Hardly a secret, but there were already undercurrents that strained the relationship between player and manager. The story goes that Duffy, in an attempt to secure another contract on improved terms, told the manager that there were clubs interested in him, so taking Duffy at his word, Wilder told him to look elsewhere.........fast forward, here we are. One decent player struggling to secure a place in anyone's team, and the teams who were meant to be interested seem to have taken their interest and looked somewhere else. If anyone was in doubt about Wilder's resolve, with all the background that seems common knowledge, then I doubt we'll see an episode like this in future. Ravel's a good example, given a great opportunity to secure a contract what does he do......it's anyone's guess, but Morrison won't be signing for this club once his current agreement runs out.
If there's a moral to this, then don't fuck about. It's not SUFC's fault if a player isn't worth what they imagined they should be paid.
I loved Duffy, a clever, inventive player that gave us many options, and as for Ravel, well if ever someone lived off a reputation that had hardly any substance to it, it was this guy. What they seem to ignore is that they work in an industry that is overburdened with players seeking employment. Norwood's a great example of someone who came here, took his chance, showed what he's capable of, and has embraced everything that Wilder is about. It's simple, don't fuck about, don't imagine you're more deserving that anyone else when the facts say otherwise.
Player's choose to pursue a career in football if they're fortunate to be considered good enough. Surely they must realise that at best they've got approximately 15 years in which to play at a decent level and in the process enjoy some of life's most basic needs - buy a house, save some money, enjoy a decent quality of living, etc, etc.......beyond that it's down to them to consider what awaits them in terms of employment, and whether they can use their careers as launchpads for something as lucrative as the careers they enjoyed. If they seek sympathy for not making more of their lives then whose responsibility is it if they've not achieved more than they'd hoped for.
