We really are dragging out this farewell party aren’t we?
Having initially signed a one-year deal, it looks as if Phil Jagielka is going to be sticking around for a little bit longer as he signed an extension to his current deal over the weekend, keeping him at Bramall Lane until next summer.
I’ve spoken before about what I feel about Jagielka’s place at the club, and it will be interesting to see just how big a role he manages to play during that time, because if last season is anything to go by, he probably won’t be making much of an impact when it comes to playing on the pitch.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that we should be showing him the door and forcing him out of the club, it’s just that I don’t see what good keeping someone like him around the first-team will bring us. It’s not like we have a young defender in the team that he can mentor and help develop.
Do you agree with Jagielka getting a new contract?
Yes
No
That’s why I’d much rather we’d have appointed him as a player-coach rather than just a player, so that he could pass on his years of knowledge to those underneath him, perhaps in the U23 and U18 side.
And on the matter of the academy players, I do hope that we aren’t going to trot him out for the odd cup game when the first-team regulars are going to need their rest. As I’ve said before, I’d rather those opportunities go the club’s younger players instead, because at the end of the day we need to be looking after the future of the club, rather than being stuck in the past.