Kebe - Stay or Go

[M-U-R-T-Y]

Just wanted to properly gauge opinion on this... in the form of a POLL! Especially after his 'charismatic' performance at the weekend... and see how many of you want him to stay.

Are we better off without him, or does his ability to tear the very occasional left back to shreds warrant a new contract?

[melonhead]

still pretty much the best attacking/creative/entertaining player we have
would give him whatever he wants

[Svlad Cjelli]

Sign him up at whatever cost it takes? I wouldn't sign up Messi at whatever cost it takes.

He's rejected what he was offered, so if he doesn't want to play here that's his option. In the vast majority of situations in the past where the club has refused to be blackmailed (Cureton, Sidwell, Bremner and many, many, more) the club has always carried on and the player has found out that perhpas they might have been better off staying here after all.

PS - not giving into blackmail and refusing to shift the whole wage structure of the club for one player (because making an "exception" for one will have an effect on the salaries of them all before very long) is one of the definitions of "well-run".

[melonhead]

lol

ok captain serious.

i was just saying it cos i love him

[Extended-Phenotype]

He's sort of the perfect Reading player. Enough quality to get excited about, enough tripping over the ball and passing to the advertising hoardings for us to keep hold of him.

Give him some dollar, and let's move on from this embarassing quibble.

[buddy1983]

Go for me just because more often then not he looks like he'd rather be anywhere else

[sandman]

Go for me just because more often then not he looks like he'd rather be anywhere else

We'd all rather be elsewhere most of the time.

[Handsome Man]

Stay

He has made it worth watching Reading over the last three seasons and should have been given a 3-year contract.

He has only been a bit rubbish recently becuase he has been coming back from injury.

[M-U-R-T-Y]

Go for me just because more often then not he looks like he'd rather be anywhere else

We'd all rather be elsewhere most of the time.

Shall we forgive Torres then?

[Cypry]

There isn't an option for "neither"....

I'd be tempted to hang onto him for the rest of the season, even if it does mean he could go for a free at in the Summer....and I'm wondering if this is what we'll see....

At the end of the day, he's no Long or Siggy, so he's unlikely to command a massive fee in January anyway, particularly with only 6 months left on his contract....

If we're going to make a real push for the playoffs again (which, despite what some of the more gloomy folk might believe, isn't beyond the realms of possibility and will certainly be the aim of the club - in fact, as we speak, I'm sure they'd say they're still aiming for automatic promotion), then it'll be a lot easier to do it with Kebe rather than having to look to re-build to an extent if we lose him. The money just from a playoff campaign is likely to offset any potential fee that we might get in January for the player (I wouldn't expect to see him go for anything in excess of £1M), and if we did get promotion, then it would pale into insignificance....keeping him, and risking him going for free in the Summer might actually make financial sense...

For Kebe, if he stays, he's almost guaranteed to be playing regularly, which will allow him to put himself in the shop window for a potential move in the Summer. Also, if he waits and goes on a free, he's likely to gain significantly financially with an enhanced signing on fee from his new club (due to the lack of transfer fee). There's also the possibility that we might get promoted, in which case I'd expect to see him offered an enhanced contract on terms which he'd find agreeable, and he'd be looking at playing in the Premiership....he's a winner pretty much every way...

I wonder if it might just work out best for both the club, and the player - this risk of losing him for nothing is sufficiently outweighed by his possible contribution to a promotion push and the benefits that success could bring....

[buddy1983]

Go for me just because more often then not he looks like he'd rather be anywhere else

We'd all rather be elsewhere most of the time.

Maybe but we pay to watch it, he gets paid enough to run around for 90mins and look like he wants to be there. If i got paid that much for 90 minutes work i would always be smiling

[Gordons Cumming]

If he stays he needs to pull his socks up.

His performances of late leave a lot to be desired.

[loyalroyal4life]

Depends if he scores the winner on saturday

[Ian Royal]

Offer him a fair deal (which we seem to have done), if he doesn't want it, say goodbye happily.

[LoyalRoyalFan]

I tend to side with Kebe on this situation. I feel that it's Hammond and co that want to save money by offering him a poor deal.

[melonhead]

like svlad sai- he was given the money he wanted, but we couldnt commit to that long term, sensibly
he could have had the length of contract he wanted, but on less money

weve been fair imo. hopefully he'll play a blinder for the next few months, take us up, and get a long premiere league contract for his efforts

[Forbury Lion]

If he doesn't sign a contract, Do we try to sell him in January to get a cash return or hold him until the end of the season and let him go for free?

I think we've got a much better chance of reaching the play-offs if we keep him and if we do go up he'll probably stay.

If contract length is an issue, maybe the club can sweeten it by offering a release fee clause that would allow them to recoup the extra wages paid.

[super darren caskey]

We will miss him when hes gone

[Terminal Boardom]

The enigma that is Jimmy Kebe. On his day, he is untouchable. Dare I say, a skillful Michael Gilkes. But when it is not his day then Sunday morning park player springs to mind. He is one player we have who can scare the life out of the opposition. I struggle to understand why a 2 year deal which was offered could be so unacceptable to him. Hammond and co will know what Kebe's intentions are; just as the club knew that Sidwell was going to leave well before it happened.

I would say keep him unless a realistic offer comes in during January.

[M-U-R-T-Y]

This isn't as close as I thought it would be!