A story on the Mirror Football website last night claimed that Sean St Ledger is trying to get out of his permanent move to the Boro after a bust up with manager Gordon Strachan.
Well, tis the season!
Hot on the heels of Beattie and Pulis at Stoke and the Jim Magilton trouble at QPR, St Ledger appear to have become the latest player to clash with his manager during the festive period.
St Ledger is not eligible to play for Boro until the January, as his loan spell has ended but is set to become a permanent member of the Boro squad in January.
ComeOnBoro.com brought you an exclusive interview with the defender earlier this month.
This news comes as no surprise to me as when I interviewed him, his reluctance to talk (he is normally rather chatty) and his general demeanour spoke of a man who was deeply unhappy (and rather annoyed) by his circumstances.
St Ledger signed for Southgate, not Boro and most certainly not Strachan.
At the defender's press unveiling, alongside striker Leroy Lita, St Ledger was effusive in his praise of the then manager, Gareth Southgate, with mutual admiration evident between the pair.
While the opportunity to possibly move up a division, providing Boro can achieve promotion, will certainly have been appealing proposition for the Republic of Ireland international, it was the chance to learn from one of his heroes of the game, Gareth Southgate which was the real attraction.
His response to my first question regarding the move, "It was a done deal. That is just the way it works. I don't think anything could have been done even with a new manager coming in." was not exactly a ringing endorsement of his future at the club.
The problem is, he is our player. We have paid a good sum of the £4 million pounds plus which we bought him for, and Preston would rather keep the money than welcome St Ledger back into the fold.
And the FIFA 'three club' rule would mean that were St Ledger to find a new club, he would need special permission to play, particularly if the side were a Premier League club, which seems unlikely. The Championship is less rigid, but trying to entangle himself from his contract will cause a whole host of problems for the player and the clubs involved.
We will probably never know the details of this so-called bust-up with Strachan, but St Ledger, despite his obvious attributes, has never really fitted into the Boro side.
It may be that his leaving the club would in fact be the best thing all round, but it will not be an easy task and it is unlikely the matter will be resolved quickly.
First published on www.ComeOnBoro.com on 18-11-09
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