Having read the " released list " I'll proffer my own thoughts on those to have been shown the door......
Branch.... I agree. Overpaid, sadly past his best and would save a decent sum of cash by releasing him.
Brown.... I Disagree. My own personal opinion, but I still think he could have been a usefull squad player, particularly with what will seem to be a lack of firepower.
Fearon....I Disagree. Promising young keeper. If We keep hold of Arthur, I think he would have been a more than capable understudy.
Harris.... Again I Disagree. To me the lad had shown enough promise to retain him for at least another season. Along with Proctor, probably been one of the more " combative " midfielders we had since Barry.. Personally speaking, I think releasing Jay Harris is a mistake.
King....Disagree.... Think he never really had a chance, maybe fell out with Coleman & Bell, but showed a little promise on what I saw of him.
Mannix....Agree.. Haven't seen enough of him to draw any positive conclusion, understandably less so than Messrs Coleman & Bell. I'll go along with this decision.
McEvilly...Agree.. After wanting to give the "Evil one" a chance to redeem himself, undoubtedly the lad has problems, particularly with regard to discipline. If the rumours surrounding Boco's exit amongst other rumours are to be believed,then we're probably better shut.
McGivern....Disagree. I don't think Leighton has been given a fair crack of the whip. The lad is still young enough to learn, showed a little promise, my own opinion a mistake to let him go.
Roberts... Possibly....I haven't been convinced by what I've seen of Mark. A little slow to react, undoubted arial ability, but the lack of speed does concern me.
Webb....Another one I've doubts concerning the pro's and con's concerning releasing the lad. I don't think he's had a fair crack of the whip, he showed glimpses of promise, but unless we've got better replacements lined up already, I think it may have been a better option giving the lad a 6 month contract to run until maybe Christmas...Time will tell...
Whalley....I Agree with this decision. No control, lack of positional sense, can't really finish. A bit of pace, but countered with control and finishing ability, not really up to League 2 standard at the moment.
Todd....Gone back to Rotherham.....Maybe in a worse financial state than we are / may be. Over the latter half dozen or so games, there were signs that Toddy was coming back to form.
IF there is a chance of securing Toddy's signature on a permanent basis, To me at least, this would be a positive move.
This then brings me to members of the retained list.
No arguement with the rest but the following exceptions :
Dunbavin... A decent keeper, but maybe
IF we can keep hold of Kenny Arthur, I'd sooner keep hold of Martin Fearon. As much as I admire what Bavs has done for the club, Personally I don't see Bavs as part of the long term future of the club.If push came to shove and Arthur was injured / unavailable,
IF Fearon wasn't up to the task, then we could bring in a suitable loan replacement.
Carden....The lad didn't impress me. Begs the question what sort / length of contract did he sign ??? To me... not good enough. If the club can command a fee, then all well and good. Certainly not good enough for League 2.
Miles.....Simply put, the laziest player I have ever seen in a red shirt. Did we make a mistake in giving him a longer term contract??? If Mr Ince, (who I personally despise) can be persuaded to part with hard currency for Miles' services, then I'd applaud all efforts to get this lazy git off the payroll. If he has to come back to Stanley, I only hope he doesn't figure in the 1st Eleven, let alone on the bench. Every effort should be made that this guy doesn't wear the famous red of Stanley again. Whatever Ince saw in the guy, It would take one
VERY persuasive, nay hypnotic individual, to convince me that MILES was good enough to play League 2 football.
Coming to Contractual matters....
Phil Edwards & Kenny Arthur......Success can be built upon basing a team around a "
SOLID SPINE ". Edwards and Arthur, Mullin and Craney (If played in the right position) would form the basis of a solid spine / backbone of a team upon which success could be built. Take two from that equation ( i.e. Arthur & Edwards ) and we're back to the drawing board. Every attempt
MUST be made to keep Arthur & Edwards on-board.
Additions........
Darren Kempson..... A
MUST... We made the mistake of letting the lad go once, showed enough in the previous loan spell to prove his worth...Sign the man.
Possibilities......
With the undoubted "merry go round" of released pros at this time of year, many seasoned pro's have been released. One Guy, A Big guy who may be a possibility, is Steve Fletcher from Chesterfield. A big lump of a forward who can still score a few goals, even at league two level.
Conclusion....
Draw you're own, but according to the stats we're down to 16 pro's after this retained list was revealed. No doubt Coleman has his targets, but these are my own personal thoughts on the matter. Personally speaking,I think that Coleman is cutting the cloth a little too close, because I don't think that we're going to bring in replacements "en masse" so to speak.
Admittedly, with our resources, my own opinion, but Whalley, Coleman & Bell will have
REAL PROBLEMS strengthening what we had this season
. Maybe Messrs Coleman, Bell and even our esteemed chairman have a few targets lined up.If we are to avoid another season of struggle this / these problems
NEED ADDRESSING.
If we can continue to survive in League 2 next season,on the paltry gates that we have endured this season gone; and any form of progress can be made, then I wish them all possible success.
UP THE REDS !!!