Another Josh Maja

Ramona1234 said:
An article that contradicts the headline . On a scale of 1-10, he comes over as disappointed to leave around 2 and actually wanting to stay around 3.

As for now established, well everytime I check , he’s on the bench . Anyone got appearances/starts/goals stats?
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I've had a quick look at Soccerbase and he does appear to be a sub for most games. often coming on after the eightieth minute, with just the odd start and a couple of goals.
 


chriswallace85 said:
Let's be honest, the club handled it badly.
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This. They fucked about with it for months thinking he'd sign for less than he was asking why all the while hes scoring goals and strengthening his own bargaining position. In the end the club desperately offered him what he wanted when in reality the ship had already sailed and the opportunity missed.
 
Should have kept him, got promoted then upped his contract. If we didn’t get promoted he would have left for nothing but so what. Grigg cost more anyway
 
I see nothing at all in that interview that shows that he wanted to stay, other than him saying so right at the start of it.
He goes on to say that we didn't offer him enough and that the chance to play in one of the big five European leagues was too much of a draw, anyway. Can't see how that suggests he wanted to stay and yet everybody is saying they can't blame him. I can't either, but f*ck him: he could easily have agreed to stay until the end of the season but couldn't wait to get out.

I don't see why we're more forgiving of Maja for being greedy than of Darren Bent, who says very similar things but whose argument is actually a little more believable.
 
GyanMan said:
Josh Maja exclusive: ‘I wanted to stay at Sunderland'


For a long time, the striker has stayed silent on the circumstances surrounding his Sunderland departure. But now it’s time to talk.
Maja, now of Bordeaux, is forging a strong career in the game having established himself as a regular at one of France’s most recognisable names.
But his exit from the Stadium of Light remains a constant source of rumour and intrigue.
Josh Maja has opened up on his Sunderland exit in an exclusive interview

Stewart Donald himself admitted that the eventual agreement, which saw Maja leave for a seven-figure sum just months before his contract expired, represented a ‘bad deal’ for the club.
The Sunderland owner, though, reiterated throughout negotiations that Maja indicated his desire to stay. He was less complimentary of his agent, who he claimed was late for meetings with Richard Hill - even failing to turn up for one.
Talks eventually turned into a saga which engulfed almost half of Sunderland’s campaign - but how did Maja himself view those negotiations?
Speaking exclusively to the Echo, the 20-year-old said: “It was a bit of...it was up and down.


“Basically, I wanted to stay. Given the right contract, I would have stayed.
“But at the time, I don’t think Sunderland were prepared to give me what I wanted so when the opportunity to play in one of Europe’s top five leagues came up, I couldn’t turn that down.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was one which to improve my career and my game I think I had to make.”
Maja’s decision was met with critique from all corners of the Sunderland fanbase.


While many understood the situation, there were quarters who were far more critical - leading the striker to admit he scarcely checked his social media in the months proceeding his exit.
But for Maja himself, the decision was a simple one.
A selfish decision? Perhaps - but the striker doesn’t believe that is a bad thing.
“I have ambitions in my career and in my life and this is just a stepping stone for me.


“I want to keep pushing and fans need to understand what players want for themselves.
“Even though that is a bit selfish, it’s a selfish game, isn’t it?
“For me it was important to make that move and playing at a higher level, it’s a given.”
While Maja’s relationship with the Sunderland support may have become somewhat fractured since his move, he retains a strong admiration for former manager Jack Ross.


Indeed, the striker was ‘saddened’ when his former mentor was dismissed by the Black Cats in October.
“I was very surprised and saddened to be honest with you.
“I’ve seen the good work he’s done with the club and the team, and obviously things weren’t going his way in the last few weeks.
“That’s part of football, but I guess the people above made the decision and that’s life.”
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So he admits it was purely selfish move, that was his choice let’s move on and forget about him.
 
Steesafc said:
This. They fucked about with it for months thinking he'd sign for less than he was asking why all the while hes scoring goals and strengthening his own bargaining position. In the end the club desperately offered him what he wanted when in reality the ship had already sailed and the opportunity missed.
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This isn't true though, is it? We offered him what his agent was asking but they moved the goalposts. Don't let the truth get in the way of an opportunity to slate the club though, eh?
 
Dodgy said:
I see nothing at all in that interview that shows that he wanted to stay, other than him saying so right at the start of it.
He goes on to say that we didn't offer him enough and that the chance to play in one of the big five European leagues was too much of a draw, anyway. Can't see how that suggests he wanted to stay and yet everybody is saying they can't blame him. I can't either, but f*ck him: he could easily have agreed to stay until the end of the season but couldn't wait to get out.

I don't see why we're more forgiving of Maja for being greedy than of Darren Bent, who says very similar things but whose argument is actually a little more believable.
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Because Maja moved to a team in a much better position giving his career a definite boost. Whereas bent moved from one midtable premier league team to another.
 
Lewberry pie said:
No real issue with what he did, this was his first big contract and he had to do what he did, I do wish we'd just kept him and let him leave for nothing like but it's easy to say that now, we were all pretty happy we'd bought Grigg.
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Although my post above is supportive of the clubs stance, I have no issue whatsoever with him deciding he could further his career elsewhere and leaving.

The issue I do have is "if he is allowed to make adult decisions about his future by himself?"
He should have the integrity to not string the club (and by extension the fans) along letting them think he was going to sign, and if I'm angry about anything it's him telling the manager he wanted to sign and then playing a school yard 'blame game' by saying "my agent told me not to sign".

That's pretty pathetic.

The agent works for Maja - not the other way around.
 

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