redrobo wrote:The more we now realize what DA was up to, the less respect I have for him. He knew he was on his way having decided last December, he also knew which players he would like to take with him hence no contractual discussions at any time.
We thank him for the promotion, but to mastermind the Bratford retained list whilst at the same time deciding who he wished to take with him leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth.
Sorry if that offends some fellow SVers....
I don't think it offends anyone, it's just that there's a fair bit of evidence that you're wrong.
It's been said by DA/Ryan Sparks that DA's contribution to the retained list came in their discussions in the interview he had in December, which was an interview we let him go to. When the season end came and Sparks was set on having DA as his man, he made sure the ideas DA had put forward in that interview were acted upon.
Given our situation with the playoffs, we were never going to start chucking out contract extensions etc. Also, we have options on some of the contracts which DA offered to players, and I presume he had a big say in deciding which players had these extra year options. We have complete control over this. If, for example, Stockton has an option for an extra year, then DA can't just get in there before we activate it. We can either choose to release him or activate the extension, in which case Bradford would have to pay a fee.
Ultimately, DA still guided us to promotion. Whatever plans he may or may not have had (there is no confirmation either way what exactly he was thinking around the playoffs), they clearly did not get in the way of his role at MFC. We won 5/6 of our last league games as well, and the one we lost was only due to a stupid red card that was completely out of DA's control.
DA departing for Bradford like he did isn't 'nice' and does leave a bit of a sour taste, I can definitely agree to that. However, there is a right meal being made of the whole thing!