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(05-11-2014, 11:09)DannytheBaggie Wrote: Blimey, a player is getting a lot of stick for giving his all for the club and honouring his contract. Life goes on and people move. I think he moved in a respectable way and didn’t cause a fuss. I thought he was a very good right back that wanted another challenge and earn more money - what is wrong with that??? I give you George Thorne and Peter Odemwingie as alternative examples...
Thorne and Odemwingie!!!
Hardly shining examples are they???
Some days I'm top dog, most days I'm just the lamp post.
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I think that's the point. Jones at least left with dignity, unlike that pair. Rightly or wrongly, fans do tend to feel a bit sore if a player opts to sign for a club that's basically on the same rung of the ladder when they could have stayed instead, but ultimately he fulfilled the terms of his contract with us and left with minimal fuss, so personally I don't have a problem with him. (Kevin Phillips actually left in the same kind of circumstances, and we were a lot worse off for his departure, but he doesn't get any stick for it!)
"I would rather spend a holiday in Tuscany than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to choose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I should make straight for West Bromwich." - J.B. Priestley
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Silver – to clarify, i said 'alternative' examples i.e. players that have caused a fuss when they have left. Quite the opposite of Billy.
I have never understood why fans give players stick when they leave the club after fulfilling their contracts. It happens and is just a part of normal life. We all do it. He didn’t move to a rival club and like it or not, Sunderland are a bigger club than us, bigger fan base and more money.
It certainly doesn’t make them a better club though and id much rather be a Baggie than a Mackem!
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(06-11-2014, 07:35)DannytheBaggie Wrote: Silver – to clarify, i said 'alternative' examples i.e. players that have caused a fuss when they have left. Quite the opposite of Billy.
I have never understood why fans give players stick when they leave the club after fulfilling their contracts. It happens and is just a part of normal life. We all do it. He didn’t move to a rival club and like it or not, Sunderland are a bigger club than us, bigger fan base and more money.
It certainly doesn’t make them a better club though and id much rather be a Baggie than a Mackem!
Yup Sorry Danny, I misread your earlier post.
Not sure that I agree with your assertion that Sunderland are a bigger club as I don't know how you measure that.
They may have a bigger ground and perhaps a bigger fan base but, have they over the years been more successful than us?
I only recall one FA Cup win for them in the last 50 odd years; same as us. Neither club has won the Premier league and neither looks like doing so any time soon.
The only thing that I envy them at the moment is that they play in 'proper stripes' but that's another matter that has already been done to death in the past.
Some days I'm top dog, most days I'm just the lamp post.
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No problems re Billy at all. Good luck to him.
Some short memories here.
There were times when he was the only player on the park putting a shift in.
He didn't make excuses and was proud to play for us.
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Just to clarify my post earlier. I always liked Billy when he played for us, I was just relaying what my Sunderland colleague told me that they didn't rate him.
I do find it interesting however the way players will be viewed at one club and then move to another and regarded as something totally different. Maybe it's confidence, playing styles, formations, manager's instructions or even just that they are getting past it. I do wish Billy the best, but that's as long as he doesn't put in a match winning performance when they play us up north!
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For every Billy Jones, there are two more playing in some league somewhere, and like Billy Jones we will pick them up for nothing or next to nothing. Albion have always been able to source new players when we need them. Billy's gone now and, as Pie says, he fulfilled his contract, moved for more money to Sunderland on a Bosman just as he did to us from Preston and we move on. We've got Gamboa and Wisdom now (love the 'Norman' tag, Baggie Man!) and we're much better at RB now than with Jones and Steven Reid.
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Although 'Norman' has his limitations (pace and attacking flair) he is developing well as a defender but, we must not forget he is a Liverpool player and we will lose him at the end of the season when he will return to Anfield and probably be third choice right back. In many ways, wouldn't it be better for us long term to be developing Gamboa, our own player, rather than doing a job for Liverpool with Norman ?
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Agree with BM - we SHOULD be playing Gamboa, as he's OUR player! IMO there's not too much between them and Gamboa gives us more going forward.
Is there some agreement between us and Liverpool about playing Norman? I think we DID sign his loan deal before Gamboa was eventually confirmed so we may have had to agree to play him in a certain amount of games......?
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(08-11-2014, 21:19)drewks Wrote: Agree with BM - we SHOULD be playing Gamboa, as he's OUR player! IMO there's not too much between them and Gamboa gives us more going forward.
Is there some agreement between us and Liverpool about playing Norman? I think we DID sign his loan deal before Gamboa was eventually confirmed so we may have had to agree to play him in a certain amount of games......?
Drewks, that thought occured to me that we had included in the loan agreement that we have to play or start him in a specified number of games barring injuries or suspensions.
Physiologically, not being a West Brom player, I would be surprised if he had the level of enthusiasm of permanent players knowing he's off next May. That said, he may of course want to impress to enhance his future chances with Liverpool.
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