DON’T BEE DAFT OVER £80M IVAN

THERE seems to be a notion that somehow Ivan Toney should ‘stand by’ Brentford because they’ve supported him through his betting ban.

Can we just stop this nonsense right now?

Football is a bear pit.

Clubs do not employ players out of the goodness of their heart or charity.

They do so because they get a return from them.

In Toney’s case, it’s goals.

Those successes allow Brentford, or any club, to prosper and play in the Premier League – a competition which brings them a guaranteed £100millionplus in revenue.

Toney is paid an appropriate amount for his services.

Clubs protect themselves – their investment in a player – through the length of the contracts they dish out.

So, given those rules, what other course of action could Brentford have taken once the FA handed down its punishment?

They could have cancelled Toney’s contract in moral outrage at his betting. That would have led to a scramble to sign him when his suspension was lifted.

Thomas Frank would have had to find another striker to score the goals to maintain the Bees’ Premier League position.

Now that there’s a shortage of top strikers, Toney finds himself a hot property.

Brentford are likely to cash in – by and large, they do so pretty spectacularly – when the transfer window opens. They want £80m for a bloke who cost them £8m.

Toney (left) goes to score goals somewhere else for more money. That’s the way it works. There’s no sorrow or sentiment in it.

And anyone who might think otherwise really does not understand the way that the game works.