Monday, February 2, 2009

the departure of Shay Given

After twelve years of service, Shay Given has left Newcastle for Manchester City. Terms of the agreement are private and although speculation has ranged from £5-10m, it matters little as the long time protector of Newcastle's is now officially part of the Man City movement.

In a very short statement, Joe Kinnear stated:

"I'm really sorry to see Shay go.

"He's been a fantastic professional and a great lad to work with.

"We bent over backwards to try and keep him at Newcastle United and offered him a longer contract to stay at the club

"He's been with Newcastle United for a long time and has been a great servant but he felt the time was right to move on and so realistically we had no choice but to reluctantly agree to allow him to make this move.

"I wish him and his family all the very best for the future."

While their is no need for ceremony in situations such as these, it does needs to be said that he has been an cornerstone of the club and dare I mention takes us all back during much brighter times.