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Wanderers Ways. Neil Thompson 1961-2021

Luca Connell


Wigan wanderer

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1 hour ago, Big E said:

What is the point though. It will have cost more than that to develop him. 

Clubs our size should just have U18, U21 and U23 fucking pointless having players from a young age when they can fuck off easily 

Because we’ve been run as a basket case club. If we find some stability and bring players through and have owners able to get players signed up on full deals then we can make profit. 

The problem is that our club is a mess and has been for years hence we are losing these young prospects for peanuts.

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3 hours ago, kent_white said:

We've nurtured him from the age of 7 - I'd argue he owes us quite a bit.

And he’d probably argue that he’d done enough to earn a pro deal rather than being put on a third year as a scholar, something of a rarity given players either turn pro - most of them without getting near the first team, never mind having already played several times - or get released at the end of year two. 

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1 hour ago, Leyther_Matt said:

And he’d probably argue that he’d done enough to earn a pro deal rather than being put on a third year as a scholar, something of a rarity given players either turn pro - most of them without getting near the first team, never mind having already played several times - or get released at the end of year two. 

I think that had more to do with us being in administration. No doubt administrators have a responsibility not to bind the company to contracts they or any potential owner can't cover the costs of. A 12-month extension to his scholarship is hardly a problem but a four-year contract on a higher wage is an altogether different prospect.

Well, that and the strong chance that he was unwilling to commit himself to our basket case of a football club for a long period.

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1 hour ago, Lt. Aldo Raine said:

I think that had more to do with us being in administration. No doubt administrators have a responsibility not to bind the company to contracts they or any potential owner can't cover the costs of. A 12-month extension to his scholarship is hardly a problem but a four-year contract on a higher wage is an altogether different prospect.

Well, that and the strong chance that he was unwilling to commit himself to our basket case of a football club for a long period.

He could have been offered a pro deal any time after turning 17. Even if they didn’t fancy the risk at the time, you’d have thought someone would have suggested in January after he’d made his debut and we were still in a relatively sound enough position to still be making new signings, never mind contract renewals. 

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22 minutes ago, Leyther_Matt said:

He could have been offered a pro deal any time after turning 17. Even if they didn’t fancy the risk at the time, you’d have thought someone would have suggested in January after he’d made his debut and we were still in a relatively sound enough position to still be making new signings, never mind contract renewals. 

As you were criticising the decision to offer an extension of his scholarship rather than a professional contract, I assumed it was the administrators you were referring to.

But by January, our ertswhile chairman had bigger things to worry about. And, considering we had to ask the PFA to help cover November and December's wages, had just reneged on an agreement to sign Doidge permanently, and were second bottom of the league, what were the chances he wanted to sign a professional contract with us anyway?

An extension of his scholarship was probably the only option on the table - it kept him signed on at professional club but left his options open, and allowed it small amount of protection against losing him for the bare minimum if he moved to a club in England.

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16 minutes ago, Lt. Aldo Raine said:

As you were criticising the decision to offer an extension of his scholarship rather than a professional contract, I assumed it was the administrators you were referring to.

But by January, our ertswhile chairman had bigger things to worry about. And, considering we had to ask the PFA to help cover November and December's wages, had just reneged on an agreement to sign Doidge permanently, and were second bottom of the league, what were the chances he wanted to sign a professional contract with us anyway?

An extension of his scholarship was probably the only option on the table - it kept him signed on at professional club but left his options open, and allowed it small amount of protection against losing him for the bare minimum if he moved to a club in England.

We signed Remi Matthews on a permanent deal after Connell had made his debut (I won’t include Gary O’Neil as I think his contract was only a short-term one?) so there was not really any sign of the shit hitting the fan at the time in quite the way it happened, particularly as the majority were on the side of KA at the time of the Doidge-dodge. We might have considered it a decent investment to put Connell on even an 18 month pro deal at that point so that we could at least have some sort of negotiating position if anyone came in for him. As it is, we were expecting him to turn out for the first team on apprentice wages which was never likely to turn out well. 

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20 minutes ago, Leyther_Matt said:

We signed Remi Matthews on a permanent deal after Connell had made his debut (I won’t include Gary O’Neil as I think his contract was only a short-term one?) so there was not really any sign of the shit hitting the fan at the time in quite the way it happened, particularly as the majority were on the side of KA at the time of the Doidge-dodge. We might have considered it a decent investment to put Connell on even an 18 month pro deal at that point so that we could at least have some sort of negotiating position if anyone came in for him. As it is, we were expecting him to turn out for the first team on apprentice wages which was never likely to turn out well. 

I expect Matthews didn't have quite as many irons in the fire as Connell did, though. Connell made his debut in January and the reports of clubs being interested in him appeared almost instantly. Presumably, we would have known by then that an eighteen month contract wouldn't have strengthened our negotiating position very much because we had no way of honouring it.

The point is, it's unlikely that we didn't offer him a professional contract because we though he wasn't good enough or didn't deserve one but because we didn't have a pot to piss in.

He held all the cards, to use a turn of phrase.

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1 hour ago, marple whites said:

Easy in that league to be half decent.

big gamble for Celtic,  but can’t really blame him - European football and playing in front of 60,000 every home game

 

no brainer really

See, I don’t agree. We’ve given him over10 years  nurturing/coaching, whatever.

Then he’s fucked off pretty rapid.

 

I reckon he owes us summat.

So if he fails, I really won’t give  a fuck.

 

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7 hours ago, waffer cup 07 said:

Don't understand the fuss over Connell. Showed flashes that he might make a footballer in a team of very poor players. Nothing more. If there had had been he would have gone to a Premiership side.

That's exactly where I'm at. He looked like he might have some potential in the few games we saw him. Might.

Celtic have took a punt on a player who might turn out to be decent. Might.

Anyone losing their heads over this needs to give their head a shake.

I've no ill feeling towards him really, can't blame the lad for the wanting the move. Fuck him though. Didn't want to play for us and was happy to screw us over. See ya.

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2 hours ago, Leyther_Matt said:

We signed Remi Matthews on a permanent deal after Connell had made his debut (I won’t include Gary O’Neil as I think his contract was only a short-term one?) so there was not really any sign of the shit hitting the fan at the time in quite the way it happened, particularly as the majority were on the side of KA at the time of the Doidge-dodge. We might have considered it a decent investment to put Connell on even an 18 month pro deal at that point so that we could at least have some sort of negotiating position if anyone came in for him. As it is, we were expecting him to turn out for the first team on apprentice wages which was never likely to turn out well. 

Mate, we could have signed him to a 10 year pro deal, let alone an 18 months one, and if we couldn't afford to pay him (and the rest of the creditors too) which we couldn't, then he would simply have put in his 14 day notice and join Celtic exactly like he did do and we wouldn't have had a leg to stand on.

I'm afraid you have been wishful thinking but in the stark light of reality nothing at all would have changed to prevent him from going once his head was turned and his wages were unpaid.

Time to move on.

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40 minutes ago, DazBob said:

That's exactly where I'm at. He looked like he might have some potential in the few games we saw him. Might.

Celtic have took a punt on a player who might turn out to be decent. Might.

Anyone losing their heads over this needs to give their head a shake.

I've no ill feeling towards him really, can't blame the lad for the wanting the move. Fuck him though. Didn't want to play for us and was happy to screw us over. See ya.

Pretty much. He could at least have released one of those “thank you and all the best in the future” type statements that no-one really means but he didn't even bother with that.

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10 hours ago, Sluffy said:

Mate, we could have signed him to a 10 year pro deal, let alone an 18 months one, and if we couldn't afford to pay him (and the rest of the creditors too) which we couldn't, then he would simply have put in his 14 day notice and join Celtic exactly like he did do and we wouldn't have had a leg to stand on.

I'm afraid you have been wishful thinking but in the stark light of reality nothing at all would have changed to prevent him from going once his head was turned and his wages were unpaid.

Time to move on.

With a scholar, the mere offer of a pro contract, even one not necessarily accepted or signed, is a complete game changer in terms of compensation, even in a cross-border transfer as Celtic will have been well aware of as they had a similar situation with Dembele. 

As it is, it sounds like we’ve done alright on the actual fee and, pains me to say it, fair play to Celtic for paying more than required, but those sell on clauses would have come in handy as we’ve seen with Holding. 

Like goes on anyway. Good luck to him when he’s out on loan next season. 

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29 minutes ago, Leyther_Matt said:

With a scholar, the mere offer of a pro contract, even one not necessarily accepted or signed, is a complete game changer in terms of compensation, even in a cross-border transfer as Celtic will have been well aware of as they had a similar situation with Dembele. 

As it is, it sounds like we’ve done alright on the actual fee and, pains me to say it, fair play to Celtic for paying more than required, but those sell on clauses would have come in handy as we’ve seen with Holding. 

Like goes on anyway. Good luck to him when he’s out on loan next season. 

If Connell had started as a third-year scholar at the start of the season just gone and was about to become a free agent then the written offer of a professional contract would have protected us in terms of getting compensation. As he was a second-year scholar, the extension of his scholarship to a third year has the same effect.

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48 minutes ago, Leyther_Matt said:

With a scholar, the mere offer of a pro contract, even one not necessarily accepted or signed, is a complete game changer in terms of compensation, even in a cross-border transfer as Celtic will have been well aware of as they had a similar situation with Dembele. 

As it is, it sounds like we’ve done alright on the actual fee and, pains me to say it, fair play to Celtic for paying more than required, but those sell on clauses would have come in handy as we’ve seen with Holding. 

Like goes on anyway. Good luck to him when he’s out on loan next season. 

Forget Dembele, he was out of contract.

Connell if he had signed a pro contract would not have been.

That puts him in a different position - he voided his contract and walked away - just like Ameobi and Olkowski did.

In effect the club released him by breaking his contract and allowing him to go.

Celtic may not have offered us anything and allowed a tribunal to set a development fee but I don't believe that would have include such things as a sell on clause because his contract had been voided by BWFC in the first place (in not paying him) and not the player.  I don't believe Fulham had a sell on clause for Dembele who went on to be sold to Lyon for £19.7m.

Dembele had played 64 games for Fulham scoring 19 goals - they got just £385k from Celtic for him - (they actually received £500k but had pay PSG £115k  out of that).  Compare that to Connell who has played just 10 league games, starting 8 but only finishing four, with no goals.

Could have, should have, would have scenarios are pointless - it didn't happen that way, it happened the way it did.

No amount of wishful thinking/being wise after the event will change that.

 

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I hope he goes prematurely bald and loses that stupid mophead of his, his bird cheats on him and passes on Gonnorhea and chlymidia to him and that he doesn't get played apart from once - in an Old Firm game and some Rangers animal snaps him in two ending his career...

 

 

 

Nah, I've changed my mind, he can't be blamed - it's old crabby Tank-Top's fault. I wish the lad well, I hope he shines, gets to play in a WC or two with the ROI and earns a move to Real Madrid or AC Milan...

 

Lev Yashin.

Edited by Youri McAnespie
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