Hart AND Mayo set to be offered new deals

[The Large One]

Why? I don't mean that in a confrontational sense I genuinely can't see the benefits of resigning Mayo at all.

We are short on left-backs without him.

Sam Rents and Sonny Cobbs - one, a first-year pro, has only 15-20 games behind him and is way too inexperienced, the other still a fair way off making the first-team squad at all, according to a couple of people at the club. Neither are ready for a prolonged spell with no cover in the first-team.

Plus Mayo can fill in in a cobbled-together midfield should the occasion arise. And Mayo really is a better player than you're making out. Hardly Brighton's best player (that's bleedin' obvious) but to cut him aside completely would be a nightmare scenario.

 

[The Large One]

He won't have a choice, they will all have clauses saying if they kick a football within 10 feet of Withdean they automatically get a new contract.

Hart and Mayo clearly do. I don't know about the others.

 

[Withdean Wanderer]

Indeed, Les. I can just see where this is going. Dare to criticise a player on here and the words "personal attack" and "witchunt" will inevitably appear. I'm sure Kerry Mayo is a lovely chap, an albion fan, and an all round good bloke, but a league one footballer he is most certainly not. Anyway, my anger is not directed at him whatsoever. He plays to the best of his ability, which is often shockingly bad compared to those around him, but it is the IDIOT Knight that must take the blame for this. Why the f*** include that clause in his contract? I cannot see the point whatsoever.

Presumably, if Kerry was as shit as you make out, then WILKINS wouldn't play him and the contract details would be irrelevant.

 

[Les Biehn]

It must be me but Mayo sometimes looks ok, about 10% of games he plays. He looks poor in about 80% and absolute stinking toss in the remaining 10%.

Please name me one player who gets in as regular as Mayo who is worse than him.

El-Abd - no
Butters - no
Lynch - no
Bertin - no
Hammond - no
Cox - no
Reid - no
Hinsh - no
Revell - no
Savage - no
Robinson - maybe

So the only one might be Robinson but at least he has youth on his side and has played the odd blinder.

 

[Withdean Wanderer]

Oh, and looking at the bigger picture here, I think this buggers up our prospects of attracting new players for next season big time. Really, the only players we could release who would save us some decent wages are Mayo, Hart, Butters, and Kuipers. With these two signed up, you can't release Butters as he has done far more to deserve a contract, then Michel is the only player left to sacrifice. I feel he will go, but bearing in mind the playing budget is going DOWN, are we effectively saying that any new signings will be funded from a pot that is smaller than Michel Kuipers individual current wage?

Who's to say that Hart, Mayo and Butters won't be taking wage cuts?

 

[Les Biehn]

Presumably, if Kerry was as shit as you make out, then WILKINS wouldn't play him and the contract details would be irrelevant.

So you are basing Mayo being good on the fact he is picked rather than his actual performance on the pitch. Well I will suggest next time we look at a conference player we just check out which one has the most appearances and sign him no matter his ability, age etc...

 

[Les Biehn]

Yes that's fine, I respect your opinion, but do you really think he's the way forward? Regardless of whether you think Mayo is good enough or not (and everyone will have a different view), the question I would ask is do you think his wages could have been better spent elsewhere?

Wages better spent elsewhere easily. At least signing a LB on loan for the season until Rents is ready for a full season would be better than resigning a player who can't cut it.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Why the f*** include that clause in his contract?

Possibly to keep the wage bill down in the short run. Extendable contracts will be cheaper.

Like everyone else on NSC, I don't know, but I speculate - like everyone else on NSC.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

the only one might be Robinson but at least he has youth on his side and has played the odd blinder.

Didn't we see the best of Robinson some time back? Was it in the season that Mayo was runner up in the Player of the Season poll?

 

[The Large One]

Yes that's fine, I respect your opinion, but do you really think he's the way forward? Regardless of whether you think Mayo is good enough or not (and everyone will have a different view), the question I would ask is do you think his wages could have been better spent elsewhere?

The question IS academic. He IS being offered a new contract.

However, is he the 'way forward'? Not necessarily - that burden ought to fall on Sam Rents' shoulders - but he's not ready yet. Given another year or so, he may be. Meanwhile, we'd have to get another left-back who won't be as cheap as Mayo (or Rents) who will want two years minimum. So that's more money than before going down the poo-hole. The short answer to your question is, therefore, not really.

My point is about looking at the longer term and grooming Rents and Cobbs for the first team. In the meantime, Kerry can do the job for the tim being without resorting to traipsing through the availablity lists for another left-back.

Incidentally, Butters' salary is not that big. At least, nowhere near as big as you're implying.

 

[The Large One]

You could be right. In theory, that wouldn't be too bad an idea, but if it means you are forced into keeping a player for 2 years instead of one then it works out more expensive, and if the player is Mayo who is always prone to a shocking season, I see no point at all.

In my opinion, this summer will show who really is in charge of this team. If we manage to rid ourselves of some deadwood and make some interesting signings then I will believe it's being done Wilkins way, but I suspect it will be contracts for all the old boys again, which to me STINKS of Knight short sightedness.

You're making out Wilkins has no say in it. What's to say Wilkins actually wants to keep 'the old boys'?

It's not as though he hung on to Carpenter.

 

[Les Biehn]

Didn't we see the best of Robinson some time back? Was it in the season that Mayo was runner up in the Player of the Season poll?

Are you talking about John Robinson?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I just get the impression Knight is too friendly with the Mayo's ... of this world

That's not an impression I've ever had.

 

[Les Biehn]

God help us if Oatway gets another contract.