The phone calls came thick and fast during Dean Solomon’s stay in London. Coaches, teammates, his manager and friends were constantly calling him. It is hardly surprising that he racked up a phone bill in excess of $3000 during that period. Essendon captain James Hird and close friend Adam Ramanauskas were two of the players constantly in touch with him.

""I spoke to Rama and Hirdy a fair bit during the whole thing. Rama kept ringing me and saying ""Why are you leaving?"" and I couldn’t really give him an answer. I was just very disappointed with the negotiation process. I suppose he was asking me, was that a good enough reason to walk away from your teammates?"" Solomon said.

Solomon’s close friendship with Ramanauskas was one reasons he over-turned his decision to walk out of the club.

""I was swayed by the fact he is a mate of mine. We’re great mates, we relate very well and we know what each other is thinking,"" Solomon said.

While that communication ran smoothly, Solomon says that the communication between himself and club might have been handled better at times. He isn’t pointing the finger at anyone but says that with trade week looming, he still didn’t know if he was a required player at the club.

""Maybe there was a bit of a breakdown in communication between myself, the club and the people who do the contracts. I didn’t know until a couple of days before the trade period that they wanted me to stay and that was when both Harvs and Sheeds rang me. I was in limbo before that – I hadn’t got any feedback at all,"" Solomon said.

""I thought that perhaps the club did want to move me on. We were heading into trade period and I hadn’t really heard anything. I thought that maybe it was my turn after what had happened in the trade period over the previous couple of years. I wasn’t hearing anything so I thought maybe I was in the gun.""

""After having a knee reconstruction you want some security because you know that it doesn’t last forever. I wish people understood that … you have to have a look at opportunities when they are put to you. It is the same for anybody whether you are packing shelves at Coles or playing AFL football. If someone offers you another job you look at it.""

""It was a great four-year offer from Richmond but I’ve got my three-year contract here and I’m very happy with that and I think this club is knocking on the door of a Premiership this season.""

Tomorrow Solomon talks about his strained and now mended relationship with Essendon Football Club and the fans.