Ronan Curtis

[Pompey55]

Curtis has announced that he will not be accepting the contract on offer to him as “it’s a massive reduction in wages and he could not support his family on it for a year”
He will make a decision on his future in September when he expects to be able to return to training
Portsmouth will continue to support his rehab as it’s covered by insurance
If this is the case it doesn’t sit well with me with the club it would appear wanting to take advantage of his injury incurred playing for them to make an offer substantially below his current wages
I would have thought the honourable thing would be to offer him a contract at his current rate with a pay as you play option / incentive when fit for this coming season certainly not a massive wage reduction
Personally I think this behaviour by the club reflects badly upon our club and owners

[Pompey1984+1]

Curtis has announced that he will not be accepting the contract on offer to him as “it’s a massive reduction in wages and he could not support his family on it for a year”
He will make a decision on his future in September when he expects to be able to return to training
Portsmouth will continue to support his rehab as it’s covered by insurance
If this is the case it doesn’t sit well with me with the club it would appear wanting to take advantage of his injury incurred playing for them to make an offer substantially below his current wages
I would have thought the honourable thing would be to offer him a contract at his current rate with a pay as you play option / incentive when fit for this coming season certainly not a massive wage reduction
Personally I think this behaviour by the club reflects badly upon our club and owners

I wonder how many other clubs are going to offer him the same terms as he's on now while injured?

[Pompey55]

Curtis has announced that he will not be accepting the contract on offer to him as “it’s a massive reduction in wages and he could not support his family on it for a year”
He will make a decision on his future in September when he expects to be able to return to training
Portsmouth will continue to support his rehab as it’s covered by insurance
If this is the case it doesn’t sit well with me with the club it would appear wanting to take advantage of his injury incurred playing for them to make an offer substantially below his current wages
I would have thought the honourable thing would be to offer him a contract at his current rate with a pay as you play option / incentive when fit for this coming season certainly not a massive wage reduction
Personally I think this behaviour by the club reflects badly upon our club and owners

I wonder how many other clubs are going to offer him the same terms as he's on now while injured?

That’s why he has said he will explore his options when he expects to start training in September
He apparently met his surgeon this week so he most be confident with that date

Anyway just because another club isn’t going to make him an offer doesn’t in my view make the club’s behavior any better considering he injured himself playing for the club

[Sam_Brown]

I can see both sides.

Like 1984+1 said it will depend on how much he can get elsewhere. If he thinks he can get more elsewhere then I don't have an issue with him going to be honest. I've always considered him quite a toxic individual and airing contract negotiations like this isn't helping to convince me otherwise.

[Pompey55]

I can see both sides.

Like 1984+1 said it will depend on how much he can get elsewhere. If he thinks he can get more elsewhere then I don't have an issue with him going to be honest. I've always considered him quite a toxic individual and airing contract negotiations like this isn't helping to convince me otherwise.

I can see both sides.

Like 1984+1 said it will depend on how much he can get elsewhere. If he thinks he can get more elsewhere then I don't have an issue with him going to be honest. I've always considered him quite a toxic individual and airing contract negotiations like this isn't helping to convince me otherwise.

He's not airing contract negotiations as obviously they have broken down and he is just explaining why he is not going to sign a contract
I think that he is a marmite player many like him and many like yourself don't but you can not deny that his G/A record is not matched by any current squad member and apart from when Cowley played him anywhere but on the left he has always contributed to the team and in my view always given 100%
I'm not disputing what he may or may not get elsewhere but expressing a view that after being injured whilst playing for the club he is being asked to accept a massive pay cut while he recovers and this is not in my view something that I feel comfortable with
I think the club were looking at the original prognosis of December and thought he had no option but to sign but as his recovery is now earlier he is right to expect this to be considered.
I believe that a fit Curtis is a asset to most teams in league one and would suspect that he will certainly be able to find another club willing to pay for his experience and attacking threat

[Blue Walter]

I agree that it appears the club have not been fair with Curtis. I would think the club has a moral duty towards the player, who was injured playing for this club. I recognise that injury is a occupational hazard in sport but when your living depends on it it becomes very important when a contract crosses with injury and not having a contract. I don't know what Curtis sees as a livable wage, probably more that most of us, but a big drop in income from the club while injured tells a player all he needs to know. I would assume that this insurance will guarantee his income up to when he is playing again so the choice between living on a reduced income or the status quo is probably an easy choice. He will obviously be aware that the club have brought in a player that will play in his position and judging by what Mousinho has said Scully appears to be a first team player.

[Pompey55]

I agree that it appears the club have not been fair with Curtis. I would think the club has a moral duty towards the player, who was injured playing for this club. I recognise that injury is a occupational hazard in sport but when your living depends on it it becomes very important when a contract crosses with injury and not having a contract. I don't know what Curtis sees as a livable wage, probably more that most of us, but a big drop in income from the club while injured tells a player all he needs to know. I would assume that this insurance will guarantee his income up to when he is playing again so the choice between living on a reduced income or the status quo is probably an easy choice. He will obviously be aware that the club have brought in a player that will play in his position and judging by what Mousinho has said Scully appears to be a first team player.

And I would imagine Scully is a cheaper bargain basement option

[Sam_Brown]

...many like yourself don't but you can not deny that his G/A record is not matched by any current squad member and apart from when Cowley played him anywhere but on the left he has always contributed to the team and in my view always given 100%

I wouldn't say I don't like him. I accept he is a good player when played to his strengths. I also think for some reason we seem to talk about him more than almost any other player at the club and from what I can tell most of the time that's due to him making statements.

From a footballing side of things I'd be more than happy to have both him and Scully in the team competing for the position or maybe even put Curtis more forward just behind the forwards for a bit and see what happens. Like you say he can score goals and how many times do we hear he's picked out as a "danger man" by opposition teams.

We don't know how much he's currently on and how much the team are offering. I also wouldn't expect the club to comment on the situation either so it feels he's painting himself as the victim here and we have no idea what the truth is. His comment of "it’s a massive reduction in wages and he could not support his family on it for a year" seems to be hyperbole as well as I imagine he's on far more money than the average Portsmouth fan.

[Sam_Brown]

I agree that it appears the club have not been fair with Curtis. I would think the club has a moral duty towards the player, who was injured playing for this club. I recognise that injury is a occupational hazard in sport but when your living depends on it it becomes very important when a contract crosses with injury and not having a contract. I don't know what Curtis sees as a livable wage, probably more that most of us, but a big drop in income from the club while injured tells a player all he needs to know. I would assume that this insurance will guarantee his income up to when he is playing again so the choice between living on a reduced income or the status quo is probably an easy choice. He will obviously be aware that the club have brought in a player that will play in his position and judging by what Mousinho has said Scully appears to be a first team player.

And I would imagine Scully is a cheaper bargain basement option

Why do you think that?

[PeteM]

I had a look at the stats from the last two full league seasons both Curtis and Scully played in League One (so 2020/21 and 2021/22). Neither played anything like a full season last year, so for comparative purposes I didn't include it.

In 2020/21, Curtis scored 10 goals and made 7 assists in 42 games. Scully scored 11 goals and made 4 assists in 43 games.
In 2021/22, Curtis scored 8 goals and made 9 assists in 43 games. Scully scored 11 goals and made 7 assists in 35 games.

So perhaps we do now have someone with a comparable end product at the club. Obviously Curtis is a known quantity for us though and has delivered for us for several seasons.

I can definitely see both sides of this one. Although September has been mentioned as a possible return to training, he's unlikely to be match fit for at least another couple of months, given the injury he's suffered. I think the club will have factored in to their offer that he'll miss the first few months of the season and that he also may not come back the same player.

I've always liked Curtis playing for us, he clearly cares and puts a shift in, even if it isn't happening for him on the pitch and in an ideal world I'd prefer him to stay because he's proved he can do well at this level. But I guess the club have to look at it pragmatically rather than emotionally, and whether they feel they can get better value for money elsewhere.

Without knowing how big the pay cut the club have asked him to take is, I don't quite know how I feel about it to be honest. So far we've only heard one side of the story. It might be that the basic salary is much reduced but with much bigger appearance bonuses, for example.

[BlueinPLtwenty]

Surely this is a strong bargaining ploy. "Give me a bit more money and when I am able to play write in an upgrade provision"

[NSRailings]

Surely this is a strong bargaining ploy. "Give me a bit more money and when I am able to play write in an upgrade provision"

Hasn't he got an agent for bargaining? Seems strange going on Twitter about it and therefore the press - it's not like it's nurses wanting more pay.

[Blue Walter]

I had a look at the stats from the last two full league seasons both Curtis and Scully played in League One (so 2020/21 and 2021/22). Neither played anything like a full season last year, so for comparative purposes I didn't include it.

In 2020/21, Curtis scored 10 goals and made 7 assists in 42 games. Scully scored 11 goals and made 4 assists in 43 games.
In 2021/22, Curtis scored 8 goals and made 9 assists in 43 games. Scully scored 11 goals and made 7 assists in 35 games.

So perhaps we do now have someone with a comparable end product at the club. Obviously Curtis is a known quantity for us though and has delivered for us for several seasons.

I can definitely see both sides of this one. Although September has been mentioned as a possible return to training, he's unlikely to be match fit for at least another couple of months, given the injury he's suffered. I think the club will have factored in to their offer that he'll miss the first few months of the season and that he also may not come back the same player.

I've always liked Curtis playing for us, he clearly cares and puts a shift in, even if it isn't happening for him on the pitch and in an ideal world I'd prefer him to stay because he's proved he can do well at this level. But I guess the club have to look at it pragmatically rather than emotionally, and whether they feel they can get better value for money elsewhere.

Without knowing how big the pay cut the club have asked him to take is, I don't quite know how I feel about it to be honest. So far we've only heard one side of the story. It might be that the basic salary is much reduced but with much bigger appearance bonuses, for example.

That's right, without hearing both sides of the story it is difficult to come to a fair assessment of this story. I suppose it boils down to how much the club wants to keep him and how much the player himself wants to stay.

[jam tomorrow]

This smacks of the same take it or leave it contract situation as Mingi. Only the club can explain why but I suspect there are issues which we may not be aware of.

[Jack_Tinn]

I think its best for both Ronan and Pompey that he finds another club that he is comfortable playing for and is willing to pay him what he thinks he is worth.

If he no longer feels that he can compete for the first team starting eleven at Pompey and/or he feels like the club have taken advantage of his injury by offering him a wage he apparently does not feel is sufficient to meet his family's purposes - then I cannot see how he would be a happy member of the squad. Better to help him regain his fitness, thank him for his services and let him go his own road to further his career.

Equally, I suspect that Mousinho and Pompey want to move on from Ronan Curtis. I accept that he has many Pompey fans who are strong supporters of his but I don't think that a succession of Pompey managers (Jackett, Cowley and now Mousinho) are convinced that he has the quality necessary to play consistently as a first team regular in a side with ambitions to achieve promotion from L1 and then consolidating in the Championship.

There was a time when clubs from the Championship looked at Ronan Curtis but they all chose to not invest/bid to acquire his talents. That alone says that the view of the football talent assessors out there is that he is probably a mid L1 talent. He would have presumably been available for transfer in the January window at a big discount price and still no-one came in for him with a bid.