Quote Khlav Kalash="Khlav Kalash"Having so many players coming off contract at the same time is a problem and not ideal planning, however, it’s compounded by how well the players who are OOC have performed.'"
I'd hope we signed them with the expectancy that a fair few of them did perform well, and therefore have the structures in place to respond quickly. After all, if they are tied up sooner rather than later any jump in outlay would hopefully be less significant.
Quote Khlav Kalash="Khlav Kalash"Snitch was signed up with presumably no other interest.'"
If that was the case, we were lucky. He wasn't a bad player at Shudds, more a case (as I saw it) that he was injured at the end of their season and presumably didn't fit into the new coach's plans. If we were that lucky, maybe it was worth the 2 year contract on a mobile hard working forward who was still at an age where you'd expect further improvement.
Quote Khlav Kalash="Khlav Kalash"Wilkes, Blanch and Grix were signed from NL1'"
They were, but all had already played a season with us with fair success. It would suggest to me there is an element of leaving players who've been signed on initial contracts that essentially undervalue them against the yardstick of 'if they play reasonably towards the potential we've spotted', and only upgrading the contracts when we have really have to (e.g. when they near the end or perform significantly better than expected). Fair enough, everyone hopes for a bit of value, particularly when taking a chance on NL players, and to counter those that flop. But if we test that value to the limit, then we play a game that risks a large turnover of staff. No problem with that generally, I'm a realist who accepts we haven't the money to compete in the way others do. However, what I am saying is we've not always been consistent in this, with players and coaches rewarded with longer contracts on relative whims. I do feel this season was obviously going to see a more competitive market for reasons I've already stated, and we shouldn't complain too much about a situation we have partially created.
Quote Khlav Kalash="Khlav Kalash"Bibey’s only option aside from Wakefield appears to be Leigh so how these players have performed may have even caught the clubs by surprise.'"
That particular case I'd accept as a surprise, although it does serve as a lesson in taking players like this, who are the mainstay of teams like Wakefield, for granted.
Quote Khlav Kalash="Khlav Kalash"Fair enough maybe they should’ve reacted quicker when these players were putting in the performances that warranted a review of their contracts, but that still doesn’t stop the players agents from touting them about and knocking back the clubs offers.'"
That is my main point, we should have reacted quicker. As for agents, I'd call rentokil on them given the chance. But it's a situation that everyone suffers and the quicker those players who are performing well are tied into appropriate contracts, the less of an impact their touting would have.