BOURNEMOUTH skipper Simon Francis, our new Premier League columnist, will be giving regular updates from behind the scenes as the coronavirus outbreak impacts on football across the country.
THESE are chaotic times where people in all sorts of industries will be fretting about their futures.
In football, those of us out of contract this summer face a very particular challenge.
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Both Simon Francis and Ryan Fraser are out of contract at Bournemouth in the summerCredit: Reuters
My deal at Bournemouth is up on June 30.
But there is a possibility the season could be extended beyond that date to complete fixtures postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Where that will leave me and other players in the same situation, I have no idea.
Under normal circumstances, there would not be any negotiations until our relegation battle had been resolved, as the priority is on securing our future rather than talking about contracts.
And with the club in the dark over when or even if we can finish the season, I would not expect to hear anything on that front right now — and I would not be the first one ringing up and asking questions either.
But if games end up being played beyond the usual expiry date, this issue will have to be addressed.
Take my team-mate Ryan Fraser, whose deal is also up this summer.
If you are a free agent in the summer and you have interest from other clubs and then the season is going to be extended through June, July or even August, what position does that leave you in mentally? How are you going to go about it?
Simon Francis
Ryan has not mentioned the situation in the last few weeks but throughout the season I have been interested to get his take on things.
He admitted publicly a few months ago that his form had dipped and he had not necessarily been playing for the team as a result of the speculation on his future.
You had to respect his honesty and I do think over the last couple of months he has got his head down.
It is only going to help him and us if he puts in performances like he did last season when he was so good.
But if you are a free agent in the summer and you have interest from other clubs and then the season is going to be extended through June, July or even August, what position does that leave you in mentally? How are you going to go about it?
Would you sign a short-term contract with the club you are currently at and commit your short-term future? Or do you think, ‘No, this club wants me for next season, I’ll hold off’?
If the season does go beyond June 30, we are going to need Ryan because he would play a massive part in our fight to stay up.
‘ABSOLUTE DISASTER’
It is all a bit of a headache — and that is only in the Premier League.
Further down the pyramid, the financial impact on players out of contract could be relatively more damaging — not to mention all the other people who work at clubs.
When you look at the absolute disaster at Barnet, where all non-playing staff have been put on notice of redundancy, it shows how crippling not playing for just a few weeks can be.
It is such a shame to see and the worry is it could happen to more clubs in the following months.
Regarding my own contractual situation, I am obviously in contact with my agent over it but I have told him not to make the call.
I am old enough and know the club well enough that when they are ready, I will be happy to talk.
I would never do anything to upset the club and start asking questions at the wrong time.
We have nine games left and if in those matches I need to prove that I can still cut it at this level, then so be it.
As soon as we get some clarity over when fixtures can be played then I do think things will start to fall into place.
But the decision-makers at the FA and Uefa obviously have a lot on their hands right now.
So, like everything else in society as we wait to discover how bad this virus will be, those of us out of contract will have to deal with uncertainty for a good while yet.
Francis is determined to prove himself worthy of a new contract at the Vitality StadiumCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
