So why hasn't Ash told his agent to shut up with his comments to the press? His comments are suggesting they are holding a gun to the clubs head.
I agree but i do think ash deserves a pay rise as he has nearly seen out his contract and as captain then he obviously knows what michu and bony are on and he thinks he deserves to be up there as a top earner like them. I think he has a valid point and we should give him his pay rise and be done with it. He has earned some sort of reward...
I think everyone rates Ash highly (e.g. I for one thought Ash was the best player on the pitch the day we beat Norwich at home to secure Prem football...most Jacks I know were talking about the goals but I told everyone that evening that Ash was head and shoulders MOM)...but it is statements his agent is putting out (and let's face it Moralee doesn't do that without Ash's approval) and not gutter press stuff that is annoying people.
He has been offered a pay rise hasn't he? Just not as much as his agent says he can get him somewhere else...fair enough. Problem is none of them are willing to stump up the transfer fee. That's how much they value him. These clubs are just trying to pick up a proven Prem performer on the cheap. If he wants to sacrifice being a Swans legend for some more money....as you are so fond of saying, when you've got millions what does a bit more matter .....then so be it, but it should be on our terms. We shouldn't allow the rest of the squad to see that we give in to the blackmail. Either we get paid enough to find a replacement now or we let him run his contract down and replace with next year's transfer pot. Ash is not worth the same to a team as Michu and Bony were when they signed those contracts. That's just the way it is.
Leon didn't spit his dummy out through his agent and demand more money than was offered. He just signed on the dotted line, no fuss either.
You're being inconsistent in your opinion on the wage structure , you hammered the Board when Bony was bought but now you think Ash is of the same value ,not in this lifetime .
Ash clearly divides opinions here. If he does stay, I'll be interested to see the reaction of some of you - not necessarily because I think you'll be negative about it, but I'll just find it interesting to see. I wouldn't hold my breath until he goes.
I'll support whoever is at the club when we start playing , it won't stop me from voicing concerns until then and after the season starts , it 's what this place is for . My biggest concern is if Monk can't get the best out of our team , no matter who comes in or who leaves , Ihope I massively wrong . If we have a bad season , I hope we are left with a good Championship team if it comes to that , with no outlandish salaries dragging behind and no crazy spending in January to try to get it turned around in panic... not confident but hopful is my take this season.
There is one subtle difference (however much we as fans value Leon and in my eyes a true swans legend) no other clubs have shown an interest in him. So he is not in a great place to barter for more money even if he wanted to. Dont read this the wrong way I love Leon and think he is awesome for us but if the only club that values your worth is your current one then they do tend to hold all the cards. Lets not forget he is also nearly 33 so lets be fair his options are very limited!!
Have any of the "bigger" clubs shown any actual interest in Ash yet this time around? The "smaller" clubs will not appeal, carry a greater risk of failure than staying here and also he would lack the power and influence he enjoys here. I am not sure being a bench warmer at a bigger club will appeal either. We know he has been a great player for us and made some amazing blocks but I don't believe he has been at his best this last season. I also have watched his back passes, being out of position and other mistakes - which he will often shout at others for, his sulking and tantrums when he should be leading. So there are definitely pros and cons. Sometimes I think a fresh start might help the team although I can see the security blanket factor of running down his contract. A Long top dollar contract for a player we have likely seen the best of could be a real chain around the neck and pull the club down with its ongoing commitment and impact in terms of better players coming along who would not want to be paid less. I do not like the fact he is publicly trying to screw every last penny out of the club when as I understand he has already been offered an improved contract. I agree we must not been seen to concede to this.
Clubs know Leon , at this point , isn't ever going to leave Swansea again no matter what money is offered . Your talking about a player managers voted as the midfielder they wanted to come to there club last season or the season before in a poll taken ( something like that )
I am not being inconsistent at all......We have broken our wage structure now and what i said would happen is happening that players will want more money now. It's the clubs fault and now they don't have a case to stop senior players wanting the same sort of money as the two top earners. Senior player like ash will obviously think he should be one of the top earners.
I think Ash has got a pretty good deal here.. No one outside england would pay ash premier league wages, not good enough for top 4, would sunderland, newcastle, villa, really pay that much more? With that said he has to be careful not to sit on the bench at swansea needs to get in good shape.
So why not give the equivilent wage to e.g. , Leon , who is as important to the team as Ash ,just because it's 'broken " doesn't mean that there has to be a free for all .
Bony and Michu are/ were exceptional talents that we had to break our wage structure to bring in. ash is not in their class therefore shouldn't be demanding their types of salaries. Quite frankly, I'd rather give Leon a pay rise closer to Bony and Michu before Ash.
Ash is a very valuable key member of the team that we cant afford to let go to one of our rivals. Make him an offer he cant refuse to see out his footballing career at top level with us, If we lose ash we will lose the backbone of our defence and will have to pay top dollar to find someone good enough that understands the way we play to replace him....
Ash hasn't said anything because his agent, all agents, have to be allowed to do their jobs, without interference; which is to max the cash. Moralee has not made any outrageous claims or threatening statements. He's simply stated which teams MAY, be interested in his client, which is a bog standard maneuver during bog standard contract negotiations. The fact that Moralee has played his hand so early, Arsenal, Sunderland and QPR, and turned "Ash may leave for nothing NEXT YEAR" on the river; shows to me that he knows he's playing a weak hand. Our board do too and I think our board will or has called Moralee's bluff. £4m doesn't afford Moralee any leverage and gives him no haggling room. Any deal he can negotiate elsewhere can easily be matched here imo. With this in mind I feel it would be in Moralees interest to max out with us and take what he can get here. For Ash, its in his interest to stay home too. I don't think his age will credit a huge wage or signing on fee. It may not even guarantee him first team football so, imo, Ash must stay here and sign for us until he's put out to stud; with an extension in the offing giving him a further bonus to look forward to in a couple of years. No one can deny that we do look after our own, Tate, Monk, O'Leary, Trundle, Britton (we brought him home). Another reason for Ash's silence, isn't he on holidays with Dyer?
Ash's agent again..... "At the end of the day, we'll see what happens. A bid's come in from Sunderland, but I've got no control over who bids for my players and neither has the player," said Moralee. "At the moment, Ash is in Sardinia, I'm in Brazil and Huw Jenkins is somewhere else. "It's up to Swansea to make him an offer because he doesn't want to leave. "Just because a club has put a bid in, that's not to say Ash wants to leave — that's far from the truth. "There's been a lot of interest in Ash and that was always going to be the case, particularly as he only has one year left on his contract. "How we've arrived at this situation, I don't know. If we'd talked about the contract in January we wouldn't be in this position. "When players go into their last year it's dangerous. This is business, it's not personal. Hopefully we can get the situation put right for all parties." "Ash is fairly chilled about it as he has been for the last four or five transfer windows," added Moralee. "Everything points to Ash wanting to stay. He's settled at Swansea, he's not far off 30 and not that far from a testimonial season. "But he's got two kids and a third on the way. "He has a family to support so the deal has to be right for Swansea and it has to be right for Ash. I'm sure a deal can be agreed."
