Contract negotiations…

With the list of out of contract players at our place being pretty extensive I am firmly of the opinion that we must conclude contract negotiations with those we are looking to keep in a timely fashion.

We can not afford for these negotiations to rumble on and on into our pre season preparations. Powell/The Board must offer contracts to those they want to keep and include a deadline. This deadline is absolutely imperative imo, as we can then plan for future recruitment of players as we will know that once said deadline passes what areas we are light in terms of numbers and quality…

All the time any negotiations are ongoing we are left in an uncertain position… This can not be allowed to happen…

What are your thoughts on this chaps…?

 

My thoughts are that this running down the contracts situation shouldn't happen as has done for the 3rd consecutive summer.

Time to start handing out proper 3-4 year contracts to key players ie Wagstaff, Wright-Phillips, Semedo

 

There's no way that's going to happen Martin...

With the precarious state in which football clubs find themselves, particularly outside the promised land of the Premiership 3/4 year contracts are I believe very much a thing of the past.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for giving talented youngsters like Harriott more lengthy deals, but I think 1/2 year contracts in the main are a good thing.

Shorter deals for players allow clubs a degree of flexibility to evolve with any change in their financial situation. Also it ensures that players don’t get too comfortable and are required to play for their supper (so to speak). A case in point in recent years is Ambrose & Racon… Both were on 4 year contracts and did imo absolutely nothing until the last 6 months of their deals. They only then pulled their socks up in a desperate attempt to con another contract out of us.

After all, dishing out long deals with crazy money attached is a pretty significant factor for why our club found itself in a financial muddle and looking down both barrels of the Administrators shotgun. Imo the preservation of the clubs future should not under any circumstances be put at risk, particularly by repeating the erroneous ways of the previous regime…!!