George O'Callaghan says things are NOT right at the Albion...

[fosters headband]

What we have is paper talk and stirring from a player who has f*** all to do with the situation.

I think that it does have something to do with him.
It is my view that with the right offer he would have stayed full time, as with Bas.
Of course his expectations may have been far to high, again as with Bas.
But he was quoted as saying that no one from the club had even been talking to him about it and to other players that have contract concerns.
He is the one who was in the position to speak out as he has a club to go to if he upset management. This is not the case with players like Hammond.

 

[ROSM]

Lot of people seem to be missing something here. In both the Bas and George O'C things there are a lot of items that both DK and the players seem to agree on:

1) that the club made it clear they wanted to keep both Richards and G O'C on longer loans

2) that the club made an offer to bas as long ago as October

3) That Richards would like to wait and see what else comes along (bearing in mind he couldn't sign anything until January anyway as his loan couldn't be extended til then)

4) G O'C doesn't want a loan move

5) G O'C turned down a permanent deal in August and his agent had to persuade him to come on loan to us

6) That the club have been talking to Ipswich about both players for a few weeks

Therefore I fail to see the 'chaos' that G O'C refers to.

I do wish DK hadn't said the things he did - although I can understand given the above agreed poinst why he would be fed up with the sniping - but it doesn't help to stoop to the level of a moody player or someone who has form on rejecting offers at xmas, and washing the dirty linen in public. Nobody comes out of this very well.

As for other players, we need to accept that whilst we are where we are (and whilst the 'fans' dont attend in case they get cold or dont like the atmosphere) we are going to be a selling club. If decent money is offered for a player be it Hammond, Cox or Lynch we will accept it. That is a fact of life as unpalatable as I find it.

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Savage and O'Callaghan have done nothing in English football before coming to Brighton. O'Callaghan failed at both Port Vale and Ipswich (only succeeding in Cork) and Savage's career was going nowhere before he came here. I confidently predict their careers will go nowhere after this while we will find replacements who are as good, if not better. If we still have this squad at the end of January then we can worry.

At the moment, why not get excited at the possibility of new arrivals (and I am sure there will be at least three or four in Janaury).

 

[fosters headband]

Savage and O'Callaghan have done nothing in English football before coming to Brighton. O'Callaghan failed at both Port Vale and Ipswich (only succeeding in Cork) and Savage's career was going nowhere before he came here. I confidently predict their careers will go nowhere after this while we will find replacements who are as good, if not better. If we still have this squad at the end of January then we can worry.

At the moment, why not get excited at the possibility of new arrivals (and I am sure there will be at least three or four in Janaury).

Football is full of players only doing well at one club, even the great Peter Ward never was a hit at Notts Forest. But it is not only the player who loses out in these situations, the club often suffers to as they take a time to find players that blend with the team the same.
And I do hope you are right about January.

 

[The Large One]

The first thing that crossed my mind when reading all that was - I wonder if Dean Hammond gave George O'Callaghan permission to air the fact of his on-going contract talks to the press, rather than - as befits the club captain - having the dignity of keeping it in-house.

Plus, there may or may not be issues on various players' contracts, but what purpose is served by blowing the lid off anything and airing it in public - assuming, as ROSM implies, there is anything to be blown off?

I can understand Dick's reaction - George is behaving like a tit - but then Dick should know better than to lower himself to that level.

 

[BigGully]

Savage and O'Callaghan have done nothing in English football before coming to Brighton. O'Callaghan failed at both Port Vale and Ipswich (only succeeding in Cork) and Savage's career was going nowhere before he came here. I confidently predict their careers will go nowhere after this while we will find replacements who are as good, if not better. If we still have this squad at the end of January then we can worry.

At the moment, why not get excited at the possibility of new arrivals (and I am sure there will be at least three or four in Janaury).

Savage and O'Callaghan are not world beaters for sure, otherwise they wouldnt be with us.......but

If you originally put any professional player on a short term deal, then you risk them being relatively successful and rightly their agents will expect a deal based on their CURRENT worth.

You cant expect a player to sign with such 'Brinkmanship' as you have been shit before and your likely to be shit in the future !!!!

You might be Dick Knight in disguise

They are 2 players that could be part of our push for promotion no doubt, but now Wilkins has to pull another rabbit out of a Hat !!!

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Football is full of players only doing well at one club, even the great Peter Ward never was a hit at Notts Forest. But it is not only the player who loses out in these situations, the club often suffers to as they take a time to find players that blend with the team the same.
And I do hope you are right about January.

I agree that it takes time for players to blend. I think we will see a lot of changes in January and the summer. Realistically upper mid table (maybe top 10) was always going to be a good season, especially if we have a good cup run.

I am not guaranteeing we will sign any players but I think we should wait until after the transfer window has closed to judge the situation. The club will have players lined up in case the loanees and Bas do not sign.

 

[SNOOBS]

Shouldn't DK give Wilkins a wage budget and he sticks to it and does contract renewals. Maybe real life isn't as realistic as FM

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Savage and O'Callaghan are not world beaters for sure, otherwise they wouldnt be with us.......but

If you originally put any professional player on a short term deal, then you risk them being relatively successful and rightly their agents will expect a deal based on their CURRENT worth.

You cant expect a player to sign with such 'Brinkmanship' as you have been shit before and your likely to be shit in the future !!!!

You might be Dick Knight in disguise

They are 2 players that could be part of our push for promotion no doubt, but now Wilkins has to pull another rabbit out of a Hat !!!

Savage had a woeful record before he came to us and when most fans saw that we would have thought a year was more than enough for a contract. We tried to sign O'Callaghan permanently but couldn't match his wages so got him on loan. I don't see how you can blame the club for either.

 

[Basil Fawlty]

Lack of ambition, could seriously dent our hopes of Mid-table or Play-offs contenders. If we do sell 3/4 players in January, then I fear that relegation could be possible. We'll always be a selling club, untill we open the doors to Falmer.

 

[Row Z Creased Shirt]

Stroppy players will have to realise that this Brighton and Hove Albion that they are playing for, and that DK will not pay more than he can afford to players. If they don't like they can lump it. And sadly that is the correct way to run a club of limited means.

No one player is bigger than the club. O'Callagahan is bang out of order. Given his arseing about in the summer he has been treated a hell of a lot better by the club than he has treated us, and if people are happy to get ripped off by a jumped a show pony then who am I to disagree.

O'c is a decent enough player, but not what I would call a "franchise player" who is worth breaking the bank for. At the moment the player we cannot do without is Forster, and that is probably it in my view. If O'C does cry off into the sunset then Fraser is a more than an able replacement. He has improved immeasurably this season and could cope with a regular starting spot.

It's a shame that DK has got involved in an unseemly slanging match, even though I agree with his comments, this should all be behind close doors.

As I see it O'C who is not a Brighton player,(and is unlikely to remain even a temporary one), should not go badmouthing the club, and speaking on behalf of other players, who the hell does he think he is?

It will be interesting to see how we respond on saturday.

 

[Mackenzie]

Players come and go, but the club will survive.

 

[backson]

This from a guy who stamped on someone, got himself banned for three games(which REALLY helped us out), then just assumed he'd swan back into the team in place of one of the youngsters who came in and did a decent job for us.

I would respectfully suggest there's a reason he's 28 and never settled anywhere. With all due respect, he can go rodger himself with a Christmas tree.

 

[backson]

I should really have made things clear, just in case George is reading this.


Make it a 7 foot tree.

 

[blockhseagull]

I agree, he can f*** off.

Isn't about how good a player he is anymore..... he is a shit-stirring wanker who has no right to comment on anyone elses contract other than his own.

At a time when we need to be concentrating on a tough programme of games, at a point when last season went down the toilet we do not need an arrogant tosspiece throwing a spotlight on individual players and putting more distractions on our important players.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Anyone who signs an Albion contract, even a loan one, is aware that we haven't got a pot to piss in. A lack of money will always make finalising contracts that much harder.

Richards and O'Callaghan have come from a Championship club now awash with cash due to recent investment. It's no surprise they won't want to commit to a club like the Albion.

I agree with earlier comments about an over-reliance on loan signings. As we've now seeing, they can really f*** up team cohesiveness, just when the season reaches the make or break point.

Personally, I'd rather Knight sold one or two "stars" and used some / all of the proceeds to make permanent, not loan, signings. Part of the reason the fans are staying away is because they don't identify with the team. Back in the day you knew where you were with the likes of Cullip, Oatway, Hart, Zamora, Jones, Watson. The team was settled and committed.

Since then we've had too much disruption and the Savage / O'Callaghan thing is just a continuation of what's gone before with McCammon, Knight, Harding et al.

 

[glasfryn]

In the last few hours my outlook on how our season may turn out has changed considerably, and it is not for the good.

mine neither..................................I can't get to any of the matches due to distance and the fact that I am partially disabled,so I see thing from the outside in.

It seems to me that we have or had a good chance of doing well this season(even though we lost yesterday we still have a winnable game in hand which would bring us into the play off position) but..................we are going to lose 2/3 of the players who have been picked on a regular basis unless the club get their finger out and get their heads out of their backsides,we have a marvelous youth system but they are not ready to jump into the first team en-block yet so...............DK and your cronies stick your hands in your pockets and get these missing players back either on loan or permanently other wise we are going to be in the relegation zone before you can say fffffffff.falmer.
we are going to get the new stadium so why can't we start to build a decent team to run out on that first day,I for one would love them to be all Brighton/Sussex boys but think thats a bit of a pipe dream nevertheless we need a good team for that day so make it happen............................before I am nailed in my box.

 

[Pavilionaire]

One thing that IS certain is that Knight and his fellow board members HAVE put their hands in their pockets, but now the well is dry.

The likes of Baz Savage have no business in trying extorting money from the club in this way, and I'm not overly fussed if the feelings of some of the loan players are hurt - they know that when you're on loan the business of agreeing a contract depends on BOTH parties being willing to commit, and none of Richards, O'Callaghan or Savage have indicated that they regard their long-term future with the Albion.

I'm more concerned with the Hammond contract situation. This must be resolved quickly. If that goes tits up the season WILL be over.

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

Hammond's much more of a worry for me, too. I was warned O'Callaghan is trouble by an Ipswich season ticket holder I work with when he first came here. I thought he'd been proved wrong but his conduct on and off the field in the last few weeks seems to bear out what I was told.

Savage offers something unpredictable, he must be a bastard to mark, but he's hardly indispensible, and certainly not at the risk of breaking any wage structure that may be in place and making other players unhappy as a result. If, as we're led to believe, even his agent thinks it's the right deal, I'm not sure what he thinks he'll achieve elsewhere. Does he think that a few goals and some exposure for a moonwalk celebration in a middling League One team suddenly make him a hot prospect higher up, after the career he's had before us? A shame, but not a catastrophe. I can't envisage Revell acting the same way, for example, and I'm pretty confident he'd never let us down if picked in Savage's place.

Would like to see Richards back, he improved hugely after a dodgy start, but let's start slagging the club off for not getting him if he doesn't come back in January, shall we? We can hardly sign him now with the window shut unless he's a free agent, which he isn't. If he does rejoin early Jan, that doesn't suggest the club's dragged its feet to me.

Those on here criticising Knight for getting involved in a slanging match I'd completely agree with though - how does that look from outside the club? It makes it look like there's internal strife whether there is any or not, and starts tongues wagging and fingers typing. It could be a destabilising influence, one we could well do without at the moment - if I were him, I think I'd have washed this particular dirty laundry behind closed doors.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

If only Paul Reid could get back to full fitness and find some of his old form he'd be a better option than O'Callaghan anyway.

How is he actually travelling?

Is he struggling such that he can't get back into the starting IX?

Before he got injured he really was playing some very good football.