Bates Claims Beckford Has No Say In Toon Move

Last updated : 14 January 2010 By Footy Mad - Editor

NU

Ken Bates, as I'm sure you will know, was the gaffa at Chelsea before the fans campaigned to kick him out.

A bit of a gob-shite who upset many with his upper-class ways.

For example he answered calls for Chelsea to cut prices for unemployed fans by saying: "Let them get jobs ... this is not a charity!"

And how can we forget when he refused to let a blind Sheff Wed fan into the Chelsea disabled section because he could "cause trouble".

He has upset Burnley supporters this week by hitting back at rumours they wanted his manager: "Burnley is a small manufacturing town in Lancashire. Simon is a Yorkshireman. We have ten times their population, 50 per cent bigger gates than Burnley and we beat them in pre-season anyway".

Bates has insisted that manager Simon Grayson alone will determine the fate of Jermaine Beckford - not the player or Newcastle Utd.
 
Bates: "Whether Beckford has to stay and honour his contract and leave us for nothing at the end of May or whether we go now and pick up one or two million of whatever the latest figure that is being bandied is entirely down to the manager.

"Simon's job is to win us promotion. If he decides that Beckford will still get us 10, 12, 15 goals to help achieve that target and we forfeit the money which we would get because he has stayed until the end of the season then that is Simon's decision.

"If, on the other hand, he decides to cash in now and take the money and reinvest it elsewhere – and whatever money we get we will reinvest in new players – is entirely up to him.

"He is the manager. It is a management decision so it is down to him. We know Becks wants to leave on the other hand he has signed a contract with the club and he must honour it unless the manager decides otherwise.

"He has been going to so many clubs I have been wondering if I should trying to work out some kind of scam whereby we reproduce him and sell him to five or six clubs at the same time.

"That would confuse the registration department of the Football League wouldn't it?

"I think we have handled the situation well and to be fair to Jermaine, even though he has made his feelings clear that he would like to move, we have made it clear we have not made our minds up yet. In the mean time he has got with it and banged in five goals in four games. We can't complain about that can we?"