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Should Darren Pratley’s move to QPR come off, plenty of Wanderers fans will hope the captain leads by example this summer.
However hard we try to move on from last season’s relegation, those involved will always be at a disadvantage, none more so than the man who wore the armband through the most disruptive 12 months in the club’s recent history.
The responsibility weighed heavy on his shoulders from the start. And while he never lacked for effort, the conscientious midfielder will find it hard to win back the fans if he opts to stay at the Macron Stadium.
Talks have taken place between Pratley’s representatives and Hoops manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – although the West London club’s uber-rich chairman Tony Fernandes took the unusual step of denying the story on Twitter yesterday afternoon. Needless to say, it has not been denied in the Wanderers camp.
Whether it all leads anywhere, only time will tell. But the massive response to the Pratley story does raise a question of whether any of the club’s biggest earners can mend their relationship with the fans.
Did last season’s failures do irreparable damage, or would success this season rekindle some affiliation?
Other Championship clubs looked at Pratley this summer, including promoted Wigan Athletic, which shows his stock has not fallen quite so dramatically elsewhere. Indeed, a move at this stage to a higher division could be seen as career progression for the Londoner, who was viewed as one of Neil Lennon's key men last summer when he turned down Ipswich Town to sign a new contract with the Whites.
Some of Pratley’s team-mates are also in the same position. Mark Davies has been courted by all and sundry during his time with Wanderers and famously sat out last season’s game at Sheffield Wednesday as he appeared to be on the verge of a move to Hillsborough.
Phil Parkinson would surely love to work with Davies at his best – which one can argue is well above League One level but a frustratingly rare occurrence. Is the former Wolves man another player who should be looking elsewhere for the sake of his career?
It is not the fault of Parkinson, nor the individual players that Wanderers’ wage bill is top heavy, and will most likely continue to be so for another 12 months. And to force players out against their will is crass in the extreme.
The massive contracts handed out since the club dropped out of the Premier League produce the same response from people throughout the game, a solemn shake of the head. Now they are a mistake of the previous regime being tidied up by the current one.
What players earn really should not come into the thinking of a normal football fan but having seen their club taken right to the brink, the average Wanderers follower is now more financially clued up.
The cruel dichotomy fans now face is to support their team and the new manager to the hilt they must also back some of the squad who – in their eyes at least – failed them last season.
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However hard we try to move on from last season’s relegation, those involved will always be at a disadvantage, none more so than the man who wore the armband through the most disruptive 12 months in the club’s recent history.
The responsibility weighed heavy on his shoulders from the start. And while he never lacked for effort, the conscientious midfielder will find it hard to win back the fans if he opts to stay at the Macron Stadium.
Talks have taken place between Pratley’s representatives and Hoops manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – although the West London club’s uber-rich chairman Tony Fernandes took the unusual step of denying the story on Twitter yesterday afternoon. Needless to say, it has not been denied in the Wanderers camp.
Whether it all leads anywhere, only time will tell. But the massive response to the Pratley story does raise a question of whether any of the club’s biggest earners can mend their relationship with the fans.
Did last season’s failures do irreparable damage, or would success this season rekindle some affiliation?
Other Championship clubs looked at Pratley this summer, including promoted Wigan Athletic, which shows his stock has not fallen quite so dramatically elsewhere. Indeed, a move at this stage to a higher division could be seen as career progression for the Londoner, who was viewed as one of Neil Lennon's key men last summer when he turned down Ipswich Town to sign a new contract with the Whites.
Some of Pratley’s team-mates are also in the same position. Mark Davies has been courted by all and sundry during his time with Wanderers and famously sat out last season’s game at Sheffield Wednesday as he appeared to be on the verge of a move to Hillsborough.
Phil Parkinson would surely love to work with Davies at his best – which one can argue is well above League One level but a frustratingly rare occurrence. Is the former Wolves man another player who should be looking elsewhere for the sake of his career?
It is not the fault of Parkinson, nor the individual players that Wanderers’ wage bill is top heavy, and will most likely continue to be so for another 12 months. And to force players out against their will is crass in the extreme.
The massive contracts handed out since the club dropped out of the Premier League produce the same response from people throughout the game, a solemn shake of the head. Now they are a mistake of the previous regime being tidied up by the current one.
What players earn really should not come into the thinking of a normal football fan but having seen their club taken right to the brink, the average Wanderers follower is now more financially clued up.
The cruel dichotomy fans now face is to support their team and the new manager to the hilt they must also back some of the squad who – in their eyes at least – failed them last season.
Source
