One & A Half Or Two & A Half Years For AJ?

[White Noise]

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/118297.html?CMP=OTC-RSS


Johnson contract talks hit stumbling block


October 27, 2011



Fulham manager Martin Jol has revealed the length of contract is the stumbling block in their negotiations with Andrew Johnson as they look to agree a new deal with the striker.

Johnson, 30, has looked sharp for the Cottagers this season, scoring a hat-trick against QPR and six goals in the Europa League.

Johnson's current contract runs out of the end of the season and his future has been the subject of much debate, with QPR amongst those linked as possible destinations.

While both parties have confirmed they want to sign a new deal, Jol revealed today there is an issue over contract length.

"We will talk to him again,'' he said. "I talk to him every day and tell him what the difference is between one-and-a-half [until the end of the 2012/13 season] and two years [until the end of 2013/14] but he doesn't agree.

"He wants this year and another two years which is what we're arguing about.''

Jol also joined chairman Mohamed Al Fayed in dismissing former manager Mark Hughes' claim the club lacked ambition.

The Dutchman took the helm at Craven Cottage in the summer to fill the void left by former Manchester City boss Hughes, who said this week he left the club due to their lack of ambition.

The comments were met by a swift and scathing rebuttal by chairman Al Fayed in an open letter, which labelled the Welshman a "strange man'' and a "flop''. While Jol did not comment on his predecessor this afternoon, he quickly dismissed the notion Fulham lacked the desire to press forward.

"The only thing was that Mark said the club was not ambitions and [Al Fayed] wanted to make the point that he was very ambitious and we were very ambitious,'' he said. "I think he is very ambitious and I feel we are so for me that is no problem, but that was Mark Hughes. If he felt that was true then that is his opinion but the truth is always [somewhere] in the middle.

"[That said], it is not an opinion I support. He [Al Fayed] has supported us with the things we do. I can't even say most of the time as it is all of the time that he tries to do something. With Bryan Ruiz, even though it was probably not [the transfer fee] people think, he still spent a lot of money. Even if you pay it in instalments it is a lot of money and he backed us to do well. I think, especially in that sort of department, he shows his ambition all the time.''

The Cottagers have started the season slowly but Al Fayed has backed Jol, describing him in his letter as a "top manager'' and the man they always wanted. The start echoes the one they made under Hughes as the Cottagers struggled until the new year last season, when they kicked on to finish eighth.

"They backed him as well, even when things were not going well,'' Jol said. "The second half of the season was good, [although it helped that] they had a luxury of not being in all the cups. We play in Europe and then the FA Cup, hopefully to the end, after Christmas so we have to cope with that sort of thing. Until now the reactions of the chairman have generally been positive because he knows what I am doing and what I have to do here.

"I can tell you that you have to do a few things to make that squad better and try to improve the quality of the team and the players.''

Fulham currently lie 17th in the table and have just one league win to their name. Next up is Saturday's clash with fellow strugglers Wigan but Jol could be without two defensive regulars. Aaron Hughes has been ruled out for a couple of weeks with a thigh injury, while Philippe Senderos will have a thigh complaint assessed tomorrow.

"We've got injury with Aaron Hughes,'' he said. "I feel it is because of the an old injury as he has a thigh problem and before that it was his groin. It is the same area so he came on [against Everton], never touched the ball and got injured again.

"I think it could be a couple of weeks. We have got Senderos as a doubt after leaving training today with a thigh [problem] as well. Senderos was fit again, played against Millwall with a few other guys from the first-team and did well.

"We have to make an assessment tomorrow morning. Simon Davies, of course, is still recovering and will probably be fit for the end of November, while Orlando Sa has a hamstring injury from the match at Wisla Krakow.''

[RidgeRider]

I've always liked AJ and don't blame him for wanting to look out for his future, but if he is 30 now,  and if he gets what he wants, he will be 33 in his last year, I believe.....

With his track record for injuries, it's a financial risk to give him that long of a contract, given how any many games he has missed since coming to Fulham....remember he came to us "crocked" but somehow managed to pass the famous MAF medical..or maybe he skipped that part  :dft012:

Anyway, I think another year is the safer bet for Fulham obviously and hope Jol can convince him to consider another year, basically two more years with the club.

This could get sticky if it comes down to a tug of war of ego's over length of contract.

[MJG]

Extra one year only, but that would only be so we could get some cash next summer.

[Edwatch_Winston_Malone]

From the title of this post. I thought it was a new prediction thread for AJ's next goal..

[Burt]

Can we really afford to lose him to QPR (or whoever) when we are relatively exposed up front?

[epsomraver]

Give him 18 months and then pay as you play for the last 6, makes sense to me.

[horse1031]

he is hurt all the time.  if he wasnt such a fragile little guy i think we could give him that extra time and money.  on his day he is really good and a great poacher but we did pay a bunch of money for him.  10 mill with not much in return.  I think he owes us for sticking with him.

[Edwatch_Winston_Malone]

If he scores a few more goals we could get a bit more for him in January

[cebu]

I've nothing at all against AJ, but don't think the club should give him 2 extra years after this season. A one year extension plus a rolling contract after that if he's still up to it would be quite sufficient.

[The King]

Can we really afford to lose him to QPR (or whoever) when we are relatively exposed up front?

After getting Gignac and El Hamdaoui in January among others, who needs AJ?

[Jack Fulham]

Give him 18 months and then pay as you play for the last 6, makes sense to me.

I doubt he'd take a pay as you play when he could get a full time contract elsewhere.

Aj works his socks off but if he doesn't accept an 18 month contract, I say we just release him in the summer. He isn't worth 40k a week.

[HatterDon]

Give him 18 months and then pay as you play for the last 6, makes sense to me.

This seems sensible to me. If he can score 3 against QPR, he's fully capable of doing it against a Premiership side [Typing that just NEVER gets old.]. He obviously fits in MJ's plans, so let's cover him for 18 months. If he's ripping the Prem apart this time next season, we can do it again.

[jarv]

From the title I thought he was off to JAIL! :005:

[FatFreddysCat]

He's in terrific form right now, but he cant go two months without getting injured. Sell him why we can.