Barnabas
Guest
Just a few thoughts on all of the latest 'Players refusing to sign their new contract' news.
I think we should wait and see what Flavs, Dudfield, Che, Nicky and Jay do re their contracts, before we get too worked up about whether they will or won't sign. It would be somewhat ironic if a player who was still keen to sign, but was merely keeping his options open for a little while, got wind of a whole bunch of negative comments on this message board from supporters who have jumped to conclusions. Does anyone remember a few seasons back when it looked towards the end of a season as though a couple of key players would not be signing for us, but the season was still going on. I seem to recall a home game when those players were booed by a few fans when they touched the ball. I think they stopped short of booing Darryl for saving shots, but it was a bit embarassing being a SUFC fan that day. My memory is hazy, but I think one of the players was Leon Cort, who had had a pretty good season, and he did subsequently sign, and went on to have a better season. But I would not have blamed him if he had thought 'Blow this for a game of soldiers', when his own supporters were booing him. Does anyone else remember this, or have I dreamt the whole thing?
Having said all of that, if the players were wise, they would keep their initial reactions to themselves. After all, if most of us were offered a new deal at work, would we run to the Echo to get the details published? As someone said in a very interesting post a few days ago, these are the opening skirmishes in a round of negotiations. The problem for the club is that we may lose out on getting better replacements, if we delay too long, and the problem for the players is that we may actually call their bluff and go and get better replacements, then be able to turn around and say 'Okay, you had your chance, muffed it'.
Secondly, yes, agents are perhaps to blame for some of this situation, but even they have to make a living, I guess, and the open season is a lot shorter for them now, so it is not surprising that they will do all they can to increase their clients' wages, etc, and in the process, feather their own nests a bit more.
Thirdly, the sources quoted on the official website re Bristol Rovers' interest in Dudders and Jay are two papers in the west of the country, and the official site is at pains to point out that these are not the official views of the club, or words to that effect. This is paper talk, based on agents' posturings, and a 'rival' manager's words.
Which brings me to the main subject of this post. If you were Ian Atkins and had just had a pretty medicre season, and wanted to convince your fans you were ambitious for the following season, what would you be saying about potential transfer targets? Would it be 'We are looking round the bargain buckets of the Western District League for an unearthed diamond', or would you be expressing interest in players who had a good track record or genuine talent [like Dudfield and Jay], particularly from a higher league. At the end of the day, if he is unsuccessful, perhaps because another club has come in and offered more money, or they have stayed at their own club or even with a club at a similar level, then he at least can say that he had tried. His targets need to be realistic and show that he has ambition to improve the club, but not too ambitious to be unbelievable.
However, at the end of the day, I would rather have a management team like Tilly and Brush who no doubt are working their socks off, backed up by the financial backers at the club, to bring in the right players, but without too much advance publicity, so that we do not get our hopes up too much [eg about the Grant Holts of this world] and have them dashed. I don't like all this speculation. I would far rather hear a sudden announcement that we have signed a player that we can all pretty much approve of, instead of trawling through the PFA list and speculating who the targets may or may not be. [I speak as someone who has NEVER played Championship Manager in their life, so I may not be the best person to speak].
I remember the thrill of hearing that we had signed Richard Cadette, made even better when I heard the scoreline of his first team debut [4 goals against Orient, even better than Freddy's debut]. And a couple of seasons later, I think, it was exciting to hear that we had signed Brett Angell for one hundred grand, knowing that he was a proven goalscorer for Stockport. So we await the announcements. Hopefully, there will be another announcement to make us all congratulate the management on their sound and wise dealings.... But until then, I am not going to play the speculation game. Like I say.....
Barnabas
I think we should wait and see what Flavs, Dudfield, Che, Nicky and Jay do re their contracts, before we get too worked up about whether they will or won't sign. It would be somewhat ironic if a player who was still keen to sign, but was merely keeping his options open for a little while, got wind of a whole bunch of negative comments on this message board from supporters who have jumped to conclusions. Does anyone remember a few seasons back when it looked towards the end of a season as though a couple of key players would not be signing for us, but the season was still going on. I seem to recall a home game when those players were booed by a few fans when they touched the ball. I think they stopped short of booing Darryl for saving shots, but it was a bit embarassing being a SUFC fan that day. My memory is hazy, but I think one of the players was Leon Cort, who had had a pretty good season, and he did subsequently sign, and went on to have a better season. But I would not have blamed him if he had thought 'Blow this for a game of soldiers', when his own supporters were booing him. Does anyone else remember this, or have I dreamt the whole thing?
Having said all of that, if the players were wise, they would keep their initial reactions to themselves. After all, if most of us were offered a new deal at work, would we run to the Echo to get the details published? As someone said in a very interesting post a few days ago, these are the opening skirmishes in a round of negotiations. The problem for the club is that we may lose out on getting better replacements, if we delay too long, and the problem for the players is that we may actually call their bluff and go and get better replacements, then be able to turn around and say 'Okay, you had your chance, muffed it'.
Secondly, yes, agents are perhaps to blame for some of this situation, but even they have to make a living, I guess, and the open season is a lot shorter for them now, so it is not surprising that they will do all they can to increase their clients' wages, etc, and in the process, feather their own nests a bit more.
Thirdly, the sources quoted on the official website re Bristol Rovers' interest in Dudders and Jay are two papers in the west of the country, and the official site is at pains to point out that these are not the official views of the club, or words to that effect. This is paper talk, based on agents' posturings, and a 'rival' manager's words.
Which brings me to the main subject of this post. If you were Ian Atkins and had just had a pretty medicre season, and wanted to convince your fans you were ambitious for the following season, what would you be saying about potential transfer targets? Would it be 'We are looking round the bargain buckets of the Western District League for an unearthed diamond', or would you be expressing interest in players who had a good track record or genuine talent [like Dudfield and Jay], particularly from a higher league. At the end of the day, if he is unsuccessful, perhaps because another club has come in and offered more money, or they have stayed at their own club or even with a club at a similar level, then he at least can say that he had tried. His targets need to be realistic and show that he has ambition to improve the club, but not too ambitious to be unbelievable.
However, at the end of the day, I would rather have a management team like Tilly and Brush who no doubt are working their socks off, backed up by the financial backers at the club, to bring in the right players, but without too much advance publicity, so that we do not get our hopes up too much [eg about the Grant Holts of this world] and have them dashed. I don't like all this speculation. I would far rather hear a sudden announcement that we have signed a player that we can all pretty much approve of, instead of trawling through the PFA list and speculating who the targets may or may not be. [I speak as someone who has NEVER played Championship Manager in their life, so I may not be the best person to speak].
I remember the thrill of hearing that we had signed Richard Cadette, made even better when I heard the scoreline of his first team debut [4 goals against Orient, even better than Freddy's debut]. And a couple of seasons later, I think, it was exciting to hear that we had signed Brett Angell for one hundred grand, knowing that he was a proven goalscorer for Stockport. So we await the announcements. Hopefully, there will be another announcement to make us all congratulate the management on their sound and wise dealings.... But until then, I am not going to play the speculation game. Like I say.....
Barnabas
