Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Who should stay? Who should go? 2018 edition.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Who should stay? Who should go? 2018 edition.

    I haven't followed how Cambridge United's players have been doing this season tbh, but they have announced their retained and released players today ahead of all the transfer window fun and games.

    Staying
    David Forde (G) - contract extension for the 2018/19 season.

    Going
    Leon Legge (centre back)
    Medy Elito (winger)
    Piero Mingoia (midfield)

    Maybe
    Barry Corr (striker)

    Returning to parent clubs
    George Taft (defender, Mansfield)
    Billy Waters (forward, Northampton)

    All remaining professional players are under contract for next season.

    #2
    Of the three leaving, two, Legge and Mingoia, were regulars in the side until injury struck this season but haven't really got back to full fitness since and have barely featured (Legge) or not at all (Mingoia). Both are handy enough players for League Two, if fit. This seems one of the cases for the counter-side of 'No loyalty in Football', but that is only invoked when players make decisions in their financial best interests not when clubs do. Elito, a winger of forward, has played a fair amount but has never convinced me. I'm not surprised that the club feel they can get a better player for the same money. All three have not featured much under the caretaker boss who has now been made permanent.

    Comment


      #3
      Ah, I was going to start one of these yesterday following Wimbledon releasing their retained list :

      Players leaving the club:

      Paul Robinson - no surprise, excellent for a couple of seasons but a bit part player this campaign

      Barry Fuller - club captain and first choice right back for five seasons, a huge shock to see him released but he's 33 so there's clearly a feeling his exceptional pace may desert him soon

      George Francomb - was the longest-serving player at the club but has drifted in to a utility role in recent seasons, no real surprise he's off

      Callum Kennedy - second choice left back who has been released twice before in previous seasons so I look forward to him resigning with the club for 2020/21

      Lloyd Sam - last minute out of contract signing who managed about 12 minutes over three appearances

      Richard Pingling, Levi Shango, Seth Owens, Jayden Antwi - sorry, no clue on the rest.


      Players leaving Wimbledon to go back to loan clubs:

      George Long (Sheffield United)
      Harry Forrester (Rangers)
      Jimmy Abdou (Millwall)

      Would love the first two to be permanent signings but not sure we can afford anything like their current wages


      Players offered new contracts:

      Darius Charles – solid centre back but had an injury prone season and rumoured to want a move for personal reasons

      Jon Meades – Welsh utility player who I really want to stay as I have a soft spot for him

      Dean Parrett – really hopes he stays as his three month injury absence cost the side this season, perhaps the most dynamic midfielder at the club

      Nik Tzanev – third choice keeper, meant to be promising and has England age groups caps

      Joe McDonnell – reserve keeper, can’t recall if he’s any good

      Lyle Taylor – great player, top goalscorer would love him to stay but everyone is convinced he’s off. Nasty-looking injury in the final game of the season may be a factor

      Egli Kaja – a bit meh


      Players under contract:


      Paul Kalambayi
      Toby Sibbick
      Alfie Egan
      Anthony Hartigan
      Tom Soares
      Liam Trotter
      Andy Barcham
      Kwesi Appiah
      Joe Pigott
      Cody McDonald
      Will Nightingale
      Deji Oshilaja

      There doesn’t seem to be many left and a few of the above are young, fringe players who haven’t convinced me previously. A major rebuilding job ahead if not many of the players offered new contracts accept.
      Last edited by Ray de Galles; 18-05-2018, 08:39.

      Comment


        #4
        Sheffield Wednesday

        Leaving
        Glenn Loovens - been brilliant but his legs have gone, suspect he'll retire and go into coaching
        Ross Wallace - injured, club have decided to move on
        Jake Kean - keeper signed as cover, never played for us

        The club made a little presentation to Loovens and Wallace on the pitch on Sunday, which was nice of them.

        Signed new contract
        Daniel Pudil - done a good job this season, probably past his best at left back but would be fine in a three man defence. Expect he'll be captain.

        Offered new contract
        Atdhe Nuhiu - keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep
        Sean Clare - promising flair player who's not yet as good as he thinks he is (he has his own hashtag). Suspect he'll test the waters elsewhere.
        George Hirst - will leave for the Premier League, possibly a BRC. Young striker who was top scorer at the Toulon tournament last summer. He's barely played for the u23 squad this year following a contract dispute, it seems he had his head turned by agents and the manager was given instructions not to pick him for the first team in the circumstances. Rather a sad story all round.
        Dan Wallis - u23 keeper
        Warren Clarke - u23 striker
        Jack Lee - u23 defender who played in the first team in pre-season

        Loan players returning to parent club
        Jacob Butterfield (Derby) - awful, thank you and goodbye
        Frederico Venancio (Vitoria) - did a solid job in defence. Has said in the local press that he'd like to come back permanently

        Beyond these we have a bloated squad with too many ageing / slow / injury prone players. We need to farm off as many of these as possible, keep the gems, sign some young players as the manager wishes and stay within FFP which is going to be a massive problem next season. Good luck with all that Jos!

        Comment


          #5
          I hope they can do a deal with Setubal on Venancio

          I suspect the only way we have a chance of staying withing FFP is by selling someone who's worth a lot. Forestieri is about the only outfield player who fits that bill, however we do have 3 first class keepers and it seems likely to me that selling Westwood, as much as I wouldn't want that to happen, is the way I imagine we'll go

          Comment


            #6
            Is Sam Winnall's contract with Wednesday still going then? Wonder what'll happen to him.

            Comment


              #7
              I imagine they'll try to move him on too. If anyone is interested. Also see Jordan Rhodes.

              Comment


                #8
                I'd definitely sell Westwood - we don't need three keepers in the circumstances and we may as well shift on the oldest one. He also gets injured an awful lot for a keeper and hasn't played since mid-December.

                Winnall knackered his cruciate in February so fuck knows what will happen to him, there have been a few rumours that Derby might be willing to do a deal anyway.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Ah, hadn't realized that, cheers. He was very good when we saw Derby at Ipswich.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    out of contract
                    massadio haidara - looked alright unto callum mcmanaman injured him a few years ago. don’t think the injury was particularly damaging physically, but mentally maybe? who knows. pity.
                    jesus gamez - don’t care
                    curtis good - he’s 25, he’s been here six years, and has more international caps than he does league appearances for nufc.

                    loans ending
                    martin dubravka - has been good, would be pleased if we signed him permanent, though if we don’t i’m sure there are other comparable keepers about.
                    kenedy - has been very good, would be very pleased if we signed him permanent, though suspect other clubs’ll be in for him and we wouldn’t pay what chelsea would want anyway
                    islam slimani - already back at leicester, having got himself a needless three-match suspension. up there with seydou doumbia, chucky ferreyra, and luuk de jong in shite and pointless strikers nufc have loaned during the ashley years.

                    returning from loan
                    jack colback, rolando aarons, henri saivet, achraf lazaar, freddie woodman, jamie sterry, aleksandar mitrovic, matz sels, stuart findlay, adam armstrong, and ivan toney - i would keep freddie woodman and the bin the rest.

                    keep
                    jamaal lascelles and florian lejeune are the only players on the books that it would upset me were they to be sold.

                    the rest
                    rob elliot, ciaran clark, paul dummett, jacob murphy, jonjo shelvey, mohamed diame, matt ritchie, isaac hayden, ayoze perez, chancel mbemba, javier manquillo, joselu, deandre yedlin, mikel merino, karl darlow, christian atsu - i don’t think i’ve ever been less enthused by a newcastle squad. not that they’re all shite by any means, but i’d be remarkably calm if we got shot of a load of these people.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      My dad thinks very highly of Kenedy. Possibly more highly than he does his own son, which is worrying.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Joe Gomez, Ings, Solanke on loan mibees, ship em out. My dream is for Henderson to fuck off as well, ponderous eejit. But that won’t happen.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Every Dundee Utd fan around the globe asked who should go, replies “Emil Lyng, the fucken ming”

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Liam Buchanan up front for the Rovers. They never seem to score till the fucker goes off. Absolutely no goal threat, doesn’t even hold the ball up to any great effect. Slow as fuck, built like he prefers the gargle to training. He can gtf right away.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Carlisle sent back their 5 loanees, and released the following

                              Reggie Lambe - Will do an ok job for someone in League 2, he's just a bit lightweight at times and drifts out of games.
                              John O'Sullivan - If you want someone to hopelessly miscontrol a ball, or get into a great crossing position only to shin it out for a goal kick, John will do a top job for you.
                              Tom Miller - 12 months ago he was regarded as a highly promising right back, and likely to move onto better things. 12 injury plagued months later, he's out of work. Bit limited imho but will certainly do a job at L2 level.
                              Shaun Miller - Inexplicably loaned out to Crewe in January, whereupon he scored six in 15 appearances. The Alex are understandably keen to sign him, and I wouldn't have been at all disappointed if he'd stayed.
                              Samir Nabi - He's been here all season, I've been to 27 games and I've never seen him play.
                              Jamal Campbell-Ryce - arrived in January, had a couple of ok games but spent too much time doing stepovers and trying to beat his man twice, and not enough time actually crossing the fucking thing.
                              Cameron Salkeld and Morgan Bacon - First year pro's, likely to be heading to an Evostik Premier side near you.

                              We've offered new deals to Clint Hill, who's sadly made it clear he's leaving (likely to be assistant manager to Joey Barton at Fleetwood), Mark Ellis, Luke Joyce, Danny Grainger, Nicky Adams, Jordan Holt and Jack Egan. The latter 2 are local boys at the end of their first year contract so are likely to sign up, but the others are going to be on much reduced terms from their previous deals so it'll be interesting to see if any of them are keen to stay.

                              Otherwise we have 9 players under contract, one of whom has suffered a serious injury that may threaten his career (Jason Kennedy), one who spends more time injured than not (Kelvin Etuhu) and one who appears to be fucking useless (Cole Stockton).

                              Comment


                                #16
                                Originally posted by longeared View Post
                                Offered new contract
                                Atdhe Nuhiu - keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep keep
                                Just signed. Dare to Nuhiu

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  Latics

                                  Leaving the club

                                  Brian Wilson - dependable reserve centre half/right back, but not getting any younger. Thanks but time to go.
                                  Tope Obadeyi - brought in as a reserve winger/striker, did enough to earn an extension, but did nothing this year.
                                  Abdelhakim Omrani - one of many bizarre foreign imports. Barely played. Allegedly on a fair whack. No surprise he's gone.
                                  Paul Green - veteran midfielder, didn't do enough to earn a new deal. Ended the season out on loan.
                                  Ollie Banks - promised much, delivered little, alienated fans when his dad moaned about his treatment here. Ended the season out on loan. Won't be missed.
                                  Mason Fawns - first year pro, spent the season elsewhere on loan. No surprise he's gone.
                                  Kallum Mantack - first year pro, badly injured while out on loan. Bad news for him, but inevitable he'd go.

                                  Kean Bryan - end of loan. Useful midfielder/centre half. Would be good to re-sign him but I doubt City will loan him to a League Two club.
                                  Kundai Benyu - end of loan. Wasn't very good. Didn't play much.
                                  Ben Pringle - end of loan. Didn't do much.
                                  Eoin Doyle - end of loan. Very good striker, was set to join us permanently but relegation (and allegedly not paying Preston his loan fee) has probably scuppered that.
                                  Duckens Nazon - end of loan. Scored a few goals but divided fans - a bit of a showboat and inconsistent. Another that I doubt will drop to League Two.

                                  Contracts offered or in discussion

                                  Wilfried Moimbé - French full back. Looks good going forward, dodgy temperament. Think he could be good but not sure he will want to stay.
                                  Ryan McLaughlin - on his day, a very, very promising full back/winger/makeshift striker (ex-Liverpool). But made of papier mache and did very little this season. Think we've probably offered him a pay as you play deal or reduced terms. Reckon he'll leave.
                                  Gevaro Nepomuceno - Curacaon winger/wing back. Decent squad player. Probably quite good at our new level.Jonathan Benteke - related to Christian. Brought in on a short term deal as one for the future. Barely played. No idea if he's worth keeping.

                                  Staying

                                  A surprisingly large number compared to previous years. Although given how poor some were, how little they've played, and how much they're reputedly earning I'd prefer more to have gone this year. We need a more reliable goalkeeper, a couple of midfielders, and most of all a couple of decent strikers.

                                  Goalkeepers

                                  Johny Placide - flamboyant Haitian goalkeeper, either brilliant or awful; sadly more the latter by the end of the season.
                                  Zeus de la Paz - Curacaon reserve goalkeeper, nobody has seem him play, but his last regular gig was at Nuneaton.

                                  Defenders

                                  Cameron Dummigan & Rob Hunt - very good full backs (ex-Burnley and Brighton respectively), neither had a good season.
                                  Anthony Gerrard - solid centre half, related to Stevie G, needs to lose weight and attitude.
                                  George Edmundson, Jamie Stott & Tom Hamer - three youth team products, all very promising and on good length contracts - their emergence one of the few high points of the season.
                                  Peter Clarke - veteran lower league centre half, probably on a hefty wage, not blessed with pace and not really able to play in the same team as Gerrard - one or both of them should go.

                                  Midfielders

                                  Dan Gardner - decent lower league midfielder, improved as the season went on.
                                  Gyamfi Kyeremeh - pacy winger, injured most of last season, hard to say what he brings but I reckon we'd release him if we hadn't given him a bizarrely long contract.
                                  Patrick McEleney - outstanding League of Ireland player, hasn't shown much in Leage One - hopefully a star next year.
                                  Ousmane Fane - defensive midfielder who divides fans, talented but sometimes appears to lack basic ability; dropped by the chairman (not the manager) for allegedly making disparaging remarks about teammates.
                                  Jack Byrne - our star signing from Wigan, either brilliant or a waste of a shirt. Won't be cheap. Might leave, but if not I'd hope he could tear up League Two.
                                  Mohamed Maouche - utterly inexplicable signing. Long term contract, allegedly extortionate wage. Don't recall him playing. Would lose him like a shot if we could afford to. One of the signings that cast a lot of suspicion on our new ex-agent owner.

                                  Forwards

                                  Craig Davies - scored a few but not getting any younger, and got the hump big time when he wasn't allowed to leave in January. Would sell him.
                                  Aaron Amadi-Holloway - target man who lacks goalscoring ability and enough physicality. Would sell him if anyone would buy him.
                                  Courtney Duffus - ex-Everton youth, did well out on loan at Waterford. Not sure if that translates into goals in League Two.

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    I was actually in the process of starting a 2018 thread when this one was bumped the other day. Nice timing.

                                    Watford have only got one first-teamer out of contract - Miguel Britos is the oldest (33 in July) of a bloated, ageing centre-back pool that was put together for a 3-5-2 formation we're not currently playing. He has been prone to the occasional slip-up since arriving three years ago and hasn't got back in Gracia's team since returning from an injury that kept him out for several months, so I suspect he'll depart.

                                    The club have fielded any number of centre-back combinations this season as players have drifted in and out of the treatment room. While there's not much between anyone who's filled the position, I suspect at least one more will depart to allow for the recruitment of a marked upgrade. Adrian Mariappa will be staying as he's the fittest/cheapest/most versatile and a club stalwart to boot, so it's between two of the other 30+s - Younes Kaboul and Sebastian Prodl. The former has impressed when he's played - but he hasn't done that since September, which might make it difficult to find him a club. Prodl was our player of the season last year, but has looked somewhat lumbering this time around and was moved aside by Gracia once other players returned from injury. He's got two more years than Kaboul on his contract, but is younger and might have more suitors.

                                    Craig Cathcart and Christian Kabasele are the youngest of the contracted first-team centre-backs and have formed the most impressive combination in the closing games of the season. Molla Wague, on loan from Udinese, briefly popped up in the team from nowhere around the turn of the year before sliding out again and being omitted (somewhat harshly) from the 25-man squad at the end of the January window - he will presumably return to Italy. Academy graduate Tommie Hoban, a promising semi-regular in our promotion campaign, has had an injury-ravaged three years and in the last year of his contract likely faces a decision about going out on loan and then out the door, or fighting for a spot and risking having little game time to impress scouts should it not come off.

                                    I also imagine the club will be looking to upgrade in the left-back position. Jose Holebas hasn't been quite as maniacal as was last year (when he equalled and threatened to beat the Premier League yellow card record), but he's still prone to a meltdown (numerous tantrums, punching the ball out of play for no reason and conceding a penalty etc) and he turns 34 in June. Marvin Zeegelaar briefly displaced him in the side, but his performances declined in quality and he hasn't been seen under Gracia. I'd guess they'll look to send him out on loan and sign a starter for Holebas to shadow.

                                    There'll also be movement in the goalkeeper position. In January the club signed the highly regarded Pontus Dahlberg from IFK Goteburg and loaned him back until the summer. At 19, I'm not sure if he'll be ready for the Premier League, but questions hang over our current line-up. Heurelho Gomes has been our starting keeper for three and a half years, before he picked up an injury in January just before Silva's departure. He was replaced by Udinese loanee Orestis Karnezis, who'd had a horror debut as a sub at Everton in the autumn. He impressed for several months, seeing Gracia keep him in the team ahead of Gomes following the Brazilian's return to fitness. He's made a few mistakes in recent games, and a press report surfaced recently linking him with a return to Greece with Olympiakos. Gomes is 37 and says his current deal (ending in 2019) will be his last in football, but he said that when he was a starting keeper. Dahlberg with Gomes to fall back on seems a possibility.

                                    The other situation is in the strikers. The pendulum has swung between Troy Deeney, Andre Gray and Stefano Okaka, with none of them convincing for any great period of time. Deeney started the season injured and spent seven games suspended due to a couple of acts of idiocy. Three of his six goals have been penalties. Gray makes some of the best off-the-ball runs I've seen at Watford, but has a terrible first-touch and only seems to be able to finish from about five yards. He's also suffered from the weight of expectation brought by an £18m price tag, plus the fact he's ex-Luton - twice he's responded to goals by cupping his ears to the fans, which I would only really do when I've started scoring more than five goals in a season. Meanwhile Okaka was frozen out by Silva for unspecified discipline reasons and thus became THE ANSWER for a time, he made a few reasonable performances around the turn of the year but has had some stinkers more recently - plus it's evident he won't last 90 minutes and he's far too petulant about getting tackled.

                                    Generally, I think the issue has been that both Deeney and Gray are best suited to playing together - as they finally did, last weekend - rather than as a sole striker, with the former acting the fulcrum and the latter making the runs/making space for the slower partner to move into. But if you're playing four at the back these days in the Premier League - as Silva and Gracia are inclined to - you'll generally play three in midfield to stop being overrun there.

                                    In an ideal world Deeney would probably be your impact substitute and a better striker would be brought in place of Okaka (Sinclair, the fourth choice, is making up the numbers and should move on for his own benefit), but Deeney's such a personality, the club captain and probably our highest earner, so I wonder if that's sustainable. Plus I'm not sure how many suitors there'd be for him after the last few seasons - he was linked to West Brom but that won't happen now. Newcastle are the other club that occasionally crop up.

                                    The club also have a couple of promising strikers on loan in Europe waiting on visas. Cucho is one of several South Americans the club have never formally acknowledged playing in the second tier. He's only recently turned 19 but has 16 goals playing for Huesca, who are challenging for the title. There's talk he might be a surprise pick for Colombian World Cup squad, which would guarantee the right stamp in his passport. Meanwhile Adalberto Penaranda has been injured for most of the season on loan at relegated La Liga side Malaga, and probably still hasn't spent enough time in Spain to get a passport.

                                    Sticking to players out on loan, Nordin Amrabat started Silva's first few games before being sent out to Leganes against his manager's will. He was industrious but never scored for us, and I'd guess the club will be looking to do better. Isaac Success seems to have spent more time modelling outfits on Instagram (I'm not 80, honest) than he has playing for Malaga. The club spent quite a bit on him and he does have something, so I'd guess another loan is in the offing. Nottingham Forest seem keen to pick up goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon following his January move there. Brice Dja Djede, an outcast since his arrival two years ago, will depart again one way or the other, while Mauro Zarate seems be looking to stay in Argentina.

                                    Of the other players we've got in on loan, the club seems keen to make Gerard Deulofeu's loan from Barcelona permanent. He joined in January, apparently keen to get minutes to try and break into Spain's World Cup squad. Unfortunately, after a good couple of games he got injured and has only just returned. He's made noises about staying and seems to be quite happy, so fingers crossed, although I can't believe we'll be the only club in for him. Fellow winger Andre Carrillo has been with us from Benfica all season, having apparently joined at the request of Marco Silva, who managed him at Sporting. His influence has waned since the departure of Silva, thanks to a combination of a formation change, injury and the return to fitness of Will Hughes and Roberto Pererya finding consistency. I suspect the club will twist rather than stick and see if they can do better. Sunderland's record signing Didier N'Dong arrived in January, hasn't played a single minute and has been entirely absent from the squads for a month.

                                    In terms of permanent departures, the consensus is that player of the season and top scorer Abdoulaye Doucoure will be off. He's been linked with much of the top six and has made no secret of finding their attention flattering, but no strong candidate has emerged yet (early days). I also doubt whether he'd be a starter at any of them and I wonder how much they'd be willing to pay for a rotation player. Presuming he goes, the club will replace him, with recent reports in Spain linking us to Levante's Jefferson Lerma. We also seemed to be interested in Anderlecht's Leander Dendoncker in January, but I imagine he'll go somewhere bigger.

                                    I think after Richarlison's storming start everyone assumed he'd be off too, but he's failed to score since November and when he was finally dropped in April it was long overdue. We can attribute his decline to a number of factors - the fact that he'd played half a season of Brazilian football before he arrived (he's only 20, and seems pretty boyish), that the change in culture caught up with him, that he lost the (Portuguese speaking) manager who convinced him to join us rather than Ajax. His head was also probably turned by the press speculation about a move to the top six (as it apparently was when he was linked to Fluminese at his first club), given he was giving various quotes on the matter. Plus he was spurning chances from the off - it was just that he was scoring some too. The transfer stories are still appearing, albeit less frequently, but again there's no leading candidate plus there's hardly a lack of attacking wide players out there and I suspect he'll end up staying with us for at least another year.

                                    Oh Christ, I've written too much for one post. Hold on...
                                    Last edited by JM Footzee; 11-05-2018, 18:06.

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      Among the development side, I suspect UK recruitment director Andy Scott, who was recruited from Brentford in November, might not be too impressed with the players who've come through the academy and is having a shake-up (he's already announced plans for an extra B team like Brentford have). They've announced we're releasing seven under-23s (only one of whom, Carl Stewart, got a few fleeting minutes in the first team) and five of the seven second-year scholars (Harry Forster is the only player to get a deal, while the status of Reece Stray is yet to be clarified). There's only five announced first-year scholars for next season too, I suspect they'll add more from elsewhere - they added five to the initial announcement last year, but it is unusually low.

                                      The only two under-23s to be offered extensions to their expiring deals, Joy Mukena (a first-year pro who's spent the season at the club) and 21-year-old Randell Williams (who edged his way into the Wycombe side towards the end of the season having joined on loan in January), both joined from other clubs last year. Of the eight remaining under-23s, I suspect they might do a deal with striker Alex Jakubiak, who's had a decent loan at Falkirk (his sixth loan club) and turns 22 soon. He's contracted until 2020 but I can't see him benefiting from staying that long. Dion Pereira and Ashley Charles spent their first professional seasons at the club (the former hardly played, might have been injured), Andrew Eleftheriou has just started a loan in Norway and Michael Folivi, who has seemed quite promising and other than the Pereira is the only one to have any first-team minutes, has been getting ten minutes off the bench at Boreham Wood since the turn of the year.

                                      Four have unclear contract situations - Charlie Rowan and Brandon Mason both failed to break into the teams at Accrington and Dundee United after arriving on loan in January (the former got no minutes whatsoever), while Sam Howes and Harvey Bradbury (son of Lee), both of whom joined last summer from other clubs, seem to have had reasonable loan spells in the lower-leagues. More positively, three of the current first-year scholars already have professional deals, although, again, two of them were late summer 2017 additions to the original intake (I did not plan to write this much on the kids, sorry).

                                      And finally there's the coach. Javi Gracia came in for Marco Silva in late January and with three (home) wins in his first four league games steered us to the brink of safety... where we've remained until we made it mathematically certain with victory against Newcastle this weekend. We were winless between those two points, with only two draws in seven games. We've also only picked up a single point away from home during his reign, scoring once - in January. Add that to the fact we've carried on chucking away points late in games, the aforementioned striker situation and a few strange substitutions and you can see why people are suggesting the Pozzos will move him on.

                                      I'd like him to stay, I think it's reasonable to give him a full pre-season, some new signings and most significantly a fully fit squad (like the defence, the midfield was similarly ravaged this year) before we cast judgement. Gracia has had an adjustment period now too, and I'm not sure the club will want to start again just yet. Also, while my knowledge of the European manager market isn't wonderful, I don't see any candidates out there with markedly better CVs. And while I think the Pozzos can make a robust case that they're not hatchet men, I wonder if another sacking might weaken their ability in the future to bring in good managers into a relatively small club.

                                      So there you go.
                                      Last edited by JM Footzee; 02-06-2018, 11:34.

                                      Comment


                                        #20
                                        Burnley have not renewed the contracts of

                                        Scott Arfield (already signed for Rangers)
                                        Dean Marney (off to Forest)
                                        Tom Anderson (signed for Doncaster on a two year deal)
                                        Josh Ginelly
                                        Chris Long

                                        From memory, coming to the last year of their contracts are Ben Mee and Steven Defour (one year option to be taken up I think). Pretty sure that everyone else is under contract.

                                        Comment


                                          #21
                                          MANCHESTER UNITED

                                          BIN OFF - There's actually a case to be made to sell De Gea, and use the money to buy some centre backs who can defend, thus meaning we don't need the bestestiest keeper in the world to continually bail us out. I however am not prepared to make that case as 1. It's boring and 2. De Gea looks like the drummer in a shit sixth form metal band, and I'm very fond of him. Consequently we should bin off Smalling instead, who is a lovely lad, very softly spoken, scored the winner v City and also got leathered and ran out of a bar in town singing "We're Man United, we do what we want" which is instant hero status really. But he's a bit shite, and he should probably go and play for Arsenal or someone before he tarnishes his drunken legend. I'd also bin off Martial, who is undoubtedly talented, but is a massive slapped arse, and whose Neil Webbesque long walk to substitution v Chelsea was longer than Nelson Mandela's long walk to freedom. HURRY THE FUCK UP YOU MARD. Fellaini can fuck off as despite being the King, and the most effective Plan B to F you could ever imagine, he is fucking wank and an insult to every previous player to wear the shirt, particularly the Busby Babes, who did not die just so this lumbering oaf can stink out the Premier League. I am prepared to give Jones more time, as I feel Smalling is more responsible for their two drunks carrying a ladder routine than he is. However, if it is proved that minus Smalling that routine is just one drunk carrying a ladder, he can return to whichever team currently employs footballers that look like big-faced, simple farm hands. Possibly Southampton if Fraser Forster still plays there, being kept away from the manager's girlfriend, with a tracksuit pocket full of dead mice.

                                          KEEP - The rest. Or don't. I'm not arsed. I'll get over it, like I did everyone except Ruud. Sweet, sweet Ruud.

                                          Comment


                                            #22
                                            I've heard Mata and Herrera are off.

                                            Comment


                                              #23
                                              Back under your bridge.

                                              Comment


                                                #24
                                                Seventeen (17!) Dundee utd players due to leave...Willo Flood, Bilel Mohsni, Mark Durnan, Cammy Ballantyne, Jordie Briels, Paul Quinn, Grant Gillespie and Emil Lyng. Returning to their parent clubs on completion of loan deals are Thomas Mikkelsen, Harry Lewis, Anthony Ralston, Craig Slater and Brandon Mason.

                                                Always loved Willo, Mohsni's a good player, Ralston was class (Celtic loanee class...), Lewis is a great young keeper- the rest can fuck right aff, especially Emil Lyng, fuckin ming.

                                                Comment


                                                  #25
                                                  Originally posted by Felicity, I guess so View Post
                                                  Mohsni's a good player
                                                  Isn't he insane, though?

                                                  BBC is running a collated page of their release stories.

                                                  Comment

                                                  Working...
                                                  X