Great call

Unfortunately or fortunately for you we wont be playing in the Million Pound Game this year, have a great season and see you in August/September, if not before!

In the interview Derek said he'd consulted a lawyer and the wording of the clause meant it was unenforceable, without knowing the wording or having any legal knowledge I've no real idea what that actually means in the real world. What he also said though was that the RFL have a bank of approved contract clauses and only the ones included can be used, if a club & player want to add one they have to appeal to the RFL to include it in their list, "Player X can become a free agent if coach Y leaves the club." isn't included. So if they could try to wrangle the legal issues of the clause it's still unenforceable under the RFL rules.

"He's not allowed to leave and no one is allowed to talk to him." to me suggest we don't want anyone making illegal approaches to one of our best players the week the season starts, understandable really.

If DB asked Ryan and he didnt want to leave it would be a non issue and not worth contacting a lawyer about. The statement suggests to me he wants out.

Hmm, I see it more as Derek wanting to clarify that clubs are not able to talk to one of our star players on the verge of a crucial season.

Ryan needs to be fully concentrated on playing for Leigh so Derek needs to snuff out the rumours from the press that he is fair game and anyone can try to come in and take him. Hence talking to a Lawyer to help warn people off.

Spot on. Derek negotiates contracts & transfers if there's a clause in a player's contract left over from before he got involved that he wasn't aware of it's only natural he'd want it clarifying so he knows exactly where he stands.

In legal terms that means "if it came to a legal fight, I think we'll win", which is different to "unenforceable".

It comes down to two things really:
1. Does Ryan want to activate the clause?
2. If he does, does Derek want to fight it, knowing that the player wants to activate it?

My suspicion is that he won't want to activate it, for no other reason than the season is so close, so his choice of team, if there was a choice, would be limited, as opposed to "let's see who comes in for me later in the season".

On the other hand, he shone in a team that shone. His agent might be fearful of the year ahead and worried that he won't. If he can learn to read Rangi, however, and get in the gaps he'll create, he should have a ball this year!

Do we all believe Ryan genuinely wants to stay? I'm not so sure reading interviews over the last 6 months in various publications.

Care to post a link to any interview where Ryan give any indication he's even thinking about leaving? Ryan clearly wants to stay, has said so regularly and knows he would be setting back his career to go anywhere (think a top SL team would send him on DR to League 1/ a lower Championship team, a lower SL team would be a gamble considering that's where Leigh are aspiring to be soon, anywhere else would clearly be a backwards step). Can't believe anyone still gives these monthly rumours that Ryan is leaving any credence at all after so many (every single one) have proved to be utter rubbish.

I'm not sure what else can be said, by Ryan or the club, to convince folk who would rather stir it up than believe what they are told. I believe, like the owner has categorically stated, that Ryan is happy to stay at Leigh.

The owner accepts, like most of the rest of us, that there may be an issue to address, come the end of this season, if we do not achieve promotion to SL. Meanwhile, let's leave Ryan and the club to get on with the business at hand - i.e. playing consistently well enough to ensure there isn't an issue over Ryan's future, come the end of this season!

I think Ryan is a fantastic player a game changer, of course like most Leigh fans i would be sad to see him leave. But to be honest im sick to death of all the speculation which Ryan could put to bed quite easily. No player is bigger than the club!! if he does want to leave lets get as much money as we can for him and wish him all the best.

We're all sick to death of all the speculation which is why it's annoying when Leigh fans say "If he wants to go let him." when Ryan Brierley is leaving rumour number 21,576 comes up. I don't know how many times people can say "Brierley is leaving" and him not or how many times he can say he's enjoying playing at Leigh he's going to be playing at Leigh next year before people get the message [sizeRyan Brierley is NOT leaving Leigh 3.02490234375:5