Albion and Cardiff in War of Words

Albion today reacted to a ridiculous statement released on the official Cardiff website concerning their bid to sign Baggies midfielder Jason Koumas.

Albion chairman Jeremy Peace reacted to the statement that claimed that the Baggies were not acting in a 'humane` manner and that Albion were being unreasonable not accepting their offer for the midfielder.

The statement on the official Cardiff site released information on the bid that they had placed for Koumas.

'One million guaranteed, the other £1million is for games played (which should give them about £0.5million over the player's contract) and the rest if we reach play-offs or get promoted. Effectively, it is highly likely they will get £1.5million and possibly £2million.

'For the purpose of record, WBA have asked for £1.5million guaranteed and £0.5million for add-ons. We tried to give them exactly that on terms we can afford. WBA exercised their right and turned us down.'

Now as far as we are aware and the stories coming directly from The Hawthorns Albion want £1.5 million up front for the midfielder and they will be happy to accept the rest in add-ons.

Cardiff have been aware of the deal since the midfielder joined them on loan at the start of last season, but now Cardiff have started to play silly buggers with their offer.

Albion have every right to turn down that offer as it doesn`t match our valuation. Jason Koumas is contracted to West Bromwich Albion for a further two-seasons and unless someone matches the valuation of Koumas he will remain an Albion player for the next two-seasons.

Jason Koumas needs to remember who pays his wages and currently his employer is West Brom, the fact that he has yet to reappear for pre-season training at Albion is a major breach of contract that Albion will continue to fine him for.

The statement from Cardiff has been engineered to try and back Albion into a corner, Koumas wants to join Cardiff, Cardiff want Koumas but Cardiff haven`t got the money so tough s*it.

An Albion statement was released in response to the earlier statement from Cardiff with the response, 'We quite properly expect Jason to meet the obligations of his contract, for which he is handsomely paid.

'We therefore take great exception to Cardiff's suggestion that we are not acting in a 'humane' manner, particularly given that the club have gone out of their way in attempts to reintegrate Jason back into the squad.

'Cardiff have commented on several sensitive issues regarding Jason's situation which, while he remains an Albion player, are, quite frankly, none of their business. We now consider this matter closed.'

Albion are not going to budge on this, Cardiff should not have released such a poor statement this morning and they have probably burned out all hope of signing the Welsh international.

There is bad blood between Albion and Cardiff and has been since the move of Daniel Gabbidon to West Ham last summer.

Rumour has it that Cardiff screwed Albion out of a percentage of the former Albion defenders sale. Gabbidon moved to West Ham in a deal that included fellow Cardiff defender James Collins and it is rumoured that Cardiff engineered the deal so that the majority of the fee was paid for Collins meaning Albion got a smaller fee from the sale of Gabbidon. Gabbidon was the number one target for West Ham and the majority of the cash should have been for him and not Collins.

Inside The Hawthorns officials are said to be unhappy at Cardiff`s tactics and the fact that Cameron Jerome was also a target for Albion but sold to neighbours Birmingham instead of a agreeing a deal that involved Koumas moving in the opposite direction.

Albion chairman Peace has said that the midfielder will not be sold for any less than he values him and will play hardball with both Koumas and Cardiff.

It is thought that the midfielder is now set to stay on at The Hawthorns for the near future, whether he turns up for training is another question but a move to Cardiff is looking less likely than ever.

Sheffield United and Fulham have been linked over the last 48 hours with a move for Koumas but the midfielder is not impressing to many people with his outbursts and attitude towards Albion. He has been offered a chance by Peace and boss Bryan Robson to put his problems behind him and be part of the Albion squad but he has flatly refused to budge on his decision to leave.

As far as I am concerned Koumas can rot in the reserves, he is a waste of talent and has treated this club like dirt. He has a contract and is paid a good deal of money to play for this football club, Koumas is bad news and the sooner we can get him out of the door the better, it just depends on whether we can find someone to take him.

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