In Defence of Sebastian Bassong

[militantcanary 0]

I could be wrong but never has one of our players coped it on the grounds of such flimsy evidence.

Where is the evidence of being a Prima-Donna?

The supposed quote of Am I supposed to know who you are is hardly the worst thing i have ever heard, ill advised yes but hardly worthy of a total freeze out

Where is the evidence that he goes "missing"?

Yes he made bad mistakes vs Stoke and Villa but people have a very short memory, I can remember a lot of wonderful last ditch tackles (Wigan at home for example) and his part in our 10 match run.

Before we know all the facts and in advance of a possible transfer to Palace lets cut the guy who for many matches looked our best ever defender some slack

[Hairy Canary 668]

I think we need to be giving the manager support rather than cutting a disrespectful player a bit of slack. The manager must have authority if he is to galvanise the team to give their all under his banner.

Allowing one of the players to get away with undermining him in front of the rest of the squad would be a disaster for future decision making. More power to your elbow Neil.

[mrs miggins 0]

I think thats the point though Hairy, we don''t know what and who has said anything. We know that Bassong isn''t much of a captain (i remember him telling RVW to shut up after a goal was let in for example). Whatever has happened, i''m sure will be sorted out within the club fairly soon as the window comes to a close, unless he goes out on loan.

[Yellowbeagle 0]

Ultimately you have to trust the manager and accept we have no right to know what''s gone on. I can not see Adams leaving out a player like Bassong just because he feels like being unfair. That would border on the moronic.

[Hairy Canary 668]

Point taken Mrs but I think we can safely assume that at least something untoward must have happened. Either that or Bassong has been deliberately singled out for this treatment for no reason at all which doesn''t make sense.

We have to support the manager to maintain his authority otherwise he has no chance

[mrs miggins 0]

yeah good point, its no time for ''player power''

[nu_matik 167]

Neil Adams is showing what he is made of in this league. Bassong did plenty to show is what he is made of by posing with guns, getting caught with offensive weapons in his car and disrespecting managers. I know who''s side I''m on. More power Nayul.

[Chunky Norwich 0]

My defense would be that he was voted, by the fans, POTS two seasons ago.However something has quite clearly happened and there have been soundbites from other players citing how much better the squad is and they are more of a team. I don''t think this is to attack Bassong but it does hint at an overall problem...

[YellowFellow 0]

I think it has to be more than just the supposed comments he made especialy when you think about what hoolahan said to a sky reporter during the last transfer window.

On his day bassong could be a rock at the back and a collossal figure, its obviously not based on ability so must be an attitude thing. i remember him being interviewed on radio norfolk after another loss and he wasnt bullish or determined or inspiring, he just sounded beaten.

i hope he goes for his career if nothing else but we only need players 100% commited and positive around the place and for what ever reason bassong isnt, which is a shame because the player and the club are losing out

[Mr Brownstone 0]

If what he is supposed to have said is true, then it was a disgraceful act from someone who was supposed to be our captain in a relegation dogfight.

There is no defence for that.

Adams has been more than generous by putting the ball in his court, I''m assuming that a full apology would see him back in the fold, but he seems unwilling.

The sooner he''s gone on to relegation number 4 the better for everyone.

[chicken 0]

It could purely be down to him telling Neil that he had zero interest in playing for Norwich without Hughton and especially as they are not top flight.

No point playing a defender that doesn''t want to represent the club. As Neil said, he wants committed players.

[GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary 1,735]

we can try to make excuses for Bassong......but at the end of the day , where is he?....if he wanted to play ,he''d have been available for selection this season, that fact that he isn''t means that for all intents and purposes he has effectively gone on strike.

regardless of the circumstances or whether he thinks he''s too good for us or the Championship, as a contracted player....that is unforgivable.

.

lets hope he does go to Palace because at the end of the season he will have a FOURTH relegation on his CV....he might just get the message then of where perhaps his level actually is.

[Norfolk Mustard 94]

Looks to me that Neil Adams is very fair; Hoolahan applied himself, got on with the job in hand and was rewarded with a new contract. Meanwhile, Bassong appears not to care about doing the same - he is reaping rewards totally in line with his (rather different) thinking and behaviour...

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="Norfolk Mustard"]Looks to me that Neil Adams is very fair; Hoolahan applied himself, got on with the job in hand and was rewarded with a new contract. Meanwhile, Bassong appears not to care about doing the same - he is reaping rewards totally in line with his (rather different) thinking and behaviour...[/quote]To me it looks as if Bassong does not treat football as being the most important thing in his life - and that can be a good thing and a bad thing.  His family/relatives back home in Cameroon are very poor and he is said to care deeply about that and feels a responsibility to them. His religion (as has been said on another thread [;)] ) is important to him too.  The religion and his family ought to give him a better perspective about football and allow him to express himself  well - and to be fair, in his first season, he did play well.   The captain''s role may just have been too much for him - he never looked comfortable in that job and it could have been one of Hughton''s biggest mistakes to put him there.  I can''t defend him or attack him, but whatever he has said or done not to figure in the first team squad, the sooner it is resolved, the better it will be for everyone.  

[Grant Holts Moustache 105]

If the comment is true and he said that to Neil then it shows more than disrespect. It shows that our captain had so little care for the club he didn''t even know who was managing the young players. Also his comments last season about just wanting it all to be over showed a lack of courage for the fight when things got tough. This isn''t what you''d expect from a player let alone a captain. When GH was captain I remember him making all the players go to the youth cup games. He was a leader and a player with guts.

Did anyone else here that in that first meeting with the manager Bassong actually said he wouldn''t play for him?