[saabrian]

From The Leicester Mercury's website:

Your view's on the Matt Piper issue

Here are just a few of the many letters we've received from City fans angry at the sale of Matt Piper.

Our optimism has evaporated

Dear Martin George, chairman, LCFC. As a City supporter I feel betrayed by you and your directors.


I was very shocked to hear Matt Piper is being sold to Sunderland so cheap or at all.


You, like many of your predecessors, have decided to cash in on one of our most promising young stars. Back we go to being regarded as a ‘selling club’.


It was only three months ago Matt Piper signed a new contract and stated that he was very happy at City and saw his future at the club. It was also stated that there was no intention of selling our prized young assets. My son and I attended both games played at the fantastic new Walkers Stadium, we felt so proud of our new home and were looking forward to the new season with a lot of optimism. That has now evaporated, thank you Mr George.


I understand that the club are under financial pressure, but surely we shouldn’t be selling our future. Matt and the other young players are our best hope of a return to where my club belongs, the Premiership.


I just hope you have had the foresight to put in a clause claiming a percentage of any future sale when Sunderland sell Matt because I am sure he will be worth many more millions in the near future.


This is the first time I have written criticising the directors or the manager, I have supported my club through thick and thin for decades, but I have never felt so badly let down before.


Malcolm Beaumont, Mountsorrel




People have spent a lot of money on getting Piper’s name on the back of their shirts after the lad signed a three-year contract with the club.


Every time Leicester get an up-and-coming player they sell him. We need to keep these players if this club is to move on. I feel sorry for Micky Adams.


Ricky Madelin, email




Sacrificed for higher earners


I am outraged that Sunderland want Matt Piper for £3million. We should have issued a hands-off warning on all of our young players. We have players available on the transfer list and we should stick to it.


We need to protect and use our Youth Development Scheme for our own advantage, not for the benefit of other clubs.


Surely our aim is to get back into the Premiership in the next two years while we still have the lifeline of the parachute payments from Sky TV.


How will we achieve this if we sell all of our good players?


I don’t want to see Muzzy leave but we just cannot afford to sell other players to pay his wages.


Matt Elliott is available on a free and I cannot understand why no team has come in for him.


Chris Watson, email




Piper is worth a lot more


Who will carry the can when Leicester fail to win promotion and this sale is cited as one of the main reasons?


This is the same old Leicester cheap-giveaway, non-forward-thinking, lower-division mentality.


Alan Gray, email




No way to plot Premier return


Crowds of 30,000-plus will not be seen again with this sort of selling. As with Robbie Savage, the money for one of our top performers is a pittance. He will be worth double that in a year.


Will Izzet be next for a million or two or maybe Jordan Stewart for £500,000?


Mark Rowe, email




Finances are top of club list


We all know they are in financial trouble, but selling the only shining light in the team is not the way to get out of it.


It seems to us that the club are only interested in getting out of the financial mess they’ve got themselves into by making bad decisions and paying stupid wages, rather than getting back into the Premiership.


Irene & Roger, email




Keep the cream of young crop


We had all braced ourselves for the exit of a number of the star players.


However there was still hope, as with the exit of some of the higher-paid players the club could turn to the best youngsters to help take them up.


The gap between the Premiership and Division One is growing every season. Realistically to avoid a long-term stay in the lower divisions a return to the top flight has to be acheived this season.


It is vital to retain the cream of the younger prospects who will form part of a team to not only achieve promotion, but to stay up.


Piper is a perfect example as he is clearly going to be a Premiership player; but unfortunately not now with City.


Making any player available would seem to be a knee-jerk short-term financial reaction and a long-term disaster.


What will the club do when they have missed promotion, lost their best and most promising players and are losing more money?


We have been asked to “Keep the Faith’’.


To do this you look for hope. Selling young players offers us none for the future.


Keith Morley, Wigston

[JoBeck]

The fans are right. We don't know just how bad the finances are, but to sell Piper right away like that is merely waving a white flag. Leicester City should do everything they can to keep Piper.

I might get a new Leicester shirt soon, and I was gonna get Piper on the back... guess I won't be able to do that now.

[timbo]

I've read many similar statements on the filbertstreet.net forum ... and now it seems that Southampton are in for Piper too and the offer has been accepted.

My only hope is that the money really offered is more than the 2.5-3 million being bandied about by the press ... yes, I know I'm dreaming!

It's a pretty shocking sale -- with the opening of the stadium, the good start to the season, the excitement of the fans ... it's just a massive blow to the club's supporters, I think, and seems to against the board's (read: Martin George) earlier statements about Piper.

I had hoped the club would be willing to be patient, take on some short-term monetary losses and look to the future of getting back to the Premiership.

Oh well ...