NRC upset at Villa for not talking to him when the season ended.

[Chris Smith]

I've always liked him as a player.  No, let me rephrase that; I've always liked what he brought to the team.  Not every player can be a bent or Ashley Young.  You need to balance that out with those who do the ugly things - the water carrier/rat catcher role.  His energy and tackling ability made him ideal for this.  Truely top teams can get one of these who can also play a bit and offer something going forward, we can't.  So we take the benefits of a player like NRC and live with his limitations.  Or at least I did anyway.

Worth keeping?  Yep, but not for the money he wanted.  If he was prepared to come back on his old contract I'd snap him up.

Spot on there, John. The only doubt is the money he wanted. Everybody seems to think he wanted silly money, when in fact he wanted to be paid something in line to what other not-so-talented first teamers were getting, the Dunnes, Collins, Warnocks even Beyes of this world. My guess would be he wanted between £40k and £50k, as it was widely reported he was on £30k. Still great money but nothing like the norm in our first XI.

As you say, you're guessing. My equally uninformed guess is that he wanted nearer £60k. He also wanted to play for a manager who appreciated his abilities as a gifted all round, box to box midfield player that he thinks he is. If he'd accept his limitations he'd be a better player for it.

[Toronto Villa]

The disconnect between his actual place in the game and what he's been told should be his place in the game that has put him in his current predicament

[Eigentor]

Whether he wanted (much) more money than he was worth, or the club chose the wrong player to make an example of is anyone's guess. The problem is that if transfer funds are as limited as some suggest, then we may struggle to replace him. Anyone who witnessed our first away game last season knows the perils of a lightweight midfield. Hopefully AM isn't stupid enough to let that happen.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

He also wanted to play for a manager who appreciated his abilities as a gifted all round, box to box midfield player that he thinks he is. If he'd accept his limitations he'd be a better player for it.

Where and when has he ever mentioned wanting to be a box-to-box player? That's news to me. He had a very good season last season playing to his limitations and strengths.

[Ger Regan]

Where and when has he ever mentioned wanting to be a box-to-box player? That's news to me. He had a very good season last season playing to his limitations and strengths.

He definitely mentioned it in an interview. I'll try and find it, but I remember posting it a while back too.

Edit: here is a recent interview that outlines his thoughts on what his ideal position is. And it's fair to say that he doesn't believe it's in the defensive midfielder role. There's also an interview from 2008 in the independent that does similar, again describing himself as a box-to-box midfielder (linky).

[Ad@m]

Whether he wanted (much) more money than he was worth, or the club chose the wrong player to make an example of is anyone's guess.

I'd say the fact he's still looking for a club despite knowing for months his contract was about to expire points to the former.