Enough has been said on the transfer/non-transfer of YKD. People are now about ready to say sell the bugger to Rushden and Diamonds and be done with it. But hold on a second my fine fellow friends, let me run this past you (as I briefly did the other day) and see if it makes sense.

First of all we are looking at a highly rated young player who signed for us two years ago from an Ipswich side that did have to sell players at that time. He signs a five year deal.

Now as in America, when a player under a long-term contract is dissatisfied, it more or less comes down to one thing....money. Right now YKD's main problem is he's in the middle of an original contract that's probably paying him shite and his agent has probably been instructed to make noise about how incredible he is and how is so in demand by clubs all over the continent.

Now in America when a professional is not getting what he feels he should be, and I can guarantee YKD isn't getting paid as he should, if he is one of the top five paid players on the club he's luckythe player will sit out and wait for the club to renegotiate a better deal or trade him.

So what happens now? If we do not sell him, we probably won't be able to. He will begrudgingly play, or sit out, and we will be stuck with a player whose frustrations are ready to turn us into a good ship HMS Bounty....If we want YKD to become our future this is what we need to do.

I say, Freddy should sit down and restructure his current contract, for another five years with guarantees that the club has the right to waive parts of it if he fails to perform at a certain level or make a certain number of performances. In America this is known as a base salary that has incentives added if he makes them.

Finally pay the lad what he's worth as a base salary. Certainly he is far superior a player than his buddy Rio, and he is probably making a 1/4 of the money....

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001

Answers

ambition is measured in $$$$$$$$....

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001

Sorry sparxx, but I don't understand your reference to sitting out. I don't remember Jeter or Williams sitting it out with the Yankees even though they were being paid less than one tenth - yes one tenth of what they got after they signed their new contracts. Please tell me five recent players who have refused to honour their contracts. I personally know of none. My experience of labor contracts here is that when they are signed they are honoured.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001

Give him a deal where he only gets paid if he plays, he could spend a bit time sitting in the infirmary.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001

In the NFL there have been quite a few who have sat out. In the NHL most recently was Michael Pecca of Buffalo who sat out the last year of his contract and ultimately was traded to the NY Islanders. Baseball, I can't really remember, but there are always players who are looking to renegotiate.

-- Anonymous, July 18, 2001