Rubbish, there are a few reasons players don't hand in transfer requests often. Firstly, If you hand in a transfer request then nobody you want to go to wants you then you look a bit of a plum. Or maybe you can't agree personal terms. Where does that leave you. It would make if very difficult to play for your team with the fans backing. This kind of thing normally only happens when a player is aware of interest and thinks his club are over pricing him. Secondly, If a player has requested a transfer they lose all rights to their proportion of any transfer fee and so have to pay their agent themselves. And finally, if a player gets a reputation for handing in transfer requests it makes them less attractive to the clubs they might want to move to. I never said any of the players mentioned want away from Leeds, but if the opportunity arose the majority if not all would take it. There is a huge difference between wanting away and taking your chance when it comes. This is not geting at Leeds, all through this I have said it is the same at almost any club, but a few Leeds fans on the Norwich board recently seem unable to comprehend that the Leeds players are unlikely to feel the same way about the club as the fans do. And the whole Delph thing, maybe he was just not good enough? At least he gave it a go.
I think Lambert has done it exactly right this time. When we were last promoted we signed a load of players who either had prem experience or were 'suposedly' prem standard. Thomas Helveg, David Bentley, Matthias Johnsson, Simon Charlton, Gary Doherty.......etc. Our bestplayers that season ended up being guys who were either already at the club or who had signed from lower leagues with no previous PL experience. Dean Ashton (from Crewe), Darren Huckerby, Adam Drury, Dickson Etuhu & Robert Green (all players who were already here). I would much rather have the cream of the lower leagues who are hungry to prove themselves than players who have been rejected by their prem clubs or were relegated last season. One or Two of the latter catagory is fine, but at the moment our squad are used to winning. Bringing in too many players who lost more than they won last season will not improve us, whoever they might be.
The bolded part is the exact situation I am talking about. In the situation we are speaking of, the player would most definitely feel the club would be over pricing them, which is a given due to the fact that Leeds have no desire to sell our best players. Schmeichel is not one of our best players, I haven't thought this for a while before you give me any grief. If they knew there was genuine interest which it has been made clear that there is several times for both Snodgrass and Gradel, the 2 players that are at the forefront of this debate, if they thought it was best for their careers but felt the club wouldn't let other clubs talk to them, then they would hand in a transfer request. What you've failed to notice is what you basically said originally is that any player is desperate to play in the Premier League at the first opportunity, which is simply not true. A lot of players are aware of the risks of jumping the gun and setting off to the Premier League too soon. They are also aware that a move to the wrong club, ie a relegation candidate, may see them in the same place they were without any prospect of getting back to the Premier League. All it takes is one average or bad season and you're off the radar for a long time, maybe forever. It's hard to shine when you're part of a struggling team, especially as a winger. There are also a lot of players that appreciate that playing for Leeds, regardless of where Leeds currently are in the league system, is a career highlight, large or small, it still stands out. There are so many factors you have failed to consider it's untrue, and these are the reasons a lot of deals fall through. The terms of a deal with a new club are quite often unsatisfactory because the player is happy at their current club and it will take a significant increase in pay or perks to move them away.
While he may go to Norwich if a bid was accepted, Snoddy has already said publicly that he won't be looking to move on unless Leeds decide to sell him, so I don't see a transfer request coming from him. Also Gradel has said he knows he owes the club a debt after we pretty much saved his career when he couldn't get a game at Leicester. Beckford was different because he didn't start playing professionaly until about 24 and even then was only playing at League 1. He wanted to secure his future and play at the best level he could with the much more limited career he has.
And even then he was dedicated as far as his contract was concerned. He had plenty of interest from premier league clubs over his time with Leeds and never handed in a transfer request. He stuck out his contract.
