January transfer rumour mill

We’re way past pointing any fingers.

We are bombing. We have bombed. It’s an absolute farce.

For years we’ve had contract problems. That’s Evans’ fault alone.

I said I’m not impressed with Paul Lambert’s handling of this, it’s poor leadership. That’s all there is to it.

 

“That’s all there is to it”! Well I’m glad it’s that simple.

Let’s just ignore the fact that the player has wanted to leave for months, that the previous manager didn’t want to even discuss renewing Knudsen’s contract at the start of the season, and that Lambert tried getting Knudsen to sign a new contract before Knudsen refused to sign anything as he wanted to leave in January.

If you ask me, Lambert has showed the right management approach by rightly dropped Knudsen from the first team. He is a player that doesn’t want to play for this club anymore and has effectively come out publicly and confirmed this. No player should be bigger than the club, especially an underperforming left back.

 

It’s not about ‘being bigger than the club’. Treating people like this is everything that is wrong with our club now and the polar opposite of everything that we did right for over half a century. It’s absolutely pathetic and is mirrored on the pitch.

 

My take on it -

Lost a lot of respect for Knudsen this season. Sure, it's their career, want the best etc and perhaps ITFC could have gone about things differently - I happen to think whatever we'd have offered the lad he'd have left and had no intention of ever signing but that's just me.

However, even back in October / November / December with us bottom Knudsen wasn't shy in going to the press about new contract this that and the other.

Not the best idea in my book when your side is bottom of the table and I don't think his comments would have gone down well with a single one of his team mates.

However, on the basis he is going to stay - IF things can be resolved with Knudsen in that he'll definitely be going in the summer, he is still our best LB in my view and needs to be playing games.

 

In a grown up world it’s dealt with, the player learns a lesson and you move on. He has not shown an ongoing lack of discipline, which would be entirely different. Leaving him out benefits no one. There would still be the opportunity for him to come back in, show his best form and sign a new contract but instead, like so many others, he’ll leave for free and we’ll sign someone else of lesser quality for more money than just consolidating.

It wouldn’t make any difference to our survival this season but running a club the way we are is just not sustainable or going to lead to any success.

People, managers and players alike, MUST be allowed to make mistakes provided they don’t keep repeating the same ones.

 

Correct- he should have maybe said it once to the press instead of again and again. He didn’t learn the first time.

 

Once someones head has been turned, and you think there's something better out there for you, it's difficult to come back from that, especially if you've made it public. He almost definitely thought that someone would've come in for him this transfer window, and i understand that he is probably looking to up his salary, as he is probably in the prime of his career (earning ability).
The manager and player could let by gones be by gones, shake on it, and get on with trying to get us out of this mess we're in...or, the manager could take a stance and say, well, he doesn't want to play for us, he won't be here in a few months, lets start playing players that are dedicated to the cause.
Whichever route PL took, he would've been damned either way. Only time will tell if he did the right or wrong thing.
I have no issue with the way PL has handled this (on the face of it, as we don't know what happened behind closed doors).
If it were me in PL's shoes, i probably would do it the same....provided we had half decent cover for him.

 

As far as I know he has only spoken to the press once or twice and he never told the press he wanted to leave. He said he has not been offered a contract and that there had been concrete interest from Middlesbrough (perhaps his agent bullshitted him about that) and that in January he'll be free to talk to other clubs.

Naive but certainly doesn't warrant all this nonsense. It's the club's failings that have led to this situation. Luke Chambers was in the same situation two years ago and he said "It’s a very difficult situation and it’s difficult to talk about. Anything I say can be misconstrued. Am I frustrated? I’ll probably keep that to myself but I haven’t missed many games in my time here and to be down to the last six months of my contract is a little bit strange."

He has been treated very shabbily by the club (yes including Paul Hurst). Town need good players more than good players need Town at the moment.

 

In other news I see Wednesday have signed Iorfa on a permanent deal ....and I thought we were desperate!

 

He'll have a blinder now against us. In fact, i don't think he's as bad as the town fans think - would prefer him to Spence

 

Preferring him to Spence is damning with faint praise!Agree though,he'll probably score tomorrow!