Sadly, I think it is inevitable the club will have to cash in and grab the money while it is there to be grabbed. Better that, than gamble on getting a "fair" deal from a tribunal.
I hope that when the club eventually negotiates the sale of these assets, they make sure that there are hefty sell on clauses of all sorts...... added on to the deals...... to make sure we ain't getting short changed for lads who I have no doubt will eventually play at the top level of the game.
Potentially, the loss of these two
could de-rail our promotion drive...We have to weigh up potentially losing those two key players against keeping them and potentially getting promoted to League One....which is predominately Northern based with all the extra T.V money, gate receipts, prize money....etc, etc, etc
At the same time, I hope this scenario....predicament.....or whatever you wish to call it...... is an educational lesson. If some learning curve has to be observed, we don't allow this scenario to arise again in the future. If we do manage to unearth other gems in the future.....we have the foresight to offer them longer term contracts that mean we have more leverage when the bigger clubs come sniffing around.
Crewe Alex are a shining beacon in this particular sphere. Look how succesfull they have been!!!
We have a youth team that has already produced some decent players and promises some more bright young things in the future. We have a manager who, whilst I don't always agree with him, has an eye for a bargain and talent.
If the lads who are to be sold, fetch reasonable money and have the potential to raise more in the future (ala Brett Ormerod) then I'm sure we'll all be happy.....
But in
MY opinion.....we've got to start securing our better prospects on longer deals and better terms....in order to get better deals...when the bigger clubs come to dine from our table...
One can only imagine the sort of transfer fees we'd be receiving for players like Josh Windass & Matt Crooks if their contracts weren't up in the coming summer.
Those sort of funds would truly secure the clubs future in terms of multiple years and not just the short term.....