[Archived] Phil Jones

[bluefred]

£16.5m the LT are reporting the fee at, even though I believe it is £16m – of which Kean will receive ALL of it! With £10m summer budget also given....Thats £26m so far!

So we offered to pay Phil Jones over £65k a week….at 19, with just 34 league games experience under his belt – yet he turned us down, and would rather be a bit part player from the bench at United!!! Shame on him….we have invested in him from 9 years old, he leaves us within 2 years of playing in the big league, shows there is Zero loyalty there.

Forget him now - £26m to spend (without the sale of Samba) – get looking for talent, and don’t make rash decisions.

yes i agree the lads gone good luck to him,now lets get the replacements sorted out for both him and samba

who will be out the door next,we have quite a good budget to work with now the highest for years, just hope keane and co dont blow it.

[PAFELL]

Most professional footballers view things very dispassionately. A few weeks ago I was reading something written by a current professional player, playing in the Premier League where he said most players hate interacting with fans, he went on to say that most players see playing the game as a "job" and make decisions about their career in terms of moving onto bigger and better things, very much like all of us do in our current roles (eg you work for a small company, the market leader in your sector comes and offers you more money and chance to progress yourself to a higer level), 99.9% of people would be off like a shot. Footballers are no different. This footballer went on to say that players resent fans telling them what to do (on the pitch), again his view was that they are professionals but are treated differently to other so called professionals, the example he gave was no one would ever dream of going to a doctor and advising them on what they should be doing.

While I may not agree with what the player was saying, it did give a very good insight into the way that the majority of players think. Jones may or may not have been a Rovers fan, but when making this decision to leave he will have been thinking as "professional", he would have seen that in terms of career progression (moving to a bigger club, increase chances of winning silverware and playing at a higher level) then for him the decision to leave Rovers was a relatively easy one.

I see where you are coming from Matty and to some extent I agree, but footballers do not think like us fans.

Fully agree with that. That is not just in the premier league either. Had a conversation with some ex brighton players some years ago. They loved the club, the fans, the town, the county but all said if a big club came along wanting to sign me up - "I would be off like a shot". A Footballers career is a short career and they could always come back to their home area before they reach 40. The same is with us. We may have a love for a certain area, have family etc, but if a decent offer came along to work elsewhere for a lot of money, for a few years, most of us we would take it.

[BangkokRover]

£16.5m the LT are reporting the fee at, even though I believe it is £16m – of which Kean will receive ALL of it! With £10m summer budget also given....Thats £26m so far!

So we offered to pay Phil Jones over £65k a week….at 19, with just 34 league games experience under his belt – yet he turned us down, and would rather be a bit part player from the bench at United!!! Shame on him….we have invested in him from 9 years old, he leaves us within 2 years of playing in the big league, shows there is Zero loyalty there.

Forget him now - £26m to spend (without the sale of Samba) – get looking for talent, and don’t make rash decisions.

So under 40 games and we get £16 million for him. To me that seems pretty good. Yes in x number of years he could be worth more.

Now its up to Rovers to show us their ambition by who they bring in.

[AggyBlue]

So we offered to pay Phil Jones over £65k a week….at 19, with just 34 league games experience under his belt – yet he turned us down, and would rather be a bit part player from the bench at United!!! Shame on him….we have invested in him from 9 years old, he leaves us within 2 years of playing in the big league, shows there is Zero loyalty there.

It's time all our trainees had a clause inserted in their first contracts that ties them to the club until a certain age. For instance, 23. At the clubs discretion of course.

[cletus]

Gutted Jones has opted to move to Man Ure but to be honest, who can blame him?

Sometimes in life, opportunity only knocks the once. If you miss it, it might not come round again.

The lad could sustain a career ending injury tomorrow or 3months down the line. If that happened, who would remember Phil Jones? only about 20,000 Rovers fans. The lad has an opportunity to become a world star. He`s been tipped to be a future England captain, the next John Terry. The lad thinks he`s good enough to play regular champions league & international football. Moving to a BIG club will put him more in the spotlight than playing at Ewood every week. He WILL be tested at champions league level at Old Trafford. Only time will tell if he can hack it. He won`t get that chance at Ewood. Rovers days of competing for the top honours have long gone.

I agree Phil Jones could`ve shown Blackburn Rovers a bit more loyalty by staying another season or two, but if the lad is actually as good as they say he is....he`s gonna move on eventually.

Rovers fans have simply got to realise OUR club is a small fish in a pond full of bigger fish. Players don`t dream of playing for Blackburn (only the fans do) they use clubs like ours as a shop window or possible stepping stone to bigger more lucrative things. Look at Valencia at Wigan. He didn`t grow up in a far off land dreaming of playing for Wigan did he? No, he saw the opportunity to put himself in the shop window in the most lucrative league in the world. It paid off for him. For many it doesn`t, but they get to play in the same league as the big boys & recieve their hefty pay cheques every week. They smile & take the money....but deep down want to be elsewhere.

So good luck to Phil Jones. I hope it pays off for him. It`s just a pity he couldn`t stay around a bit longer.

[Gav]

What happened to the "it would take a bigger fee than Blackburn have ever received to get Jones"? (or words to that effect).

We were lied to by the manager.

Probably says that Kean didn’t have any idea about Phil Jones release clause, which isn’t as unusual as you may think.

I watched a recent interview with Harry Redknap and he stated he had no idea what his players earned and he didn’t want to know. He went on to say most modern day managers he speaks to are in the same boat, so maybe that explains why Kean said that, if indeed he did say that.

[Blue n White Rover]

It's time all our trainees had a clause inserted in their first contracts that ties them to the club until a certain age. For instance, 23. At the clubs discretion of course.

Great idea. If a bigger club came in for them (like P.Jones) then at least then we can demand whatever fee we want, and if the club don't want to pay that fee, we then have a quality player until the age of 23.

Fully behind that. Only downside is that players may not agree to it, but from a club's perspective, definitely something they should negotiate when offering contracts.

[Rover Down Under]

he went on to say that most players see playing the game as a "job" and make decisions about their career in terms of moving onto bigger and better things, very much like all of us do in our current roles (eg you work for a small company, the market leader in your sector comes and offers you more money and chance to progress yourself to a higer level), 99.9% of people would be off like a shot.

Personally, if the small company had brought me in as a trainee, funded my education and development, provided access to World-class facilities and trainers, given me a chance to thrive by giving me experience and exposure then I would not turn round at the first offer and jump ship. Perhaps, eventually I would but not until I believed I had given them back what they had given me.

If you get a military scholarship through Uni you are tied to them for, I believe, five years of full-time service. Aggy Blue's suggestion that we tie our youth down until 23 is spot-on.

[chris]

What would have happened to Shearer in 1996 if he had moved to Man United?

European titles, FA Cups winners medals, super cup winners medals, multi Premeier League titles, Best Player in the world awards?, Champion league top goal scorer.

Instead he got Newcastle and relegation battles.

You don't turn down United

[Mattyblue]

Shearer would have got even more abuse than he got in 1996, however he owed us nothing, he had given us 4 fantastic years and he won the title.

Jones has gives us nada.

[cletus]

It's time all our trainees had a clause inserted in their first contracts that ties them to the club until a certain age. For instance, 23. At the clubs discretion of course.

& what if the player ends up being a dolloper? Does the club have to keep him & pay his wages until he`s 23 before we can release him?

It works both ways

[BangkokRover]

What would have happened to Shearer in 1996 if he had moved to Man United?

european titles, FA Cips titles, Premeier League titles, Best Player in the world awards?@, champion league top goal scorer.

Instead he got newcastle and relegatio0n battles.

You don't turn down United

I remember being in tears when shearer left. But Rovers kept going and we won trophies with out him.

[Mc Love]

Shearer would have got even more abuse than he got in 1996, however he owed us nothing, he had given us 4 fantastic years and he won the title.

Jones has gives us nada.

Exactly for all we have given him! And to opportunity to play at the highest level in the world. I feel we are in the same situation Everton fans were when Shrek left

[heysham rover]

There are rules already in place which effectively tie trainees to clubs till they are 24, if a players contract expires and is offered terms which the player refuses and leaves for another club the develping club can go to tribunal and seek compensation (usually the cost of the offered contract + fees for years in development). Agents are well aware of this as are all clubs so no matter what contract you place yougnsters on there are always going to be fees involved, even if they did sign these agreements the contracts are still meaningless and can be broken, etc.

Clubs dont buy players or their contracts, they buy a players registration document and the right to register it for their club.

I work in football so when it comes to contract issues and the like I have sympathy with the players and often look at it not as a fan. In two weeks time I will see around 60 players who have been at clubs since they were 9 or 10 much like Phil Jones, they will have foregone large parts of their education and in many ways will be very far behind their peers. They will receive news that their contract will expire on 30 June and they are free to find a new club, they are released from their employment. No one feels any sympathy to the players who are now unemployed and have to go find work etc. Its a two way street and clubs screw players over a hell of a lot more than the other way round, its not just publicised in the same way.

I often see it (more in the football league) where a club hero gets injured, has given years of service to a club but gets injured and cant perform in the same way. He is on big money and has a couple of years left on his deal, you watch how quickly the clubs look to get rid. No thought to the players family, mortgage etc. They think of themselves and the club first and get shot at the earliest opportunity (rightly so). Surely they owe the player something too as people are saying Jones owes us something. As I say its a two way street but often the media only shows one side of the road.

football is a business, players are commodities or burdens on finances. There is no such thing as loyalty in it, the minute they deregulated the wages and latterly Bosman came into play the game has become a huge business the same as any other. Loyalty lays firmly in stands.

[alexanders]

Gutted it was United as I will never be able to wish fortune or success upon anyone in a United shirt.

This club is bigger than one man!

[chris]

I remember being in tears when shearer left. But Rovers kept going and we won trophies with out him.

Well it's only because world class coach Roy Hodgson signed Batistuta and Baggio for us, otherwise I really think we would have ended up a midtable team.

[Rovermatt]

Honestly, I didn't think I could despise United any more. I was wrong. Sure Jones is replaceable but as someone pointed out above, there's no way we'll be able to find a player with that much potential. I can't say I blame him particularly. The lure of Mould Trafford's comfy subs' bench is too great for some. I just can't help getting the feeling we've been diddled. Again.

[chris]

Exactly for all we have given him! And to opportunity to play at the highest level in the world. I feel we are in the same situation Everton fans were when Shrek left

Yeah Rooney only gave Everton 30 million lol and went on to a massive success he could have never got at Everton.

Why stay so he could have helped Everton finish 7th or maybe 5th? he would have always been hated whenever he left.

I would leave Blackburn in a second if United came ( I have doubts Jones is ready), I'd come back though maybe at 30+ to give back.

[m0r94n]

I still think Fergie would have wanted him in asay, a season or two's time. Signing him now was a way to prevent Liverpool or Man City from possibly getting him themselves. I still laugh at Redknapp saying he was in for Jones. Is there a player he isn't in for? Given the reaction of most of the fans I don't think he'll be back here on loan next year (though I may yet be proven wrong). I'd quite like United to loan him out abroad for a season, see how he gets on with a different style of football. May be good for his club and international career.

[Mattyblue]

I would leave Blackburn in a second if United came ( I have doubts Jones is ready), I'd come back though maybe at 30+ to give back.

That attitude is just astounding to me. I'm obviously very naive/small time/parochrial, but so what.

[slough_rover]

I hope the fact that we offered him more than what Utd did will dispell false rumours that Venkys just wanted to cash in on players.

[philipl]

I don't care about the money or the commercial and football realism, every time a Rovers star leaves us I am absolutely gutted and feel lower than a dachshund's tummy.

Absolutely appalled we were unable to keep Phil for at least one more season.

[modes98]

I hope the fact that we offered him more than what Utd did will dispell false rumours that Venkys just wanted to cash in on players.

As much as I would like to beat them with that stick they had no say in the matter if the clause is real.

There is no way we were going to keep for more than 1 moer season. The Phil Jones movement was only growing in strength and he has provided us with a decent amount of money to reinvest, I just hope we spend it wisely.

[Tom]

I don't care about the money or the commercial and football realism, every time a Rovers star leaves us I am absolutely gutted and feel lower than a dachshund's tummy.

Absolutely appalled we were unable to keep Phil for at least one more season.

Appalled at who? It seems the club did all we can to keep him. There's only him / his WAG to blame

[Jonnolad]

We have to be realistic here. What in the world would have made him stay? Loyalty to Blackburn?

I'm guessing he probably thought - what actually is loyalty? Is loyalty a load of fans who boo their own players? Players he worked with in training day in day out and therefore knew himself that no way on earth do they deserve boos. He probably thought what do I owe a load of spoilt kids? He'd be right as well.

If we really want to keep players, especially if we want the loyalty card to count for anything (and it really could in Phil's case), then we really should act that way ourseleves.

You reap what you sow I'm afraid.