Would you have him back?

[morty]

I don't quite understand why the club can't tell him he has broken his contract and he can pack his bags and find a new employer. Footballers argue they want to be treated like everyone else with their employment rights yet they refuse to play as they should and then demand paying off.

I don't think its as simple as him saying "Right, thats it, I'm not playing" or Neil saying "I'm never gonna pick you" as one could be construed as resignation (with no compensation) and the other as constructive dismissal.

Basically a no win for both parties.

I should imagine theres moves behind the scenes to get him out on loan, at least get his wages off the books.

 

[splutcho]

We're not playing him, he's not refusing to play.

 

[eatonparkboy]

I understood he questioned the managers capability to manage. I accept footballers have agents and can afford briefs to handle their affairs but if there was any reconcilliation from him then surely he would have been on the roster when Bennett was injured. Obviously he wants too much remuneration to get a loan move.

It makes no sense and I long for an age when common sense prevails.

 

[Keckers]

Being objective about it, if he had an attitude shift then I would allow him the chance to play his way back in but the first hint of a bad attitude and he'd be back training with the development squad or on his own.

Shame as he has undoubted class. The fact that no one came in for him says it all though. Must be well known he is a problem player.

 

[GazzaTCC]

I don't quite understand why the club can't tell him he has broken his contract and he can pack his bags and find a new employer. Footballers argue they want to be treated like everyone else with their employment rights yet they refuse to play as they should and then demand paying off.

The only grounds s club has to dismiss a player is if he's done something criminal / illegal. Don't think Bassong has done that, so we're stuck with him.

 

[Jimmy smith]

Without knowing the goings on. I thought last night was the perfect opportunity to play Bass whether we're keeping him or selling him. It was either a useful shop window game or a game for him to push for a first team place.

 

[GJP]

I don't think a league cup tie away at Shrewsbury is much of a shop window game.

After playing in the Prem for several years I think most people know what Bassong is about.

 

[Jimmy smith]

I don't think a league cup tie away at Shrewsbury is much of a shop window game.

After playing in the Prem for several years I think most people know what Bassong is about.

If they were basing him on that he'd have moved by now. I think the main concern is whether he STILL IS effective.

 

[the bristolnest]

This situation is still quite unusual. I suspect that he has a personality issue that a simple apology will not resolve. Therefore its a no from me. 

 

[ZLF]

a vote made with sooooo many caveats - but defensively we still look shaky.

 

[Killiecanary]

Sorry but if the stories about what he said to NA on there first team meeting are true (and I think I heard that they came from David McNally so probably are) then no.

He was club captain and we were facing 5 games to save our premiership status. He wasn't doing his best for the club, fans, management or his team mates. I think NA has done exactly the right thing, and by doing so probably. Ensured that the other players understand that he is the boss.

Fully appreciate that a fully fit and firing Bassong would be a huge asset at this level, but still a no for me. There's also a reason other clubs are leaving well alone?

 

[GJP]

If they were basing him on that he'd have moved by now. I think the main concern is whether he STILL IS effective.

I think it may also be something to do with the value of his contract - something that many seem to be overlooking. He's only been here 2 years and in that time he has signed a new deal. Clearly he's got a very, very healthy contract. 

I would say that will be a bigger issue to other clubs than any of this talk of him having an attitude or being a one season wonder etc etc

 

[mustard gas]

No, his attitude is corrosive to squad unity. If he plays, and he is at his best then he is an asset. But unfortunately he seems to have some sort of problem where he just does not seem to care after his initial success. This has happened at all his clubs. I can see no indication that he has changed. He just seems to have a strange attitude.

 

[GJP]

Has it happened at all his clubs?

Didn't happen at Newcastle, I don't think there's been any indication of that at Metz. I know Spurs fans who still thought well of him when he joined us.

I think this sort of image of him leaving a trail of destruction wherever he goes has perhaps been built up a bit too far.

Wasn't Russell Martin frozen out of the first team picture at Peterborough before arriving here?

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

Lappin was famously frozen out. That was about attitude too - but not from the player!

 

[eatonparkboy]

So let me get this clear as I am not au fait with present day players agreements and contracts.

He has a contract with us and while we don't pick him and while he has no interest in playing for the current manager, we have to continue paying him?

Have the TUC ever considered asking for these type of contracts?

 

[Canaryboy]

Didn't happen at Newcastle.

It did actually happen at Newcastle. 

After the game in which they were relegated he publicly lambasted his team mates for not caring enough (he was suspended for that game, so didn't contribute anything either). 

Then in the pre-season which followed he showed how much he cared by refusing to travel to a pre-season friendly, to force his move to Spurs, whilst many of those team mates who he criticised publicly stayed and helped Newcastle back up. He was fined two weeks wages for refusing to travel.

Very similar situation, got relegated and then ostracised himself. Only this time it has backfired because nobody wants him.

He is a player who has now been relegated four times from a top tier (Metz, Newcastle, Wolves, Norwich) but has so far managed to avoid playing a single game in the second tier in the following season (he also left Metz upon their relegation). 

If he feels that he is too good to play in the Championship then perhaps, just like he did at Newcastle, he believes that his many talented team mates are inferior. That's my issue, does he feel that he is too good for us? On last seasons showing we'd have to question whether he is good enough for us. 

If I thought we'd see the Bassong of 2012/13 again then I'd say "yes", but I can't imagine we'll see anything other than the sloppy sulky Bassong of 2013/14 again, and that Bassong was a liability. So I've voted "no". 

Last season we kept more clean sheets (as a proportion of games) with a Turner - Bennett partnership than we did with the Turner - Bassong partnership, so if we did let Bassong back into the fold then I personally wouldn't consider him one half of our best pairing. When Bennett's back we'll be fine. 

 

[GJP]

Considering Newcastle had a pretty strong squad he may have had a point. Moreover, he was their Player Of The Season.

Would anyone have argued if Russell Martin had suggested some people didn't care enough? 

So following relegation he tried to force through a move to a top 6 club offering him a massive contract. I doubt he's alone in doing that kind of thing.

And finally, the Wolves relegation is a bit of a joke to hold against him. They were already in big trouble when he joined and he only played like 8 or 9 matches. If I remember correctly they had a pretty tough run in too.

 

[Canaryboy]

Would anyone have argued if Russell Martin had suggested some people didn't care enough? 

Well Russell Martin hasn't refused to travel to a pre-season friendly, so it wouldn't really be a similar scenario. 

We shouldn't forget that Bassong signed a new contract with Norwich in December 2013, with us in a relegation battle, with Hughton's job under pressure. If he thought that he'd be unable to play for us under a different manager or thought he was too good for the Championship, then he shouldn't have signed the contract.

 

[GJP]

He should turn down a new contract half way through a season because we might get relegated and we might get a new manager?

Hmm.