Originally Posted by
AstonAlex
I think you’re using a poor example here, Mike. It’s true that some players have used the end of contract and their age to their advantage - Byron Moore springs to mind - but at the end of the day he is no different from any employee in any job in that he is able to leave with the requisite notice stipulated in his contract. Indeed, sportsmen and women in team sports are in a very small minority of occupations where one employer pays compensation to another for the release of someone. At least in football such compensation is payable and, where not agreed, assessed by tribunal.
I think most fans of the Alex wish Pez all success for his future. He has never shirked in his responsibility or his job; in fact there have been occasions when he has gone over the top in carrying them out!
The club have always striven to get players on 2 or 3 year contracts, which it must be recognised is at our risk. Ask Arsenal fans if they’re glad that Mesut Ozil was retained on a long term deal of allegedly £350k per week and has not been selected for the best part of a year. He is under no obligation to leave and can carry on drawing his money. The same scenario pertained to Winston Bogarde at Chelsea (for 2 or 3 years!) and many others. We could not afford to be paying any player who had fallen out of favour due to a change of manager, for example.
At the end of the day we employ the player, we do not own him, slavery having been abolished in the 19th century. It’s my opinion that the £350k, rising to a maximum of £500k, that Cardiff are believed to have paid is good value for us and, as I say, I wish him every success in the future.... unless he’s lined up against us!!