Asamoah Gyan Signs For Al-Ain - It's Time For Some Honesty

As I begin writing this my head, as Steve Bruce might say "is filled with nonsense."

I saw Tweets this morning saying that Asamoah Gyan was off to Al-Ain, and there was an accompanying photograph of him in the violet of Al-Ain. I have to admit, at the time I refused to admit it. Why would he go there? What do we and them stand to gain? I even inspected the photo at length to see if it was merely a fake. Looked at the UAE Pro-League to see if the transfer window is shut (Wiki says it is, coming up trumps again I see).

Turns out it's very much true, and we're left wondering what the hell is going on with Gyan, and even more so, Steve Bruce...

Where to blooming start? Well we'll start with Gyan himself. Rumored to be out the door all summer, with as recently as the last 24 hours Steve Bruce saying that 'parasites' had been bothering Gyan and keeping him from his best form. 

It seems that every club under the sun were linked with Gyan - Atletico Madrid, Spurs, Fenerbache, Galatasary, Valencia and so on. All places where he would have at least faced some sort of sporting challenge. Excuse my ignorance of the UAE Pro-League, but looking at the list of names around the league, you'd be pushed to rank it much higher than the MLS or A-League in Australia. A few decent players in their twilight who'll draw a crowd.

So this is where I question the motive of Gyan. Money or challenge yourself making slightly less? I know what I choose, but the whole thing sums up the entire thinking of a modern footballer.

The 'challenge' of playing in the UAE would have been there for him aged 30+ and do it now no doubt makes a quick buck, but also destroys his value when he returns from the loan deal, personally and for the club. Every club looking at Gyan in the future will know that he's out for a quick buck, and will move on sooner than later. Of course all players do that, but his reputation for it is now public.

As for SAFC, I can only hope we received a pretty penny for the loan, as when he comes back it leaves just 2 years left on his contract, and his valuation dwindling with every passing week after that.

Despite all this, the bigger questions lie at the feet of Steve Bruce and the club. For starters, how do we ever believe a word that comes out of Steve's mouth again, when less than 24 hours ago he said "Gyan is staying" and he would "turn him round."

These quotes of course came on the back of Bruce's admission that Gyan's head had been pecked at by various individuals since he scored against England at Wembley. This revelation perhaps revealed more than the outright mistruths I mention in the paragraph above.

So lets say clubs, agents, managers and various other hangers on have been at him since then... it's only taken until now to do anything about it? We didn't think over the summer to perhaps envisage this and bring in more than an untested Korean and an 18 year old? I suppose we did bring in Bendtner in the last remaining hours, but surely he was brought in to play with Gyan, not replace him.

We're told now that "the deal suits all parties" by the club. I fail to see how it suits us in anyway other than a bothersome player is off the books. A very light striking core becomes even lighter, and now there's a massive pressure on Steve Bruce and Niall Quinn to at the very least, reveal without any spin, exactly what has gone on behind the scenes. Aren't we owed that at least?

We also need to ask now if Steve Bruce is the right man to take us forward. Gyan joins Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones in being mishandled by Bruce and marched off for one reason or another. If he can't handle such a high caliber of player, then he may have reached his pinnacle as our boss.

I've even questions to ask of myself to be honest. Anyone that knows me or follows on Twitter will know I've been advocating Gyan's stay through all this carry on. I still believe he is a fantastic player (see above where I thought he could go to a better team). Even yesterday I was thinking "good on Bruce for sorting this out."

Now in light of today, I've no idea what to think any more, other than we can't trust a single word to come from a player or representative of the club any more. I thought the Darren Bent "club legend" schpiel might have been a one off, Gyan it seemed was different. I might be so late to the party here it's finished, but I had some respect for players, and when someone says something I tend to believe it until I hear otherwise. All change for me now.

I'd be delighted, and regain a modicum of respect for Bruce and Gyan if they both just came out now with the full dealings. When this started, why nothing was done about it earlier, details of the deal, and what is Gyan's motive for going?

It's time for some honesty.

(Apologies is this rambles or repeats)