Looks like Whitbread is leaving.

[SnakepitCanary 0]

I''ve got some contacts at the club, of which I won''t name, who know Whitbread personally and they have told me that Sunderland and Everton have offered him a contract. We have also put in a contract, but Sunderlands is double what we are willing to give him, so he will be signing for them.

It''s really unfortunate as he is our strongest defender. I can understand his decision, though.

[NWC 315]

If this is true then it is a shame.I honestly feel that Zak owes us as he has spent the majority of his contract with us injured. I know it doesn''t count for much these days, but I would have hoped that Zak would repay the loyalty when deciding his next contract.

[lake district canary 0]

If true, would be a shame but it simply gives a chance for someone else to step up to the plate.  

[SnakepitCanary 0]

That''s true but it might be his last real payday and he will be playing for an established Premier League side. I can totally understand that.

[DT 0]

Gutted to hear this but I guess its to be expected ! It is a job at the end of the day and money does talk ! Just a shame we don''t get anything for him but he has played well for us so I for one won''t be bitter and I''m sure PL will steer us in the right direction.

[im spartacus canary 0]

up until christmas 2010 he was a figure of fun, a louis jean who most people wanted off the wage bill myself included ... when he came on as sub against sheffield united people actually laughed ... funny how things can change in football  [:D]

[Norfolk Mustard 106]

I think ZW is good - but given his injory record not ''double-his-wages'' good!

We can find someone else with a similar bit of experience who will jump at the chance to come here. I''m hearing Curtis Davies...

[Mark Fotheringham City Legend 0]

Will be sad to see him go. In my opinion our best centre back partnership will turn out to be Ayala and Bennett. Will his injury prone past ever come back to haunt him?

[Fromage Frais 14]

injured to much to offer the big bucks good defender but cannot base season around him being fit.

[Willmeister 35]

I think the OP is lying and here is the reason. Under FA rules no Club from England can approach a player playing for another English club until his contract is a month from ending. Whitbread will be under contract until 30th June, meaning that the earliest an English club can offer him a contract is 31st May. Sunderland may have sounded him out, but there can be no official approach until 31st May.Whitbread also stated on twitter that he wants to stay but hasn''t been offered anything yet, and as we know PL is going to sit down with all the out of contract players this week and either offer them new deals or tell them they are free to find new clubs.

[smooth 114]

I don''t think Whitbread owes us anything, he has been aprt of our best defensive run at the club over the last two seasons. Thoise fans that did not nothing about him before he came have now seen what he had to offer. I always knew he would be a stand out defender, had so much potential I am glad he has been offered that pay cheque. Good players move on. Curtis Davies looked exceptional for Brum against Blackpool, so for me that would be a shrewd investment.Like I say players will leave and some will stay... Just hope we can make a little money on one or two that leave with a transfer fee.

[norfolkbroadslim 225]

Disappointing if true as Whitbread is a good defender.  What''s more concerning is that it will cost serious money to get someone in to replace him unless we can find another defender who is also at the end of his contract.

 

I don''t know if Russ is making a permanent switch to centreback, but if so that would leave us with Martin, Ayala and Bennett.  Barnett is well out of the picture and I don''t think Ward is good enough, certainly not as a starter.

 

With Naughton''s loan also ending we are very short in defence, especialy experience wise.  You have to think that this is where the bulk of Lambert''s budget will be spent. 

 

 

[Mahogany 0]

If he can double his wages then good luck to him.Shame we won''t get a transfer fee but that''s the risk we run for not sorting out contracts earlier (though I can also understand why we left that until we were safe). He''s played very well for us when fit and comes across as a good bloke on twitter.

[Trawlerboy 0]

Glad that I''m Spartacus has pointed out that the majority of City fans claimed that Zak was rubbish, that we would miss the Doc and that Barnett was the next Franco Baresi up to not so long ago.

I am more willing to trust the opinion of Lambert and Culverhouse on this.

If they do feel it''s time for you to move on, then thanks for your wholehearted displays and all the very best Zak.

[Aggy 944]

Until the second half of this season, I thought Whitbread was pretty poor to be honest. I will always remember the home game against Forest last season where we won, but Whitbread was woeful. I live in Nottingham and every single one of my friends (a good 8 or 9 went to the game, the rest watched on tv) asked me who "that blonde defender at the back" was because..."he''s woeful!"

He''s looked pretty good for most of this season to be fair to him, and has largely won me over now. BUT he''s been part of a defence that has still shipped a ridiculous amount of goals. Only the relegated sides have conceded more than us, Wigan and QPR have conceded 3 and 6 less than us, and then after that, the next side (Villa as it turns out) have conceded a whopping 15 goals less than us.

Now I know all the arguments about the style we play not giving the defence much cover - and I agree with them. But the bottom line is, he''s been a part of the fourth worst defence in the league this season. You''re telling me we can''t find someone who is not at least equal to the fourth worst defence in the league? I think we can.

Financially, it adds an extra position we need to spend on as we won''t be getting a fee. That is the only reason this is bad news in my opinion. I''m not all that fussed about Whitbread going. Decent defender, but we can easily find someone as good, if not better.

[fellowyellow 0]

[quote user="Willmeister"]I think the OP is lying and here is the reason. Under FA rules no Club from England can approach a player playing for another English club until his contract is a month from ending. Whitbread will be under contract until 30th June, meaning that the earliest an English club can offer him a contract is 31st May. Sunderland may have sounded him out, but there can be no official approach until 31st May.

Whitbread also stated on twitter that he wants to stay but hasn''t been offered anything yet, and as we know PL is going to sit down with all the out of contract players this week and either offer them new deals or tell them they are free to find new clubs.
[/quote]

Agree with this. Unless PL and Zak are both lying, no contract talks have been held so far. I have no doubt Zak would be pursued by other clubs as he would become a free agent. I hope he is offered a decent contract and stays. If he is then offered a better deal somewhere else then who could blame him for leaving?

Anyway, what about PL offering Zak a completely rubbish contract and then going to Villa and signing him on a Bosman.......? PL wouldn''t do that would he?

[priceyrice 133]

I hope the OP is lying, otherwise this could be the worse move all summer. he is by far our most solid CB and despite his injury record, he makes our back 4 look much stronger when playing, calm and assured. Like i said on a thread a few weeks ago though, if this is true Lambert and the board have made a real cock up. He would cost us 3 M (judging by Bennett''s price) to replace and Lambert has already said he''s not willing to pay for Naughton because he has more vital areas to improve, if we need another new CB (assuming Barnet goes too) then that''s an awful lot of a transfer budget taken up by the defence. So i am going to assume Lambert has not fucked this one up and the OP has either heard some wrong rumours or is on a wind up.

[Syteanric 1]

i dont disbelieve the OP, he probably is right and its a shame if Zak leaves

what baffles me is that these people who "Know the player" personally shouldnt be telling some friend.. they should be going down the bookies and stcking a large amount of money on the transfer actually happening if they are so certain....after all... they cant lose....

[Punting Canary 0]

Try getting more than £20 on that kind of market and you will swiftly find out that they won''t take your bet....

[star_manic 0]

[quote user="Punting Canary"]Try getting more than £20 on that kind of market and you will swiftly find out that they won''t take your bet....
[/quote]......there are lots of bookmaker shops to put your £20 on this bet.

[alysha 0]

Someone just tweeted that outside the ground someone shouted to Zak asking him if he was going to sign a new contract with us, he responded with "Im waiting for them first". So if we are to believe that was an honest response, the club haven''t offered him a new contract yet.

[whoareyou? 0]

Whitbread has missed a fair few games through injury this season and the seasons before. No doubt Lambert and McNally made him a contract offer based on that.

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="star_manic"][quote user="Punting Canary"]Try getting more than £20 on that kind of market and you will swiftly find out that they won''t take your bet....[/quote]......there are lots of bookmaker shops to put your £20 on this bet.[/quote]indeed.£20 in 5 bookies for something you know is certain to happen.....

your in the money...

[dylanisabaddog 6,147]

[quote user="NWC"]If this is true then it is a shame.I honestly feel that Zak owes us as he has spent the majority of his contract with us injured. I know it doesn''t count for much these days, but I would have hoped that Zak would repay the loyalty when deciding his next contract.[/quote]In the world of the professional footballer, ''loyalty'' is what gets you shafted.

[Tangible Fixed Assets anyone? 0]

[quote user="Willmeister"]I think the OP is lying and here is the reason. Under FA rules no Club from England can approach a player playing for another English club until his contract is a month from ending. Whitbread will be under contract until 30th June, meaning that the earliest an English club can offer him a contract is 31st May. Sunderland may have sounded him out, but there can be no official approach until 31st May.

Whitbread also stated on twitter that he wants to stay but hasn''t been offered anything yet, and as we know PL is going to sit down with all the out of contract players this week and either offer them new deals or tell them they are free to find new clubs.
[/quote]

Regardless of what has or has not happened, what do you think is the purpose of agents?

[Tetteys Jig 851]

[quote user="jas the barclay king"]i dont disbelieve the OP, he probably is right and its a shame if Zak leaves


what baffles me is that these people who "Know the player" personally shouldnt be telling some friend.. they should be going down the bookies and stcking a large amount of money on the transfer actually happening if they are so certain....

after all... they cant lose....
[/quote]

 

Did that when Gary Cahill moved in January after a mate of mine who plays for Bolton told me. Only got 1 to 8 though.

[Budapest Canary 154]

I would be sad to see him go, although his injury record -  like Ayala''s - is pretty bad.  For a replacement I would take a look at Hungarian international Roland Juhász of Belgian champs Anderlecht. A great pro, many caps, skippered his national side as well as club. A fans favourite at Anderlecht, where he has been serving for six years. At the beginning of the season Glasgow Rangers had put in several bids for him (Celtic also being interested), but the club blocked the deal. As Juhasz said in an interview, he wants a move to try something new, and sees the SPL as a springboard towards the EPL. What''s more, he has a promise of release for about 4m euros at the end of the season.

[Jacko 0]

No reason why Whitbread hasn''t been approached by other clubs. The rules may be there but come on get real. This is professional football. The agent will be doing his job by shopping around and seeing what other clubs are willing to offer. It may be indirect through other contacts etc but it does happen. Even if you want to stay at a particular club you can then confidently go to the negotiating table and demand a wage in that kind of ball park based on what you know is potentially available elsewhere. Zak is a quality centre back and he would give us good balance in central defence because he is left footed. I think he would work really well with Bennett as the other centre back.

But we can''t justify paying him monster wages when there is no guarantee he will string about 30 games a season together. If he gets that kind of money elsewhere I wish him all the very best. That is not him being a mercenary that is him being sensible. He is 28 and this is realistically his last chance to earn a big contract. Obviously I would prefer him to stay though!