Guess who I'm thinking of here, clue neither Lens nor Khasri, but your point is, as usual, valid, and well made.
I'd have happily taken six given the position we find ourselves in and the question marks over him. Anything more is a bonus. Good deal for me.
That's almost certainly true but surely the evidence for Khazri downing tools is based on him looking poor when he played under Moyes, which is understandable to some extent when he was playing irregularly and out of position to accommodate a much poorer player in Januzaj, and him stating in the French press that he wanted a move at the start of last season. Mouthing off in the press isn't going to endear him to Sunderland fans but I'm not sure asking for a move and being out of form due to lack of playing time are the worst crimes in the world.
The club wanted and desperately needed some of his wages off the bill and he was going to play a higher level in a world cup year. Of course he went out on loan. Best for all involved at the time and I don't begrudge him that move just cause of Moyes putting him out in the cold.
Here lies the problem with our transfer policy over the Short period. Managers only given a year yet given money to buy expensive players only for them fall out of favour.
But their managers have shown no faith from the off either. Shouldn't managers have a bigger obligation to make players brought in under other gaffers, whom the club have spent a lot of money on, work? Rather than throwing expensive players on the scrap heap cause on first meeting the player didn't show what they perceive to be enough respect, workrate or what ever? I think they should personally. I think Chairman's should be hauling managers into the office and be reminding them of the outlay. Cause at times, Managers seem just as petulant as the players.
I'm not sure that playing at Championship level would have had a detrimental effect on his chances of selection for a nation playing at the level of Tunisia. Wanting to play in the highest level in his adopted home country is understandable though given the season he'd had under Moyes. I understand the financial situation under Short but asking for a season was hypothetical under other plausible approaches the club could have taken following relegation. Precisely. Very different managers (e.g. Advocaat vs Allardyce) with very different approaches were appointed. Short's scattergun approach to managerial appointments led to a scattergun recruitment policy. The director of football model should have protected us against that but Short didn't see it through.
But the Club wanted him out as well. Can't hold it against him when it suited both parties. Everything about what we were doing was wrong at the time. Every manager who came in mindlessly discarded costly players with no thought to financial implications to the club. the ****ing chairman was burning through managers with the same frivolous attitude. There's no wonder we are where we are.
If you believe the Secret Footballer, this can be a deliberate tactic adopted by some (less good) managers to instil fear in the rest of the squad. 'If x player isn't too good to be dropped neither am I, so I'd better keep my nose clean'
I can imagine many do that. That can't work in the modern era though can it? More so in the last 5 years than ever. Unless you're being funded by a sugar daddy it doesn't work cause even though there's more money in the game than ever, the margin for error tightens and consequences have become more severer. If managers are too stupid realise this perhaps their time in the game is approaching extinction.
Well, it's not the most sophisticated of approaches anyway is it? So I reckon you're right, that sort of approach must be dying out, or so you would hope. I can well imagine Moyes being like that though, with his unique blend of arrogance, ineptitude, and general out-of-touchness.
They should certainly give them a chance, yes. I do remember Moyes giving Khazri chances, and I also remember Sam playing Lens in a No10 role for a bit as well. But I agree with the scrap heap bit - if they don't want to play the player then they should be duty-bound to sell the player rather than allowing them the clag up the wage bill in return for nothing
