Those saying Manu is inconsistant are you saying he has bad games? Technically he is being inconsistant when he doesn't tear the opposition a new one but that doesnt mean he has had a bad game, far from it in fact. Can anyone tell me the last time he had a bad game? For me even his worst performance is usually still of an acceptable standard. Would hate to lose him.

Rumour i heard was that Willie wants three years but the club will only offer him two.

DIDNT CAS BIN BOTH HIM AND MANU AFEW YEARS BACK???

That's what I thought, wasn't that the reason we got Longy? We gave him 2yrs and they would only give him a 1 yr as he was over 30.

If he wants 3 years from us, then Saints wont match that given their policy for over 30's! Surely 2 years, with a 3rd based on % of matches played would be a good contract for him

It all seems a bit wierd to me as most rumours.
What gets me is who is the person who is actually told? Anyone officially from either clubs could be hung drawn and quartered. Does this peson actually sit with their agent and listen in?
Rumours, seeing is believing.

manu going would really take the edge off ellis signing! I watch tons of rugby every week with Nrl as well as super legue n championship n there isnt anyone like Manu who plays the way he does! a 1 off. People talk about him being inconsistant but think thats more a case of him having odd game without throwing bodies around busting tackles etc,rarely has a game you'd call poor!

I don't think you can pin it down to one player. If Houghton picked up an injury, it'd be just as big a dent in our attack as if we lost Manu. Same with Lynch. It's a team sport and different players bring different things to the side.

I don't think that the club are doing the right thing pressuring him by asking the fans to let him know we want him to stay, or going to the press with 'he's had our best offer'. His loyalty deserves a bit more than that IMO.
But on the flip side, what's taking him so long? He either wants to play for FC or he doesn't. People weren't this nice about Carvell.

Carvel was different, in so far as he signed a new contract then decided he wanted to leave anyway IIRC, which meant we potentially missed out on other signings.

I heard we offered 4 but he only wants 3

I heard we offered him a speedboat, but he wants a yacht.

I think that's right. If we wait too long for Manu we end up doing what we've been doing for years and just signing anyone who's still available. These days recruitment has to be done early and it's about getting a balance and blend of players that the coach can make into a team and to have sufficient depth. We can't force Manu to stay so if we've offered him our best shot it seems reasonable to ask for an answer so that we can get on with doing what has to be done. Would like him to stay as clearly the club would and I can understand entirely that he wants the best deal he can leverage. No drama it just has to be dealt with and quickly.

When did the goalposts shift to 'best attacking player'? That wasn't the original claim that I disputed.

The tone of your posts and the liberal use of exclamation marks hardly indicates a desire for calm discussion.


Pleads? Really? I saw a request, not a plea. Pleading smacks of a desperation that I simply don't see.

I've seen plenty of Manu over the years, ta. And the post I took issue with stated that Manu was our best player, not best [iattacking[/i player. That's something you've added when you looked like losing the argument.

Not even sure how anyone would quantify "best" players in our squad anyway. The way I look at it is who would be the most difficult to replace like for like and for me Manu is way ahead at the top of that list.

I tend to look at who contributes the most to the overall team performance. That's why I rate Tickle just as highly as Manu - does a tremendous job in both attack and defence for 80 minutes and still kicks goals from anywhere on the pitch. IMO he'd be just as difficult to replace like-for-like.

Tickle also falls into that bracket I agree but the thing that marks him out above others is his goal kicking. We could replace the goal kicking elsewhere and get another 2nd Rower of similar ability in the other aspects of his game. Manu is just a freak and almost impossible to replace. Don't get me wrong Tickle is actually my "favourite" player but Manu is a one off, hence why so many clubs want to sign him.

Saints seem to be quite clever when coming to contract offers for over 30s: Long's contract offer was clearly the right decision by our management.

Same can't be said for Pryce......although he didn't like Simmons (apparently).

I can't see us offering him more than 2yrs really for Manu.

Not really, Carvell took a while to decide, signed and decided he wanted to leave the next day. Manu is taking a while to decide, we could be missing out on signings now!

Like many others, I would really love to see Manu stay, but if he goes he goes.

Many other teams have been far more successful than us, without a Manu in their team, and with AP, PG, SM, running the show, I am sure whether Manu stays or goes, we will push on towards success.

Manu is 32 and been one of our most consistant performers without a doubt but if he wishes to leave then so be it, no man is bigger then Hull Fc.

He hasn't got many years left in him but deserves his contract but he will leave at some point via retiring but ideally the club don't want to be messed about as the longer it drags on the less likely we are going to find a replacement if he does decide to seek pastures new.

My take on things:

We signed one of the best back rowers in the world in Ellis. Everyone was after him, we got him. Manu has been one of best players for the past few years, coming the twilight of his career he wants a big deal and some silverwear. By all accounts we want to keep him, and so do I without a shadow of a doubt, but Ellis is pure quality and offers more then just a 'workhorse' like Tickle.

Keep him - Great. He's a game changer and a fans fave. Lose him - We tried what we could, we still got Ellis.

Well you can feck off making sense like that!

This is an excellent point. It would be great if he stayed, but it's not the end of the world if he leaves.