not most people if they got the opportunity.

Apparently, the opportunity first came to light in the summer and he probably would have taken it then if the clubs had agreed a fee, but they didn't, and I saw nothing in his performances or attitude in the first half of the season to suggest he was holding back or overplaying his injury. I can see the logic that he might have been particularly keen to showcase himself when we played MK Dons if he was really keen on the move, but he gave good performances in other games too, because he's basically a very good player for this level, albeit prone to being a bit too selfish on the ball at times. If I had his talent I'd probably get a bit carried away too on occasion.

I'm not saying we should give Dan Crowley the kind of send-off and reception we gave, say, Mark Stallard, when he played for opponents against us - that's reserved for a very special few, but there's no need to go to the opposite extreme and make him out to be a villain or give him abuse. He came to the club because it was good business for him and us at the time, he generally played very well for us while here (otherwise nobody would care about him leaving), and now he's left because it was good business for him and us in the eyes of the ball.

Take the emotion out of it and see it for what it is: a footballing transaction, pure and simple.

I'm all for giving extra respect to that rare breed of footballer who decides not to take a pay rise because they love a club so much or simply don't care about more money - Matt Le Tissier was an example back in the day and maybe our own Jodi Jones has made a similar calculation - but that doesn't mean we have to disrespect those who make the more conventional decision to take the cash.