U-Turn farce over Joe Aribo

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U-Turn farce over Joe Aribo
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JULY 25: Joe Aribo of Rangers celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the pre season friendly match between Rangers and Coventry City at Ibrox Stadium on July 25, 2020 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Charlton’s Lee Bowyer has done a slightly comical u-turn and offered Rangers an olive branch after previously slandering both Rangers and Scottish football as a bad move for Joe Aribo.

The Addicks boss has had a bit of an axe to grind with Rangers and Steven Gerrard after we thieved the Nigeria star for a paltry £300,000, amidst his complaints it was a poor move for him and he should have switched instead to, of all places, Brentford.

But now the former Leeds man has backtracked on that and admits the move is working out for Aribo and he wishes he and Rangers all the best.

He said previously:

“I worked so hard to get him to this situation he is in now. It is about progression for him. So it’s a shame if he gets pushed to somewhere where it is not going to benefit him in his football career. If he goes to Rangers that is not the right place for him to go for his football career.”

And has now updated his thoughts to:

“It was never that straightforward. I wasn’t trying to say, oh like… it wasn’t a defined England/Scotland (thing). It wasn’t that. I was just thinking of the boy’s career. But, he’s gone to Rangers and he’s doing well. I never doubted for one second that he wouldn’t do well, because he’s an exceptional player and working under Steven Gerrard, who would only make him better. So it wasn’t that. But I just thought, (for) him as a development thing I thought Brentford would have been good for him. But I’m pleased for Joe and I’m pleased for Rangers that things are going well and hopefully they can keep moving forward together.”

Translation:

“I was extremely bitter I lost my best player, and I slandered both Rangers and the SPL (we don’t disagree on the latter) as a bad place for him to go. But now that Rangers are top of the table, flying high, soaring in Europe and Joe’s in great form it’s probably best for me to come up with some piffle to make myself look a bit better.”

Let’s face it, amidst emotion we all say stupid things. He was desperately angry to lose his best player, given he more or less made him into the player he’d become, and we don’t exactly blame him for being upset.

But unfortunately he let that get the better of him and said stuff he can’t really take back – even if he realises now that his lad has ‘gone to a better place’.

Still, it came close to a sort of apology. Didn’t it?

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