I've just spoken to my son who reckons the club have made a statement saying the reports in the gutter press(Sun, Mail) have absolutely no foundation! They will be dealing with his contract renewal in the usual fashion when the time is right and issuing a statement accordingly!
C'mon peeps, you all know any press story was started by Ash's agent and you can bet Ash gave them the nod to do so. Whether it's his real intention to stay or not, his shall we say preferences for contract are in the public domain but can not reliably be actually attributed to him. This is because if there was chance fans didn't like it he could plausibly deny it. It would help him gauge fan reaction because fans talk about their opinion on easily assessable social media sites like this, which his agent and their staff and scan and report back. They can then use any positive fan feedback in future contract negotiations and what the fans think can have a modicum of influence, maybe just enough to tip the balance one way or another. From what I gather from feedback is that most fans would be happy to extend his contract at least another two years and this is bound to have been seen by more than me.
Absolutely, even if he loses a bit, in 2 years he will still be a valued squad player and a big help to the kids.And I don't even like the bloke. Wish these old guard players could be realistic and accept that nothing lasts forever.
