Yeah this is the flaw in he and his managers calculation. Haas can hold the club to ransom because if he just doesn’t show up the club is in a $900k hole (and to Payne’s credit he kept performing). If Karl doesn’t show up it’s maybe 200k?
There are few parallels between this and the Haas case.
Payne never badmouthed the club or anyone else, not in public. He left the business side up to his agent.
Payne had already played for years for what many considered unders.
Payne was our most decorated player.
Payne played long enough and to such a standard he was widely regarded as a once in a generation player. He had every reason to expect more money. Or at least to ask.
Payne was regularly spoken about as a million dollar player.
Payne was rated the best in his position by his peers.
Payne took the fan abuse on the chin, and returned to the table.
Karl is a child, fresh out of school who has never played against adults.
Karl has whinged to the press, badmouthed the club, overrated his worth and overplayed his hand.
We were all cranky at Payne, and many of us (including me) would rather spend his market value elsewhere, but if this fiasco has shown us anything it's that Payne, himself as a man, acted impeccably. Which I said at the time but few agreed.
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