http://www.afc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/sub/TVNewsDetail/0,,10284~1210007,00.html?

 

Seems to fairly genuine and sincere.  I have no problem with Barry and would rather we sang his name on Sat to show him and the board that we feel he has been a decent player and can still be a decent player at afc.

 

Dunno what Clark and Hart have been saying but tbh not going to miss them as much or, in Clark's case, at all

From the "a couple of contracts which are not right" do we take it he has been offered a pay cut?

presume so

he will have been on a decent wage and from what Hart said it looks like the big earners are having their wages slashed

If it me, I would leave if I was being asked to take a pay cut when you know that you can get the same money if not more elsewhere.

If it me, I would leave if I was being asked to take a pay cut when you know that you can get the same money if not more elsewhere.

 

Not often I disagree with you Mizer, however if it was me I would stay.

 

I would rather play against Bayern Munich in the last 32 in UEFA/cup runs/fight for top 3 in SPL etc with Aberdeen than earn triple my wages playing in English lower divisions with no hope of achieving anything other than a bigger bank balance.

He only has a limited career, fuck it being it Aberdeen is not glamorous don't fool ourselves.

 

He will get to play in the glamour tie, as he wont be leaving till the end of the season and will still be on his current wages.

The thing with Nicholson is, he's very much a family man, doesn't go out drinking with the rest of the players, so I'd reckon if he's going to go and play in some backwater in Englandshire for more money, it'll be for his family's sake, not his own. For someone who had no ties to Aberdeen before he came here, you can't really argue with that. And he does seem to be willing to stay if we improve our offer as I doubt he'd want to uproot his family. Seems a shame we can't find another couple of G's to bump his wages up a bit. 

He only has a limited career, fuck it being it Aberdeen is not glamorous don't fool ourselves.

 

He will get to play in the glamour tie, as he wont be leaving till the end of the season and will still be on his current wages.

 

He only has a limited career as a footballer, yes, but he has up to 35+ years in front of him to earn money in a second career.

 

There is more to life than money though, and I would rather look back on what I had achieved/participated in/medals and trophies won (potentially!) etc.

 

I think Barry Nic would have signed contract if JC had, and I know how you feel about that! 

I am in absolutely no doubt that Barry Nic would have signed on again if Calderwood had, and still wouldn't rule out the possibility of him still doing so

Aye, I think Calderwood would have signed by now had he been able to keep his top earners. As it stands it looks like we will lose Nicholson and Miller to this latest, what seems like, cost cutting exercise. I wish the clubs upper management would stop dishing out these big contracts if they can't afford them in the first place as it all ends up in a mess like it did at the end of Skovdhals reign and how it is looking to turn out now. I expect Calderwood to leave at the whiff of a medium sized English championship job.

Nicholson not definitely leaving...

 

IT'S STILL GOOD TO TALK, SAYS NICHOLSON

 

08:50 - 09 January 2008

 

Dons midfielder Barry Nicholson insists he is prepared to return to the negotiating table despite rejecting a new Dons contract.

 

Aberdeen had stated they had made their final offers to the players on their wanted list but did return to central defender Zander Diamond with improved terms on Monday. Diamond had appeared certain to quit the club but has asked for a further 48 hours to consider his future and Nicholson is hoping Aberdeen will also approach him with an enhanced contract offer.

 

Director of football Willie Miller and manager Jimmy Calderwood are resigned to losing the former Rangers and Dunfermline player, but the 29-year-old has offered them fresh hope he may yet sign the three-year extension offer, if the money is right.

 

Nicholson, who has been linked with a move to Premiership strugglers Derby County and a succession of Championship clubs, said: "If the offer is still on the table then I am willing to speak to the club. I'm not desperate to leave and until I'm told the offer is withdrawn then I would say there is still room to negotiate. If something can be worked out then I will be happy to stay."

 

The Dons manager admits finances are a major factor in Nicholson's decision to reject the deal but also claims the monotony of the SPL could force the midfielder to turn his back on the Dons.

 

Calderwood said: "Barry is 29 and I think he feels it is time for a change. He has played lots of games and seen all of the stadiums in Scotland. Maybe the same grind every week has influenced him - although finances do play a part in it."

 

Preston and Derby have both been watching Nicholson this season, although no bids have yet been lodged with the Pittodrie club. Nicholson could sign a pre-contract agreement with any club and move on a free transfer at the end of the season.

He isn't daft. Never close a door.

 

He seems very happy at AFC and that could mean a reluctance to change that.

 

Fuck sake Milne, "adequate", when we could just be talking about a few grand is just a fucking disgrace.

He isn't daft. Never close a door.

 

He seems very happy at AFC and that could mean a reluctance to change that.

 

Fuck sake Milne, "adequate", when we could just be talking about a few grand is just a fucking disgrace.

 

Its a tricky one though. On one hand you think just give him the extra but on the other its a downward spiral as the pressure to 'just give it to them' comes from everyone. In saying that, £200K for Clark has to be seen as a lottery win. Thats £1300 a week over a three year contract. Give that to Barry and bring a player from the reserves to replace Clark. Job done.

Its a tricky one though. On one hand you think just give him the extra but on the other its a downward spiral as the pressure to 'just give it to them' comes from everyone. In saying that, £200K for Clark has to be seen as a lottery win. Thats £1300 a week over a three year contract. Give that to Barry and bring a player from the reserves to replace Clark. Job done.

 

That 200k plus the cash the players have earned over the last season, dear fuck, it can't be that bad.

 

It's not like buying a Bernard is it?

It could be setting a dangerous precedent if a couple of players are able to negotiate their "final offer".  i.e. if Zander and Nicholson sign on a better contract than their final offer was, then Miller and co. will think they can do the same.

 

I trust WM to do what's right for the club.  If they sign, they sign.  If they don't, life moves on.

It could be setting a dangerous precedent if a couple of players are able to negotiate their "final offer".  i.e. if Zander and Nicholson sign on a better contract than their final offer was, then Miller and co. will think they can do the same.

 

I trust WM to do what's right for the club.  If they sign, they sign.  If they don't, life moves on.

 

Exactically.

 

No sense spunking our load on the first 'reasonably good midfielder' who suggests he might stay if the offer is right. The managements negotiation position is instantly fucked if they demonstrate a willingness to stretch what has always been a 'final offer'. They appear to have done this with Zander and already Barry is knocking at the door. Can you imagine Miller's thinking ?

Why is it that our best players are being given contracts that are reportedly LESS than previous contracts despite supposedly improved financial results from the club and a fucking huge year in terms of income?

 

Something is fucked.

Why is it that our best players are being given contracts that are reportedly LESS than previous contracts despite supposedly improved financial results from the club and a fucking huge year in terms of income?

 

Something is fucked.

 

That would be the long term finances of our club, and Scottish football as a whole (outside the obvious cuntage)

That would be the long term finances of our club, and Scottish football as a whole (outside the obvious cuntage)

 

The long term finances of the club are NOT going to be even scratched by a few player contracts.

 

The long term finances were fucked by some short term thinking by none other than Milne. A guy who has been very quiet since all this started but was well happy to lord it with these self same players in the dressing room after the Copenhagen game.

 

This stinks.

Why is it that our best players are being given contracts that are reportedly LESS than previous contracts despite supposedly improved financial results from the club and a fucking huge year in terms of income?

 

Key word.

 

Willie Miller said today that the players were not given any deadlines to accept or reject contracts.  But last week it was reported that they had.

 

Unless there is concrete evidence I don't believe anything.

Key word.

 

 

Thats why it's there!

 

 

The long term finances of the club are NOT going to be even scratched by a few player contracts.

 

The long term finances were fucked by some short term thinking by none other than Milne. A guy who has been very quiet since all this started but was well happy to lord it with these self same players in the dressing room after the Copenhagen game.

 

This stinks.

 

The point is, it is not likely to be a few players. I'm with you on offering key players like Zander and possibly Barry a little bit more to keep them as I'm not too convinced we would replace them with equivalents. However, the club have to secure long term financial health and, like it or not, they are working from a very very low base. If Aberdeen FC put out a message that contracts offered on a final offer hard line basis can then be renegotiated then all the players at the club, their agents and any prospective signings are acutely aware that there is money to be handed out. We will gradually erode all the work that has been done to screw things down and we will be worse off financially in the long term.

 

Its a hard sell but Scottish football has not been living within its means for a long long time and even at £2-3K a week footballers are paid over the odds in terms of Scottish football (outside of the other 3 teams who operate in a different market). Aberdeen have to cut their cloth accordingly and if that means higher earners on £2K a week instead of £3K then thats what it means. Its not pretty but a readjustment is going on all over and it will eventually come to bear on English football as well.

I'm well aware of the perilous position of the club finances, of that and the different markets the top 3 or 4 teams operate in. 13 million is along way back but it does feel like the money that has been generated of late is NOT going back to the club/team. The success generated by Calderwood and his players and the money off the back of that seems to be getting channelled towards the financial ruin that Milne presides over.

 

I am sickened that the chairman of this club had the utter fucking cheek to party on down with those players knowing what the financial plans are/were.

 

I had never really been the type to rattle Milne but now, when we have a team capable of so much better than we have had to put up with in all his horrible tenure, we have to watch it being ripped apart because of the fucking heinous financial decisions HE made in the past. That and his seeming reluctance to do anything about that debt aside from give us a fully repayable LOAN. Aye, thanks for that.

 

Yeah, he guarantees the debt. Big fucking wow. Hope yer Bentley breaks doon ya fucking cunt.

 

 

I'm with you dude. Just trying to be pragmatic about the whole situation. I wish for the same regarding investment but the club are setting out their stall conversely. Could be worse, Hibs have raked in £10m and are getting jack shit to invest in a team who will be bottom six due to playing staff resources. Yes, they have a training ground but their players will be plundered before the egg has cracked.

 

Beers and good times at Falkirk and fuck the rest of it 

I would be delighted to see BN stay, along with ZD. I wouldn't mind the board "improving" their offers to achieve this. However.....it sets a precedent that any "key" player will reject the "final" offer cause they'll think "I've got the club over a barrel" and other players will then want the same in terms of £s as the "top earners".

 

Can of worms possibly?

 

 

 

 

I have a sneaking suspicion that Barry Nicholson will end up staying at Aberdeen.  We saw a similar thing with Severin a couple of years ago and I just have a feeling this will go the same way.

 

I'm all for a wage structure to keep the running of the club sustainable but the medium term impact of it will mean we may just take a step back to the days of Steve Paterson and having to plunder the first division for rough gem-type players.  As has been shown over the last few years, despite massive cutbacks, AFC still struggle to make profit and they have to budget for that scenario every year and go down the route of performance related pay and bonus system for cup runs/UEFA qualification and the like.