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.