Weston said: "To get a player like Anthony for £200,000 is an absolute steal.
"Only a year ago Walsall were valuing Anthony at £750,000 but because of the current financial climate nobody came in for him. Cardiff have taken advantage of the situation and getting him for £250,000 is a great bit of business.
"I played with Anthony for two years and he's a hell of a player. There's no reason why he can't go on to play in the Premier League."
Walsall rejected a bid of £200,000 from Scunthorpe United only to accept Cardiff's bid hours later, even though it was only £50k increased. With Walsall having released a statement saying the Scunthorpe's bid did not match their valuation, the Cardiff bid obviously proved to tip the scales.
Walsall have a reputation for selling their prized assets on the cheap with Matty Fryatt leaving for Leicester and more recently Daniel Fox. This latest bit of business will do nothing to change that, as clubs will look to do buisness at the club famous for their 'Bescot Sunday Market' - a place where not only cheap kettles and toasters can be purchased but it seems footballers too!!
This comment from Rhys Weston in the Sunday paper shows that the playing squad are only too aware Gerrard left cheaply, quite how Chairman Jeff Bonser and Chief Exec. Roy Whalley react to this statement remains to be seen (especially after the talk of the cheap transfer had died down), but it will do nothing to change fans feeling towards the 'player sales' policy at the club.
At the time of Gerrard leaving Walsall said they did not want to run the risk of Gerrard leaving at the end of the season under the Bosman ruling. With the player under 24 Walsall would have been entitled to a compensation payment with the value set by a tribunal. Having seen players leave for low sums before surely a transfer commitee can only value highly a player who at the age of 23 who had already played 182 times plus however many appearances he would have made this season.
No-one can begrudge Gerrard a move to the Championship, he has long earnt that. Surely however that should be achieved at a price that benefits the club as well?
Anthony Gerrard (Cardiff) Information | |||
Date of birth | Thursday, 6th February 1986 | Height | 6.3 |
Place of birth | Liverpool, England | Weight | 13.2 |
Nationality | England | Position | Defence |
Comments | Squad No. | ||
Recent Career History By Club (1999 onwards) | ||||||
Team | Debut | Apps (+ sub) | Goals | Yellows | Reds | |
| 26 Mar 2005 | 175 (7) | 7 | 26 | 1 | ||
| 11 Sep 2004 | 6 (0) | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Recent Career History By Season (1999 onwards) | ||||||
Season | First App. | Apps (+ sub) | Goals | Yellows | Reds | |
| 09 Aug 2008 | 46 (0) | 3 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 11 Aug 2007 | 50 (0) | 3 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 05 Aug 2006 | 33 (4) | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 06 Aug 2005 | 38 (3) | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 11 Sep 2004 | 14 (0) | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
Appearances 181 (+ 7 as sub); Goals 7; Yellow cards 27; Red cards 1 | ||||||
The full NOTW article is available at: http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/412381/Anthony-Gerrards-a-steal-Cardiff-old-boy-hails-pound200k-switch.html