Manager Alun Armstrong has criticised the seemingly underhand way in which Matthew Wade has left Blyth Spartans, insisting that it isn’t fair on the club after everything they have done for him.
An announcement was made earlier in the week that Wade had signed for Australian side Mornington Soccer Club. An Australian news article then surfaced online, suggesting that the deal had actually been agreed on January 9 – during the 25-year-old’s trip Down Under over Christmas and New Year.
Having returned to Blyth in January, Wade agreed to join Northern League side Newcastle Benfield on loan to get his match fitness back up before returning to Croft Park. However, that deal was brought to a sudden halt – following confirmation that he has signed for the Zagame’s Men’s State League 1 South-East side.
When asked if he thought the way in which the deal had been agreed was underhand, Armstrong replied: “I think it is, if I’m honest. It’s not fair after everything the club has done for him.
“For me, personally, it’s not very professional to do it that way. It was always going to get back – as you can never hide anything in football, unfortunately!
“I would rather have been told straight away, rather than us try and sort a loan deal out for him to get fit for us. Newcastle Benfield must have felt let down, so I’d like to apologise to them – as we didn’t know anything about it.
“That’s football though and you have to just move on, which is what we’ll be doing.”
The initial news of Wade’s departure earlier in the week came as a shock to the Spartans boss, but he was soon made aware that details of the deal had been published in Australian media over a month ago.
Armstrong revealed: “I was as surprised as anyone really, but then you see the comments – which I’m sure everyone has seen – that something happened while he was out there. It’s surprising, because he came back with a bit of niggle.
“It was a bit of a back injury, which is why he wasn’t named on the bench. Plus, he hadn’t trained for four or five weeks. He then missed training the following three weeks because he’d started a new job and was working night shifts.
“I couldn’t include him in any game programs whatsoever – as he was nowhere near fit enough to be up there to even being selected really. Because of that, we have had a chat about him going out on loan – as he was available on Saturdays.
“He told me that he could do that and I had a word with his dad [former Blyth manager Tom Wade] and he said it was a great idea. He said it would give him the chance to get him fit – as he was no use to us with his current match fitness levels.
“That was the discussion and he agreed to go to Benfield, but – all of a sudden – he’s off to Australia.”
Having already seen Stephen Turnbull leave the club due to work commitments, Wade’s decision to leave also saw Armstrong left with his hands tied. However, he moved quickly to plug the gap left in central midfield by bringing in David McTiernan from fellow Evo-Stik Premier League side Whitby Town.
Armstrong said: “I was taken aback really, because I wasn’t expecting that to happen – especially with ‘Twinny’ leaving at the exact same time. Obviously, people were probably thinking ‘why’s he let Wadey go when Ste has just left as well’.
“The main thing was that he wasn’t fit and we were trying to get him fit, but something’s come back and he’s decided to leave. It had nothing to do with me and I couldn’t do anything about it.
“As I say, I think it was done when he was across there over Christmas. It’s not ideal, but we’ve been working away to bring in David in and that at least softens the blow quite a bit.”