I don't think it would have been McNally's opening gambit, certainly, but if you're struggling to convey the message to someone nicely then sometimes you have to be a little blunt. If telling him "We don't want to commit to long contracts when the club aren't sure of our future" or "we're worried that investing in a third year now when we don't know how fit you'll be at the time is unwise" isn't working, then McNally would have been forced to use simpler, harsher terms, just to stop things going around in circles.
Would hardly have been difficult to convey that message though, would it? Sounds more like an agent stirring to me.
I'm not sure what was said with holt, McNally or anyone so I'm keeping my mind open and I think it can be resolved But that agent is poison, a bottom feeding poisonous scumbag.
The thing is, though, Holt has never seemed the easily led type. If he was, I don't think he would have put away half as many last year. Also, the agent doesn't really have any previous with it, so I think Grant has definitely had his feelings hurt somewhere along the line. I would offer him either 2 with an optional 3rd depending on appearances/goals, or a 3 year with the last year having a performance based wage-cut.
Edit: Sorry, just re-reading this thread my comments don't really seem logical, so ignore my last point. As previously suggested, as we've only heard from Payne, McNally probably went more softly and Payne has paraphrased for effect and to make his case stronger. Just found an interesting piece by Mr Payne. I'd sort of assumed that as he said in the BBC Norfolk interview that he'd been with Holt for 7 years that he wasn't really that high profile an agent, usually dealt with lower league players and had found himself in an unusual position with Holt's meteoric rise. Turns out he's (was?) also the agent of Ben Foster, Paddy Kenny, Jussi Jaaskelainen and Stephen Ireland, so maybe he's smarter than I've been giving him credit for. I'm not sure if I think that's a good thing or not. If he was an inexperienced, fairly naive agent then I could sort of understand it, but he appears to have been around a bit longer than that.
holt STILL has two years left on his deal remember. its not as if he wanted to leave when he signed that (what was then a) 3 year deal last summer. nor does he claim he want to leave now . the issue i have with him is that it is blatantly about money. ok, i'm sure he does want the extension and lets be honest, if he was 27 years old he'd be offered a four year deal, but he isn't, he's 31 and by the time he has one year left he'll be 32. so you don't have to be a genius to work out that offering him an extension of a year means he'll be 34 when it finishes - he may or may not be the same player by that time. the club cannot risk it but he still has the security of two more years. it is clearly that he wants more money for what he achieved last season. he probably deserves it too, but if the club cannot afford to meet his demands they will quite rightly tell him to get back to work and come back later to see how things are progressing. you don't always get what you want! he's being very badly advised but he isn't doing himself any favours right now with his behaviour on twitter. he is fast approaching the point of no return.
Supers - IMO, Holt's acting a bit like a 'spoilt child' (a lot of it is probably on the advice of his agent) and McNally the 'strict parent'. I support the 'strict parent' every time, as they know what's best for everyone!!!!!
..............this was the last reply that had any relationship with the OP about c. martin. post number 5. since then it has degenerated into a holt ramble.
to finish my post above, i will be very surprised if our new manager is interested in keeping chris. he is a championship player at best.
well done getting the thread back on track! if i had my way then chris martin has played his last game for norwich but who knows - any new manager will want to check out what he has at his disposal. personally i'd sell him. never likely to be any better than mid-table championship material
It does seem he will eventually go the way of Ryan and Rossi, but he's done well with Palace and I would be inclined to give him a chance in pre-season and maybe a couple of early games. The window will still be open and I can't imagine we would have much problem selling him if we wanted to. McNally's 'no FIRST TEAM players are for sale' (emphasis mine) doesn't seem to bode well for him though.
Norwich City have moved on, CM was great in League 1, so-so in the Championship and is not PL - sorry!!
It's a shame because it seems so long since a player came through the youth team to be a regular in the top division. The days of Goss, Sutton, Fox, Eadie etc. seem a long while ago.
