I think we sometimes get caught with the lower league mentality with contracts. 2 years max generally because that's the way it is done for security. Because of the general turnover of players. The problem you get is when someone starts really well for 6 months to a season then you'll want to extend, they'll maybe consider somewhere higher up the ladder, you have the year left so can't demand a huge fee and then either sell reasonably or eventually keep them (generally because the higher move isn't actually on).
I absolutely agree if we manage to extend our better players we should aim to get longer on their deals than just another year or two. The hard bit is giving the longer term deals straight off, a good percentage of transfers don't work and then if they are stuck with 3 years left and good money it can be an absolute pain to get rid of them. End up subsiding their wage out on loan which takes money away from other investments.
Also, with our current yo-yoing the better players are constantly testing the market so whilst happy here they don't want to over commit and then a great move comes along but we have them tied down and at a price teams won't pay.




Reply With Quote