Striker Onome Sodje misses York City’s deal deadline (From York Press)
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Striker Onome Sodje misses York City’s deal deadline
9:43am Friday 12th June 2009 in Sport
By Peter Martini, peter.martini@thepress.co.uk
Onome Sodje
ONOME SODJE is seemingly edging towards the Bootham Crescent exit door having failed to meet the 28-day deadline to accept a new contract.
York City offered the 20-year-old a new deal last month, but he has not been back in touch with manager Martin Foyle.
Fellow forward Richard Brodie and full-back Ben Purkiss, who had also been out of contract, have been among those players to accept new terms within the set period.
However, the club have not been able to get hold of the Nigerian-born striker, pictured, who was largely restricted to bit-part roles last season, scoring seven goals in 20 starts and 25 substitute appearances.
Foyle told The Press: “With the likes of Ben Purkiss, Richard Brodie and other younger players, they had 28 days to agree. Richard and Ben got back in touch, but Onome hasn’t.
“We can’t get hold of him.
We’ve left messages and text messages, and messages with other people.
“I’m a bit disappointed he hasn’t got back in contact to tell us his situation and whether he wants to sign for York City.
“It’s over the 28-day deadline now and the choice can be ours. It all makes it harder for me to know what the plans are.”
Sodje signed for the Minstermen from Ebbsfleet in June 2007 and was the club’s joint-top scorer in his first season with 17 goals.
Comments(23)
alimount
says...
9:57am Fri 12 Jun 09
Now lets forget about him and get someone with the desire to play.
Alan Fetish
says...
9:59am Fri 12 Jun 09
tips
says...
10:06am Fri 12 Jun 09
yc3mu0
says...
10:06am Fri 12 Jun 09
OLD - HEAD
says...
10:10am Fri 12 Jun 09
A user
says...
10:11am Fri 12 Jun 09
It is a shame though as I believe the boy has talent and with the right coaching staff and hard work he will do very well elsewhere.
Sir Alex
says...
10:20am Fri 12 Jun 09
Michael Rankine in, Farrell makeweight in return to R&D is the rumour. Not sure where our 20 goal a season guy is yet but at least its progress.
alimount
says...
10:23am Fri 12 Jun 09
Eric
says...
10:26am Fri 12 Jun 09
OLD - HEAD wrote:Yeah the rules as I know them are if you offer a player u-24 a contract of equal or greater terms your entitled to a fee as long as he stays in the same country.
This is not a suprise to me, I was expecting him to leave. But surely if City have offered him a contract, they are entitled to a fee for him. This would probably have to be decided by a tribunal. My guess is that he will finish up at a southern based club. When Billy McEwan signed Onome Sodje I thought at the time that he had unearthed a real gem, so it is sad that it should end like this.
avidfan
says...
10:41am Fri 12 Jun 09
Whether you feel Sodje has anything to offer or not the situation has not been handled well. Obviously Jason felt that it was to the benefit of the club to make a promise of a new contract, presumably before Martin Foyle was appointed.
"The chairman agreed a contract with Sodje about a year ago, so we have to honour that.” Copied from an article in The Press when the retained list was announced.
If this statement was reported correctly I would suggest that Martin Foyle needs to think more about how to motivate young players. If I was Sodje I would look at this and not be too sure if my future was with YCFC.
If it was a case of being obligated to offer a contract because of a promise then try to put some positive spin on the subject.
Something like "The club can see a lot of potential in young Sodje and as such we are offering a new contract to give him the opportunity to prove his worth. I know that his first season at the club was a reasonable success, but he has to prove to me that he can perform consistently.
Maybe it was a deliberate ploy by Martin Foyle, maybe it was deliberate ploy to make a promise to Liam Shepherd of giving him a chance then not doing so. Who knows ?
All I know is if Sodje has lost heart because of this and isn't going to sign we should seriously look a Maloney
PDH
says...
11:02am Fri 12 Jun 09
Wrong, it is now clear that we can now progress to get another striker with more funds available because of saving on his wages, and hopefully recieve a fee for him. Its a shame it has gone this way after his early promise, but obviously he isnt bothered about York, but i wish him well.
rogue84
says...
11:07am Fri 12 Jun 09
thanks Onome, close the door on your way out.
newshawk
says...
11:47am Fri 12 Jun 09
A user wrote:Hard work? From what I've heard that's another commodity in short supply where Sodje's concerned. Doesn't see the need to train, I gather.
Onome has shown a total disregard for respect to the club and I think we should just forget about him and find a replacement. It is a shame though as I believe the boy has talent and with the right coaching staff and hard work he will do very well elsewhere.
Southern Exile
says...
11:48am Fri 12 Jun 09
Nicky Wroe was another, look what happened when he moved on.
His time with us, however, is most definitely up, time to move on Sodje, good luck...
dangermoose
says...
12:09pm Fri 12 Jun 09
Chuckling Chuffed and Foyle couldn't. All comes down to desire and attitude, and neither of those qualities appeared to be at the front of Sodje's mind at City.
Shame, there was definitley some promise there. Time to move on though.
MLI3003
says...
2:16pm Fri 12 Jun 09
Further, when both manager and assistant manager treat him with such disrespect, and give him no chance to shine, it surely is a great knock back for him and will most likely result in a lack of confidence for any player.
Can you really blame him for not wanting to stay at the club?
Monkey2
says...
4:19pm Fri 12 Jun 09
Sure he scored a couple of nice looking goals, but that doesn't make up for a lack of effort.
For me, the writing was on the wall when he combed out the cornrows for the benefit of the Setanta cameras v Burton- he clearly wanted to stand out and make an impression with his looks, rather than his skill. Come to think of it, he only ever did anything of any note when the cameras were on him.
Sodje's a show pony IMO, he needs to realise that success comes through hard work, not through looking good
Meggaz
says...
4:55pm Fri 12 Jun 09
MLI3003 wrote:
Regardless of you critics, I find it hard to believe that you can expect a player to be keen on staying with a club which has placed him on the bench for practically all season. Further, when both manager and assistant manager treat him with such disrespect, and give him no chance to shine, it surely is a great knock back for him and will most likely result in a lack of confidence for any player. Can you really blame him for not wanting to stay at the club?
Yes.
churchy6
says...
7:13pm Fri 12 Jun 09
Just how have the manager and assistant shown Sodje disrespest? I feel it is Sodje that has shown YCFC disrespect.
Head of Bomber Command
says...
2:52am Sat 13 Jun 09
If he couldn't hold down a regular place last term, he is not going to do it the coming season.
HOBC
Stretchydan
says...
2:58pm Mon 15 Jun 09
Stretchydan
says...
3:07pm Mon 15 Jun 09
YORKCITYFC says...
9:53am Fri 12 Jun 09