Goalkeeper Basso is still wanted at Gate, says Bristol City manager Johnson
It is not too late for Adriano Basso to perform a U-turn and sign a new deal at Ashton Gate.
So says Bristol City manager Gary Johnson, who desperately wants the Brazilian goalkeeper to stay.
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Basso's days in Bristol appeared numbered when he refused to sign a new contract and submitted a written transfer request in the summer.
But City have yet to receive a single enquiry for the 34-year-old stopper, who is hell-bent on leaving when his current deal expires at the end of this season.
Although Basso has set his heart on a move to the Barclays Premier League, remaining with City would still seem to represent the South American's best chance of reaching the top flight.
And Johnson insists the door is still open for Basso to undergo a change of heart and commit his future to City.
"I'm hoping that Adriano will wake up one morning, ask to see me and say 'where's that new contract,' said Johnson.
"We want him to know he is still wanted. Then if the penny finally drops and he realises no-one in the Premier League is interested, we could still have a very good goalkeeper on our hands.
"We already have two good goalkeepers in Dean Gerken and Stephen Henderson, but I'd like Basso to stay as well."
Basso has stood firm by his decision despite repeated attempts on the part of the management and directors to persuade him to sign a contract extension.
Johnson said: "We respect his views. Adriano knows that, at his age, he probably has one last opportunity to play at the top level, and we understand where he is coming from. He believes that there will be a Premier League club that wants him come the end of the season.
"I believe his best chance of playing at the top level is to stay put and that's where we disagree."
Despite calls from some supporters to drop Basso and call-up former Republic of Ireland Under-21 keeper Henderson to the bench, Johnson has continued to make use of the Brazilian, who has made four first-team starts this season.
He explained: "I don't have a problem with using him. Basso wants to give everything to this football club this season, but doesn't want to sign a new deal.
"When he's come in he has done a good job for us and he's continued to work very, very hard in training. None of the boys feels he is nicking a living and he is certainly not sitting back and just seeing his contract out. If that was the case, he would not be in the squad.
"He gives everything in training, he gives everything when he is in the team and we want to keep using him because he is experienced and a very good keeper."
Johnson has revealed he is considering the possibility of sending Henderson out on loan to gain valuable first-team experience.
He said: "He gets a bit frustrated because there are not that many young keepers in the Championship and we need an experienced one on our bench.
"Stephen still has to grow up a bit and he's not quite ready yet, so we might send him out on loan.
"But if we end up losing Basso, I would not hesitate to use Stephen, because I think he is a very good keeper."
16 Comments
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by Fred the Red, Longwell Green
Thursday, November 26 2009, 10:16PM
“Frankly, I find these comments from Gary amazing and smacks of more double standards from our esteemed manager.
It was only a few months ago that Bradley Orr was ostracised from the first team for refusing to sign a new contract and told he would never play for City again as Gary could not count on his commitment to the cause.
Yet he is fully prepared to play Basso who is in the exactly same situation?
Is it just me or can anyone else see double standards being applied here?”
by Davide, France
Thursday, November 26 2009, 9:27PM
“Gas 65, yes you can him, he can look after the toys Phillips threw out of pram, until he is ready to then trow them out himself.”
by Davide, France
Thursday, November 26 2009, 7:45PM
“One huge flaw with your diatribe Glenn, if Basso is so good why no bids not from any club let alone the premier league (which is laughable really).”
by gas65, whitchurch
Thursday, November 26 2009, 5:43PM
“cant we borrow him for a while, hes got to be better than the clown we got on loan from reading”
by Lawrence, Nanaimo B/C Canada,
Thursday, November 26 2009, 5:07PM
“Good morning,
Weve been very enlightened re Basso & the way G/J head works,
And Glenn Backwell, filled in a few points re the saga,
Thanks for that Glenn , Looking ahead looking for 3 point this weekend & a wack of goals to boot ,
ooops a pun, ,Morning Coffee time, , O&O”
by groundhog day, USA
Thursday, November 26 2009, 4:40PM
“Don''t like your comments Archie bit too negative,turn that frown upside down sad clown you sound like a chip off the 13 Archies,have a nice day.”
by Archie, Bristol
Thursday, November 26 2009, 3:55PM
“Glenn Backwell, You are such a negative person with a one track GJ hating mind . Get over the Mamorial stadia. I`m sure your wife and kids really love having you around.”
by Mike, Bristol
Thursday, November 26 2009, 3:44PM
“Interesting point Glenn. Did you hear Trundle of Soccer AM last Sat? Very complimentary about every manager he's worked under, except one!”
by Glenn, Backwell
Thursday, November 26 2009, 1:32PM
“@James, Olde City
Or was it simply the case that Basso's contract is up in June 2010?
GJ wanted him to sign a new deal last summer.
Basso wanted time to think through his options.
GJ has a bizarre policy of freezing out players who do not renew contracts, even if they have 12 months left.
GJ decided that was not good enough.
Basso is now scratching his head thinking "do I really want to sign another deal and work with this clown"?
In the meantime, we let Chris Weale leave via the back-door; Weale is now arguably the best goalkeeper in the Championship this season.
Everytime this story gets published Gary ends up with more egg on his face.
Solution: Withdraw the contract Gary, it's too late rectify this mess, but maybe next time Gary will think twice before freezing out players who are still willing to give 100% for Bristol City until the day their contact expires.”
by James, Olde City
Thursday, November 26 2009, 12:56PM
“I was a big fan of Basso, I thought he was a great Professional, but seeing him go off last season twice at Ashton Gate "injured" was a bit of shame.
He is a very good goalkeeper but he has his faults, commanding his area, kicking from feet under pressure, getting down to his low angled levels early ,are things a premiership keeper would need to be capable of doing day in day out. On the other hand if Basso was playing regular first team football for Bristol City then he would be working on these things as a professional. So for me the question has to be is he a professional ? Any Premiership club would want to know why he has gone about his business in the way he has. Or is there something else which we are not aware of ?
Dean Gerken is good cover as is Henderson, but Chris Weale would have been the answer, so why did Basso wait until his understudy left before deciding City wasnt for him ?
Too many questions surround Basso.”