Cardiff City should look to offload 32-year-old this summer

Cardiff City should look to offload 32-year-old this summer as McCarthy begins squad revamp:

Football insider

4th May 2021,

Cardiff City fans can feel optimistic about next season under the tutelage of Mick McCarthy.

Eyebrows were raised when the experienced manager took charge towards the end of January, but a remarkable winning run soon silenced any critics.

McCarthy has won 10 of his 21 games in charge of Cardiff since taking the reins in South Wales, and even though their hopes of finishing in the play-offs are over, an eighth-placed finish shouldn’t be scoffed at.

McCarthy will now go about strengthening his squad and bringing his own players in ahead of next season.


Unfortunately for the manager, his side are likely to be without influential loan stars Sheyi Ojo and Harry Wilson next season, with the pair thriving on loan from Liverpool this term.

In a season where loan players have made an impact, those attack-minded midfielders at the club have flattered to deceive.

Lee Tomlin is one of those players, with only starting one game this season and the 32 year old believed to be on up to £30,000 a week.

Tomlin has made one start for Cardiff this season, with the 32-year-old battling injury and failing to feature since the end of October.

Since then, he has sporadically featured for the Under-23s’ and been in and out of Steve Morison’s side, and doesn’t look set to feature before the end of this season.

Heading into the summer, Tomlin will only have one year left on his contract, and at the age of 32, you have to question his long-term value.

This summer is likely be a tricky one for many clubs up and down the country, having missed out on some invaluable sources of income over the last year.

Tomlin is one of the highest earner at the club, and even though injuries aren’t his fault, you do have to question whether he gives you value for money, his fitness is his major problem.

Cashing in this summer, rather than potentially losing him for nothing at the end of next season, would be smart business.

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I'm not convinced we could cash in on him. Would any potential club take a risk with him due to his fitness and injury issues?

Selling, paying up his contract...options may be unavailable.

Personally I would get rid at any cost even if we had to resort to putting him in the recycling bin.

He has taken the piss out of this club for long enough.

Problem is who is going to take on his wages and pay a transfer fee?

Cashing in wouldn't be smart business it would be a miracle. We couldn't give him away. Who is going to pay us money as well as pay his salary with his record? I have been a great fan of Tomlin and have defended him on this forum on many occasions but a 32 year old fatty with his injury record, attitude and wage is a liability to us not an asset we can cash in on.

Personally I would get rid at any cost even if we had to resort to putting him in the recycling bin.

He has taken the piss out of this club for long enough.

Problem is who is going to take on his wages and pay a transfer fee?

On his wages Tony it will be landfill only


Sadly this will mean giving him a bag of money and hopefully not a big one.

Unfortunately tomlin has done us here. He is such a gifted player and shone last year to get a new contract, got one and has barely been seen since. Overweight and overpaid. We have zero chance of selling him and the best case scenario is us loaning him out and covering half his wages

Got no chance of getting rid of him until his contract is up not on £30k a week !

Got no chance of getting rid of him until his contract is up not on £30k a week !

Tomlins wages seem to increase with every thread made about him

I highly doubt he was on 30k a week even in the prem. We were balancing the books when he renewed his contract so id imagine he's on closer to 20k than 30k.

No chance of selling him given his current fitness and recent injuries. Teams just can't afford the risk. He is also entitled to his full contract and at 32 I dont think he'd settle for much less than what his contract says. So a pretty hefty payout so that seems unlikely as well.

Best case scenario is he sorts himself out over the summer with a good pre season and plays a part next season. Second best option would be loaning him out and we save a % on his wages.

cash in.....

cash in.....

Can't see it. Imagine a potential manager asking his chairman to stump up ANYTHING for him.

"Alright boss, I've seen this mercurial genius and think we could snap him up for about 5 Mill. Bargain."

"Really, wow, you know I completely trust your judgement as my manager."

"Thanks boss. I've seen him play a few times. Guys gifted.

"You've only seen him play a few times?"

"Yeah, he's been injured a few times but managed a game or 2 last term..."

"Oh. Is he fit and raring to go now then?"

"No boss"

"No?"

"Looks like he's added a few pounds but at 32 he should be able to shed them easy enough".

"I'm confused. He's 32 injury prone and out of condition?"

"That's right boss, that's why we should get in early and snap him up.5mill bargain."

"I feel a press conference coming...expect your P45 in the morning."

cash in.....

Can't see it. Imagine a potential manager asking his chairman to stump up ANYTHING for him.

"Alright boss, I've seen this mercurial genius and think we could snap him up for about 5 Mill. Bargain."

"Really, wow, you know I completely trust your judgement as my manager."

"Thanks boss. I've seen him play a few times. Guys gifted.

"You've only seen him play a few times?"

"Yeah, he's been injured a few times but managed a game or 2 last term..."

"Oh. Is he fit and raring to go now then?"

"No boss"

"No?"

"Looks like he's added a few pounds but at 32 he should be able to shed them easy enough".

"I'm confused. He's 32 injury prone and out of condition?"

"That's right boss, that's why we should get in early and snap him up.5mill bargain."

"I feel a press conference coming...expect your P45 in the morning."

Clearly, you didn't take your own advice; but listened to the voices in your own head...

The cost of off-loading Tomlin (even with a severance payment) would well outweigh the cost of keeping him

I don't know the exact figures, but on games played this season, he is on well over £300k a game

Even on loan, if the Bluebirds can get him out, any subsidy would still represent a loss; but a far smaller one than keeping him and not seeing him on the pitch

cash in.....

Can't see it. Imagine a potential manager asking his chairman to stump up ANYTHING for him.

"Alright boss, I've seen this mercurial genius and think we could snap him up for about 5 Mill. Bargain."

"Really, wow, you know I completely trust your judgement as my manager."

"Thanks boss. I've seen him play a few times. Guys gifted.

"You've only seen him play a few times?"

"Yeah, he's been injured a few times but managed a game or 2 last term..."

"Oh. Is he fit and raring to go now then?"

"No boss"

"No?"

"Looks like he's added a few pounds but at 32 he should be able to shed them easy enough".

"I'm confused. He's 32 injury prone and out of condition?"

"That's right boss, that's why we should get in early and snap him up.5mill bargain."

"I feel a press conference coming...expect your P45 in the morning."

Clearly, you didn't take your own advice; but listened to the voices in your own head...

The cost of off-loading Tomlin (even with a severance payment) would well outweigh the cost of keeping him

I don't know the exact figures, but on games played this season, he is on well over £300k a game

Even on loan, if the Bluebirds can get him out, any subsidy would still represent a loss; but a far smaller one than keeping him and not seeing him on the pitch

So are you saying keep or not, I'm easily confused...

He's deleted his Twitter account @Leetomlin10 by the looks of it

He's deleted his Twitter account @Leetomlin10 by the looks of it

Yes he has

I feel for his future in football he needs to walk away from Cardiff.
I know he has quality but time after time he gets injuries that take months to recover from and we cant take that risk.
He shone at times with us but i feel he will need to walk away if he wants to play football.

I feel for his future in football he needs to walk away from Cardiff.
I know he has quality but time after time he gets injuries that take months to recover from and we cant take that risk.
He shone at times with us but i feel he will need to walk away if he wants to play football.

Why would he simply walk away from 20k+ a week which he isnt going to get elsewhere?

cash in.....

Can't see it. Imagine a potential manager asking his chairman to stump up ANYTHING for him.

"Alright boss, I've seen this mercurial genius and think we could snap him up for about 5 Mill. Bargain."

"Really, wow, you know I completely trust your judgement as my manager."

"Thanks boss. I've seen him play a few times. Guys gifted.

"You've only seen him play a few times?"

"Yeah, he's been injured a few times but managed a game or 2 last term..."

"Oh. Is he fit and raring to go now then?"

"No boss"

"No?"

"Looks like he's added a few pounds but at 32 he should be able to shed them easy enough".

"I'm confused. He's 32 injury prone and out of condition?"

"That's right boss, that's why we should get in early and snap him up.5mill bargain."

"I feel a press conference coming...expect your P45 in the morning."

Clearly, you didn't take your own advice; but listened to the voices in your own head...

The cost of off-loading Tomlin (even with a severance payment) would well outweigh the cost of keeping him

I don't know the exact figures, but on games played this season, he is on well over £300k a game

Even on loan, if the Bluebirds can get him out, any subsidy would still represent a loss; but a far smaller one than keeping him and not seeing him on the pitch

are you suggesting the cashing in bit is giving him a severance payment which is less than what it would cost to keep him for the year ..?

I feel for his future in football he needs to walk away from Cardiff.
I know he has quality but time after time he gets injuries that take months to recover from and we cant take that risk.
He shone at times with us but i feel he will need to walk away if he wants to play football.

Why would he simply walk away from 20k+ a week which he isnt going to get elsewhere?

In Sam’s world anything is realistic.

cash in.....

Can't see it. Imagine a potential manager asking his chairman to stump up ANYTHING for him.

"Alright boss, I've seen this mercurial genius and think we could snap him up for about 5 Mill. Bargain."

"Really, wow, you know I completely trust your judgement as my manager."

"Thanks boss. I've seen him play a few times. Guys gifted.

"You've only seen him play a few times?"

"Yeah, he's been injured a few times but managed a game or 2 last term..."

"Oh. Is he fit and raring to go now then?"

"No boss"

"No?"

"Looks like he's added a few pounds but at 32 he should be able to shed them easy enough".

"I'm confused. He's 32 injury prone and out of condition?"

"That's right boss, that's why we should get in early and snap him up.5mill bargain."

"I feel a press conference coming...expect your P45 in the morning."

Clearly, you didn't take your own advice; but listened to tge voices in your own head...

The cost of off-loading Tomlin (even with a severance payment) would well outweigh the cost of keeping him

I don't know the exact figures, but on games played this season, he is on well over £300 a game

Even on loan, if the Bluebirds can get him out, any subsidy would still represent a loss; but a far smaller one than keeping him and not seeing him on the pitch

£300 a game is happy days.

I feel for his future in football he needs to walk away from Cardiff.
I know he has quality but time after time he gets injuries that take months to recover from and we cant take that risk.
He shone at times with us but i feel he will need to walk away if he wants to play football.

so.... if you had a contract that over the next year was going to earn you in excess of £1 million whether you work or not . you would consider walking away from it ?

cash in.....

Can't see it. Imagine a potential manager asking his chairman to stump up ANYTHING for him.

"Alright boss, I've seen this mercurial genius and think we could snap him up for about 5 Mill. Bargain."

"Really, wow, you know I completely trust your judgement as my manager."

"Thanks boss. I've seen him play a few times. Guys gifted.

"You've only seen him play a few times?"

"Yeah, he's been injured a few times but managed a game or 2 last term..."

"Oh. Is he fit and raring to go now then?"

"No boss"

"No?"

"Looks like he's added a few pounds but at 32 he should be able to shed them easy enough".

"I'm confused. He's 32 injury prone and out of condition?"

"That's right boss, that's why we should get in early and snap him up.5mill bargain."

"I feel a press conference coming...expect your P45 in the morning."

Clearly, you didn't take your own advice; but listened to the voices in your own head...

The cost of off-loading Tomlin (even with a severance payment) would well outweigh the cost of keeping him

I don't know the exact figures, but on games played this season, he is on well over £300k a game

Even on loan, if the Bluebirds can get him out, any subsidy would still represent a loss; but a far smaller one than keeping him and not seeing him on the pitch

are you suggesting the cashing in bit is giving him a severance payment which is less than what it would cost to keep him for the year ..?

I don't recall referring to 'cashing in' but yes, given the history of Tomlin's fitness and (dare I say) commitment to professionalism, the safer option would be to get rid and accept any loss that may be incurred by a settlement

We could always try selling first but on his current (agreed) contract, with his dubious fitness levels and the current manager's propensity to discard him, I would personally let him go. Then again, it's not my money to chuck away

cash in.....

Can't see it. Imagine a potential manager asking his chairman to stump up ANYTHING for him.

"Alright boss, I've seen this mercurial genius and think we could snap him up for about 5 Mill. Bargain."

"Really, wow, you know I completely trust your judgement as my manager."

"Thanks boss. I've seen him play a few times. Guys gifted.

"You've only seen him play a few times?"

"Yeah, he's been injured a few times but managed a game or 2 last term..."

"Oh. Is he fit and raring to go now then?"

"No boss"

"No?"

"Looks like he's added a few pounds but at 32 he should be able to shed them easy enough".

"I'm confused. He's 32 injury prone and out of condition?"

"That's right boss, that's why we should get in early and snap him up.5mill bargain."

"I feel a press conference coming...expect your P45 in the morning."

Clearly, you didn't take your own advice; but listened to the voices in your own head...

The cost of off-loading Tomlin (even with a severance payment) would well outweigh the cost of keeping him

I don't know the exact figures, but on games played this season, he is on well over £300k a game

Even on loan, if the Bluebirds can get him out, any subsidy would still represent a loss; but a far smaller one than keeping him and not seeing him on the pitch

are you suggesting the cashing in bit is giving him a severance payment which is less than what it would cost to keep him for the year ..?

I don't recall referring to 'cashing in' but yes, given the history of Tomlin's fitness and (dare I say) commitment to professionalism, the safer option would be to get rid and accept any loss that may be incurred by a settlement

We could always try selling first but on his current (agreed) contract, with his dubious fitness levels and the current manager's propensity to discard him, I would personally let him go. Then again, it's not my money to chuck away

the cashing in is in the article....
as for selling... at some point the list of managers prepared to gamble on getting more out of him than the last guy must dry up... id be gobsmacked if anyone showed any serious interest this time...

Its probably best to pay up his contract but retain his registration. Let him go and open a burger bar or fish and chip shop.

Why would anyone in their right mind take a lesser amount than promised for the duration of a contract to leave anywhere anytime? Let alone in the middle of a pandemic.

Nobody is going to pay 2 pints of lager & a packet crisps for him never mind actual money.

No chance of selling him given his current fitness and recent injuries. Teams just can't afford the risk. He is also entitled to his full contract and at 32 I dont think he'd settle for much less than what his contract says. So a pretty hefty payout so that seems unlikely as well.

Best case scenario is he sorts himself out over the summer with a good pre season and plays a part next season. Second best option would be loaning him out and we save a % on his wages.

This is how I see it, especially after Covid. We could also sell for free and continue to pay a percentage of his wages (similar to the loan option).

Hopefully he will come back fit and raring to go, earn his substantial wages and prove his worth to MM.

Will newly promoted Peterborough be interested in taking him back?

Chris, If we pay him off, it will be The Committee at fault.
If we keep him on the treatment table, it will be The Committee at fault

Personally, I think he has again used us big time, got fit and playing well earned a contract and BOOM !!! which he has done before allegedly.

cash in.....

Can't see it. Imagine a potential manager asking his chairman to stump up ANYTHING for him.

"Alright boss, I've seen this mercurial genius and think we could snap him up for about 5 Mill. Bargain."

"Really, wow, you know I completely trust your judgement as my manager."

"Thanks boss. I've seen him play a few times. Guys gifted.

"You've only seen him play a few times?"

"Yeah, he's been injured a few times but managed a game or 2 last term..."

"Oh. Is he fit and raring to go now then?"

"No boss"

"No?"

"Looks like he's added a few pounds but at 32 he should be able to shed them easy enough".

"I'm confused. He's 32 injury prone and out of condition?"

"That's right boss, that's why we should get in early and snap him up.5mill bargain."

"I feel a press conference coming...expect your P45 in the morning."

Clearly, you didn't take your own advice; but listened to tge voices in your own head...

The cost of off-loading Tomlin (even with a severance payment) would well outweigh the cost of keeping him

I don't know the exact figures, but on games played this season, he is on well over £300 a game

Even on loan, if the Bluebirds can get him out, any subsidy would still represent a loss; but a far smaller one than keeping him and not seeing him on the pitch

£300 a game is happy days.

I know; and I'd keep him for that...!

Corrected...

cash in.....

Can't see it. Imagine a potential manager asking his chairman to stump up ANYTHING for him.

"Alright boss, I've seen this mercurial genius and think we could snap him up for about 5 Mill. Bargain."

"Really, wow, you know I completely trust your judgement as my manager."

"Thanks boss. I've seen him play a few times. Guys gifted.

"You've only seen him play a few times?"

"Yeah, he's been injured a few times but managed a game or 2 last term..."

"Oh. Is he fit and raring to go now then?"

"No boss"

"No?"

"Looks like he's added a few pounds but at 32 he should be able to shed them easy enough".

"I'm confused. He's 32 injury prone and out of condition?"

"That's right boss, that's why we should get in early and snap him up.5mill bargain."

"I feel a press conference coming...expect your P45 in the morning."

Clearly, you didn't take your own advice; but listened to the voices in your own head...

The cost of off-loading Tomlin (even with a severance payment) would well outweigh the cost of keeping him

I don't know the exact figures, but on games played this season, he is on well over £300k a game

Even on loan, if the Bluebirds can get him out, any subsidy would still represent a loss; but a far smaller one than keeping him and not seeing him on the pitch

are you suggesting the cashing in bit is giving him a severance payment which is less than what it would cost to keep him for the year ..?

I don't recall referring to 'cashing in' but yes, given the history of Tomlin's fitness and (dare I say) commitment to professionalism, the safer option would be to get rid and accept any loss that may be incurred by a settlement

We could always try selling first but on his current (agreed) contract, with his dubious fitness levels and the current manager's propensity to discard him, I would personally let him go. Then again, it's not my money to chuck away

the cashing in is in the article....
as for selling... at some point the list of managers prepared to gamble on getting more out of him than the last guy must dry up... id be gobsmacked if anyone showed any serious interest this time...

Yes, my apologies. I misread your previous post

Ad yes, I'd give him a severance payment rather than have him sat around for another season on that money. Mick McCarthy doesn't see him as an integral part of his team/squad for next season, so what is the point

In all honesty, I largely blame Neil Warnock for this situation, as he brought him in, didn't play him, slated him, loaned him out and then decided eventually to play him some fair old time after he come back

A serious question is why bring him in the beginning; assuming, of course, due diligence was done and we can't say the carrot crunchers didn't win us about his lack of motivation on occasion