Aye, that's from where all the conspiratorial nonsense stemmed. That sewed the seed. There's every likelihood, as with 95% of fan message board ITKs, that the lad was a bluffer with a healthy dose of sour grapes thrown into the mix. Our fans have latched on to it though and it's a nice stick to beat Speakman and the 'Birmingham cabal' with.On the minutes clause thing for Jobe - as I've said I doubt its in his contract. But what I do remember is a Birmingham ITK putting on twitter (before he came to us), that one of the reasons he was looking to leave was that the club promised his Dad that he'd start X number of games when he signed his pro deal, but that he hadn't been ready so they hadn't, so they decided to take him elsewhere.
It was also rumoured that the Dad was asking for similar for Jude when he made the move from Birmingham.
So I absolutely would not be surprised if Speakman as part of the transaction to bring Jobe here, made such a promise.
Now, whether the data is there to back up that Jobe deserved to start is another matter. He probably did.
What will be interesting NOW is that Rigg is probably moving ahead of him in the pecking order, and is a Sunderland product. So if and how Jobe's minutes decrease will be interesting, as I'd say its pretty likely he will have reduced playing time this season.
