ROK - Re signs with swans for 4 years. (Confirmed)

[EMJ]

O'Keefe will be presented with life membership tonight as part of the best and fairest. They then expect him to address the people.

It would be a brave act to say he is going - I know quite a few people who will boo him they are very upset at the way he is treating the club after 9 years.

[EMJ]

I will be attending best and fairest so will be interesting.

Hope he doesn't announce he is leaving - it could be quite a bad reception for him.

[ScottH]

I will be attending best and fairest so will be interesting.

Hope he doesn't announce he is leaving - it could be quite a bad reception for him.

We expect a full report Mac!!
Could be a VERY interesting presentation

[NMWBloods]

I don't think ROK has done anything particularly wrong. He's seeing what he's worth in the market. He should get paid close to market rates. He did the right thing staying with the Swans staying when he could have gone back to Melbourne when his brother died. If it suited the club they wouldn't hesitate to get rid of him.

[DeadlyAkkuret]

He's handled this badly, anyone can see that. He'll be lucky to make an extra 30K a year and he's treated the club with very little respect.

Unless he has a serious change of heart/mind, then as far as I'm concerned he can get out and stay out.

[liz]

The timing is a bit unfortunate. If he was really unsure as to what he was worth and wanted to test the market, the time to do so would have been a few weeks ago when the media was otherwise engaged with the footy. As it is, the speculation in the media and the numbers being bandied about (whether based on fact or imagination) is not really doing him or the Swans any good. And now the pressure is on to get the situation resolved within the next week, given that trade period is upon us.

I doubt there'll be an announcement tonight that he's leaving. That's not the Swans' way. It would derail what is meant to be a celebration of the season of all 47 players. If he comes to an agreement to stay today, that could well be announced but otherwise they'll probably all be non-committal about it and O'Keefe will slip away from the function as soon as the official proceedings are finished so that he doesn't get harangued by supporters.

[UglyDuckling]

I just heard on SEN that Paul Roos was meeting O'Keefe today and the O'keefe wants 600k to stay. They also said that he is only worth 400k on a 3 year deal, the impression i got was that some people think he is getting a bit greedy.

[dread and might]

If it suited the club they wouldn't hesitate to get rid of him.

Very good point. I always make a similar one when people are stressed out about taking holidays or leave to look after a sick family member because "it's too busy at work"

Still.... I will be very disappointed if he leaves

[Legs Akimbo]

Very good point. I always make a similar one when people are stressed out about taking holidays or leave to look after a sick family member because "it's too busy at work"

Still.... I will be very disappointed if he leaves

God damned capitalist pigs.

[Plugger46]

I don't think ROK has done anything particularly wrong. He's seeing what he's worth in the market. He should get paid close to market rates. He did the right thing staying with the Swans staying when he could have gone back to Melbourne when his brother died. If it suited the club they wouldn't hesitate to get rid of him.

Couldn't agree more. He has been looked after in the past because he's a bloody good footballer, not because every individual at the club is a loyal and lovely person.

[swansrule100]

if i was a player id be going to the club that gave me the most money, its a short career.

I go to whichever job pays me the most

[swanage]

if i was a player id be going to the club that gave me the most money, its a short career.

I go to whichever job pays me the most

As would 99% of the people here. Not to mention wanting to leave a job for a lifestyle change or to be closer to family. Anyone knocking ROK should think about what they would do in their own workplaces.

It's easy to get caught up in the emotion of supporting a team, but you can't ignore that rightly or wrongly, clubs are businesses and players are employees.

If ROK leaves my attitude will be thanks for the memories, and best of luck unless you're facing red and white.

[swansrule100]

i would prefer to see this stuff kept a bit more in house though

[ShockOfHair]

I don't think ROK has done anything particularly wrong. He's seeing what he's worth in the market. He should get paid close to market rates. He did the right thing staying with the Swans staying when he could have gone back to Melbourne when his brother died. If it suited the club they wouldn't hesitate to get rid of him.

Nothing wrong with testing the market, but the problem is the timing, and the fact the club was led to believe it was a done deal. It's pretty amateur for the coach to find out from the press that his player is actively talking to other clubs when he believes they already have an agreement.

[Bear]

Money wont make him happy, and I would be confident it is not his main objective. But he does want to maximise his last contract, and be in the ballpark of what he would get elsewhere.

He's just testing the market which is fine by me - fans and media blow it up due to not understanding the details.