Oh Dear

[Mattwak3]

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/8740618/?

Not good news at all

[RedJ]

We've lost him then if that's true.

Who in their right mind would turn down clubs like that with the money they've got?

[Mattwak3]

The worst thing is that he's likely to go for free now

[Rovers-on-Thames]

It's been 32 days since we beat Brentford. A match which gave us a time advantage and jubilant players on the pitch saying they don't want to be anywhere but rovers. I posted a few weeks after the game about how the club are being too relaxed about appointing a manager and offering contracts to players. I really hope there is stuff going on behind the scenes and the roosters arn't coming home. Hume, Furman, Spurr et al. ....

[Sprotyrover]

Decent players don't come cheap in the Championship!

[hoolahoop]

The worst thing is that he's likely to go for free now

Unfortunately there is little/nothing we can do about it. We are competing with 8 clubs with solidarity payments in our own Division let alone any approaches from a Prem. club.
The point is does TS want a career possibly on the bench elsewhere or games of footy. These lads are on very decent money at our level, their career and love of the game should dictate their moves not their wallets.

[MrFrost]

Anyone surprised? We can't compete and keep our best players. Look at what we are up against.

[The L J Monk]

This sort of thing is inevitable. Big teams will always cherry-pick our better players.

It happened with Green and it will probably happen with Spurr. If we can tie players to contracts it will still happen, but at least we'd get some money for our trouble - as was the case with Mills and Wellens.

[BobG]

Oh give over Hoola

Why on Earth should anyone, (anyone!) turn down more money for 'the love of the game'? It's a bleeding job man!

BobG

[MachoMadness]

"Sky Sports understands"... It's glorified football-rumours talk. Lots of clubs are interested in lots of players, only a fraction of that interest goes anywhere.

[hoolahoop]

Oh give over Hoola

Why on Earth should anyone, (anyone!) turn down more money for 'the love of the game'? It's a bleeding job man!

BobG

That's not entirely true Bob there are players who do stay where they are for the love of the game/ their hometown etc. Shearer was such a case , he could have earnt £millions more playing for any of the big 4 and received the medals to go with it.

[RoversAlias]

Spurr is very solid but not irreplaceable. We have a budding young left back in James Husband and I felt Spurr was among our worst performers in the last two months of the campaign.

[Al4475]

LJM: This sort of thing is inevitable. Big teams will always cherry-pick our better players.

That's how we got him in the first place - we were able to offer him slightly better wages than Weds were prepared to offer him, and for a price (as a club) they (and we) felt was decent enough too!

We were also a division above them too at the time!

What goes around comes around - the teams mentioned are bigger than us financially and historically - we do it to smaller teams too - tough titties!

I like Spurr, however, if he moves he moves - such is life!

Tis the nature of the world!

If he goes - cheers Tommy an good luck for your time with us - if he doesn't - congrats on the new contract Tommy, hope you enjoy your next year or so as much as you obviously did this last one!

[donnyallday]

Matt Le Tissier played at Southampton for donkeys and could have gone to bigger clubs.

He was loyal.

[Mustapha-Dump]

Unfortunately, and I suspect this post will send this thread to the rumour mill, but I heard a few months ago that he could be looking to leave at the end of the season, apparently something to do with his mrs not being happy in the area anymore.

[KieronDRFC]

I said this would happen when we didn't immediately offer him a new deal. When will we ever learn?

[dickos1]

He's born n bred in leeds, so I'm sure they could still live there and probably do.
Husband lives in leeds round the corner from me, and sully is bit further up in wetherby

[RobTheRover]

Aye, its not exactly a commute from Outer Mongolia, is it?

[wf9rover]

Jonathan Grounds would be a decent replacement i dont know who he currently plays for though

[MartinB]

How did we let Spurr get out of contract?

[BillyStubbsTears]

"Sky Sports understands" followed by a list of club names.

Classic Agent-Puts-Frighteners-On-Club material.

But anyway, I'm relaxed about it all. If he's leaving, he's leaving because someone offered him more money. He's got his wallet to think of. Thanks very much and all that and go f**k yourself.

If he's staying, he's staying because we offered him more money. Thanks very much and all that and you are a f**king hero.

[Sammy Chung was King]

Amateur Night is Here again at the Rovers,sign a good player up,then unlike other teams let his contract run down,it's all well and good improving the club,but the bread and butter of the job,is to secure good players on good contracts,so if they do move on a replacement can be sorted out of the fee,and let's not pretend if he goes for free,he was a bad player anyway,he's been one of our best performers,and a player who could have been sold on at a profit,if true,Great start to the Campaign,it all goes back to the long drawn out management situation,for a manager who didn't have a job,and could have been signed up straight away,what a c..k up.

[RedJ]

If he does go I'd like to see Roberts back, but then I've not seen him play regularly for a while so no idea how he is now and he could be financially out of our reach anyway.

[Sammy Chung was King]

He was a fantastic player for us Red,whether he could play regular for us at thirty five i have me doubts.

[raggytash]

Signing TS up to a longer deal should have been a main priority. So there we go...that's one of our best gone....

[GazLaz]

We should never let assets go out of contract. Spurr is one of our best and most consistent players. Cost us a few hundred grand him going on a free.

[Rios]

We should never let assets go out of contract. Spurr is one of our best and most consistent players. Cost us a few hundred grand him going on a free.

But the flip side of that is you give Martin Woods a 4 year contract and he get's injured or turns out to be garbage (which he isn't, I'm just making a point) and you're stuck paying £5k a week for the next three years...

[Metalmicky]

But the flip side of that is you give Martin Woods a 4 year contract and he get's injured or turns out to be garbage (which he isn't, I'm just making a point) and you're stuck paying £5k a week for the next three years...

The difference being that you could do little about that - an unforeseen injury.  Whereas offering TS a new deal before his contract expired could have been forseen and acted upon....... 

[colincramb]

Oh christ, it's started again! Everyone calm down and relax! Where in that article dies it say anywhere that he's quoted as saying he wants to go? I know the article says we are expected to offer new terms. Until he either rejects those, or states he wants to leave just take it steady!!

[DonnyNoel]

But the flip side of that is you give Martin Woods a 4 year contract and he get's injured or turns out to be garbage (which he isn't, I'm just making a point) and you're stuck paying £5k a week for the next three years...

The difference being that you could do little about that - an unforeseen injury.  Whereas offering TS a new deal before his contract expired could have been forseen and acted upon....... 

And who's to say he would have signed it? This hand wringing every time this happens shows how little we know about football behind the scenes at this level. We were a top L1 club and TS must know he's good enough to play in the Championship - so why sign a L1 contract before then? Players, especially ones with good agents, (I'm assuming TS has one) do not renew contracts when there may be more options on the table.

As for the daft "not letting it get to this" comments - why would any player have renewed a contract with DRFC 12-18 months ago given the state we were in? This season has been amazing but how few of us predicted it?