Asmir Begovic

[Madmax 9,219]

Seriously wtf is wrong with these players? Why are they going on strikes? It's not like they're made to work on minimal wages for 14 hours a day in dingy workshops with no fire escapes. They are such an indulged lot, these guys. They get the best of lifestyles, exorbitant wages, lucrative sponsorships et al. And what do they have to do in return? Turn up once a week and give their all for 90 mins in front of people who earn a fraction of what they do, yet spend some of it to watch them play. It's a disgrace. I'm not sure I would want this guy on my team if I were the manager. Today he is on strike because Chelsea want him, tomorrow he could strike while playing for us if say Real or Barca came for him. Attitude matters as much as ability and I wish this was recognised.

[BLionheart 516]

Seriously wtf is wrong with these players? Why are they going on strikes? It's not like they're made to work on minimal wages for 14 hours a day in dingy workshops with no fire escapes. They are such an indulged lot, these guys. They get the best of lifestyles, exorbitant wages, lucrative sponsorships et al. And what do they have to do in return? Turn up once a week and give their all for 90 mins in front of people who earn a fraction of what they do, yet spend some of it to watch them play. It's a disgrace. I'm not sure I would want this guy on my team if I were the manager. Today he is on strike because Chelsea want him, tomorrow he could strike while playing for us if say Real or Barca came for him. Attitude matters as much as ability and I wish this was recognised.

calm down !!! you can't force a player to stay with the club if he wants to leave . i think he has the rights to show his discontent and his desire to leave . i am sure it's not like he suddenly said i am not gonna play for you anymore , he must have spoken to the manager and explained his desire to leave and that was met by refusal .

now he has a great chance infront of him to earn a lot more money and to go to the EPL champions , by other means live a much much better life . so i can see what he is doing .

[BlueLion. 21,491]

There's showing you want to leave (handing in a written request for transfer), and then being an utter twat (striking). These players are paid tens of thousands and are role-models for people of all ages, of all nationalities across the world. And they're a fucking disgrace as far as I'm concerned, if I was their club manager I'd refuse to pay their wages and let them rot in the reserves for the rest of the season.

[BLionheart 516]

There's showing you want to leave (handing in a written request for transfer), and then being an utter twat (striking). These players are paid tens of thousands and are role-models for people of all ages, of all nationalities across the world. And they're a fucking disgrace as far as I'm concerned, if I was their club manager I'd refuse to pay their wages and let them rot in the reserves for the rest of the season.

i can see why you are upset putting yourself in the manager's shoes . but what if you are the player ????

what if this is the move that is literally gonna change your life and if you are saying he is paid thousands then i think if he comes here he will get paid may be double what he gets . not only that but if i were him i will be living the dream saying " i will go to chelsea and train hard till cech is injured and i get my chance and i will prove that i am the best keeper in the world "

but if he stays where he is and becomes 1st choice keeper , even gives out some great performances . well that will count for nothing .

the only way i am gonna agree with you is if stoke has raised that player but if not then screw them. they paid a few thousands for him , now they are getting millions .

[Madmax 9,219]

calm down !!! you can't force a player to stay with the club if he wants to leave . i think he has the rights to show his discontent and his desire to leave . i am sure it's not like he suddenly said i am not gonna play for you anymore , he must have spoken to the manager and explained his desire to leave and that was met by refusal .

now he has a great chance infront of him to earn a lot more money and to go to the EPL champions , by other means live a much much better life . so i can see what he is doing .

Mate how would you have felt had Lampard gone on strike when Inter Milan wanted him 2 years back?

[BlueLion. 21,491]

i can see why you are upset putting yourself in the manager's shoes . but what if you are the player ????

what if this is the move that is literally gonna change your life and if you are saying he is paid thousands then i think if he comes here he will get paid may be double what he gets . not only that but if i were him i will be living the dream saying " i will go to chelsea and train hard till cech is injured and i get my chance and i will prove that i am the best keeper in the world "

but if he stays where he is and becomes 1st choice keeper , even gives out some great performances . well that will count for nothing .

the only way i am gonna agree with you is if stoke has raised that player but if not then screw them. they paid a few thousands for him , now they are getting millions .

I think any professional footballer who acts that way should be left to rot in the reserves; there are millions of fans out there who would play for their club for free and put in 110% more effort than wasters such as Mascherano, who really are an embarrassment to the modern day breed of professional footballers.

[zolayes 14,489]

WOULDNT want a player with his attitude ...at least Hilario never grumbles

[BlueLion. 21,491]

No, he just fumbles instead

[Duppy Conqueror 1,451]

ah come on guys..they can`t be footballers AND Mother Theresa.....they are only mere mortals not immortal saints on earth to save the worlds children.

Drogba can be a sulky stereotypical french twunt on times...arguably cost us a CL title and shamed a fair few Chelsea fans with his tantrum in the globally watched title winning game last season...but i`m sure there`s not one Chelsea fan who would say we don`t want him because of it.

[zolayes 14,489]

No, he just fumbles instead

BUT he is OUR fumbler and we love him

[BLionheart 516]

I think any professional footballer who acts that way should be left to rot in the reserves; there are millions of fans out there who would play for their club for free and put in 110% more effort than wasters such as Mascherano, who really are an embarrassment to the modern day breed of professional footballers.

well , you never know !!!!! we all have seen how much torres was faithful for A.Madrid but at the end of the day he moved on ... also henry with arsenal as well as faberegas and rooney those are all great players who were very faithful to their old clubs.

but he is football player not a stoke city property so it's only fair for him to decide what is gonna do with his life as long as his club are getting paid a reasonable fee .

even if u think a lot of fans will give 110% for stoke i bet that after two years if they received an offer from man utd , barca , real or chelsea coming in with bags of money .... may be they will change their mind .

i mean no one will ever just put his club before himself as a priority may be he can do that for 1 or 2 years but no more .

[Mart 29]

He made the decision of what to do in his life by signing a contract for X many years. He made his decision, he can't expect to be able to just decide to leave.

He can ask the club but if they say no it is tough luck, get on with it and be more sensible next time you sign a contract somewhere.

[Cameron 30]

mhsc?

[Aesthetic Relic 301]

I dont see what the fuss is about this guy. Then again he cant be any worse than we already have as back up.

Also....Had anyone really heard of Petr Cech before we signed him ?

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I'd seen him play once, that was it. Didn't really think that much of him Then I saw him play at Euro 2004 and I was in love

[chrismada9 1,948]

Also....Had anyone really heard of Petr Cech before we signed him ?

I did! He kept letting in goals for Stade Rennais, suddenly, in his first season, he was... well, the rest is history to be honest :eyebrows:

[Milan 17,835]

Also....Had anyone really heard of Petr Cech before we signed him ?

Definitely! Remember his first game in the Champions League, Bayern Munich v Sparta and he kept clean sheet. It was predicted he would end up at a big club and voila

[- 25 - 167]

From SkySports

Stoke reject Begovic bid

Champions Chelsea make offer for stopper but Stoke refuse to sellStoke Chairman Peter Coates has revealed that the club have rejected a bid from Premier League champions Chelsea for goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

Coates insists that the Potters will not be selling the Bosnian international at any cost and expects the 23-year-old to remain at the Brittania Stadium.

Begovic reportedly refused to play in the Carling Cup game against Shrewsbury after being linked with the West London giants.

Stoke signed the keeper from Portsmouth and Coates said: "I felt huge disappointment. He's an exceptional young goalkeeper, one of the best in the country.

"Clubs like Chelsea make enquiries about them and their heads can get turned very easily. It's just bad advice they get given, they shouldn't listen to it but obviously they do."

Reports have suggested that Chelsea made an offer in the region of £4.5million for the stopper.

Coates said: "You may have heard a rumour and it may be pretty good information, but the fact is we've rejected any offer they've made. They made an enquiry and they did make an offer and it was rejected."

Asked if a bigger offer might tempt the club to sell, Coates said: "Silly offers do have an effect on you but nothing like that has happened and we're not expecting it to happen and our position is we see him remaining our goalkeeper."

Betrayed

Meanwhile, Begovic claims that manager Tony Pulis lied over his refusal to play in the Carling Cup game in midweek.

The goalkeeper's agent Will Sherling told the News of the World: "Asmir feels betrayed and let down by the club. He didn't refuse to play against Shrewsbury and anyone who knows him knows he would never do that.

"In return for 100 per cent commitment all a player asks for is honesty and unfortunately, that's been in short supply for Asmir over the last seven months."