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King Wigan bound
10:15am Friday 25th January 2008
Comments (52)MARLON KING will travel to Wigan Athletic today (Friday) in an attempt to seal his protracted move away from Vicarage Road.
Watford accepted a bid - believed to be £m rising to £4m - from the Latics on Wednesday and King, together with his representative Tony Finnigan, will head to the JJB Stadium for a medical and to thrash out personal terms.
Portsmouth had made a tentative enquiry about the 11-goal striker but Harry Redknapp has switched his attention to Milan Baros.
"We've had contact from Fulham and also contact from two other clubs enquiring about the situation," confirmed Aidy Boothroyd.
"I am hoping the situation will be resolved by the end of the week. Whether he plays for Watford, Fulham or the other two on Saturday I can't tell you."
Fulham, however, have ended their interest after King failed a medical at Craven Cottage. They attempted to resurrect the deal by offering the Hornets £1m up front rising to £3m but Watford rejected the deal. Fulham have since signed Erik Nevland, Jari Litmanen, Eddie Johnson and are hopeful of signing Daniel Cousins from Glasgow Rangers.
Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed pulled the plug on the £40,000 week offer to King - a deal that would have comfortably made him the highest paid player at the club - after learning the results of the stringent two-day medical the striker underwent.
Tests and scans revealed King has a deterioration in his right knee and it understood that the problem is inoperable and may even bring a premature end to his career.
In November 2006, King underwent complex surgery to repair a small tear in his meniscus but upon closer inspection, the surgeon discovered there was piece of cartilage flapping and a bit of bone had come away.
The outcome of the medical questions the wisdom of Watford's decision to offer King an improved £25,000 a week deal in the summer - believed to be rising to £44,000 should Watford gain promotion - but does vindicate and explain the manager's decision to accept a bid many fans believe is below his market value.
Boothroyd did not confirm King had failed a medical but said: "He had a knee problem last year. A lot of players get injuries and that is part and parcel of the game.
"When you have played every game since then, trained every day and scored 11 goals you know there is nothing wrong with them.
"However, it makes good sense on Fulham's part to try and get the price down. All it does is unsettle the player, unsettles my thinking and what I want to do. Once the decision has been made I want that money to be able to strengthen in other areas."
Boothroyd went on to to confirm that, despite the money from the Premiership and the sale of Ashley Young and Hameur Bouazza, he requires the proceeds from the sale of King to bolster his squad. A deep-lying midfielder is top of his wish-list.
"We haven't got that sort of money hiding under the bed so I need that money," he revealed.
"It's disappointing it's gone on this long for me, the club and the player. Marlon made his decison to go and is ready to go.
"It's a very difficult situation because of the relationship I have with him and how well he has done for the club. I saw him on Saturday night.
"He's in the wilderness at the minutes, he just wants to know where he is going and what he's doing."
Your Say YourThis Is Local London
Che Ngonge, Nottm says...
10:36am Fri 25 Jan 08
Interesting that AB says "We haven't got that sort of money hiding under the bed so I need that money" as I would have thought that funds from the Young and Hameur deals, plus last years Premiership money, and this years parachute payments would at least give him a bit of cash to play with. I understand that a lot of money is being spent on stadium redevelopment, but still, one would have thought the board would show enough short-term ambition to pop a bit of money underneath Aidy's bed, as he puts it.
PSG, says...
10:38am Fri 25 Jan 08
A 5 year old could form a more coherent paragraph.
Callisto9000, Edgware says...
10:48am Fri 25 Jan 08
Before anyone starts banging on about 'Where's the Ash (and Hameur) Cash gone?' you need to realise that we've bought NE for 3.25m, McAnuff for 1.5m, Shittu was 3m, Hoskins & Williamson were 1m (together) and Mart Poom; plus Cavalli, Rinaldi, Aloi, Avinel (who were bargain basement buys because that's all we could attract). Add in imporoved contracts to the likes of King, Hendo, Shittu and Demerit, the East Stand, fewer season tickets sold, lower matchday revenues and the general running costs and it goes away quickly. That's why we need this sorted so we can strengthen the team i.e. with the likes of Sadler and maybe a midfielder and we'll be the better for it.
doublecarpet, says...
10:57am Fri 25 Jan 08
Callisto9000 wrote:You missed out the 96% board payrises and additional 500k bonuses.
An interesting development. Hopefully it will get sorted soon as that is in the interest of all concerned. £40,000 a week? that\'s ridiculous. No wonder he wanted to leave! I don\'t think he\'s worth anywhere near that so I\'m surprised that he was offered that if we went up. I suppose they were pricing that off aginst the money we\'d earn if we got promoted. IMO He\'s good...but not that good.
Before anyone starts banging on about \'Where\'s the Ash (and Hameur) Cash gone?\' you need to realise that we\'ve bought NE for 3.25m, McAnuff for 1.5m, Shittu was 3m, Hoskins & Williamson were 1m (together) and Mart Poom; plus Cavalli, Rinaldi, Aloi, Avinel (who were bargain basement buys because that\'s all we could attract). Add in imporoved contracts to the likes of King, Hendo, Shittu and Demerit, the East Stand, fewer season tickets sold, lower matchday revenues and the general running costs and it goes away quickly. That\'s why we need this sorted so we can strengthen the team i.e. with the likes of Sadler and maybe a midfielder and we\'ll be the better for it.
Nick H, Hungary says...
11:18am Fri 25 Jan 08
To be honest I dont have a problem with Graham Simpson the guy is a businessman and also a fan- he was prepared to put up his money in a potentially risky investment a few years ago. To be fair I dont think he's done and bad job balancing the 2 things.I would rather be where we are today than back in League 1 or worse!!!!
MikeS, says...
11:38am Fri 25 Jan 08
barry, watford says...
11:45am Fri 25 Jan 08
Although maybe GS needs a nudge to free up a bit more cash for a soild, proven midfield general!
MikeS, says...
11:46am Fri 25 Jan 08
MikeS wrote:They've changed it now
A change of subject, but has everyone seen Collins John's picture on watfordfc.com...it's actually Zat Knight!! Can they not get easy things right!
dougie, dug dug says...
11:49am Fri 25 Jan 08
I think if you look again you will find that it's a picture of Collins John in a Leicester strip!
MikeS, says...
11:51am Fri 25 Jan 08
dougie wrote:If you looked 15 minutes ago it was Zat Knight, but they've changed it now...see my post above
Zat Knight?!? I think if you look again you will find that it\'s a picture of Collins John in a Leicester strip!
Dougie, dug dug says...
12:13pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Shocking that someone working at WFC can't tell the difference though!
doublecarpet, says...
12:21pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Dougie wrote:They did the same thing last week when he was due to sign - fckin amateurs.
Apologies, I obviously wrote that after they changed it but before you sent the corrected message.
Shocking that someone working at WFC can\'t tell the difference though!
14feelingood, Rickmansworth says...
12:36pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Berks 'Orn, London says...
1:05pm Fri 25 Jan 08
chris, the vic says...
1:09pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Marlon owes it to his family to maximise his earnings. He might also have looked at Gavin's treatment and thought so thats how they repay loyalty!!
Either way I wish him well as I do Collins John who we have just signed. I remember a year ago we roundly condemned him for asking for a £1m a year but thats before i knew MK's wages. Hope he does well for us
Che Ngonge, Nottm says...
1:10pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Best of luck at Wigan, and thanks for the memories, it's been awesome.
Long live the King.
Stan Smith, says...
1:17pm Fri 25 Jan 08
King deserves a good reception from us. I dont want him to go, and yes i would have given it to the end of the season but that is football. in all fairness he could of left a long time ago for a bigger club than fulham/wigan.
If anyone deserves 'sh1t' it is the board and/or/maybe the management for the way they have made fools of themselves and the fans.
end of subject !
Che Ngonge, Nottm says...
1:22pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Stan Smith wrote:I could not agree more Stan.
King had done nothing wrong at all. You could argue that every player owes their club something. How long do you need to repay a club for? King deserves a good reception from us. I dont want him to go, and yes i would have given it to the end of the season but that is football. in all fairness he could of left a long time ago for a bigger club than fulham/wigan. If anyone deserves \'sh1t\' it is the board and/or/maybe the management for the way they have made fools of themselves and the fans. end of subject !
How's the tennis going?
The Pessimist, Rickmansworth says...
1:23pm Fri 25 Jan 08
luther67, watford says...
1:31pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Marlon was a great player for us, but he's been offered unbelievable wages and immediate Premiership football elsewhere. Fair play to him, that's life. Now let's move forward and hope Ellington, Hendo and John can do the business.
Mark Duffy, says...
1:33pm Fri 25 Jan 08
This in hand hence a better deal, you can bet King is proberbly on close to 25k,- upto 40k ish if promoted I don't think so , why would he want to leave
If we dont go up King could go in the summer.
Maybe he fell out with people, and said a few home truths?
Maybe FFC thought they could knock some money off considering there bidding on every 1/2 rate striker outside premiership?
Lets see what happens with Wigan, I hope he signs for Wigan and we get 5m!
This means we could strenthen in over areas!
Regards if we sell him to cheap that he isn't the real deal, dubious! sometimes you have to take whats on offer, it's just that Fulham have taken the pi*s!
I wish King all the best because he's done so much for us just as we've helped him re-ignite his career.
Theese thing's happen in football, you need to trust AB and GS.
These two have done the club well, it's tough runing a club you can't please everyone. At the end of the day wfc needs to run professionally on a financial front, and tatically correct on a playing front.
There are bigger clubs then us who are in a lot worse position then ourselves!
Keep up the good work AB and lets kick off the second part of the season in winning style!
Mark Duffy, says...
1:46pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Marlon is made a scape goat because HE IS/WAS ARE MOST VALUABLE ASSET!
Money is being put aside for the ground, so to change a few things it's only natural to look at the sale of your best asset!
It's the same when we had to sell the ground to re finance our debts a few years ago.
We got are ground back in the end! and we'll get a player who will be are next terrace hero!
This could be Ellington, it could be Collins John if we go up and he scores a good return of goals.
CJ in 22 and maybe has more long term to offer wfc, I see alot of simularaties in CJ and MK in the way there careers have stalled before coming to us.
Thanx Marlon for everything, I dont blame u for wanting to improve youself or to earn more money, footballers careers are short!
And thanx AB because if you wern't are gaffa MK would never of been and this club i love would most proberbly be mid table in league 1 and Prem football of last season would be pipe-dreams!
The Pessimist, Rickmansworth says...
1:56pm Fri 25 Jan 08
And thanx AB because if you wern't are gaffa MK would never of been and this club i love would most proberbly be mid table in league 1 and Prem football of last season would be pipe-dreams!
Yuk!!
a little sad, and dissapointed says...
1:59pm Fri 25 Jan 08
All that said i wont boo him as he was a great servant of the club.... I just wish there were more Matt Le-tissiers about who stay loyal to their clubs !!!!.....
Mark Duffy, says...
2:39pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Reports from Wigan that Marlon King's leg isn't wooden!
Just your head is! Who was our top boy before Marlon King came, oh and don't say Ashley Young as he was only fringe before boothroyd!
Oh! Yuk Yuk Yuk was it Helguson, maybe but King is so much better then him!
And other then the great man Graham Taylor, who else as been as insperational as Boothroyd?
Tell u what was it Vialli, Roeder, Colin Lee, Bassett???? Lewington did ok considering the circumstances!
So how's abouy u put a decent comment in, I'm know bottom kisser but MK has his own life, so well done him, He's helped the club as much as the club has helped him!
It's not MK slagging off wfc in press, in fact if you listened to the Sky interview you can only wish him well.
Oh mate do you have sky? Cant do as apparently the signal isn't good in Bedfordhire!!
Bomber, S Oxhey says...
2:51pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Mark Duffy, says...
3:18pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Sky have confirmed that the caravan improvement kit will be sent to all trailer homes who suffer this inconvienience.
Wedding channel can confirm the engagement of Colin and Pessimist!
Also Chelsea TV do a months free subscription as appologies for stripping out your South Stand a long time ago!
Sky's new local fitter Kevin Blackwell says that he hopes to get all caravans fitted with this latest technology by mid Feb!
Che Ngonge, Nottm says...
3:26pm Fri 25 Jan 08
After a slow start, this could prove to be a very productive transfer window for us.
Mark Duffy, says...
3:40pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Wigan paid over 5m for him not so long ago so I think its more hope then realism?
But Koumas is a class act in this division, and I would be tempted to say we give Wigan 1m and King!
If Koumas wanted to come we could give him Kings 25k a week if needed, but I just cant see it happening.
Who knows can AB spin Koumas into buying into his master-plan?
HOPE SO!
Mark Duffy, says...
3:47pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Acording to Wedding TV the chav jobless wedding of the year has had to be put back......Aparently McDonalds Luton would not sanction 3 of it's staff being absent on a saturday, althogh they are still willing to provide the food!
Mark, Watford says...
4:00pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Bad PR for everyone from our own board to King himself but lets just hope that everyone can soon move on.
Mark Duffy, says...
4:15pm Fri 25 Jan 08
SKY NEWS can exclusivly reveal that Pessimist and Colin's wedding is in danger of being called off!
Reports suggest that groom pessimist has two wooden legs and the pair are worried that whilst making love they may rub and catch fire!
Obviously this could result in the Caravan burning to the ground!
Colin is seaking advise from the chief of medical science at Fulham FC, this according to sources is a very lengthy process as there isn't anyone at that club who can make a decision!
It looks likely to be handed over to the Knock-price-down dept. at FFC, however the Lady is on holiday and isn't back till 1st Feb!!!
Mark Duffy, says...
4:24pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Subject to medical at FFC, Colin want's to know....
Is it a McSalad to start, Bigmac or McChicken Sandwich for main, and a McFlurry or Apple Pie for desert?
Pessimist has gone all quite, apparently he has not left the trailer since news broke over medical condition!
Mark Duffy, says...
4:44pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Banjo, apparently as compensation, the pair are willing to give up there prized possetion - Pannini 1989 sticker album as this is and was the last reminder they have of top flight football!
The Pessimist, Rickmansworth says...
5:08pm Fri 25 Jan 08
colin, says...
5:49pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Don't buy into all the ballshit about an "unsettling influence in the dressing room".
You all make me sick, buying into everything the rotten chairman and his puppet of a manager tell you. PATHETIC!
So Boofers needs to sell King to buy. So the question remains..where has all the money gone?
This club is not open, nor truthful, nor democratic, so it is likely that a truthful answer to a very simple question will remain unaswered.
It is interestig to note that Simpson would rank as about the sixth mostly highly paid chairman in the premiership, let alone the championship. His programme notes last saturday were a disgrace...the guy is obviously Stalin reincarnated.
As for Collins bloody John, why are you clappers so welcoming of a player who does not want to be here?
And i'll say again, 15 points from 45....not promotion form but relegation form: we will achieve nothing under this misguided manager and his archaic, Bassett inspired football.
Next season we will be relegated under him. You have all been warned.
Ernie, stevenage says...
5:57pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Don't talk about Watford as "we"... you are no fan of ours.
Come on!!
Peter, says...
6:01pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Colin Inconsistency Watcher, Nr St Albans says...
6:08pm Fri 25 Jan 08
colin wrote:Is poor little Col - getting all upset. Diddums.....
Clubs serious about promotion do not sell their star striker mid season! Don't buy into all the ballshit about an "unsettling influence in the dressing room". You all make me sick, buying into everything the rotten chairman and his puppet of a manager tell you. PATHETIC! So Boofers needs to sell King to buy. So the question remains..where has all the money gone? This club is not open, nor truthful, nor democratic, so it is likely that a truthful answer to a very simple question will remain unaswered. It is interestig to note that Simpson would rank as about the sixth mostly highly paid chairman in the premiership, let alone the championship. His programme notes last saturday were a disgrace...the guy is obviously Stalin reincarnated. As for Collins bloody John, why are you clappers so welcoming of a player who does not want to be here? And i'll say again, 15 points from 45....not promotion form but relegation form: we will achieve nothing under this misguided manager and his archaic, Bassett inspired football. Next season we will be relegated under him. You have all been warned.
Listen you idiot you spent all Summer saying King was fat and useless so why are you giving it the big one now about us getting a good deal to offload him?
All that twisting and turning fools nobody Col, you haven't got the IQ to pull it off and manage a coherent arguement.
Get back down to the Kennel and give it up.....you've been totally rumbled.
realist, MK says...
6:22pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Good luck Marlon and now good luck Collins John and the rest of the boys. We are going up...CLAP CLAP CLAP.
Gold, says...
6:23pm Fri 25 Jan 08
How nice of you - but if you're going to be so offensive, do try spelling it correctly.
Apologise? What for? There's a reason that King didn't go to Fulham, and having listened to him on Sky, he very cleverly 'doesn't know' what it is.
If he feels so vehement about the stories, why doesn't he sue the backsides out of those papers that ran the stories, as it wasn't just the WO?
If he feels the stories threatened his career, then he'd surely have a great case.
But of course, to be able to sue, he'd have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he the medical he took at Fulham did not show he has an ongoing knee problem that could mean he has to stop playing in three years.
To do that, you need ot be able to do more than go on Sky and say 'I know I didn't fail a medical'.
All in all, it's been a pretty shambolic sequence of events.
Let's hope, now Watford have some money, they invest it wisely in the areas it is so badly needed.
We need to be promoted, for many reasons, after all.
Gold, says...
6:27pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Lots of capital letters, lots of abuse, always right, everyone else is dumb etc.
What should I apologise for? Having a contrary view to yours?
King has had a knee problem in the past, Fulham wanted to use that to negotiate a new lower price - Wigan didn't.
What's there to apologise for?
No actually, I am sorry about one thing: that Gordon's got a 'caps lock' on his PC.
Mark, Watford says...
6:29pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Hope its the 5 milion reported and Aidy gets that dosh to spend and improve the squad.
Harold, says...
6:32pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Wonder why that is?
You can it isn't because Watford got their £5m.
Darren, Canada says...
6:45pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Mark, Watford says...
6:50pm Fri 25 Jan 08
LETS ALL MOVE ON!?
We have a team to support (well most of us do anyway..) for the rest of the season.
Even if the side don't live up to the billing lets make sure us fans do.
mystic meg, Canada says...
8:59pm Fri 25 Jan 08
John, Chorleywood says...
9:49pm Fri 25 Jan 08
Darren, Canada says...
11:05pm Fri 25 Jan 08
No boyfriend, wife of 21 years, two great kids.
Gold, says...
11:31pm Fri 25 Jan 08
One thing I can assure you of, and about which I will accept no debate, argument or correction from you:
I am most definitely not you.
No amount of name calling or abuse could offend me more than that suggestion.
dave, sandridge says...
12:05am Sat 26 Jan 08
Gold wrote:So nice to see Gordon back, i was worried about him. I would make the most of it Gold....... He comes and goes really,really quick! Slow down Gordon.
Ah ha, looks like Gordon Kelly is back on the case in this thread!!
Lots of capital letters, lots of abuse, always right, everyone else is dumb etc.
What should I apologise for? Having a contrary view to yours?
King has had a knee problem in the past, Fulham wanted to use that to negotiate a new lower price - Wigan didn't.
What's there to apologise for?
No actually, I am sorry about one thing: that Gordon's got a 'caps lock' on his PC.
Marlon King
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JohnBoy, Watford says...
10:25am Fri 25 Jan 08