Richinns wrote:
Even if all that was true (which I severely doubt) why would he be tempted by a club which finished significantly below his current employees? He is looking to progress his career not take a step back. Also - until you get your new stadium your current pitch is hardly beneficial to his game.
If you claim you could pay him more than us - then that will not wash as financial reward is not a big factor in his next move – he wants the right choice to progress upwards.
All is said was there is interest and your board are keen to sell, nothing more. I also said it's highly unlikely to happen. I don't think he's upto championship standard yet, but is certainly good enough for a decent L1 team.
For the record the pitch has been ripped up and significant money has been spent on it. It's only last year it deteriorated. People also think it's the rugby which wrecked it last year, but it was actually an fa youth cup game which was cancelled before and had to be played even when the pitch was unfit to do so.
blueboy wrote:Don't shoot the messanger but from what I've heard there has been contact and your board are not against selling him, infact they seem.
I'm sure they would be if, as I suspect, they can name their price on EOK if they sell to another L2 club rather than have to sell at the release clause trigger!!!
Personally, speaking as a fan (it's not my money!) but I genuinely think that EOK is not too dissimilar in terms of age, ability and future prospects to that of Michael Jacobs. He has just been sold by Northampton to Derby County for an undisclosed fee but it's rumoured to be around the £400k mark. That is the sort of move and the sort of money that I personally feel is what EOK should hang on for. But of course for us to get that sort of fee we would have to renegotiate his contract in order to remove or substantially increase the release clause valuation.... something which I would hope that at the very least the club is considering, even if it means paying EOK a few more quid a week to buy it out, it could well prove to be a smart piece of business in the end.
A year ago, no one outside the plainmoor walls knew who Eunan O'Kane was. If i remember correctly, Ling himself even said "i didn't know Eunan from a bar of soap" when he arrived at the club.
Eunan made a bit of a name for himself this year, and rightly so. However, his form did tail off a little at the end of the season (that's not a criticism, he was hardly alone in that fact, and it was his first FULL season don't forget), so i think another year with us, sustain his form over the entire season, and i think a bigger better offer will come in for him, no doubt.
i'm sure there are championship (and maybe even higher) clubs tracking his progress, but will watch his development for a bit longer before making a decision on him. If we could re-negotiate his deal, as said above, give him a few extra quid a week, up his release clause, and this time next year, i think he'll get the deal and move he wants and deserves, and the club will get the right deal too.
I think that the Rovers fans are getting a little bit too excited on their forum. Course they're a bigger club than us, but what Eunan is looking for is football opportunity at league 1 level, not just a bigger ground. Other teams seem to assume that he's not happy here, and I think the way he dealt with Crawley shows that to be rubbish. just a look on twitter at the moment shows that we have the tightest group of footballers (as well as mates), that we have had at the club in years, and thats got to count for something. Any job is as much about the guys you are working with as the task in hand. And we have quite a few legends down here atm!
Bristol Rovers, being a big city club, can get larger crowds than us. Apart from that, they're not that much bigger than us, certainly not as big as Bristol City, who are hardly any bigger then Plymouth Argyle. And look where they were last season!
My feeling is that Torquay will be challenging strongly for promotion again next season, while Br. Rovers will struggle to make the play-offs.
Eunan knows on which side his bread is buttered. He'll be staying with us and, as brooker says, a great Torquay squad, until he eventually joins a really big, probably Championship, club. And the best of luck to him.
Why would we agree a deal below a release clause in his contract for a start? And secondly I dont think Eunan would take a sideways step to a team in the same divison when hes just rejected the chance to go to a League One team. Wouldnt really make any sense. Especially as hes already shown he isnt motivated by money.
gasman wrote:Craig Stanley perhaps and some cash maybe is the deal on the table and alot of you rated craig highly when he joined us so now you can have him back
Dream on guys - we had all this crap last year from you lot. You are not a big club - you are an average League 2 club so there is no way O'Kane will move at the very best sideways.
Lingy has already said he hopes with his heart that Eunan will stay, and hes sick of the assumption hes gone. So with that pressure on our board why would they turn around and let him go for pence and a player? Stanley did us pretty well, but that was under Buckle, and as Lingy showed when he said no to Branston, hes his own man, he wants his own team, and he won't compromise Eunan for someone elses choice of player.
If it is a cash + player deal, the only place hel be going is Swindon with Bodin coming the other way
Richinns wrote:
Dream on guys - we had all this crap last year from you lot. You are not a big club - you are an average League 2 club so there is no way O'Kane will move at the very best sideways.
Are we a big club? No, crowds of 6000 mean we're just an average run of the mill side like most L1 and L2 clubs. Do I think he'll join us? VERY unlikely.
I was simply stating there has been contact and you're keen to cash in. I was told this by the same person that said Buckle would be joining before the second leg of Shrewsbury playoff, not to mention many other signings before they've happened.
If we sign Lund on loan again from Stoke, Mcghee is happy to let Stanley go so maybe Ling will be interested in him even if O'Kane goes to someone else like Swindon.
