Midfielder Jimmy Bullard was left out of the squad for Saturday’s home friendly against his former club West Ham as he is “out of the equation”, according to assistant manager Chris Hutchings. Reports on Sunday claimed the Blues were looking to offload the 33-year-old, who failed to make a first team appearance during two years at Upton Park at the start of his career.

Bullard, who has a year remaining on his contract, was spotted at Portman Road before the game but wasn’t included in the 21-man squad with Hutchings explaining afterwards: “He’s just out of the equation at this moment in time.”

Asked whether there was anything more to it with rumours regarding Bullard’s exit, including claims of a possible switch to China, having been circulating over the summer, the assistant manager added: “There’s always rumours about everything, about players that we’re linked with and so on.”

Bullard's last league start for Town came last November in the 4-0 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor.

Photo: Action Images

Cattee11 added 12:34 - Aug 6 Paying a player like Bullard 15,000 a week was always asking for trouble. We were warned by Hull about this. However, like all of us I also thought it was a great signing. Disapointed Bullard!
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MaySixth added 12:41 - Aug 6 Good player when he needed a contract. Needs to stay off the booze.
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DanLyles added 12:41 - Aug 6 ...que story about Jimmy doing something a bit naughty
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LowstBlue added 12:44 - Aug 6 "Out of the equation" is a bit dismissive of a player who could still be of use, albeit that he is a bit of a luxury player who doesn't seem to be capable of the work rate required in the championship anymore. That said, Jimmy can unlock defences and when confident can create chances. It smacks of him trying to be forced out by PJ & CH. I was also elated when he signed permanently. Is the equation "financial" or "tactical"?

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depressed added 12:46 - Aug 6 The guy's an embarrassment to his fellow footballers. Offload at the earliest opportunity, complete waste of space ! AmberandBlack was spot on.
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warwickblue added 12:46 - Aug 6 Really disappointing news but not, I suppose, unexpected after the way that Bullard drifted through last season. What a shame and what a waste of talent - I will not soon forget the handful of loan games when he showed us what he could do if he could be bothered. Why does a pro behave in this way? I never played beyond Sunday Morning League standard but I'd have given anything for even a tenth of Bullard's talent and what is he giving back now for £15000 a week? Puzzled, sad and disappointed.

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tractorgirls added 12:47 - Aug 6 It was Marcus himself who went and sorted the Bullard deal out, as fans we wanted it but it has not worked out and I'd rather JB left us ASAP please!
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AmberAndBlack added 12:53 - Aug 6 Understandable to have been suckered in by this moron, we were as well! Hopefully nobody will waste their cash on someone like this who does nothing but bring our National Game into disrepute!
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MaySixth added 12:55 - Aug 6 Jesus AmberAndBlack, calm down. There are far worse than Bullard about. A decent lad who is not good enough on the pitch and has a few issues.
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mrshallisfit added 12:56 - Aug 6 LowstBlue - you are living in a dream world. Have you ever thought of a third option - that Jimmy is the problem himself. He is unprofessional and a very bad influence on the rest of the squad. Knowing some of the people at the club who are responsible for the fitness and performance of the players I can tell you that Bullard has turned up the worse for wear at training on a few occasions and he has tried in the past to destabilise other players. Luckily he seems to have been rejected by the rest of the squad - which is at least encouraging. He is footballing parasite. We should have listened to Hull.

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Mr_Evans added 13:03 - Aug 6 It's a huge shame, a player that is so talented and brings so much to the changing room in terms of team spirit and personality yet, for the last 14 months he hasn't given any effort whatsoever. There must be underlying causes as to why he hasn't performed, I still believe he can do a good job in this league, but he just doesn't seem bothered.
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Surco72 added 13:03 - Aug 6 I would rather have Bullard on the bench or in the squad than Stevenson ,think he has played better than most in the pre season friendlies so far .Think there must be more to this story
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Daleyitfc added 13:06 - Aug 6 Some of us on here always knew he was a waste of space, and we should have stayed clear. But then we get labelled doom and gloom morons ...
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Mark added 13:09 - Aug 6 Who would have thought that our Player of the Season 2010/11 would not be good enough start a match again after November 2011, and now be "out of the equation". A player 95% of fans, myself included, wanted here and were pleased to see him come on a free transfer. If we are paying him £15K-a-week it is sickening, that is about 2,000 season ticket holders' money a week to pay for him. Goodness knows how Hull fans felt if he was on £45K a week there!

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Mark added 13:11 - Aug 6 I meant 2,000 season ticket holders' money a year to pay for him, not a week. 1/6th of our season ticket income on one player who can't make the squad.
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Len_Brennan added 13:13 - Aug 6 Hmmm, hopefully a deal is in the offing as negative talk from the management is not going to attract interest, especially with his wages. It is hard to believe that Hull were paying him £40k+ a week. Jimmy is going to look back on this part of his life with huge regret in a few years. Maybe Celtic will take him on in a swap for Murphy, they have done it with over the hill former stars before.

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Garv added 13:16 - Aug 6 I'm not going to say anything until I know the facts, which the majority on here do not. We have no idea what Bullard is like at the training ground every day or what kind of influence he has on the rest of the squad. In fact by all accounts the other players seem to love him. Will be interesting to see how this one turns out.
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RYITFC added 13:21 - Aug 6 You have to look at the positives, Jewell is taking the stance that no player is bigger than the club. It takes courage to do that on a player that he has signed. Let's be honest he's past his best anyway, If no one will take him, let him rot in the reserves.
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Southamptonblue added 13:37 - Aug 6 A lot of you people who are calling Bullard a waste of space clearly don't remember some of his performances in the season before last.
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Seasonticketsteve added 13:37 - Aug 6 Whats sickening is that if he is on £15,000 a week then that works out at £780,000 for the remaining year of his contract, that would probably be enough to sign Davies. Like everyone else though, I wanted Bullard here after his excellent loan spell but for what ever reason it just hasnt worked out for everyone involved. Would be nice to see him involved this season and for him to repay the club a little, sounds like Jimmy just needs to get his head down, work hard and take a first team opportunity with both hands when it comes his way.

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ITFCforlife added 13:41 - Aug 6 He is a good player, it's just his wages and attidude that stops him
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Blue041273 added 13:43 - Aug 6 Stories like this make me cringe. The management have a responsibility to try and derive the maximum return from each and every player on the books. OK JB hasn't been the most successful signing ever made but to label one of our senior professionals as 'out of the equation' at this stage in pre-season is just crass. If he isn't part of PJ's plans for the future, his exit needs to be 'managed' in the real sense of the word. To announce to the world that we have effectively written him off is sheer economic madness. Any chance of engineering a move to our benefit has now clearly gone. Following the financial fiascos of recent times this is just dire mis-management.

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Suzanna_Gekkaloys added 13:45 - Aug 6 All you idiots who wanted Bullard permanently: here you go - hope you're happy. He's the biggest fanny-merchant going. Everyone knows that. This was always going to happen - he was going to let us down and cost a lot of money in the process. Why are we always despearate for losers and ne're-do-wells at Portman Road? We get what we deserve.
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RaymondovicBlue added 14:01 - Aug 6 What is the truth here? If he turns up to training worse for wear at training he would be sent home and fined - leaving the door open to future disciplinary measures to off-load. We are told he is a bad influence on the squad, but also that he is a great guy to have around the dressing room - can both be true ?! What gets me is that in football we pay £15000 per week to a player whether they play or not, at the required standard or not. With Fair play wage realignment coming in, is anyone else looking at a lower basic plus pay for play on top .. to keep everyone REALLY hungry to be on the team sheet?

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Warkys_Tash added 14:01 - Aug 6 @ Suzanna_Gekkaloys Hilarious post, can you expand on your 'fanny merchant' comment? Agreed with other posters, 95% of Town fans wanted him after his brilliant 6month loan - but now he has a contract it would appear that he is not interested. Shame as he played for PJ before and I would have thought that he could get the best of him especially as he was saying that he was a great character for the dressing room - now it seems that he is not a great character to have in the dressing room anymore - only a distraction. It would also appear from the rumours that he does need to stay off the booze as well. After the next two seasons he has the rest of his life to go lash it up - stick to the football lad, whilst you still have a couple of years remaining of your career.

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