None of the Scots, or Wes, count. They have to have been in the England leagues to be classified as homegrown.
It would be pretty bizarre behaviour paying him to play at Hearts then play him next season , you may loan out a 20 year old to give him games but Naismith is getting on 32. We should have tried to recoup some of that money wasted by selling him but I don't think anyone is dumb enough to match his wage demands. The guy is just expensive baggage
Interesting one that. Reports from Scotland suggest that Hearts really had to push the boat out financially to get Naismith on loan and there is no chance of them being able to do it next year. Unless he does well at Hearts I cannot see anyone else wanting him and he will end up back here in our squad. If he does well at Hearts then we might want him back here in any case.
I sincerely hope that is not the case. Dis ain't no knee-jerk reaction, hell's teeth he's been here long enough for that not to apply, but a nearly 32 year old, who has mustered one (1) good game since AN sold the kitchen sink to pay to bring him here - and still on PL wages even now - and next season presumably, bearing in mind there'll be no parachute payments then is my version of baggage. With a giant, capital "B"! Goes totally against the preferred age range / wage structure / attitude that DF is gradually instilling into his squad. Counter productive if he ever shows up here again, imho
Whilst I understand your sentiment it does not change the situation. AN went after him and he took a small pay cut to come here. It has not worked out and he has every right to see out his contract. If nobody wants him or pay his wages even if he is available on a free transfer then we are stuck with the situation and can either loan him out to any interested party with them contributing to his wages, put him in our squad and try and get some game time out of him or pay his wages just for turning up for training every day. There is little that the current management or Naismith himself can do about it.
I didn't realise that until I read the Pink'un article, GE. I can sort of see RoI being another country, but Scotland is in the UK. Sure the FA wants to develop English players, but if this was challenged in the courts it could well be seen as infringing employment rights.
I realise that Naismith arouses an emotional response in many people, but the fact is he has scored 8 goals in 37 starts and 11 sub appearances for City, which isn't bad for a midfield player.
So are you saying he has justified his £8.5m fee and £40K + wages? That's one thing we won't be concurring on anytime soon!
Mike Bailey in the Pink'un confirmed recently that his cost was closer to £5m as the add-ons were never realised (for the same reason Wildschut's actual cost was only £4m). They also confirmed that Naismith's wages are also around £30k a week, not the higher figures often quoted on here. I do have time for Naismith and wouldn't mind him coming back next season, so no, I doubt that we'll ever concur old friend.
Except that he's a midfielder, not a striker. His scoring rate compares well with that of say Wes, Murphy or Howson.
He scored a hat trick against Chelsea. And when you do that you automatically raise the bar - in his case to a never again attainable level. Average player, pitifully poor business by NCFC and I hope he enjoys life back in Scotland
Lewis Grabban scored several goals in his first few games for us, look how that ended up. He made CJ look prolific.
