Tubbs leaves Crawley for Bournemouth
Hull City V Crawley Town FA Cup 4th round 28-1-12 (Pic by Jon Rigby)
CRAWLEY Town striker Matt Tubbs has left for his home-town club Bournemouth.
Tubbs fired 58 goals in 80 appearances for the Reds, but has opted for a big-money move to his former club, he ended his Crawley career by scoring the winning goal in Saturday’s FA Cup upset at Hull City. The move is being described as an ‘undisclosed fee’ - manager Steve Evans bought him from Salisbury in 2010 for £55,000. Crawley were rumoured to have rejected a £500,000 Bournemouth offer on Friday for their star striker.
Evans said: “Matt Tubbs has been sensational for Crawley Town, no other word can describe his time here.
“He is a real goal scorer and I am devastated he has been sold but I do not control those decisions. My job will be to replace him and we all know that will be a massive task.
“I have a special relationship with Tubbsy and that will always continue. We have worked very hard to improve him out of all recognition but he always had a desire to work hard. We will miss him.
“We have had lots of interest from clubs in the Championship, League One and the Scottish Premier league so the offer my directors have accepted must have been top end considering we turned down several bids in excess of £500,000 from clubs. So in financial terms I suppose it is great business but to me a huge loss.”
Tubbs will form a strike partnership with another former Crawley striker, Wes Thomas, who has scored ten goals for the Cherries, who are ninth in League 1.
Reds co-owner Ian Carter described the decision to accept a bid, being reported as around £800,000 for Tubbs, was one of the most difficult he has had to take while at the club.
He said: “We received a significant number of excellent offers for Matt but in the end we got an offer that met our valuation from Bournemouth.
“As a board we still did not want him to leave and we tried our best to persuade him to stay but the lure of his home-town club and his personal terms perhaps made his mind up that he wanted to join Bournemouth.
“We will respect the wishes of Bournemouth FC to keep the guaranteed transfer fee and further incentives confidential but it is a very significant amount.
“The manager will miss him as will the team and the supporters. He will rightfully always be loved by everyone here at Crawley Town. The manager has shed tears but it is his job now to find a replacement.
“Hopefully, if he is available, Matt can come back and say farewell to the supporters when we face Stoke in the FA Cup. He will be given a hero’s welcome and rousing farewell.”
What next for Crawley Town? How will Matt Tubbs’ departure affect their season? Let us know by your thoughts by commenting below.
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Weather for Crawley
Sunday 27 May 2012
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Comments
There are 4 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Jason2
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 10:27 AMTubbs is a quality player and the club and fans will miss him. Totally agree regarding the behaviour of the manager and sidekick. I can only follow Crawley on Tele now as there is no enjoyment sitting behind those two week after week.
john0906
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 09:49 PMComment removed by moderator
Sussex Onlooker
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 04:02 PMGood business for Crawley, but can't help but think Tubbs could have aimed a bit higher. He's been a legend for Crawley, but you would like to think Evans knows what he is doing and will get in quality replacements.
Superfly Guy
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 03:38 PM£800,000 for a 27 year old player unproven in League 1.... Seems one hell of a gamble that Bournemouth are making, if you ask me. Let's use the money wisely. I hear Andy Carrol is available for loan!!!
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