Crystal Palace's decision to sell skipper Andy Roberts to rivals Wimbledon for just £1.6m has stunned Eagles' supporters.

A mainstay of the side since signing from Millwall for £2.3m in the summer of 1995, Roberts has been instrumental in helping the team to achieve their Prem-ier league status and is desperately needed as they battle with relegation.

The deal for Roberts, 24 this month, involves an initial fee of £800,000 with a further £800,000 on appearances. Mark Goldberg has defended the deal saying that Roberts was out of contract at the end of the season and could have left for nothing. Goldberg has also made his intentions clear by contacting Rangers about the availability of Paul Gascoigne.

But irate Palace fan Mike Reeves blasted "This is another example of Palace's inept activity in the transfer market. What sort of side sells their skipper for a laughable fee like that in the middle of a relegation battle?

"Roberts may not have had his best run of form lately but he is still one of our best players and one of the few who never gives up. To even consider selling a young quality player for even less than we bought him for is absolutely staggering. It's like we are accepting relegation already."

The midfielder/sweeper has been playing out of position for much of the latter part of the season having been pushed further forward because of the semi permanent nature of Lombardo and Padovano's injuries which has left the team light in midfield. Shipperley, Rodger and Warhurst have also been out and in a struggling side, the out-of-position Roberts has suffered a dip in form.

Andy Roberts played 130 games and scored three goals for Palace.

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