Having scoured through various newspapers in the last few days a re occuring theme seems to crop up.( player unrest. ) Cant they adapt to Jols new tactics,~ Zamora not happy,~ Johnson stalls on new contract, ~how many could leave in Jan window,~ Jol goes back to Holland for few days rest ,~ Hangeland unhappy over team selection.~ I know this may be paper talk ,but there does seem to be some sort of unrest within the club,which could somewhat unsettling,and of course we are not privy to inside information,so an accurate picture cant be formed. My own opinion is that its all to do with re-newing contracts, ? what say you. .
I (and others) have recently celebrated the increased depth of our squad. A necessary corollory of such improvement is rotation. Our 'key' players have previously been used to playing every game (or at least having the option to do so). This is a change of culture, which some are finding uncomfortable right now. BMJ was an early choice for manager (when we got Hughes) and we 'waited' or at least 'returned' for him. He is being paid well and given financial support for player purchases. Fulham have recently announced their intention to return to the project expanding CC to ca. 30 000 My reading is MAF, Ali Mac and BMJ have decided that Fulham are capable of competing at a (slightly) higher level than we have come to expect. ?? Cement regular top half finishes; participate in Europa league 1 year in 2/3; a domestic cup final once or twice a decade; beat our best ever league finish. I think the brighter ones will understand much of this. Others may, guided by agents and egos, decide the grass is greener elsewhere - c'est la vie.
Will AJ be remembered as another Bullard? I can see similar patterns in their behaviour... Does Bobby want to go? Bring us a good offer and will consider... Nobody is irreplaceable and Fulham is bigger than any of those! As Tosh points out the club is growing and if the players can't use this to their advantage, they will be left behind!!!
I'd have AJ here over Bullard now and forever. AJ works hard for the team. Bullard, although skillful, rarely worked hard and mostly for himself - selfish on the ball. I'm not convinced about the tabloid reports of 'unrest' - bits and pieces, maybe - the odd niggle or whinge, sure - that's life. This whole thing smacks of mischief making. Watching the lads playing against the Raggeds - did they look unhappy? were they celebrating together? congratulating each other? acknowledging good passes/crosses? They look like a team. They are embracing new talents - Kasami, Briggs, Senderos, Riise snr and learning about others - Sa, Grygera, Ruiz, - with others coming through (and presumably in training) Gecov, Frei. That's 9 new (to the first team/bench) faces in 2011. Such a rate of change brings a certain amount of discomfort, some deal with it more easily than others.
Tosh is right, it's probably -probably - all just media froth rather than an actual problem. As for the AJ/Bullard comparisons, I don't get them at all. I agree with Bidley that AJ hasn't yet matched Bullard's contribution on the pitch, but he also hasn't matched his ability to wind people up off it. I still think that a large part of why so many people are so down on Bullard was because we once loved him so much.
I don't know Captain, AJ manages to get Val's knickers in a twist from time to time I agree though, Jimmy was a hero for us so I guess how his spell with us ended was made all the more sour.
I think AJ has been playing to walk away on free transfer. He's been in contract talks for about a year now, I doubt whether Fulham are prepared to give him more money on his contract, and probably he has found out other clubs are not prepared to up his wages unless his transfer fee is low or free. In the summer there were rumors about moves to QPR, West Ham and Leicester. I would think Fulham were trying to sell him, to get a fee. I think Zamora isn't happy with Jol becoming manager, maybe because he thinks his tactics are wrong for the type of player he is. But think he has set his sight on a move, hence he has to make it look like Jol is the guilty party. We've all probably had management changes in our working life, that we thought haven't worked for us. As for Bullard, yeah great enthusiasm, always wanting to get involved, bit like a pinball, all over the place, and I think the manager thought he just disrupted the tactics too much to accomodate him.
Super B Mc B Quite agree Aj is hoping to stall,on signing, (did not realise its been going on for a year) then walks on a free,thus hoping to sign on a 2/3 year deal,near to the wage he is looking for.
Just to clarify the comparison between AJ and Bullard had to do that both players have spent a considerable amount of time out of action costing the team thousand of pounds. More AJ who we paid over £10m. If he thinks he has repaid this amount and confidence from the team he is wrong. So I compare them on how ungrateful they can both be.
Wilst not being a fan of Bullards, he and Brian Mc Bride,played a great part in the latter part of the season,when relegation loomed. And remember we got what 5mil, when in his arrogance,he decided to move on to a bigger club. Johnson I believe is stalling for a free ? unless he gets what a 40k + per week for 2 years.
As Bob Dylan said, "Money doesn't talk, it swears". AJ's contract position has indeed been under review for over a year. However there were no negotiations or offers until comparatively recently. Tracking back, the club completed new deals with a number of players, notably Zamora, but were reluctant to do so with AJ because of injury concerns. And after all, so the thinking went, his salary had been hiked from £30k pw to £40k because of the contract clause enabling him to stay apace with the club's top earners. AJ (and his agent) were apparently content since he (they) made no new demands in the year. Then the summer transfer window. There's no question the club were prepared to move him on if the price was right and Johnson was of a like mind, especially since any offer from the club was only likely to be until 2013, ie a 1 year deal. But no offers were made that suited either party, although there was enough noise, some positive some not (depending on where you sat) to raise eybrows. First up and the clock ticking, a change of strategy from the club, keen to recoup some of the £16m or so investment to date. An offer till 2014 but at a reduced wage. Rationale, give AJ some stability; give the club a better price if a sale did happen. And, importantly to the club, the total wage bill stays below the target set - reducing the wage bill (currently 69% of income) is a club priority. Evidence Pantsil, gera and others being allowed to go or put out on loan. From Aj's perspective that's not actually an attractive offer. For most premiership clubs £40k pw is middle of the road and, hell, quite a few should be happy to take a risk and offer 3 maybe even 4 years, if the transfer fee is low. He's only human after all and must believe he has at least 3 years left in him. Injuries, what injuries? So, yes, he thinks like Bullard, Robby Savage, Joey Barton, all of the Man City team - you go where the money is. Why should he stay at lovely, lively, little Fulham? And who would blame him? Only the fans and probably the club Board, who certainly won't balme themselves. Nor should they. Allowing wages to spiral would be irresponsible and harmful to the future of FFC. If AJ thinks the grass is greener ... Swansea might make an offer; they could do with a goal scorer.
Cottager58 - thoughtful post. I've always been a AJ supporter to one degree or another. And while I'm happy with his recent form, I wouldn't give him a new, long-term expensive contract based on his latest goal talley. A few days of warmth and sunshine doesn't mean summer has arrived. He's a good player, but he's getting older and he's injury prone. He has good control and vision, and he's reasonably pacy. But people don't get faster as they grow older. I'd give him a two year contract at a reduced wage if he's willing to take it. If not, I'd try to ship in him January. We've got Ruiz and Sa' waiting in the wings.
Thanks Cottager 58 and DR - you have provided sensible, balanced posts on this (apparently) emotive topic. I'd have to agree with both of these last two.
Good points cottager 58,although FFC are a premiership club, we have as yet not found a way to print money,irrespective of what some players think.
