pinevillawill Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 There are either lies from Croft or lies from LJ and the club... The club offered a verbal contract and gave Croft (and his agent) a reasonable deadline. The deadline has gone, the contract has been withdrawn. Lies? More like communication breakdown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4froale Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 you would of thought that if Johnson hadn't mentioned the length of contract when 'verbally discussing' terms then lee croft would of surely asked how long the deal was? that would of course mean using common sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OAFC_Ryan Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 I think it's fairly obvious he didn't want to stay with the money he'd be on and is trying to cover it up, do we want players who don't want to play for us? He's a great player but move on....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latics and England Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 The 2 stories sit hand in hand without anyone having to be being dishonest. If discussions had taken place that were not in the ball-park of what Croft was looking for, no contract would have been drawn up. I would fully expect that he would then be given a deadline to contact the club if he changed his mind and wanted to sit down and discuss a contract. Assuming he'd made it clear at the time that this was not going to happen, there is no reason why he would contact the club on the day of the deadline to say that he wouldn't be contacting them. I don't think there's a story here but I guess that doesn't make for an exciting message board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razza699 Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Although you dont want a public spat I think the club need to clear this mess up with an official statement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafcprozac Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 From his late season interview then following that up at the awards dinner, Croft was never staying all his comments were from someone looking in from the outside. Good Luck to him, but the fact his best shift for the club was the penultimate home game of the season, says it all about his work ethic and those of us at the initial meeting with LJ know that he was far from impressed with Croft's work ethic and attitude….. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafcprozac Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Croft for me is not an LJ player and even though he talked him up to the hilt, neither is Robbie Simpson…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owdumer Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 On the 17th May, the rarely wrong quoted Croft as being "in discussion" with the club,and he was expecting to hear something early in June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyOAFC Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 This whole situation is a load of :censored:e. It should of been sorted, end of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinevillawill Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) Croft for me is not an LJ player and even though he talked him up to the hilt, neither is Robbie Simpson…. Agreed. I think the 'glowing reference' was a polite ':censored: off'. Bet those two off the wage bill will allow LJ to bring in 3-4 noobies. Edited May 24, 2013 by excharnwoodlatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafcprozac Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) This whole situation is a load of :censored:e. It should of been sorted, end of. It has been sorted, we made one offer, made it clear we we're not interested in negotiating, Croft's Agent has moved on simple as. I can't see the club or Croft losing any sleep over it, neither should the fans. It might be cutting our nose off to spite our face, but by standing our ground we may just get some players in that want to run through brick walls for the club instead of the Twitterati Tossers promising the world but working harder on :censored:ing banana rating, race horses and pissing about in Didsbury the night before games. 5 of the Twitterati Tossers down only one remains…..says a lot for me…. Edited May 24, 2013 by oafcprozac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinevillawill Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) It has been sorted, we made one offer, made it clear we we're not interested in negotiating, Croft's Agent has moved on simple as. I can't see the club or Croft losing any sleep over it, neither should the fans. It might be cutting our nose off to spite our face, but by standing our ground we may just get some players in that want to run through brick walls for the club instead of the Twitterati Tossers promising the world but working harder on :censored:ing banana rating, race horses and pissing about in Didsbury the night before games. 5 of the Twitterati Tossers down only one remains…..says a lot for me…. Who's the third? Connor Brown? (rofl) Edited May 24, 2013 by excharnwoodlatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deyres42 Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Club is spinning more furiously than Campbell and Mandelson at the moment, first claiming that Smith was offered new contract despite Corney telling the meet the manager crew in March that he was leaving, and now this Croft business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP1960 Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 If someone gave me a verbal deadline for a new contract and I wanted to keep my job I would get back to them before that date expired. If I didn't reply I'd expect my job to go to someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lookers_Carl Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 From his late season interview then following that up at the awards dinner, Croft was never staying all his comments were from someone looking in from the outside. Good Luck to him, but the fact his best shift for the club was the penultimate home game of the season, says it all about his work ethic and those of us at the initial meeting with LJ know that he was far from impressed with Croft's work ethic and attitude….. Was Croft singled out specifically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimsleftfoot Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 If someone gave me a verbal deadline for a new contract and I wanted to keep my job I would get back to them before that date expired. If I didn't reply I'd expect my job to go to someone else. Agreed too laid back - leaving his agent to it isn't exactly enthusiasm, but I think that is footballers and agents for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singe Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 But, if they were keen, most employers wouldn't simply walk away without following up, if they didn't hear from you. Think you've answered your own question there Stevie! To be honest, I think both the club, and Crofty knew there was no chance of him staying.Crofty wasn;t all that, and only upped things when he knew it was getting to contract time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafcprozac Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Was Croft singled out specifically? He was used as an example more than once Partying Choice of Attire Yards run in comparison to two years ago et, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudemedic Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 The club gave Croft a verbal offer around the end of the season. That verbal offer probably won't have been the final offer, Crofty's agent (on his behalf) wants more money, the club up their offer but his agent wants more than the club offered. Negotiations stall, deadline comes and goes and then the club says no more offers. Croft doesn't see a paper contract as one isn't produced until the initial negotiations are finished. Those negotiations don't get finished. Croft never knows about the (possible) extra money offered because his agent deals with it. So he never gets the opportunity to ring LDJ to say anything, and he forgets about the deadline. I wouldn't mind betting that sometime this weekend they have a conversation and wish each other well. We are far from desperate to sign him, as we have Millar and others who can play there. Plus there are apparently a few decent players available. Croft also knows that other clubs might be interested, a lot of which can pay more than us. From January onwards he played well enough for some Championship clubs to be interested. A reason for which was his weight loss (around a stone IIRC). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singe Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 The 2 stories sit hand in hand without anyone having to be being dishonest. If discussions had taken place that were not in the ball-park of what Croft was looking for, no contract would have been drawn up. I would fully expect that he would then be given a deadline to contact the club if he changed his mind and wanted to sit down and discuss a contract. Assuming he'd made it clear at the time that this was not going to happen, there is no reason why he would contact the club on the day of the deadline to say that he wouldn't be contacting them. I don't think there's a story here but I guess that doesn't make for an exciting message board. This.Some people on here have seen things in pure black and white terms and assumed they have all the info. The club wanted to show they are taking a hard stance, it might not have been what I would have done, but it was clear that a new broom was being bought in. There are not many we would keep so a clearout is obvious. It will be interesting, Dickov cleared out the deadwood, and we had a bright start for 3 months. Lets hope it continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laticdickovarmy Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Spot on BP1960 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singe Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Club is spinning more furiously than Campbell and Mandelson at the moment, first claiming that Smith was offered new contract despite Corney telling the meet the manager crew in March that he was leaving, and now this Croft business. Nah, it is Crofty, with semantics of it not being offered in writing. We know he had a verbal offer. I've never had a letter offering me a job and accepted before confirming it verbally. He knew he wasn't staying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukers1 Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Was Croft singled out specifically? Yep, LJ told the room that he wasn't sure what Crofty wanted from football.. which lifestyle did he want that being a professional footballer can bring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BristolOwl Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Pure deceit from Croft. Employment contracts can be offered verbally and it's then up to negotiation if the employee wishes it. Neither Croft or his agent has got back to the club since the offer - over a month ago - and LJ is quite right to do what he did. The tweet suggests that Croft leaves everything to his agent, will play for the highest bidder, having no no particular commitment to the club, and has yet to receive an acceptable offer from elsewhere. Fine. (Croft is not an intellectual but it's touching that he doesn't want to upset the Latics fans.) The corollary is that LJ will shed no tears and seek a new player at least as good who wants promotion from Division 1. Dickov was still waiting for his chums to get back to him well into July. We are becoming a professional club again, with the ethics and standards to match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 May the cull continue. We finished 19th. Grounds and Baxter are the only "senior" players I'd be sad to see go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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