You're just gutted that we've decreased the chances a little of him going in the summer, when you could have thrown another comic jibe at the club Don't worry CBK, there'll be another chance for you soon.
If we get a ridiculous offer for any player then everyone has their price. I don't much mind selling a player for a massive profit if that player is replaceable. If we sold Messi then how you replace him? What does upset me is selling good players such as Victor and Clyne for half their real value because their contracts are running out. If some can't see tying down a player to a long contract as unalloyed good news then perhaps they are just unhappy with the way the the business of football works, or even the real world works? If someone told me at the end of last season that we would only sell the players that we knew were going and everyone else had signed long term contracts, and that several of the Academy lads would break through this season, I would have thought them a tad optimistic . Yet here we are.
Even if you are a natural pessimist, the worst that the new contract means is that Romeu is not looking to leave as early as he can. He has settled and he likes it here. Why not enjoy it....it was what most fans were looking for.
So Virgil goes this summer and now Oriol has to wait to next summer. Personally i can't wait till we give Cuco a new contract.
Maybe, and I can see why it's good news for Romeu as he gets an immediate pay-rise. Rest of his situation hasn't really changed much as he's gone from a person under contract, to a person under a longer contract. He could still leave or engineer a move in the summer if he so wished. I really struggle to understand the "excitement" about player contracts. It meant bugger all in the past and means much the same now, but clubs mostly use it as a PR tool and clearly, it works. But you only have to look at recent politics to realise we are living in an age of PR & showmanship over fact.
I understand your views in PR, etc., however what's the alternative? To have sarcastic digs implies the you'd be happy if we let contracts wind down and players leave for nothing or a lower value. Only this morning I read a poster making reference to players leaving "under value" in the last year of a contract. There comes a time when people need to leave the digs and just embrace it. Life can't be that unhappy surely.
Perhaps it's an option to let contracts wind down? We don't need the money from transfers as we never spend what we've got in from them anyway. So if they go "under value" or for nothing, as long as we've got 1 or 2 good seasons out of them, is it really and different to what happens now? (they sign a long contract and still either get sold or ask to leave long before contract runs out). Perhaps letting a contract run right down will keep a player more hungry? Hungry to get a new contract or prove to other clubs he's worth buying? Many players have seen a drop in form AFTER signing extended contracts. Perhaps they feel too comfortable? Why do I need to "leave the digs"? It's just my opinion and one that I don't feel is particularly extreme as it's based upon what has actually happened at our club many times over the past 4 or 5 years. I prefer to be happy about my club scoring goals, playing good football and hopefully, winning games. If people get happy about a bloke signing a bit of paper to get a pay rise for himself, then that's fine by me. Each to their own and all that.
That's actually a fair point CBK. I hadn't thought of what would happen if a players contract ran down. I personally think it wouldn't over benefit us, however good luck to Les if he decides to try that. I'd like to see what happens. When was the last top player we let run a contract down? As for the digs and "it's what has actually happened..." I think this is the first season we have had so many players sign new contracts in one go. This coming summer will be the true test of whether giving longer contracts early is beneficial to the club. Until that's proven to make no difference, I don't think you can say it is what's always happened.
You're right FLT. By extending the contract, we are increasing: * our potential sale price * the length of time we have the player for. I also don't buy CBK's point about player motivation after signing a new contract because as he suggests we're open to the possibility of selling them before the contract ends. With that in mind, Romeu should be fully motivated for the next couple of years if he's gonna get his 'big' move later.
We aren't in in danger of losing all our players, because we have a level. We only lose to bigger teams with more money and glamour than us. Players have no footballing or money reasons to move to any PL club other than the Liverpool, Chelsea and Uniteds etc. Fonte moving to West Ham is an outlier as his relationship with the club seemed to have broken down. Sadly, we lose our cream, but at the moment that only includes Virgil. Arguably, it is better for us if we have more players at risk of being nicked...means we have a better team.
You never know what can happen with a player's career, but I suspect that in Romeu's case, he's probably at the right level for his talent. As good as he is, I can't see him becoming a target for a top 6 team. I could see him being wanted by Stoke/WBA/Everton. Stoke & Everton pay higher wages than us (I believe) so that might be a threat if he feels Saints are not delivering what he wants. All hypothetical, of course. But generally, I don't see how this contract changes much.
Brilliant news all we need now is Maya to sign an extension... I have a funny (but lovely) feeling that we're not going to be selling any of the first team this summer, not even Virgil. No idea why I feel like this, maybe I'm a ridiculous optimist, but it's a very, very strong feeling...
A tale of two contracts. Coutinho signs new deal, press jiz pants. Romeu goes about his business. I know who i'd rather have. oriol
You can tell he's a fans fav, I've not seen that much of him but if he's playing like that every week he'll soon get a lot of attention.
That'll do for me Helen,you just need to issue a statement to the ( morons) press And tell uncle Les and jobs a goodun.