Sometimes, when a players’ name is mentioned, a wry grin breaks out on my face.
It’s, I’m afraid, just a natural reaction.
One such player is Robert Snodgrass.
The 30-year-old Scottish international winger was a signing that, to put it bluntly, never quite worked out as far as the player and West Ham United are concerned.
Now some may say that wasn’t Snodgrass’ fault and that he was played out of position and never really given a chance to shine.
That may well be the case, but that, to cut to the crux of this spiel, isn’t what this article is about.
Instead, it offers a few thoughts on the subject of the loan system.
Last season, unable to establish himself in the Hammers first-team, Snodgrass was sent out on loan to Aston Villa, a club he nearly helped back into the Premier League, just falling at the final hurdle in the Play-Off Final against Fulham.
Returning to the club this summer and with a new boss in tow, Snodgrass might have been hoping to get a chance to impress and earn a place in the squad, but that doesn’t look to be the case.
Instead, speculation persists, as reported by the Birmingham Mail, that Snodgrass is wanted by Aston Villa again, on another loan deal.
It appears that Aston Villa, who have struggled financially since that Play-Off defeat, are reluctant to buy the player in order to save funds.
Which begs me to ask the question, if Snodgrass is surplus to requirements and with West Ham having spent so prolifically this summer, wouldn’t a better option have been a sale to another club, simply to bring some funds in?
Or have I missed something here?
