• Nigel Adkins has been given the Tranmere job on a permanent basis signing until the end of the 25/26 season. Continue the discussion here.

James Norwood

Joined
1 Oct 2005
Messages
5,690
Player
Alan King, Barry Dyson
I agree that we have to sensible. We have probably offered him our best possible deal, but breaking the bank is not worth it. It would badly deplete the funds for other players and what if James got a serious injury? Mark and Micky are sensible people - and so is James (I'm sure), so I am assuming he's as good as gone. It will be difficult, but don't assume we can't get a decent replacement. We are a much more attractive club than we were even last summer. I just hope most of our signings are good and we don't get too many duds.
 
Joined
15 Mar 2010
Messages
13,870
Player
Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
Manager
John King
If rumours are to be believed we have offered Norwood 3k a week, but he can obviously earn much more elsewhere. Even if we could afford to pay him more, which we can't, we can't break our wage structure as every other key player would expect a significant rise, which would be disruptive to the unity of the squad.

The whole is much bigger than the sum of the parts due to the team spirit Micky has nurtured, and that would be threatened if we treat individuals as special cases.
 

ONIGP

Member
Joined
28 Feb 2018
Messages
1,447
Player
Eddie Bishop
I entirely agree that we can't offer him any more than we can afford, which should be obvious to any sensible management team (which ours is). However, regarding wage structure I'm not convinced. Do we actually have a formal wage structure? I would have assumed that we have a playing budget and that we stick to that whether it means paying our highest paid player £1.5k pw or £5k pw. We surely make any player an offer at the end of their contract which is within our playing budget and takes into account what they can earn elsewhere; if the player decides that there is a short and medium term benefit they will sign, if not they will move on. And, of course, it is absolutely their right to try and negotiate. I would be very surprised if any other Rovers player didn't accept that Norwood's "value" is greater than their own and would rather have him in their team than not irrespective of his wages. I'm sure that the squad will be even more aware than we are of the rumours of £4k-£9k pw if James moves on and would understand any new contract that he was offered in the light of that. As I said, we shouldn't offer any more than we can afford and if that is £3k pw it is £3k pw. I'm just not convinced that the player power that is being eluded to is present at this level, unlike with "star" players in the EPL.
 
Joined
15 Mar 2010
Messages
13,870
Player
Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
Manager
John King
If Norwood's wages were double or triple those of the other players, some of them key players, it would affect squad harmony in my view. The same would happen in any workplace. It would also make us vulnerable to pressure from agents to increase the wages of the other players in an unsustainable way.
 

ONIGP

Member
Joined
28 Feb 2018
Messages
1,447
Player
Eddie Bishop
I fully understand your point, RLC, just don't think it has the amount of impact you suggest. On £3k I'm sure Norwood would be twice as highly paid as some of the other players anyway. Professional sport is different to most workplaces in that is very much a meritocracy and individual contracts are driven by this and other factors like age and experience. I am sure that there are significant wage differences at all professional clubs and more so the higher up the ladder you go. It's not a case of you perform the same tasks as your workmates (train, play matches, do your bit for the community etc) and are paid the same as them. It is an unusual position that we are in to have a player who is undisputedly "worth" more than his colleagues and, I guess, it will prove to be a moot point since, if the rumour you refer to is true, we have offered £3k which is within our means and the player will move on for more than this. Apologies if the above sounds patronising, it's not intended to, but I think we will have to beg to differ on this one.
 
Joined
15 Mar 2010
Messages
13,870
Player
Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
Manager
John King
I fully understand your point, RLC, just don't think it has the amount of impact you suggest. On £3k I'm sure Norwood would be twice as highly paid as some of the other players anyway. Professional sport is different to most workplaces in that is very much a meritocracy and individual contracts are driven by this and other factors like age and experience. I am sure that there are significant wage differences at all professional clubs and more so the higher up the ladder you go. It's not a case of you perform the same tasks as your workmates (train, play matches, do your bit for the community etc) and are paid the same as them. It is an unusual position that we are in to have a player who is undisputedly "worth" more than his colleagues and, I guess, it will prove to be a moot point since, if the rumour you refer to is true, we have offered £3k which is within our means and the player will move on for more than this. Apologies if the above sounds patronising, it's not intended to, but I think we will have to beg to differ on this one.
I appreciate your points. However, one of the major reasons for our success is our togetherness and team spirit as a squad. It is something Mellon has highlighted as crucial to our progression, and something he underestimated earlier on in his career.

Yes, players at other lower league clubs turn up and put in reasonable effort for their wages, but they don't have the exceptional unity we have had in recent years, which has allowed us to punch above our weight and outperform clubs with greater resources and far higher wages. If you allow big wage differentials to develop in the squad, you risk losing that unity and the feeling that we are 'all in it together'. I am not suggesting there would be Pogba-style sulking, but you might not see a repeat of the Boreham Wood performance, for example.

It is true that football is different to other professions, but ultimately players are only human. If you believe the player sitting next to you in the dressing room is paid more than he deserves, and you are underpaid, it will affect relationships in the squad.
 

Ian

Super White!
Admin
Joined
21 Sep 2005
Messages
12,019
Player
Aldo
Manager
Kingy
I agree that unity and togetherness is crucial in a team and that's been a huge positive in our performances over the last few years. On the other hand, players like Norwood are not easy to find and if you've got a 30+ a season goalscorer in the squad, you don't want to lose him. I think they should offer what they can realistically afford.
 

Cowshed Kid

Member
Joined
5 Dec 2015
Messages
882
Player
Bobby Hutchinson
Getting sick of checking Twitter every half hour every day.
He's obviously going.
Are they waiting til he's had a medical?
 

Ian

Super White!
Admin
Joined
21 Sep 2005
Messages
12,019
Player
Aldo
Manager
Kingy
Yeah. I've had a few texts today saying he's gone but can't find anything to back it up. Maybe MP has put in a cheeky offer at the last minute too good to refuse. :speechless:
 

Cowshed Kid

Member
Joined
5 Dec 2015
Messages
882
Player
Bobby Hutchinson
:)she's a physiotherapist.
Nothing wrong with following rehabilitation providers ;)
 
Joined
1 Oct 2005
Messages
5,690
Player
Alan King, Barry Dyson
I'm surprised that we've heard virtually nothing on who is being released - just Macca, Ben and two youngsters. I'm sure the club will be letting a few more go. Then I hope we'll hear about extended contracts for the likes of Scotty and Connor, which should be no-brainers for both sides. Then, hopefully, most of the out-of-contract players who are offered new deals will accept them and finally some new players will arrive - to be topped up later on with loanees.

Well, that's the way it usually works. I thought more news would have emerged by now. They must be back from Magalluf. If they are still there they will have drunk it dry. ;)
 
Joined
24 Jul 2017
Messages
4,185
Player
aldo
its just very quiet . we must have some players ready to come in 3 weeks they are back in pre season
 

bigmart

bigmart
Member
Joined
29 Jul 2009
Messages
7,107
Player
Ian Muir
I am surprised the retained list and contract offers has not come out yet would've thought we would have heard by now
 

Ian

Super White!
Admin
Joined
21 Sep 2005
Messages
12,019
Player
Aldo
Manager
Kingy
Early days yet guys. Plenty of time.
 
Joined
24 Jul 2017
Messages
4,185
Player
aldo
it is Early but when you see some of the quality thats being taken buy some of the other teams . you just start to wonder . lets hope its not like last season and only getting a few bargins in
 

Ian

Super White!
Admin
Joined
21 Sep 2005
Messages
12,019
Player
Aldo
Manager
Kingy
it is Early but when you see some of the quality thats being taken buy some of the other teams . you just start to wonder . lets hope its not like last season and only getting a few bargins in
We say this every season. Good things come to those who wait.
 
Top