For anyone who still thinks it was selfish for AJ to reject a move to Wigan, here's a non-Fulhamish article giving the perspective of transfer deadline day from a player's family. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...-not-about-the-money-money-money-6297988.html I'm not sure the line about donkeys at the end was well-considered. It sounds like an invitation to make jokes about the technical limitations of her esteemed husband! Apart from that, very interesting I thought.
It's not like they asked him to move to Siberia. Come on Captain. He is a professional footballer, paid handsomely, surely has thought of it before starting a family. It like asking a soldier to go somewhere and claiming family reasons. On the other hand, had he done his job properly which is to score goals, I am sure he would not face such questions! And if he wants to stay in London he needs to change and not throw tantrums. He has a contract offered to him for 1 year. If he wants more he has to prove himself. So far he is a BIG BIG flop.
Yes, he's paid handsomely, but that doesn't mean he has no choice in where he lives and works. If he was refusing to travel certain distances to play for Fulham that would, clearly, be outrageously unreasonable, but that isn't what's going on. No matter what we're paying him, we don't have the right to tell him who he has to work for after he leaves us. I agree that he hasn't been all that we hoped for, but he's always put in an honest shift and done his work. The injuries aren't his fault - the club can't say they didn't know about his injury record, given how long they ummed and ahhhed over his medical - and most on this site have commented this season on how well he's played in most games. The only problems have been when he's expected to fulfil a role he isn't equipped to (fighting for long aerial balls) and the fact that his finishing isn't what it used to be. The latter of those is the biggest problem, the former is the fault of team-mates giving him the wrong type of service, or managers telling them to do so. And even if AJ was at fault, he's still a human being with the right to choose where he lives and works. If your boss told you the company was relocating to the other end of the country, you might or might not be willing to go with them, in the knowledge that if you chose to stay you would be looking for a new job. If he told you that the company wasn't moving, but he wanted you to go and work for somebody else at the opposite end of the country, I suspect that you would think long and hard about the effect it would have on your family, particularly if there was a large number of similar companies that you could apply to work for closer to home. I know that footballers are paid a king's ransom, but us fans can sometimes forget that they have an existence beyond what they do on the pitch and the training ground.
The AJ discussion is a long one. Let's see in the summer what other "company" will offer him employment t in London with the sort of money he is asking and contract duration. Most of them have already invested wisely.
FFC Total agreement with your article,this guy is on a reputed 40+k per week = 2million, if he had been offered a 2 year contract on the continent he would have been off like a shot. The plan he has is obvious for all to see,a free in the summer,at 40k or + for 2 years (AND HE WILL GO ANYWHERE) .
Reading all your locations in conjunction with the title to the thread made me smile.... My take on it was that AJ didn't want to move to Wigan because they are (unfortunately) the most likely team to go down and he doesn't want to be in the championship next season Will be interesting to see how much he plays for us over the rest of the season
Unfair to criticise until you've 'walked a mile in their shoes'. I can't imagine just getting on with your daily routine and at 6pm on deadline day you're told you have to up ship and move house, schools etc. I don't blame any person for not moving to an area they don't want to. I know if I was given the option I would like to stay where I live.
Think he showed his character when suddenly got injured last night. No complaint that he tries his best but business is business. Valjing has a point. Had someone given him 40k/week for 2 years he would have gone. Any chance of a team around London giving him that sort of money? No because all that would potentially need his services bought strikers.
Fulhamireland I think he was on the transfer market from the start with Blackburn rumours making the round.only option was QPR and since they bout Cisse he should have known...
Oh God. Another WAG like Coleen Rooney who gets to write an article in a newspaper and call herself a 'journalist'. I have a degree in journalism, you have a famous husband. Yet you're the one who gets published. I hate life.
Apparently West Ham were interested too. Maybe what he really wants is to wait until the summer to find a new club. Not saying that I agree with what he wants to do but to have to make the decision to suddenly go to Wigan (who look very likely to be relegated) can't be an easy choice to make. When we signed AJ he said moving to London was a major factor in deciding Fulham (he had a few choices at the time). I can't blame any player for not wanting to disrupt his family life and move his children to a different school. I wish he went but I don't blame him for not moving.
Agree is a disruption but he could have all sort of clauses in his contract to get a return to London in the summer. 3 months really till the end of the season.
Perhaps you should marry a footballer, Bandy. Just think of all the inside information you could give us - does anyone know if Bryan Ruiz is single? I seem to recall you particularly liked his hair and teeth. I don't think Mrs Davies is looking to make a career out of journalism, it was a one-off feature tapping in to her specialist knowledge. I write and edit for a living and I have no problem with this. Now, television celebs writing childrens books when I'm still trying to get mine published, that's another matter...
