Mattock hands in transfer request

[Leicfox]

1.2 - 1.5m is all we'll get for him imo. This is the sort of senario that if we were a rich club i'd let him rot in the reserves, as it's oblivious that he's only put this transfer request in as West Brom and Leicester have not been able to agree a fee, mainly because NP did not want him to go.

The request makes it easier for him and West Brom, he'll get his move and Albion will get a knocked down price.

[suffolk fox]

Callum said:-

He didn't have a poor season last year, he didnt make many mistakes and was a solid place in our defence which played a big part in us gaining promotion. But i do agree that he didn't have as good a season as people expected. But then again he is 19 years old and its just the classic case off leicester fans criticising young players when they dont perform. Most players are inconsistent when they are young, you should let them learn from their mistakes and develop.

You obviously didn't see him play at Peterboro last year when Mackail-Smith tore him up for bum paper then!!??

[Bellend Sebastian]

Not bothered about his leaving from a football perspective because I don't think there's any guarantee at all that he'll get any better than he is now, having seen him start well and then get worse.

That said, I think a lot of people on here getting a bit hot under the collar about it all are being a bit daft. Have you ever heard the lad speak? I doubt any of the brain cells in his head have ever even touched each other. He's a young lad, no doubt with the world and his uncle (or at least, an agent and his family) talking him up. His agent has probably come to him saying he can get him a massive signing on fee and a fifty per cent pay rise, and be honest, who wouldn't be interested in that? If someone came round and offered my staff a 20 per cent pay rise I doubt I'd have anyone left. And before anyone says football's different, I agree, it is - it's got more bullshit surrounding it than any other industry. All this loyalty bollocks is peddled about to make fans think the players give a toss about the paying public. Of course they bloody don't.

Let's also not forget that there's a good possibility that we'll sign some youngster at some point that's spent all his career at one club, that he turns his back on to join us. Will we think he's a twat? It works both ways you know

[Jon the Hat]

To be fair to the lad, he only has himself to be loyal to. The rest of it is just bollocks, and his current employer deserves no more loyalty than yours or mine. The club paid him becuae they thought he was worth it, and they developed him to make him better for their ends not his. Milan has had him earmarked as a money making transfer from day one, and we all know it. He may not be the sharpest tool in the box, but he is geting himslef a payrise and some more cash in the bank. I would do it, you would do it, and put away the bollocks about dreaming of pulling on the shirt. He has achieved that dream, and like the rest of us is dreaming of the next goal. Playing in the prem and full England honours I would imagine. He has a long way to go.

[Cal]

He's a dopey ****er anyway.

[Collymore]

Albion fan living in Leicester here. Just thought I'd add my thoughts on this.

I can understand all of you that are venting about the way in which the player has handled this, as it's hardly a glowing endorsement of his character, and I have to say that I'm not bowled over by the prospect of this transfer. He clearly has potential and it shouldn't be forgotten that he's only nineteen, but it concerns me that he couldn't get into a League One team week in and week out.

However he must be held in some regard by laughing boy Nigel as he seems to be apoplectic with rage, and I think he could tell you from his dealings with our chairman, that those of you who think that Mandaric 'will squeeze every penny' out of us are seriously mistaken. Jeremy Peace is known as one of the toughest negotiators in football, to our own detriment at times. I imagine the fee will be around 1.5m (if that), which will represent good business for you if he's as poor as you say he is.

What has got my back up is the arrogance of some of your posters to suggest that Albion are a 'tin-pot club' (Legend_in_blue) and the various other needless snipes at the club. In my opinion the two clubs are not too far apart in terms of staure. Although if we look at the facts, we have won five F.A. Cups and a league title, something Leicester City have never managed. We are a well run club that has not and will not descend into administration. We have been more successful in terms of league positions in the last few seasons and we most certainly have a stronger squad currently, whether that means we'll finish higher than you again this season remains to be seen. All of this tends to suggest that if one of our clubs is 'tin-pot', it isn't mine.

Ultimately, I believe we are a fair club that has (apparently, there's still no official word on it) made a fair offer for one of your players, we haven't indulged in any speculation, we haven't hawked it around the press. Whether the player joins us is up to him, just like it was up to Simon Cox, nobody is holding a gun to their heads, although come to think of it, this could explain Peace's superb negotiating skills. You're entitled to your views on the way that Joe Mattock has handled himself, and you have reason to feel aggrieved that it looks as though he won't be moving to a Premiership club, but lets just leave the moronic jibes out of it.

The fact you have come on here on the defensive shows there must be insecurities running deep through your club (probably stemming from being a small team in the prem) I think a lot of Leicester fans had that when we got relegated from the prem, It's a good thing to get rid of by the way.

[Fox92]

If he handed one in last year and his family and Nigel talked him out of it, then maybe Nigel new it was going to happen this year again and that's why he went for the lad at Manchester City on loan. Mcgiven is it?

It would be ok if he was linked with a Premiership club such as Tottenham, West Ham, Wigan etc but to be linked with West Brom and Nottingham Forest who are in the same division and want to go is very dissapointing.

Also, if he woul of handed the request in at the end of last season, I mean like a week after Crewe, then that would be fine because Nigel could have looked for a new left back and got the money from the transfer to purchase another player even if it was a midfielder or striker etc.

Finally, what about if Mattock starts tomorow against Swansea, do we 'boo' him when his name gets read out?

Anyway, we all dislike disloyal footballers and Mattock has dissapointed well, not just me, but all of us!

[AyewJoking]

So, the biggest transfer news of pre season regards a player leaving other than one we've signed. Says it all really.

Good luck Joe, just hope we get a good deal for you.

[Shane]

the lads a judas thought he was woeful last year & the MK left back lewington was far superior i bet he gets a injury the week before they are due to come to the walkers good ridance some ''fan'' he is :angry:

Im sorry but calling him a judas is way out of order. Yes the way he handed in a transfer request was wrong, but we have to respect mattock for showing some honesty. Yes last season he wasnt the best of players and wasnt so great in league one, but having said that - it might not be his fault? Seriously he wanted to go last season also, and because he didnt go maybe he didnt have the drive or determination to put some effort in for this club as he wanted to leave. I think thats why his standards had dropped last season. And also, so what if that lewington was "far superior". Your basing lewington on one game that you've seen him? fooking insane if you ask me mate.

To be honest, mattock has heaps of potential and i thought with pearson he could of got very far. Its a shame to see someone with such potential go, but we have to accept it and move on. Seriously your all making this out as if mattock is impossible to replace, but hes not.. theres so many better left backs out there we could sign, *coff* armand traore *coff*.. But having said that, yes theres alot of better left backs out there, but how many of them have the potential mattock does? I know your all naffed off by what he said "im leicester through and through" - "im a leicester fan" and all that, but it just shows money really does talk in football. To be honest, i bet west brom are probably doubling his wages.

Now if someone came in for you to double your wages, work about an hour away from home, (as hes from leicester, and west brom isn't that far away).. would you turn it down? I think it would be very hard to turn down to be honest, and i think that is why mattock has gone as hes still quite near to home and hes getting better wages. Also west brom have a better chance of getting into the premiership this season, and maybe thats a factor in his move.

Seriously stop having a go at the lad for christ sake. He got brought up from the academy, got into the first team, is apart of the england U-19 & england U-21 squad. Now that is pretty impressive, and hes done that through a poor season - to be honest i think thats pretty good considering he wasnt so great this year. Of course there was always going to be interest for mattock, as he is very talented, and its no wonder premiership clubs have been fishing around for him. Also, hes a Leicester fan, or supposidly.. right? How many players have left the team they have supported through there childhood? David Beckham, is one.

Seriously in Nige we trust. We will get a better replacement for mattock, and still get strikers in before the deadline, just because Mattock has gone, its not the end of the world. But we shouldnt be slagging him off.

I just think we should remember Mattock for wearing a Leicester City Shirt. His heart will always be with Leicester deep down, and just because hes gone for money, it doesnt mean he will forget about the club that made him what he is now. We should show some respect to this guy, not boo him when we play west Brom.

[Lillehamring]

I feel quite strongly about this, will probably be a lot of crossover with what others have said but I feel the need to comment anyway.

I really, really, really want(ed) to like Joe Mattock. I think it's a fantastic thing to have a player rise through the youth ranks to become an impressive player let alone to have an actual fan playing for the club. As with Stearman, there seems to be some debate over how much of a fan Mattock actually is and the current situation doesn't suggest he is a dyed-in-the-wool, true blue all-that-bollocks City devotee. However, I still liked the fact we had a young player forcing his way into the side. At the time he came into the first team, it was a very exciting thing because the rest of the team was, let's face it, utter canine excrement for the main part.

I remember the Barnsley away game as clear as day. It was such a refreshing sight that season to see a young Leicester player go on these mazy runs down the wing and trying to force a positive effect on the game. Problem being that the raw youngster we saw that day seemingly hasn't made a step of significant progress ever since. To me, he is still the rough-around-the-edges, potentially excellent player that we saw when he first broke through.

Heading into what would turn out to be our relegation season, we had Mattock and Mister Assists vying for the left-back position and neither of them really looked good enough for the Championship despite our superb defensive record. Mattock was often left for dead by quite average players, the nadir being Gary Taylor-Fletcher's goal at Blackpool. I don't think I'll ever forget that image. Even then, we were still getting signs that Mattock had an awful long way to go to be an excellent footballer even at that level.

So when we went down, it wasn't unreasonable to think he might stand out at League One level. England Under-21 recognition arrived and it was fantastic to see a Leicester player wearing the Three Lions again even if it wasn't full honours. But when I think of our key players last season, I think Howard, King, Fryatt, Hobbs, Dyer, Tunchev, Oakley, Morrison, Gilbert, Berner, Cleverley, Mark bloody Davies before I think of Mattock. He wasn't awful but he didn't stand out either. And again we had one of those moments, as happened at Blackpool, this time at Hereford where Jennison Myrie-Williams put on a little burst of acceleration and won a blatant penalty from him. Mattock looked distraught at the time but I remember a bit of ill feeling towards him after that happened, something which had been building for a little while. Here was a player who gave off the aura that he thought he was a lot better than he actually was.

I am one of the first to be positive about our players in difficult circumstances, especially when they are young, but heading into this summer I think an awful lot of Leicester fans were wondering less about his oft-mentioned potential and looking squarely at how he has actually performed for us - basically, not brilliantly. I can't recall him having any outstanding games last season to be honest and although it's difficult from full-back, Daniel Fox by all accounts was managing that at Championship level with Coventry. Fox may be a couple of years older but if we have got a similar fee to what Celtic paid for him then it's thank you and goodnight as far as I'm concerned.

Fast-forward to the first game of this pre-season and the rare chance to be within a yard or two of "our heroes" at Loughborough Dynamo. Mattock's attitude was clearly not good. Every team-mate that sent a pass astray got either a volley of abuse or a roll of the eyes in return. Not much was said at the time as I don't like criticising our own players for trivial things but I think it deserves a mention now because it stuck in my throat. That was a very young team who performed well on the day and as one of the most senior players in the side, a bit more encouragement to less experienced colleagues would have been better all-round. Little things like this do suggest the vague sense that he might have an inflated opinion of his own ability is grounded in realism. His other downside also appeared in that game as, very early on, he was dispossessed and beaten for pace by a Unibond League player. After heading over to Tamworth for the other game that day and seeing Berner play to a higher level against stronger opposition, it summarised what I'd thought over the summer - that Berner would be better suited to playing left-back for us this season.

This is reading incredibly negatively but I am being as honest as I can be and casting aside the usual positive spin I like to put on things because of the way he's gone about this.

Ploughing onwards...

Shooting technique - poor. Contribution to attacking play - poor. Ironically, practically the only Mattock assist I can remember off the top of my head was for McAuley's header at the Hawthorns when we won 4-1 there the season before last. That was a decent cross, swirling high up into the box and I can remember vividly the little jump-for-joy Mattock did as the ball hit the net. It was moments like that which really made me want to like him, moments like when he stuck his one and only goal so far in Leicester colours in the Yeovil net last season.

But those moments have been too few to merit a transfer request being greeted with anything but indifference, sadness or perhaps even anger.

The timing is terrible and I just hope we can turn it into a positive by re-investing the money in strengthening another part of the team that I think we all know by now.

Our club has actually managed to become more close-knit over the past year, the players and fans sharing some fantastic moments across the country last season which will live long in my memory and Joe Mattock handing in a transfer request two days before the start of a crucial new season is not going to spoil what both players and fans have worked so hard to build up.

I'm not one for wishing departing players all the best when I don't really mean it.

Cheerio Joe.

beautiful obituary, fez

[Lillehamring]

Not bothered about his leaving from a football perspective because I don't think there's any guarantee at all that he'll get any better than he is now, having seen him start well and then get worse.

That said, I think a lot of people on here getting a bit hot under the collar about it all are being a bit daft. Have you ever heard the lad speak? I doubt any of the brain cells in his head have ever even touched each other. He's a young lad, no doubt with the world and his uncle (or at least, an agent and his family) talking him up. His agent has probably come to him saying he can get him a massive signing on fee and a fifty per cent pay rise, and be honest, who wouldn't be interested in that? If someone came round and offered my staff a 20 per cent pay rise I doubt I'd have anyone left. And before anyone says football's different, I agree, it is - it's got more bullshit surrounding it than any other industry. All this loyalty bollocks is peddled about to make fans think the players give a toss about the paying public. Of course they bloody don't.

Let's also not forget that there's a good possibility that we'll sign some youngster at some point that's spent all his career at one club, that he turns his back on to join us. Will we think he's a twat? It works both ways you know

great post---

it's actually quite comical that some posters have reposted in the thread, saying he is a c***, i mean do they really need to post their opinion in this thread 2, 3 or even 4 times....

Well money talks and bullshit walks!

To be honest I quite liked him but obviously he don't want to be here so I'd rather he f***ed off.

What a w*****

wow, wouldn't have had you down as a spinal tap fan - or has this just filtered into everyday speak?

[Tommy G]

Has he definately gone now or not? I wonder how much of this fee will be spent? I predict £0

[Fox92]

http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-s...97319-24340187/

Seen this from Birmingham Mail I think it was.

Sorry if it has already been posted

[Sooper Steve's shin]

Like Fez (and probably most of us) I wanted Mattock to be our next great Academy product. Taking a step back and looking at last season, it was clear in many games that Pearson was trying to improve him - often shouting guidance and instructions at him. What has become clear since he became involved in the first team (and gave some interviews) is that he is not the most intelligent and that comes out in his positioning and decision-making at times.

He did not nail down the left-back spot last season even when fit. OK he's young, but if you want to be a Championship/Premiership level player then I would argue that by 19 you should be doing it in League One. If he did hand in a transfer request at the beginning of last season, that might explain a possible lack of motivation/interest in trying too hard - but, again, if that's the case it shows he's not too bright as to get a move you need to attract a buyer.

He's probably had a fair bit of hype because he's English, made early first team appearances and (at the start of his professional career, at least) looked a decent attacking talent. I say "attacking" because I cannot recall many (if any) games where I thought he was an outstanding defender. My memories are of surges forward and injecting a bit of pace on the left from the subs bench.

In truth, if he played against us every week as a left-back I doubt very much that we'd be thinking "there's a lad we need to snap up". There's still time for him to develop and, let's be honest, if he goes to West Brom it will be a step up (if not the one we thought he might make) and he will probably get a pay rise. At 19, we'd probably all do that - at 30-odd I would certainly give it serious consideration in my own job.

The biggest surprise, I guess, is that he has gone to a team in the same division. We would have understood a move to the Championship last year, but even with West Brom it's still quite a gamble. This league is notoriously unpredictable - this time last year, you wouldn't have been massively surprised if any of Charlton, Southampton or Norwich had made the play-offs at the end of the season or if Burnley had go down. I doubt anyone will predict the top six/bottom three as you can never really be sure of the outcome of any game. It's unlikely, but not inconceivable that we could finish above West Brom.

In the modern day and at the professional level, I think it's quite a romantic view to think that players play for the club. They have a short career, often with not much to fall back on, so they naturally want to make the most of the time they have. We can't really argue with that. Sometimes they are badly advised, sometimes they make lucky or unlucky decisions for themselves. If Mattock goes, I won't particularly hold it against him. But I'm sure we can think of a chant about his sister for his return to the Walkers - now who's got those photos of her....?

[Tilley]

After thinking about this, I have come to one conclusion...

Fuck off Mattock.

& I bet we get shit money for him & Pearson won't see a penny.

[Aeropars]

This mornings mercury is saying 2 million.

[Jon the Hat]

http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-s...97319-24340187/

Seen this from Birmingham Mail I think it was.

Sorry if it has already been posted

Sounds like it is £1m then.

[CKB]

We are unambitious, how many Leicester fans have been really disappointed with how this pre-season has gone in terms of bringing players in to the club?

It has been poor considering how well we did last season and with Milan banging on about how we can go up in to the Premier League this year, it's ridiculous, we will struggle this season. without a doubt.

What's happened in the past when we signed tons of players? YES the striker issue is a problem but we can't just go out and sign him and him and him, NP is being very cautious with signings..he wants players who wanna PLAY for us and that has been a problem for along time we could sign any tom, dick and harry but if there heart isn't LCFC then NP isn't gonna have it

Milan usually backs and i wouldn't be surprised if MM said yup we can get Cox, we can get Lita but these players didn't wanna play for LCFC and NP picked up on that vibe! remember when he said he only wants players who wanna play for Leicester City shortly after the Cox deal completely died..go figure!

Same now with Joe Twatcock, NP is forming a bunch of players who wanna give there all to LCFC to make a team of players who bleed blue and i think that will see us in good stead for the future!

[Aeropars]

Sounds like it is £1m then.

Nope.. 2 million according to the mercury:

http://www.thebluearmy.co.uk/news/Joe-Matt...il/article.html

[kam6]

I was having a chat with my mate on the way to work this morn, and we thought the same about Mattock.

He should have left to progress his career in the PREM, i think that Moyes would have got the best out of him at Everton.

Even if we get £5m for him, which i know we wont, i dont think that it will be spent on players! We need a striker.

If Joe Mattock was a leicester fan, which he says he is, he would probably be reading the posts about him. I guess now he is more famous than ever, but for the wrong reasons!!

It would be funny if he fails a medical!!

[Joe.]

If the Merc says £2m, it's definitely not £2m.

[Shrenchel]

I feel quite strongly about this, will probably be a lot of crossover with what others have said but I feel the need to comment anyway.

I really, really, really want(ed) to like Joe Mattock. I think it's a fantastic thing to have a player rise through the youth ranks to become an impressive player let alone to have an actual fan playing for the club. As with Stearman, there seems to be some debate over how much of a fan Mattock actually is and the current situation doesn't suggest he is a dyed-in-the-wool, true blue all-that-bollocks City devotee. However, I still liked the fact we had a young player forcing his way into the side. At the time he came into the first team, it was a very exciting thing because the rest of the team was, let's face it, utter canine excrement for the main part.

I remember the Barnsley away game as clear as day. It was such a refreshing sight that season to see a young Leicester player go on these mazy runs down the wing and trying to force a positive effect on the game. Problem being that the raw youngster we saw that day seemingly hasn't made a step of significant progress ever since. To me, he is still the rough-around-the-edges, potentially excellent player that we saw when he first broke through.

Heading into what would turn out to be our relegation season, we had Mattock and Mister Assists vying for the left-back position and neither of them really looked good enough for the Championship despite our superb defensive record. Mattock was often left for dead by quite average players, the nadir being Gary Taylor-Fletcher's goal at Blackpool. I don't think I'll ever forget that image. Even then, we were still getting signs that Mattock had an awful long way to go to be an excellent footballer even at that level.

So when we went down, it wasn't unreasonable to think he might stand out at League One level. England Under-21 recognition arrived and it was fantastic to see a Leicester player wearing the Three Lions again even if it wasn't full honours. But when I think of our key players last season, I think Howard, King, Fryatt, Hobbs, Dyer, Tunchev, Oakley, Morrison, Gilbert, Berner, Cleverley, Mark bloody Davies before I think of Mattock. He wasn't awful but he didn't stand out either. And again we had one of those moments, as happened at Blackpool, this time at Hereford where Jennison Myrie-Williams put on a little burst of acceleration and won a blatant penalty from him. Mattock looked distraught at the time but I remember a bit of ill feeling towards him after that happened, something which had been building for a little while. Here was a player who gave off the aura that he thought he was a lot better than he actually was.

I am one of the first to be positive about our players in difficult circumstances, especially when they are young, but heading into this summer I think an awful lot of Leicester fans were wondering less about his oft-mentioned potential and looking squarely at how he has actually performed for us - basically, not brilliantly. I can't recall him having any outstanding games last season to be honest and although it's difficult from full-back, Daniel Fox by all accounts was managing that at Championship level with Coventry. Fox may be a couple of years older but if we have got a similar fee to what Celtic paid for him then it's thank you and goodnight as far as I'm concerned.

Fast-forward to the first game of this pre-season and the rare chance to be within a yard or two of "our heroes" at Loughborough Dynamo. Mattock's attitude was clearly not good. Every team-mate that sent a pass astray got either a volley of abuse or a roll of the eyes in return. Not much was said at the time as I don't like criticising our own players for trivial things but I think it deserves a mention now because it stuck in my throat. That was a very young team who performed well on the day and as one of the most senior players in the side, a bit more encouragement to less experienced colleagues would have been better all-round. Little things like this do suggest the vague sense that he might have an inflated opinion of his own ability is grounded in realism. His other downside also appeared in that game as, very early on, he was dispossessed and beaten for pace by a Unibond League player. After heading over to Tamworth for the other game that day and seeing Berner play to a higher level against stronger opposition, it summarised what I'd thought over the summer - that Berner would be better suited to playing left-back for us this season.

This is reading incredibly negatively but I am being as honest as I can be and casting aside the usual positive spin I like to put on things because of the way he's gone about this.

Ploughing onwards...

Shooting technique - poor. Contribution to attacking play - poor. Ironically, practically the only Mattock assist I can remember off the top of my head was for McAuley's header at the Hawthorns when we won 4-1 there the season before last. That was a decent cross, swirling high up into the box and I can remember vividly the little jump-for-joy Mattock did as the ball hit the net. It was moments like that which really made me want to like him, moments like when he stuck his one and only goal so far in Leicester colours in the Yeovil net last season.

But those moments have been too few to merit a transfer request being greeted with anything but indifference, sadness or perhaps even anger.

The timing is terrible and I just hope we can turn it into a positive by re-investing the money in strengthening another part of the team that I think we all know by now.

Our club has actually managed to become more close-knit over the past year, the players and fans sharing some fantastic moments across the country last season which will live long in my memory and Joe Mattock handing in a transfer request two days before the start of a crucial new season is not going to spoil what both players and fans have worked so hard to build up.

I'm not one for wishing departing players all the best when I don't really mean it.

Cheerio Joe.

Crackin post. Bit long though. Maybe next time you could do a version which you condense into 7 words or a picture?

Albion fan living in Leicester here. Just thought I'd add my thoughts on this.

I can understand all of you that are venting about the way in which the player has handled this, as it's hardly a glowing endorsement of his character, and I have to say that I'm not bowled over by the prospect of this transfer. He clearly has potential and it shouldn't be forgotten that he's only nineteen, but it concerns me that he couldn't get into a League One team week in and week out.

However he must be held in some regard by laughing boy Nigel as he seems to be apoplectic with rage, and I think he could tell you from his dealings with our chairman, that those of you who think that Mandaric 'will squeeze every penny' out of us are seriously mistaken. Jeremy Peace is known as one of the toughest negotiators in football, to our own detriment at times. I imagine the fee will be around 1.5m (if that), which will represent good business for you if he's as poor as you say he is.

What has got my back up is the arrogance of some of your posters to suggest that Albion are a 'tin-pot club' (Legend_in_blue) and the various other needless snipes at the club. In my opinion the two clubs are not too far apart in terms of staure. Although if we look at the facts, we have won five F.A. Cups and a league title, something Leicester City have never managed. We are a well run club that has not and will not descend into administration. We have been more successful in terms of league positions in the last few seasons and we most certainly have a stronger squad currently, whether that means we'll finish higher than you again this season remains to be seen. All of this tends to suggest that if one of our clubs is 'tin-pot', it isn't mine.

Ultimately, I believe we are a fair club that has (apparently, there's still no official word on it) made a fair offer for one of your players, we haven't indulged in any speculation, we haven't hawked it around the press. Whether the player joins us is up to him, just like it was up to Simon Cox, nobody is holding a gun to their heads, although come to think of it, this could explain Peace's superb negotiating skills. You're entitled to your views on the way that Joe Mattock has handled himself, and you have reason to feel aggrieved that it looks as though he won't be moving to a Premiership club, but lets just leave the moronic jibes out of it.

Fvck off back to your own forum then mongy.

[Aeropars]

If the Merc says £2m, it's definitely not £2m.

Well its certainly 'in excess of 1 million' so 2 million would seem reasonable.

[RizLCFC]

He can **** off to be honest he hasn't really done anything unbelievable in a Leicester shirt anyway, he should have handed a request in few weeks ago if he was that desperate to leave, anyway £2 million in the bag hopefully a decent striker and a replacement left back in that money!

[Alexikokopops]

I feel quite strongly about this, will probably be a lot of crossover with what others have said but I feel the need to comment anyway.

I really, really, really want(ed) to like Joe Mattock. I think it's a fantastic thing to have a player rise through the youth ranks to become an impressive player let alone to have an actual fan playing for the club. As with Stearman, there seems to be some debate over how much of a fan Mattock actually is and the current situation doesn't suggest he is a dyed-in-the-wool, true blue all-that-bollocks City devotee. However, I still liked the fact we had a young player forcing his way into the side. At the time he came into the first team, it was a very exciting thing because the rest of the team was, let's face it, utter canine excrement for the main part.

I remember the Barnsley away game as clear as day. It was such a refreshing sight that season to see a young Leicester player go on these mazy runs down the wing and trying to force a positive effect on the game. Problem being that the raw youngster we saw that day seemingly hasn't made a step of significant progress ever since. To me, he is still the rough-around-the-edges, potentially excellent player that we saw when he first broke through.

Heading into what would turn out to be our relegation season, we had Mattock and Mister Assists vying for the left-back position and neither of them really looked good enough for the Championship despite our superb defensive record. Mattock was often left for dead by quite average players, the nadir being Gary Taylor-Fletcher's goal at Blackpool. I don't think I'll ever forget that image. Even then, we were still getting signs that Mattock had an awful long way to go to be an excellent footballer even at that level.

So when we went down, it wasn't unreasonable to think he might stand out at League One level. England Under-21 recognition arrived and it was fantastic to see a Leicester player wearing the Three Lions again even if it wasn't full honours. But when I think of our key players last season, I think Howard, King, Fryatt, Hobbs, Dyer, Tunchev, Oakley, Morrison, Gilbert, Berner, Cleverley, Mark bloody Davies before I think of Mattock. He wasn't awful but he didn't stand out either. And again we had one of those moments, as happened at Blackpool, this time at Hereford where Jennison Myrie-Williams put on a little burst of acceleration and won a blatant penalty from him. Mattock looked distraught at the time but I remember a bit of ill feeling towards him after that happened, something which had been building for a little while. Here was a player who gave off the aura that he thought he was a lot better than he actually was.

I am one of the first to be positive about our players in difficult circumstances, especially when they are young, but heading into this summer I think an awful lot of Leicester fans were wondering less about his oft-mentioned potential and looking squarely at how he has actually performed for us - basically, not brilliantly. I can't recall him having any outstanding games last season to be honest and although it's difficult from full-back, Daniel Fox by all accounts was managing that at Championship level with Coventry. Fox may be a couple of years older but if we have got a similar fee to what Celtic paid for him then it's thank you and goodnight as far as I'm concerned.

Fast-forward to the first game of this pre-season and the rare chance to be within a yard or two of "our heroes" at Loughborough Dynamo. Mattock's attitude was clearly not good. Every team-mate that sent a pass astray got either a volley of abuse or a roll of the eyes in return. Not much was said at the time as I don't like criticising our own players for trivial things but I think it deserves a mention now because it stuck in my throat. That was a very young team who performed well on the day and as one of the most senior players in the side, a bit more encouragement to less experienced colleagues would have been better all-round. Little things like this do suggest the vague sense that he might have an inflated opinion of his own ability is grounded in realism. His other downside also appeared in that game as, very early on, he was dispossessed and beaten for pace by a Unibond League player. After heading over to Tamworth for the other game that day and seeing Berner play to a higher level against stronger opposition, it summarised what I'd thought over the summer - that Berner would be better suited to playing left-back for us this season.

This is reading incredibly negatively but I am being as honest as I can be and casting aside the usual positive spin I like to put on things because of the way he's gone about this.

Ploughing onwards...

Shooting technique - poor. Contribution to attacking play - poor. Ironically, practically the only Mattock assist I can remember off the top of my head was for McAuley's header at the Hawthorns when we won 4-1 there the season before last. That was a decent cross, swirling high up into the box and I can remember vividly the little jump-for-joy Mattock did as the ball hit the net. It was moments like that which really made me want to like him, moments like when he stuck his one and only goal so far in Leicester colours in the Yeovil net last season.

But those moments have been too few to merit a transfer request being greeted with anything but indifference, sadness or perhaps even anger.

The timing is terrible and I just hope we can turn it into a positive by re-investing the money in strengthening another part of the team that I think we all know by now.

Our club has actually managed to become more close-knit over the past year, the players and fans sharing some fantastic moments across the country last season which will live long in my memory and Joe Mattock handing in a transfer request two days before the start of a crucial new season is not going to spoil what both players and fans have worked so hard to build up.

I'm not one for wishing departing players all the best when I don't really mean it.

Cheerio Joe.

If a West Brom supporter wants to see how Leicester fans view Mattock then they should just read this post.