Our Long National Nightmare Is Over

Habib Beye has left Aston Villa by mutual consent.

The 34-year-old defender will now be parking his Ferrari at the Keepmoat for the foreseeable future, as his emergency loan to Doncaster Rovers will now become a permanent move. Beye was signed from Newcastle United prior to the 2009-10 season for a transfer fee around £2.5m to a three-year deal. His wages are reported to be in excess of £40k/week. The resources expended on Beye coupled with his inability to break into the team (and disastrously bad play when he did) have led to him becoming a symbol of the financial irresponsibility engaged in by the club during Martin O'Neill's time in charge.

Watching Beye on the pitch, it's hard to believe he was once a key player for Marseille. Beye's decline phase came quickly, and it seemingly coincided with his putting pen to paper on his deal with Aston Villa. In all, Beye made 18 appearances (with 15 starts) in all competitions over his two-and-a-half year Villa career. None of them were good. All of them were expensive. Perhaps the amount of the stick Beye has gotten these past few years is out of step with how much he actually deserves, but he is by many accounts a nasty prick of a man and I'm sure the £6.5m he's been paid by Aston Villa should offer some solace.

Farewell, Habib Beye. I do not wish you the best of luck, and you will most certainly not be missed.