Shane Long signs new four-year deal

We do try ... cant force them to sign the new contracts offered if they dont want to!!!! Don't see what more the board can do in that situation. In the case of Wanyama, it was sell him now, or lose him for free? I know which I'd pick.

 

Also think our stance about paying players agents huge lump sums for doing naff all prejudices our position regarding holding onto and buying new players.
Just look at what is going on with Progba where his agenda wants circa £20m for his troubles....its a joke and from what I remember there was a last minute problem with a number of recent seasons signing because we wouldn't pay the agents silly money

 

The team seem to be happy chappies (to quote Pierre )....in general you don't want anyone disruptive at the club. We have forced players to stay when it would have caused problems to lose them at that point (Wanyama and Mane, and previously Morgan), but that wouldn't work for another season. And each player has a value....we shouldn't offer a deal so big that that was the only reason they'd stay....especially if it might cause team unrest about wages. I'm sure the club made offers that they considered realistic (and beyond) to both Mane and Wanyama, but there comes a point when you give up and look elsewhere. I'm astonished at fans who think Reed is just enjoying a coffee with biscuits whilst players saunter out of the door*. There is an art and balancing act to this team building lark.

*Fortunately not too many fans on here.

 

Very good news.

 

Not saying Long will score 20 goals for us, but in season 2010/11, as I recall it, Reading used him as their main, out and out striker, and he scored 21 goals, in 44 games. (Championship granted, but.....)
I think he has the ability to contribute more goals than last season, if he is solely used through the middle, and not asked to play wide and support A N Other, as he has been asked to do too often, in the past.

 

Where did I say we didn't try to offer extensions to those two, or that I was mad at the board for selling Wanyama or Mane?

 

Excellent news! Who can resist that accent and smile........his football's not bad either.

 

"Optimally, we should be letting players like Davis and Long run out their contracts and giving extensions to the likes of Wanyama or Mane."

Never said you were mad at the board.

 

I'm saying optimally what should happen is you extend your players at or near peak, bring in some youth, and let the older players run out their contracts. I don't know what we offered Wanyama and Mane so I can't say that we didn't try hard enough or if Wanyama and Mane were just totally unreasonable. But I don't see any reason to doubt the board.

Perhaps I should have said "completing." We were unable to complete extensions with Wanyama and Mane, so it seems reasonable to take some of that money that had been earmarked to reward Long and Davis.

 

I think Beefy said that we damn near offered to make Wanyama the highest paid player at the club and that there were numerous offers on the table.

 

The board must have been delighted with last season...so close to qualifying for the CL....and getting into the group stage of the Europa isn't chopped liver. So they decided to stabilise the team by extending first team contracts. Mane, Pelle and Wanyama wanted to leave....not much could be done without making ridiculous offers or trying to keep unhappy players (inc. 2 who only had 1 year left on the contract). Our club is sensibly run....I can live with that.

 

Actually, I think only Wanyama really wanted to leave, against all offers from Saints. Pelle wanted to stay, but we didn't want to extend and improve his contract, and Mane was pretty enthusiastic about playing in my team, as he called Saints, in the Europa this season. Then the big offers came in, and I'm not entirely convinced that it wasn't Saints who let him go rather than his asking to go. I think Saints were reasonably sanguine about it, overall. None of them were properly unhappy, and I think only Wanyama would have thrown a strop if we'd said no deals. As far as Saints were concerned it just made financial sense to say bye-bye. As you say, sensible.