What's the big deal with a contract anyway?

Contract talks have featured rather heavily in recent weeks at Newcastle United, with deals for Jose Enrique and Joey Barton being the main reasons for discussion.

This is understandable when you consider just how important those two lads have been this season, and it's widely accepted that it would be a good move to try and keep the pair at the club as they are two players that most definitely 'earn their money' so to speak.

But does it really matter? Who does a contract benefit? Does a contract actually mean anything these days?

The short answer is no, to all of them. Andy Carroll demonstrated quite superbly that if a player wants out they will get their way if there is interest from another club and an intent from the player to leave.

Call me cynical, but the whole Andy Carroll affair has left me feeling slightly negative about contracts. I mean what is the point of them? This is why I'm not getting overly concerned over the lack of a new deal for Enrique, although we know that he wants to wait until we are safe, and for Barton, who says he wants to stay but as yet there has been no evidence of a deal.

What does it matter though? Why would it put anyone's mind to rest? I mean at the end of the day if a player wants out all they have to do is make a few phone calls. That three, four or five years that is left on their contract doesn't matter one bit then does it? Ask Carroll.

I'd like to be able to say that any player who signs a contract at a club has the full intention of seeing it out until the end of the deal, but that simply isn't the case any longer. There are exceptions to the rule of course, but they are very few and far between these days.

So in conclusion, if Jose and Joey both sign new deals, does it guarantee that they will be with us for the next however many years? Nope, not at all. What it does guarantee is that the club have the power to negotiate should the player want to leave at any point.

Rumours are circulating on Twitter at the moment suggesting that there could be a big announcement at the club today, with even more speculative rumour suggesting that the announcement could be with regard to Barton's and Enrique's new contract.

You have to wonder why this is being built up to be a big announcement anyway as either player could be off at their own discretion before the ink is even dry on a new deal.

Rant over!