Youssef Safri - Grant explains

[Pete Raven 276]

From official site....

YOUSSEF Safri''s future as a Norwich City player looks to be hanging by a thread after boss Peter Grant let fly at the midfielder for his recent conduct.

Safri was absent from the Canaries'' official photo-call on Monday, and was left out of the squad which faced West Ham in the Carrow Road friendly the following day.

It led to widespread speculation that Safri was on the verge of completing a transfer away from the Canaries.

But Grant revealed the midfielder had been fined and dropped after first missing training on Monday and then turning up late for the photo-call later that day.

"Youssef called me yesterday morning to say he was picking an agent up," said Grant. "Obviously we''ve got training in the morning so it was a late call for me so that disappointed me very much.

"So I still told him he had to be here for the photo at 2.30pm, and he turns up at 25 to 3. So that''s why he wasn''t involved. And I''ve told him he will be fined his wages and we will see where it goes from there. It''s up to him now whether he wants to be here.

"I want people who are committed here. I''ve hid behind it for a long time, so many things have been going on. If you don''t want to be here, it makes my decision easy."

Grant went on to say that agents working on behalf of Safri had been speaking to him virtually from the time he took over as manager expressing their client''s desire to leave the football club.

And when asked by reporters whether Safri would ever play for him again, Grant responded simply: "Hopefully not."

Grant added that the club had yet to receive any official offers for Safri, saying: "We''ve not had an offer. He wants to try and get out of here for free. I''ve told him to be honest with me, but he''s never done that."

[MightyYellows50 0]

Oh well not the end of the world, cant make players play for a club they dont want to be at, and we dont want or need players like that, had too many of that sort of player at NCFC over the past few years

[InLambertWeTrust! 0]

Safris getting treated the way he deserves imo. Any news about that elusive defender?

[E I E I E I O 0]

Good on ya Grant about time someone told this Lazy (I have a cold) T*** to take a long walk on a short pier!Good Riddance what a surprise there has been no bids! You are never here ya skiving piece of Crap!!!

[Carrow Fink 0]

Bye Bye Saf.... we dont need people behaving like that at our club, get rid!

 

CRS

[Infamy, Infamy 0]

Not your fav player then Snakepit? Got to agree though, if anyone is not committed, they are no good to us. Grant is spot on.

[MightyYellows50 0]

lol NEXT please [B]

[silver fox 0]

Hopefully Grant will put him in the reserves until we receive a reasonable offer for him.  Not playing first team football will not enhance his chances of playing for his country.  The worst scenario is that we let him go for next to nothing just to get him off the books.  I still think that these agents have a lot to answer for when it comes to feeding ideas into players heads.

[Shyster 0]

http://new.pinkun.com/cs/forums/990355/ShowPost.aspx

http://new.pinkun.com/cs/forums/990354/ShowPost.aspx

http://new.pinkun.com/cs/forums/990331/ShowPost.aspx

http://new.pinkun.com/cs/forums/989390/ShowPost.aspx

http://new.pinkun.com/cs/forums/989542/ShowPost.aspx

http://new.pinkun.com/cs/forums/989606/ShowPost.aspx

http://new.pinkun.com/cs/forums/989587/ShowPost.aspx

 

FFS people!! Above are all the recent threads created about the same subject -- Safri.

Don''t you think this forum is slow enough without straining bandwidth even further by putting superfluous material on here?

All I ask is that you read the thread titles thoroughly before posting.

Seriously - it isn''t rocket science.

And I''ve been telling you all the last couple of years that Safri is a passenger at this club.

His leaving will be the best thing that''s happened to this club in three years - all I yearn for is confirmation.

[ca 1]

[quote user="Shyster"]

FFS people!! Above are all the recent threads created about the same subject -- Safri. [/quote]

 

In people''s defence sometimes you start a thread becuase there doesn''t appear to be one on that subject and then 2 or 3 appear all at once once the mods catch up or if there is a delay in moderating the site.

Surely it would be easy for to just merge them all into one thread Mods??

[Pete Raven 276]

I just have CA.

[Camuldonum 0]

I''m a Colchester/Lincoln fan with a rabid Norwich fan in the house!

I like your Manager as I think he is quite right.  That is disgraceful behaviour by any sort of pro (whether football or something else) and it should mean out of the door.

Just drop him and let his agent find him something else.  Personally, I would have said: "You either pick the agent up or you come training.  Your choice."

I know Mr Safri has talent but I think you best rid of him and let his agent (s) find another place for him where he can troll about a bit before the African Nations Cup in Jan/Feb.

"Hopefully  not".  Love it.  Quite right, too.

 

 

[ca 1]

Well Done Pete

[T07 0]

One of the best midfielders ever to play for Norwich. Ruthlessly

dedicated. Perfectly able to play during Ramadan, as many Muslims do,

but oh no, our clubs coaching staff know better, the same coaching

staff that continue to select Hughes and the mob before them that

bought him.

Safri is class and enjoys playing at Norwich. Probably ciricised by the same people that gave Ashton stick last night. You''re only hearing one side of this. Noticed which side is respectful enough to keep their gob shut and which does the slagging off?

[whoareyou? 0]

While i hope we get some money for him, part of me wishes that no one wants him at all so he can''t play football anywhere. How stupid do some of these players think us fans are???????????

[Pinks 0]

“If people show an inkling of not wanting to be here any longer, I don''t give them very much time here."

These are Grant''s words regarding the Hunter business. Why do he say about Safri "It''s up to him now whether he wants to be here." ??

Transfer list the idiot and put him in the Reserves ''till he goes. Ingrate  

[First Wizard 0]

I''m backing Grant and the club, and if the always ''too tired'' and absent Safri doesn''t want to, than he can p*ss off out of it. I''ve zero time for that sort of behavior.

Safri has not only let the Club, Peter and the team down, he''s let us down as well.

Good riddence!.

[Shack Attack 0]

Oh well, I for one will be sad to see him go. Best passer of the ball at the club by a country mile.

But, if he doesn''t want to be here anymore and he''s going to start acting as if he''s bigger than the club then he''s got to go I suppose.

Goodbye and good luck Yousseff.

[mbncfc 1]

[quote user="T07"]One of the best midfielders ever to play for Norwich. Ruthlessly dedicated. Perfectly able to play during Ramadan, as many Muslims do, but oh no, our clubs coaching staff know better, the same coaching staff that continue to select Hughes and the mob before them that bought him.

Safri is class and enjoys playing at Norwich. Probably ciricised by the same people that gave Ashton stick last night.

You''re only hearing one side of this. Noticed which side is respectful enough to keep their gob shut and which does the slagging off?
[/quote]

I''m sorry but this is completely wrong.

Grant gave Safri his chance to speak to the media and say what has happening, at which point he didn''t (see EDP today).

Certainly a decent midfielder, but one of the best ever to play for Norwich?

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

I guess he will be off now then, its been coming since the awful Bobinson weas selected ahead of him by Grunt during an 8 match winless run.  A damn shame cos Andy Hooze is STILL getting in the team every week.  And he was awful as usual again last night.

Why is it not Donkey or Hooves being removed from the club?? 

[broadie 0]

[quote user="T07"]One of the best midfielders ever to play for Norwich. Ruthlessly

dedicated. Perfectly able to play during Ramadan, as many Muslims do,

but oh no, our clubs coaching staff know better, the same coaching

staff that continue to select Hughes and the mob before them that

bought him.

Safri is class and enjoys playing at Norwich. Probably ciricised by the same people that gave Ashton stick last night. You''re only hearing one side of this. Noticed which side is respectful enough to keep their gob shut and which does the slagging off? [/quote]Fair point, but Grant said very early on that Saf had to come out of his comfort zone. As good as he is, having Saf in the side makes us play too deep. His one flaw is that he played so close to the central defenders - resulting in that infuriating tactic we''ve had for a few years of watching all eleven men retreat to the eighteen yard line. While he could play a killer pass, he never ran the ball out of defence/midfield and we desperately need that. Brellier will give us that. No great loss in my opinion. Grant is changing the shape and dynamism of the side and good on him.The more of Worthington''s dead wood we can get rid of, the better.

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

One suspects that there is more than one side to this story.

Rather sad to see possibly our best player in this type of imbroglio.

But, Peter, is the boss and Safri will have to go. One just hopes that the departure will be quick and clean rather than delayed and rancorous.

My abiding memories of Safri will be, firstly, of him stopping Wayne Rooney in his tracks and setting up the counter attack leading to our 2-0 win over Man Utd at Carrow Road and, secondly, his 30 metre rocket against Newcastle that same season.

Sadly, one further suspects that there is something in the air these days at Carrow Road that prevents us from understanding how to get the best out of players of the temperament of Bentley, Francis, Etuhu, and Safri.

Maybe a few people need to do some soul-searching.

OTBC

 

 

[Old Boy 0]

Well done Grant - it''s about time lazy, greedy and mercenary players were put in their place.Safri has actually produced little for NCFC relative to his ability - he''s of the Mulryne/McVeigh ilk, very talented but selfish and lazy, and we''ve had too many of them. It plays into the hands of players like this that people still persist in blaming the manager. If a player is sufficiently motivated to play football, he''ll either fight for his place in the team or fight to move on to another club. Safri did neither, just exploiting our small resources which meant that he was bound to get some games, when it suited him. When it didn''t, he pulled a sickie.

[O.T.B.C 0]

I agree with what has been said, don''t get me wrong, I wish that Safs could stay as on his day he is our best player but that is not often enough and if he can not be bothered to turn up for a photo shoot, well then good luck in the future and thanks for your efforts in the past Safs.

[Bird Table 0]

I''ve always been a big fan of Safri, but his behaviour is unacceptable. I think a lot of fans would have been sad to see him go, but he''s blown any chance of that now.

[ricky knight 0]

Seems we are in for a team of hard running robots.

[megson 0]

[quote user="BlyBlyBabes"]

One suspects that there is more than one side to this story.

Rather sad to see possibly our best player in this type of imbroglio.

But, Peter, is the boss and Safri will have to go. One just hopes that the departure will be quick and clean rather than delayed and rancorous.

My abiding memories of Safri will be, firstly, of him stopping Wayne Rooney in his tracks and setting up the counter attack leading to our 2-0 win over Man Utd at Carrow Road and, secondly, his 30 metre rocket against Newcastle that same season.

Sadly, one further suspects that there is something in the air these days at Carrow Road that prevents us from understanding how to get the best out of players of the temperament of Bentley, Francis, Etuhu, and Safri.

Maybe a few people need to do some soul-searching.

OTBC

 

 

[/quote]

Agree about the memories, never forget them and thanks Saf.

Players come, get too settled and need to leave that''s life.

Disagree with the final point though as 3 of those players were only a problem for the previous manager and coach. The current guys were getting the best out of Etuhu and wanted to keep him.

When a players agent is telling you he wants to leave, and that the previous manager had agreed he could as soon as you arrive, I don''t see what else you can really do.

[a1canary 0]

[quote user="T07"]One of the best midfielders ever to play for Norwich. Ruthlessly

dedicated. Perfectly able to play during Ramadan, as many Muslims do,

but oh no, our clubs coaching staff know better, the same coaching

staff that continue to select Hughes and the mob before them that

bought him.

Safri is class and enjoys playing at Norwich. Probably ciricised by the same people that gave Ashton stick last night. You''re only hearing one side of this. Noticed which side is respectful enough to keep their gob shut and which does the slagging off? [/quote]You gotta admit the agent side of it stinks - loads of different ones all trying to get him a move, claiming a move had already been agreed with Worthington etc. That turns out to be not true as well. I beleive Grant more than Safri. If he doesn''t want a move why is he happy to let all these vermin agents run around trying to secure him a move (plus their cut of course). Just shows you that all this WBA talk is probably totally the result of said vermin stirring things up. The fact that NO OFFER has been received tells you all you need to know. God i detest them. More than estate agents, clampers, parking attendants. And i got a ticket at the weekend! If i had in front of me, the attendant who gave me a ticket, a football agent, a bullet and a gun, i know exactly what i''d do!!

[canary cherub 1]

[quote user="T07"]One of the best midfielders ever to play for Norwich. Ruthlessly dedicated. Perfectly able to play during Ramadan, as many Muslims do, but oh no, our clubs coaching staff know better, the same coaching staff that continue to select Hughes and the mob before them that bought him.

Safri is class and enjoys playing at Norwich. Probably ciricised by the same people that gave Ashton stick last night.

You''re only hearing one side of this. Noticed which side is respectful enough to keep their gob shut and which does the slagging off?
[/quote]

I tend to agree with you TO7.  If it was the first time Peter Grant had slagged off a player in public I might be more sympathetic, but it isn''t.  Am I the only one who is starting to think that he might be a damn good coach but his management skills are, err, taking longer to develop? 

Perhaps release clauses are not such a bad thing after all, because at least it means that everyone knows where they stand.  If a player really wants to leave there''s little point in obstructing the process - what exactly did the Ashton scenario achieve in summer 2005?   

Earnshaw and Etuhu''s moves were both quick and straightforward, and while we might have got more for Earnshaw we could easily have got less for Etuhu.   Safs probably doesn''t have a release clause because they''ve only come in during the last couple of years.  We should get the best price we can for him and move on.

 

[canaryjock 0]

Grant is 100% correct in his actions. It doesn''t matter if it''s an experienced first teamer or a young guy in the reserves, if you don''t follow the rules, you get punished. Safri''s actions, firstly to miss training to pick up one of his agents (!) and then to turn up late for the photoshoot is just plain stupid and inexplicable! He obviously considers himself a ''holier than thou'' type who can come and go as he pleases and that''s quite simply not on. The way our midfield played last night, even excluding Smith and Brellier, was more than acceptable so I for one don''t think we need him any more, especially as he''ll miss a month in January anyway on top of his ''too tired'' excuses.

Well done Granty.