Free Agents

[tarquinbeech]

Graeme Lee
Ben Davies
Craig Westcarr
Neal Bishop
Ricky Ravenhill
Lee Hughes
Luke Rodgers
-
Mike Edwards
Stephen Hunt
John Thompson
Delroy Facey

All signed on free transfers and imo that season is the "only recent success" we've had.

Kasper Schmeichel, Karl Hawley and Jonnie Jackson weren't free signings but only Kasper really contributed out of the 3 (Sean Canham was also in that squad i think and we paid £15k for him but he's really not worth including).

Ben Davies wasn't a "free agent" as such.....Shrewsbury offered him a contract which he declined to join Notts?

ps have you noticed how he has stopped scoring goals since he left Notts.....20 for Notts in 67 games...only 16 for his next 4 clubs combined, 176 games

Neal Bishop was the same....offered a contract by Barnet where he was already club captain, but declined the contract to join Notts

Are we talking about 2 different things....free agents was the subject of the thread, whereas you are talking about free transfers (probably for better wages!!)?

[tarquinbeech]

We even get a mention on Wiki where they explain the subtle difference between free agent and free transfer:

Association football usage

In professional association football, a free agent is either a player that has been released by a professional association football club and now is no longer affiliated with any club, or a player whose contract with his or her current club has expired and is thus free to join to any other club under the terms of the Bosman ruling.

Free agents do not have to be signed during the normal transfer window that is implemented in some countries' leagues. If they are signed by a team, the team signing them does not have to pay any fees – sometimes this is known as "a free transfer".

If a player is released from their club when the transfer window is closed, they cannot sign for another team until the window reopens. A notable case of this being Sol Campbell who in September 2009 was released from Notts County, just after a month from signing on a free transfer. He signed for his former club Arsenal in January 2010 during the winter transfer window, after spending a few months training with the team to maintain his fitness.

[DelroyFacey22]

Ben Davies wasn't a "free agent" as such.....Shrewsbury offered him a contract which he declined to join Notts?

ps have you noticed how he has stopped scoring goals since he left Notts.....20 for Notts in 67 games...only 16 for his next 4 clubs combined, 176 games

Neal Bishop was the same....offered a contract by Barnet where he was already club captain, but declined the contract to join Notts

Are we talking about 2 different things....free agents was the subject of the thread, whereas you are talking about free transfers (probably for better wages!!)?

If you turn down a contract offer and sign for another club it's a free transfer, Shrewsbury had no say in Davies signing for Notts as his contract with them ran out (as he declined their offer) and thus he was a free agent when he signed his Notts contract. Regardless of how long you spend between the two contracts, there is a time where they are unattached. Your second post with the section from the FA literally says as much.

The only difference is if you're under 24 and decline a contract on the same or better terms as your last deal and a club signs you on a free they will have to pay "compensation" to the club they get the player from which is usually decided by tribunal.

As for Ben Davies not scoring as much when he left Notts, part of it was that he didn't do that well at Derby and probably wasn't an automatic first choice for their set pieces like he was here and another part of it is that he transitioned in to a full back where he's obviously much less likely to score.

[tarquinbeech]

If you turn down a contract offer and sign for another club it's a free transfer, Shrewsbury had no say in Davies signing for Notts as his contract with them ran out (as he declined their offer) and thus he was a free agent when he signed his Notts contract. Regardless of how long you spend between the two contracts, there is a time where they are unattached. Your second post with the section from the FA literally says as much.

The only difference is if you're under 24 and decline a contract on the same or better terms as your last deal and a club signs you on a free they will have to pay "compensation" to the club they get the player from which is usually decided by tribunal.

As for Ben Davies not scoring as much when he left Notts, part of it was that he didn't do that well at Derby and probably wasn't an automatic first choice for their set pieces like he was here and another part of it is that he transitioned in to a full back where he's obviously much less likely to score.

I understand what you're saying, that anyone who turns down a contract theoretically becomes a free agent, even if it is only for a matter of hours whilst he signs another with a different club ie it was pre-arranged that he was moving

I think in the context of this thread, the OP was saying that there are a number of players available, currently without clubs....that's what I understood anyway

Jordan Slew is a good example....he has already left Plymouth in May and is currently on the "scrapheap"....Jay Spearing left Bolton in July etc etc

Maybe we need 3 categories....free transfer, free agent....and free rubbish?

[DelroyFacey22]

Just because they don't have a club at the moment doesn't make them bad players though, I'd imagine most teams in our league would take Jay Spearing if they could afford him and weren't afraid of scaring off their younger fan base by putting his face on adverts.

If we're being technical a "Free transfer" is more someone buying a player from another club for nothing, as in the player is still in contract but they are happy to let him and his wages go without a transfer fee, if they're not actively under contract somewhere and there isn't another club involved in the deal then player isn't really being transferred, he's being signed, you can't transfer someone from his sofa.

[tarquinbeech]

Just because they don't have a club at the moment doesn't make them bad players though, I'd imagine most teams in our league would take Jay Spearing if they could afford him and weren't afraid of scaring off their younger fan base by putting his face on adverts.

If we're being technical a "Free transfer" is more someone buying a player from another club for nothing, as in the player is still in contract but they are happy to let him and his wages go without a transfer fee, if they're not actively under contract somewhere and there isn't another club involved in the deal then player isn't really being transferred, he's being signed, you can't transfer someone from his sofa.

Rubbish was a bit unfair, I meant it more in the context of flotsam and jetsam ie currently without a club for whatever reason....one man's rubbish is another man's treasure.....there are several on that list that would do well for Notts IMO.

[i961pie]

[QUOTE=DelroyFacey22;38646666]Just because they don't have a club at the moment doesn't make them bad players though, I'd imagine most teams in our league would take Jay Spearing if they could afford him and weren't afraid of scaring off their younger fan base by putting his face on adverts.

I agree, Joe Ledley is without a club but as 73 caps for Wales, mind you there is no chance of him coming to Notts.