Mugwump wrote:
It's an idea. But lengthy contracts come with their own problems.
Unless we're paying high wages what incentive does the player have to sign? £30k a year might sound a lot to a rookie. But if in two years he's starring for England the sum is no longer in line with his market value. Worse still - he has another eight years of it to look forward to.
What if we develop another Danny Arnold and decide to spend big on a ten-year contract based on excellent performances over twelve months? In five years time when his form has collapsed and we've still got him on the books the deal is no longer so rosy.
for reference, see Kevin Penny. Wire got excited when he first broke through, whacked him on a big 5year contract before he had done anything properly in the game, and then had to watch as his career collapsed.
where is the incentive for a player to perform when he has a 10 year cushy number sorted out for himself? look at various of our overseas players recently, who usually have a burst of form in the summer of the 2nd year of their 2 year deal, get a new contract sorted then drift back into oblivion.