REGARDING "Bramwell speaks out" (LET, May 1), much of the recent debate concerning Graeme Le Saux has only suggested resolutions which focus on the extremes, and this was indeed true of Neil Bramwell's comments on the issue.

But whatever happened to compromise?

Whilst Le Saux should be indebted to Rovers for his success to date and reflect this with a degree of loyalty, it is equally true that the club should be indebted to him for his past effort.

It would, therefore, be preferable to see the club and supporters looking to resolve this matter by means other than immediately releasing him in disgust or vindictively forcing him to sit it out on the bench for two years.

It would seem irrational for Le Saux to make a decision prior to the arrival and settling in of Roy Hodgson. To do so would be like selling shares just before their value is likely to increase.

Assuming a reasonable iQ, and that he is not dominated by external influences of which we are unaware, I think Le Saux must be well aware of this fact. At the same time, he is no doubt equally concerned that his motivation, his chances of a transfer elsewhere and his likely future success might all be dismissed if he doesn't get a move on.

I would therefore suggest a compromise as follows. With Roy Hodgson's agreement, the club should announce both to player and publicly that:

A) They will be holding Le Saux to his contract until the end of 1997, and that this is an irrevocable decision.

B) During that eight month period, the issue will not affect his eligibility to a place in the team but, as always, his performance on the pitch will.

C) At the end of the year, the club will agree to release him if he still feels he could do better elsewhere, but only on the express condition that, in the interim period, his views on the subject are confined to discussions with his manager and not aired in public.

Even in the relatively short career of a football player, an eight month delay is surely not so critical and it would give Le Saux a sensible opportunity to contemplate his future after Hodgson's arrival whilst affording the new manager time to act if losing Le Saux proves to be unavoidable.

DAVID H WILLIAMS, Cypress Ridge, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.