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

[Clark W Griswold]

If we have a better version lined up, fair enough. If his wage demands were ridiculous then fair enough. If not it's madness to let him go. Last season he was one of our better performers.

[Eigentor]

If we have a better version lined up, fair enough. If his wage demands were ridiculous then fair enough. If not it's madness to let him go. Last season he was one of our better performers.

True. He's a limited footballer. Certainly not what we need to challenge the top four, but that's not where we are at the moment. He was perhaps our most important (but not necessarily best) contributor on the pitch last season with Milner gone. If AM doesn't spend wisely in the summer, we could find ourselves missing the qualities of NRC next season.

[Steve67]

If we have a better version lined up, fair enough. If his wage demands were ridiculous then fair enough. If not it's madness to let him go. Last season he was one of our better performers.

True. He's a limited footballer. Certainly not what we need to challenge the top four, but that's not where we are at the moment. He was perhaps our most important (but not necessarily best) contributor on the pitch last season with Milner gone. If AM doesn't spend wisely in the summer, we could find ourselves missing the qualities of NRC next season.

I think you're right about him being our best central midfielder last season, particularly towards the end.  But I also think goes to show us that we are truly dire in that area. 

[WALTERS WARRIORS]

I think people think so highly of Reo Coker because for so long we have been lacking anyone who resembles a defensive mid. Hogg is as good as RC already. But if we can obtain a quality DM we will quickly realise how average he really is. Milner was excellent in this position and with Makoun, Delph, and Bannan and someone even close to Milners ability we would be in good shape .........

[Clampy]

It sounds like Reo is not impressed with the other clubs who want him and let's face it, there's nothing stopping Mcleish re-signing him if he wanted him, which it sounds like he dose'nt.

[Matt C]

If he was as good as his ego thinks we'd probably have kept him.

[VillaZogmariner]

I think you are rating Hogg a bit too highly there if you think he is comparable to NRC. Granted, I only saw bits of him on TV, but a Pompey supporting mate of mine said he is no more than Championship quality at the moment. Potentially he thinks he might make it as a lower/mid Premier player, but if we're going to be back aiming at Top 6 again in the future we need better quality than him.

[Clampy]

Hogg's nowhere near good enough yet, i think another year somewhere on loan would do him good.

[ROBBO]

Didn't i read that he wanted pay parity with Villas top players? This is when it gets silly, Villa was the best option he had and he or his agent got greedy and blew it. Over 2 million a year to kick a football around and he wanted more, you have to admit some footballers are a spanner short in the tool box.

[The Man With A Stick]

He's the one who let his contract run down, when no-one was stupid enough to meet his astronomical wage demands.  Hope he enjoys his time at Ipswich or wherever he turns up.

Honestly, these c***s have had the clubs over a barrel since the Bosman ruling came in.  It's nice to see it all go wrong for one of them for a change.

[pablopicasso_10]

he was offered a new contract and he refused that offer because he wanted silly money...

the contract offer was on the table...

it was his decision to not accept the new contract terms...

[placeforparks]

Hogg's nowhere near good enough yet, i think another year somewhere on loan would do him good.

don't think hogg will ever be good enough.

[pablopicasso_10]

i agree about hogg... he would have been nowhere near our first team last season had it not been for the ridiculous amount of injuries...

[oldtimernow]

NRC  silly boy, did your agent get too greedy on your behalf when a year of consolidation might just have been the answer for all involved?

[Big Dick Edwards]

he was offered a new contract and he refused that offer because he wanted silly money...

the contract offer was on the table...

it was his decision to not accept the new contract terms...

And why should we have got back to him to discuss a new contract at the end of the season when Houllier's own position was up in the air?