I'm pretty sure this wasn't the case with Crofts, didn't we sign him on a freebie? He was surplus to requirements this season, he probably had a choice of clubs who were interested and decided to rejoin his old club which I think is a very good deal for all parties concerned. Can someone tell me of an previous example when this kind of deal has happened because I can't think of a single one which is why I'm of the conclusion Simon is merely clutching at straws. I really don't get why some of us think this is good for Snodgrass and that there actually is anything in this? Sounds like a load of old twaddle to me! He was only with Leeds for four seasons for heavens sake, like I said before its not as if he's been a Leeds fan since a boy or anything is it? Players come and go, like they have for us over the years and like we have done when we've sold star players in the past I suggest Simon gets over it and concentrates more on the players who will be wearing Leeds shirts next season
And why on earth would it be "a good deal" for him? Sorry, if he's that good there will be bigger clubs than Leeds after him, and I don't know about anyone else but I want our players to be thinking about Norwich City and nobody else, not with one eye on an escape route at some point in the future
i don't know the ins and outs of snodgrass' contract with norwich but what i do know is that he is on record as saying he wanted to move to norwich LAST SUMMER too. he doesn't sound like someone who doesn't want to be here and although players have all manner of bizarre extras in their contracts, my gut feeling is this is completely made up to satisfy a few leeds fans hunger to be viewed as a big draw still.
I don't think its anything to do with this at all. I think you have misunderstood the point of Simon's little drop by onto your board
how have i missed the point? simon has said that snodgrass has a clause in his contract which allows him to move back to leeds - i question this because i think its a fanciful suggestion from a leeds fan who has tried to invent a way of making his club appear to still have to draw of a big club. it doesn't. some of your fans cling to this ideal that players want to return to leeds if and when they get back to the big time. they don't. snodgrass wanted to come here last summer - he said so in an interview and he was frustrated that he couldn't leave then. he stayed because he was promised things at leeds which never materialised. he wanted to leave. why would he then demand the chance to go back if leeds lodge a bid in the future? he's moved on and his career will move away from leeds and on to norwich and then who knows where after that. i have heard of players who have clauses like this inserted in their deals but its incredibly rare - and none of it adds up on this particular concept.
If Alan Smith had a buy back clause for Leeds it would have expired when he went to Newcastle, that's probably one of the reasons he didn't end back. Plus he's ****.
No, the question of whether there is a buy back clause in the contract I don't think is debateable, its the most reliable source without Norwich city saying it themselves. Its most likely something leeds united wanted in the contract for the steal of a price you paid for him. Bearing in mind that the buy-back clause isn't going to be the same as you padi, most likely double or triple it and would most likely expire within a certain amount of time. It wouldn't be a case of Snoddy saying I want to go play for leeds again and upping and moving as he wishes, it would more likely be leeds united deciding whether he is worth a bid to try and lure him back and leave it to him to decide. I don't believe there is any arrogance shown from leeds fans here, more just stating facts and then providing opinions based on those facts. Maybe you should stop attacking leeds fans because of this
I doubt we ever had the opportunity to get him back anyway (until about a year ago when he was arguably not good enough anymore)
In other words Leeds have 1st refusal on snodgrass, which is common within the game! No. Theres no fee or anything in his contract just that Leeds get first choice if we were to sell?
ok, i was wrong then - yes, leeds may well have requested this clause, ie first refusal, but my point was that snodgrass wouldn't have demanded it to be in there, it would have been leeds united and them alone, hence why i doubt it is of any interest to any of us as in all likelihood it'll never be activated and we could refuse any bid. little known fact, norwich had a clause in dean ashton's deal when he left for west ham that we could buy him back for less than the eventual full price west ham paid for him! great business sense from the hammers there...
Yea I do doubt that snoddy himself requested it Well I suppose it depends on who has requested it however I could never see the case when a player would specifically request it in a contract so I'd imagine the actual transfer itself
He was at Leeds for 4 seasons, but he's also only 24. When we signed him he was a promising young player who's career was in danger of stagnating in the SFL who had problems with drinking, the company he was keeping etc. Over his time at Leeds he's matured into a class player and settled down as a mature family man. Basically Leeds United have set him up for life. It's known that Snoddy was frustrated with the regime, just like the fans, but it's also known his preferred option would be to play for us in the PL. I certainly didn't make it up and there is absolutely no reason for the person who said it to make it up. I talked about his frustration earlier and have said before; this is the same person Snoddy and other senior players used to release a statement about their frustration with the regime. As I said, this isn't some fanciful suggestion, it's someone who can be trusted 100%. I can completely see how it adds up, it's known he really wanted to play in the PL with us, it's also known that he was frustrated by the lack of ambition shown at the club and probably needed to move elsewhere for that, with this he could have covered himself against all eventualities. Read your comment... that's it. No-one really knows the details. Anything outside of the fact there is some kind of buy-back clause somewhere is pure speculation. The wild card which so far hasn't really been mentioned is our takeover, which Snodgrass was extremely doubtful of at the time, one of the major reasons he's thought to have decided to leave now, but which is looking closer again
i think what we are all saying, at least from a norwich point of view, is that this has NOTHING to do with snodgrass! this is a club decision to ask for a clause, not the players. he hasn't thought 'do you know what, i'll sign for norwich but as soon as leeds get promoted i'm going back there'. that is what i find fanciful as said above, its the norm for clubs to insert clauses like this. it would be abnormal for a player to suggest it, which is what i thought you were getting at. it seemed to be initiated earlier that this was a choice of the players - it clearly isn't. he wanted to come to norwich for the past 12 months. if leeds get promoted, he will not be back like a shot!
I didn't mention anything about a buy back clause, I was comparing the apparent love for Leeds United and desire to want to play for them again that clearly didn't exist with Alan Smith and I'm fairly confident in suggesting isn't the case with Snodgrass either.
I think this line emphasises that this entire thread is pointless. Simon is not wumming, but there isn't anything to debate either- this is only interesting inasmuch as it shows how common buy-back clauses are now. Yes, there will be a buy-back clause. This is normal. No, we don't know what the terms are. It will almost certainly not be anything unusually disadvantageous to Norwich. The most likely thing it will be is a first refusal type clause. It may even specify a minimum amount for Leeds to pay, which given the chance that Snodgrass might flop, could well end up being a serious disadvantage to them getting him back very cheap. There is every reason to think the same would have been included in Croft's contract- hence when we made it clear we wanted to sell him, they would have had first refusal and got him back at an excellent price. Of course, we don't know that for sure, but it really is irrelevant either way. I suspect this is a case of the LUST Chairman saying something quite ambiguous about a perfectly normal clause in order to make Leeds fans feel a bit better because it can be interpreted more positively than the practical reality. That's fair enough- it's his job.
I wasn't suggesting anything, look back, I was just reporting the information. Anyway, I'll just leave it: Someone said their is a buy-back clause somewhere involving Snodgrass' move to you -> I, along with a huge number of Leeds United fans, trust this person 100% -> I thought it would be of interest to you, as it involves your club too after all, so I passed it on Everything else is just speculation and I have no reason to make things up or "clutch at straws" as some of you have been saying, with one of them clearly part of the "haha LOL #feederclub" set. You might want to be a bit more open minded to information from fans of different clubs.
Yeah, realised that, apologies. I thought you meant there was one. Read it again EVEN IF Snodgrass does love Leeds there is just as much chance he can fall in love with Norwich as well which would make the clause pointless. Although I believe there may be one, wouldn't surprise me.
