Why Carlos should have gone
A lot of people don't believe that he was in good form at all this season for Luton. His crossing has also been as poor as it ever has as well. We should also have enough cover on the wing to keep us going. Brkovic isn't exactly blessed with Carlos' pace in his old age, but on his day his crossing is superb - he certainly put in at least two excellent crosses on New Year's Day. Bell can also play on the wing, and despite a stupid sending off against Cardiff, he looks a very promising player and shouldn't actually miss any league matches because of the FA Cup match on Saturday against QPR. £1.4 million is also a lot of money for a club of our size - we haven't sold many for over a million - it is only Steve Howard, Curtis Davies, John Hartson and Matthew Upson that I can think of, maybe there are more. He also made no secret of his desire to play in the Premiership, so surely cashing in on him now rather than risking losing him for nothing later is a good deal on Luton's part. He was also looking like a tired player, which isn't surprising considering that he hasn't had a proper break since signing for Luton because of the World Cup.
Why Carlos should have stayed
On the other hand, with Luton's precarious position near the bottom of the Championship, it isn't really wise to sell key players at this point in time. Carlos may not be rated by some Luton fans, but a lot of opposition fans rate him highly. I definitely heard a few Birmingham fans on Friday night saying how good he looked. Carlos is definitely one of our most dangerous players with the ball - his final product may be poor a lot of the time, but his pace shows that he can run at players, and he likes to try and beat them, getting valuable throw-ins and corners in the process. Another thing is his long throw-ins, which can be very threatening when in the right places. He is also good defensively, and his loss means there will be no adequate cover at right-back in case Foley gets injured - Keith Keane anyone? His loss may also mean we have to change tactics, as Brkovic is a different player. Give Brko time, and he can put in a superb cross, but he is unlikely to sprint past his marker. Give Carlos the ball in defence, and he will probably give a superb counter-attacking option with his sprinting - the same can't be said of Brkovic. Brko on the right wing will also mean Morgan will play regularly on the left wing, bringing the dreaded Warren Feeney into attack. Edwards' departure also means that Morgan and Brkovic are the only players with 3 or more goals (except Vine of course). Have we lost a good goalscoring option?
So was it actually worth it? If we can get an adequate replacement in who helps keep us in the Championship, then it will be. However, if we go down then it probably won't be, as the loss of TV money and whatever other money we get for being in the Championship will probably cost us whatever profit we made on Carlos' transfer.
Dean Morgan
There have also been a few surprising rumours about Dean Morgan moving in the transfer window as well. Leeds have apparently tabled a bid for Deano, with other clubs apparently interested as well. Whether it would be worth selling him for a decent amount of money is a lot easier to answer for me. His contract expires soon, so perhaps we should cash in on him while we have the chance. Unlike Carlos, he hasn't proved himself to be a crucial player since he joined the club. He occasionally has a brilliant game, but these games are few and far between. His attitude is also questionable at best, annoying at worst. Getting into an argument with Richard Langley on New Year's Day certainly didn't help the team's performance, and it has been a similar story a lot of games with him, except arguments with his team-mates are less heated usually. His attacking threat on the day is excellent, but he needs to produce more often for me. Hopefully Newell can change Morgan's attitude and improve him as a player and keep him, but if not then maybe it is time for him to move on.