It’s good to see forward thinking from the club
OVF Editor Rob Fielding thinks it’s right that the club should be talking about new contracts with key players.
Rob Fielding writes…
I welcome the news that in addition to Mark Marshall, Vale are now planning early talks with midfielder Michael O’Connor.
It’s something I have been imploring the club to do for some months. Back in October I argued ” the club needs to be proactive in giving contracts to key players rather than wait for their deals to run down… Vale need to protect their assets” In another article I added that early contract talks would “solve so many issues – no more speculation… a welcome festive period boost to the side and no uncertainty… during the early closed season – the crucial period when the club want fans to buy season tickets.”
Having uncertainty about key staff (witness the debacle over Micky Adams’ contract last summer) doesn’t help sell season tickets…
I guess there’s still positives and negatives of such an approach. On the positive side – having uncertainty about key staff (witness the debacle over Micky Adams’ contract last summer) doesn’t help sell season tickets so clearly tying key players down to long-term deals will help prevent this.
On the negative side – it’s difficult to predict how much funds are available when season tickets haven’t been sold and the club will have to be careful not to use up all the budget before the pre-season has even arrived. It’s also a shame that early talks don’t involve a certain Tom Pope – sadly for both player and club, it now increasingly looks like his future lies elsewhere.
But let’s talk positive for a moment. It’s good to see a long-term strategy at Vale Park. It’s good to see key players earmarked and asked to stay. In short, it’s good to see forward thinking from the club.
Happy Christmas and up the Vale!