I was chatting to someone yesterday who is close to Jacob Ramsey and was explaining how he was told to move on even though he didn’t want to. The way it happened sounds pretty shitty and apparently has gone down particularly badly with our spine of Mings Mcginn, and Watkins.
Essentially Ramsey wasn’t told about the move until it was across social media that an offer had been accepted from Newcastle. He was being offered a new contract for an extra £5k a week (which I’d have managed to struggle by on but would have left him a long way off what equivalent players like Malen are on) so was holding out for a better offer.
He told his agent he didn’t want to move. When he went to training the following day Emery asked him what he was doing there, genuinely surprised thinking the move was happening. Was essentially told by the club (not uniai) that he would be frozen out if he didn’t leave. Emery told Ramsey that he didn’t want to sell him and there are other players he’d have preferred to lose but the offers didn’t arrive.
Ramsey was a particularly popular squad member with a lot of the team, especially those who have seen him come through in their time at the club.
I also imagine that after the last game of last season we have been actively hawking around most of our squad. I imagine the players are either aware or suspect this and are unsettled.
I’m not suggesting they and others have downed tools but so much of football is psychological and it doesn’t take much to undermine spirit and confidence.
If the negative mood, feeling like we’ve peaked and players falling out with unai is effecting performances I don’t know how you get out of that kind of spiral. Possibly not by calling the players lazy.
