Originally Posted by
Michael Morris
Bolton’s chairman
As l said in my notes on January 17, and have said in the past, if and when an exceptional offer was made for any of our players, l would also have to consider the club’s longer term financial situation and base my final decision on now and the future, which as we all now know, culminated in Gary moving to Cardiff on a three-year deal and on substantially better terms than we could have offered him if l was to continue the prudent and commercially financial path that we are now having to take.
I do not blame or disagree with Gary’s decision and fully understand that he has to consider his own and his family’s future as the life and career of a professional footballer is a short one and is sometimes made even shorter by injury, as has clearly been seen with Mark Davies.
Both clubs agreed not to disclose the transfer details, but surprisingly - and l don’t know how - the level of the fee and the payment terms that have been referred to elsewhere and the figures being bandied around are not that far from reality.
Indeed, the transaction is one of the largest in this Sky Bet Championship window and is up there with previous club record transfers.
Furthermore, l can say that the determining factor in agreeing to the transfer, albeit that it was only reluctantly and finally accepted on Wednesday morning, was the fact that the fee was to be paid immediately with further substantial add-ons in the future, together with a substantial share of any future transfer proceeds.
Ken Anderson, Bolton chairman