I've never assumed any knowledge. Quite the contrary. But nor do I assume that because it is my club, we do everything right.
Yes. But if they are written in a certain, normal, way, another club would be either deterred from poaching, or pay a heavy price. Maybe a one year rolling contract with a leave when you want clause is normal. I've just never heard of it before. It's not as if we'd bagged Klopp or Guardiola for a quick spell Bug he's gone and another one gets a go. He'll get my backing for as long as he's here.
Perhaps you should avoid random guesswork and giving your opinion by saying 'these are the facts' in that case ... ... just confuses people.
Fair enough then. We couldn't afford to pay him. But my point is that it is the job of the man running the club to really sort the club's position out before the season started. And if that meant getting some criticisms so be it. It was his job to sort it out.
No guesswork from me. Unless I misunderstood the club's stated position. It was they , Speakman , who confirmed that Neil was in a rolling one year deal, with permission to talk to any other club whenever he wanted.
No I do not. And not have I said so. But neither do I assume that they do everything right. Clearly, they do not.
But we've no idea if that contract was a stipulation of the club or Neil. If it was Neil would you still have employed him?
No we don't. But, if it was from Neil, my opinion is that Speakman should have resisted it then, and really dealt with it then, as Neil's leaving under such a condition was very likely. If it was from us, it was acknowledging that we were in some way desperate to keep a decent Championship manager. I expect it was some sort of mixture. Either way, I think Speakman has handled it badly, and that Neil has been a twat.
So, to be clear, you'd have given Neil a long contract in the hope he got the team up when Johnson had failed? Or told Neil he wouldn't get the job if he insisted on a rolling contract?
No. The problem emerged in the summer IMO. A rolling contract might have suited both parties earlier, but by the summer, the contract situation should have been cemented. Changes were obviously made anyway. But maybe one year contracts are the coming thing. Maybe there will be more clubs seeking to do it. Maybe we didn't want one. Who knows? I'm not convinced, but you never know. We'll see what the new guy signs.
Neil’s behaviour this far from the end of the window has forced our hand quickly though don’t you think ? Total ****er