Liam Lawrence told Soccer AM how he only signed for Portsmouth after last-ditch talks with Steve Cotterill.
Pompey man talks transfers, Potters and Irish heartache
Liam Lawrence told
Soccer AM how he only signed for Portsmouth after last-ditch talks with Steve Cotterill.
The Irish midfielder had agreed to sign for the South Coast club from Stoke in August, but the negotiations hit a snag as the transfer deadline approached.
Lawrence and Dave Kitson were set to head to Fratton Park with Marc Wilson heading in the opposite direction, but after a last-minute hitch the deal nearly didn't go through.
And while he didn't explain what the hitch was, he told Soccer AM that he eventually agreed a loan move, with a view to a permanent deal, after 11th-hour talks between Pompey boss Cotterill and his agent.
"I was in a hotel in Dublin, away with Ireland, and a deal was supposed to be getting done," Lawrence explained.
"It dragged on for a while and we sort of got things sorted, but then there was a hitch at the last minute.
"There was something I wasn't happy with in the contract that they changed at the last minute, just some minor thing.
"I nearly didn't sign, but I ended up speaking to the manager and to my agent and they convinced me it was the right decision to make, so I ended up doing it.
"There was so much going on with the administrators, the new chief exec that had just come in and obviously the manager.
"They were trying to get me there, but they were trying to do a deal with Wilson to Stoke, plus me and Kits to Portsmouth.
"It was all one big mess!"
Curtain
The move brought down the curtain on Lawrence's three-year spell at Stoke City, a period in which he helped the club to rise from the Championship and establish themselves in the Premier League.
He was voted the Potters' Player of the Year in their promotion-winning 2007-08 season and also scored the club's first ever home goal in the Premier League.
Lawrence admits he was sad to leave the Britannia Stadium, but says he left with fond memories of all the staff, including manager Tony Pulis and chairman Peter Coates.
"It was tough, to be honest," he continued.
"I enjoyed three great years there, I loved every minute of playing there and I've seen amazing times. The club has transformed into a very good Premier League club now.
"When I left, we left on good terms. The chairman sent me a letter saying thanks for everything you've done.
"There's no bad feelings with any of the staff there and I'm happy to say that."
Hand
Lawrence is also an established Republic of Ireland international and is hoping to help his country to qualify for Euro 2012 to erase the heartache of their agonising failure to qualify for the last World Cup.
The Irish were infamously eliminated by William Gallas' controversial strike for France in last November's Qualifying Play-Off; a goal that will forever be remembered for a blatant handball by Thierry Henry in the build-up.
Lawrence played in that game and admits he is still hurt by an incident that may have cost him the chance to appear in a World Cup.
And when Max Rushden suggested Henry should have been banned from the tournament in South Africa, he didn't argue.
"I agree," Lawrence said.
"Players, when they come on the telly and in front of the cameras or the radio, they have to sometimes be diplomatic and say the right things.
"But I'm sure we're all hurting and we all feel the same. We were harshly done by.
"I don't think we'll be over that for a long time."
