Source: FOOTYMAD
Pompey Withdraw James Contract Offer
Celtic to hold talks. David Lampitt has confirmed that Portsmouth FC have withdrawn their contract offer to David James as he was taking too long to make a decision on his future.James' agent has contacted Celtic, with manager Neil Lennon keen to bring him to the Glasgow giants after losing Artur Boruc to Fiorentina.Whilst I can understand that Steve Cotterill wants to resolve the goalkeeper situation as soon as possible with the start of the season drawing ever nearer, I can't help but feel that Pompey have been hasty in withdrawing their contract offer.If we could have kept hold of James, we would have undoubtedly owned the best goalkeeper in the Championship and he could have had more to offer us after he retired as a player, possibly taking up a coaching role.On the other hand, he may not have been willing to accept the contract offer whatever the circumstances and it wouldn't be a "long term" solution to the goalkeeping position at the club as James isn't going to be playing for much longer. But let's face it, Celtic can offer him a much better wage than £10,000-a-week, the possibility of Champions League football and he'll be playing against similar quality opposition in the SPL to what he would have been playing here with Pompey.That is a very attractive offer in comparison to ours and is difficult to turn down when you are into the final year or two of your career, so I wouldn't begrudge Jamo the move after everything he has done for Pompey.This news means that it's almost certain that Jamie Ashdown will be offered a new deal after all, news which has been met with a "mixed" reception to say the least.Ashdown hasn't had a good run in the team since the 2005/2006 season, and it's not like clubs were clamouring for his signature after his release from Pompey.But I don't think he's a bad goalkeeper and I think he could serve us well in the Championship, so long as he improves his catching from crosses and long balls coming into the box because he has good shot stopping ability.Of course, the situation with James hasn't been resolved yet and given the ridiculous nature of this club, you wouldn't bet against Pompey offering a new, improved contract that might tempt him to stay, would you?
