Gabby

[oswald funkletrumpet]

he wants to improve? what a c***

pity he hasnt given a flying fuck over the past 5 seasons

[sid1964]

The problem is that if he does stay, and gets a few goals, then the crowd will start to sing that stupid song again and the EGO will be back!

It proves how stupid some footballers are at our team, they have got relegated, taking a massive pay cut, and no clubs are interested in signing them, this is how poor they actually are.

For me he needs to be gone ASAP along with a fair few of the others!

[cheltenhamlion]

Chelts, is the 50% drop in wages standard in most of the squad who relegated us or does it vary a lot from player to player?

30% at the lower end, 50% at the top.

[brian green]

Sorry to be thick Stuart but is that 30/50% of what they were getting or 30/50% reduction to what they were getting?

[eddiemunster]

he wants to improve? what a c***

pity he hasnt given a flying fuck over the past 5 seasons

THIS!!!!!!

[cheltenhamlion]

Sorry to be thick Stuart but is that 30/50% of what they were getting or 30/50% reduction to what they were getting?

In the one useful act Fox ever managed, all players without exception have wage cuts written into their contract should we get relegated.

The % hit each player takes varies from a 30% drop if you have a decent agent to 50% if you don't.

[tomd2103]

The problem is that if he does stay, and gets a few goals, then the crowd will start to sing that stupid song again and the EGO will be back!

It proves how stupid some footballers are at our team, they have got relegated, taking a massive pay cut, and no clubs are interested in signing them, this is how poor they actually are.

For me he needs to be gone ASAP along with a fair few of the others!

We'll see how long this new 'improved' attitude lasts.  Probably until the first invitation to a laughing gas party or a jolly in Dubai flashes up on his phone.

[chrisw1]

he wants to improve? what a c***

Absolutely.  If only he had said he doesn't want to improve, that would have been much better.

[Ger Regan]

he wants to improve? what a c***

Absolutely.  If only he had said he doesn't want to improve, that would have been much better.

The point is that talk is cheap. I bet you could find interviews with him last year saying how he and the team were giving everything to get us out of the shit we were in, but it wasn't true then, so why should it be true now? I'm interested in people's actions rather than their words, and to be frank over the past 6 years most of what he has done has made him worse. He has a long long way to go before he can be considered worthy of anything but contempt, as admirable as your defence of him is.

[chrisw1]

he wants to improve? what a c***

Absolutely.  If only he had said he doesn't want to improve, that would have been much better.

The point is that talk is cheap. I bet you could find interviews with him last year saying how he and the team were giving everything to get us out of the shit we were in, but it wasn't true then, so why should it be true now? I'm interested in people's actions rather than their words, and to be frank over the past 6 years most of what he has done has made him worse. He has a long long way to go before he can be considered worthy of anything but contempt, as admirable as your defence of him is.

Find my defense of him please. 

I have consistently said I don't like him and he was shit last year.  But I have also said If the manager wants to use him then I can live with that.  I think Dimatteo should be allowed to make the call and as fans we shouldn't try to undermine this to satisfy our own feelings about the player.

All I care about is promotion.  Why don't we let DiMatteo deliver that the way he sees fit rather than trying to dictate to him who he can and can't use?

[Ger Regan]

he wants to improve? what a c***

Absolutely.  If only he had said he doesn't want to improve, that would have been much better.

The point is that talk is cheap. I bet you could find interviews with him last year saying how he and the team were giving everything to get us out of the shit we were in, but it wasn't true then, so why should it be true now? I'm interested in people's actions rather than their words, and to be frank over the past 6 years most of what he has done has made him worse. He has a long long way to go before he can be considered worthy of anything but contempt, as admirable as your defence of him is.

Find my defense of him please. 

I have consistently said I don't like him and he was shit last year.  But I have also said If the manager wants to use him then I can live with that.  I think Dimatteo should be allowed to make the call and as fans we shouldn't try to undermine this to satisfy our own feelings about the player.

All I care about is promotion.  Why don't we let DiMatteo deliver that the way he sees fit rather than trying to dictate to him who he can and can't use?

I'm certainly not dictating who he can or cannot use, but I do feel that gabby has benefited from the revolving door of managers, getting a reprieve as a result and I'm concerned that it may happen again. In any event, we don't know whether di matteo rates him or not, nor whether there's a likelihood of a buyer for him. In the interim, regardless of whether he's staying, he should shut up (in public and in the dressing room), put his head down and graft like he's never done so before.

[chrisw1]

Well I agree with you on most of that.  It would be great if we could sell him, but I think it is very unlikely.  I've no problem with him saying he wants to improve.  In fairness he does look fit and if he can make any contribution at all, then I think that is better than sidelining him to appease the fans.

I totally get that fans feel let down by him last year, I do too.  All I am saying is if the manager wants to make use of him, I am happy for him to do so rather than create another bomb squad which seems to be the over riding sentiment of many comments on here.

[robbo1874]

Personally, I still think he should go because of his negative influence on the squad the last few years, culminating in several managers getting the sack and ultimately, the club ending up in the championship. But he's clearly got himself in shape for this pre-season and Lerner and the rest of the useless suits he employed have to also shoulder some of that blame, so it's more difficult to argue against Agbonlahor being given a final chance at this point in time. Plus his experience counts some way in his favour.

I still think it is too much of a risk though. I'd make it known we'll listen to offers for him and punt him if a decent one was tabled. Unfortunately though, I think it's likely he will still be in the squad at the start of next season, barring an act of stupidity from a newly promoted or lower premier league finishing club last season.

We'll see.

I still wouldn't

[Ger Regan]

I agree with you to an extent. Players who can make a meaningful contribution will get a lot of leeway, take yaya toure as an example. Thing is, I have seen nothing from gabby for years to suggest he can regain any sort of form, and that has the recipe for creating an even more toxic environment, which is the last thing that we need if we are to push for promotion.

[Ger Regan]

That said, I think the fact that we've seen wholesale changes behind the scenes this summer means that those who facilitated his rotten behaviour over the past few seasons are not there to enable it from now on. For the first time he's probably out of his comfort zone, which might keep him in check.