Smallwood departs

[fivetide]

Disappointing but, he is replaceable. Didn't pull up trees at Scunny and if he wants to get a better deal elsewhere, maybe a Champ club, perhaps that is where he thinks he should be. Maybe he has been 'tapped up' but I don't have an issue with not paying champ wages to a league 1 player.

His age is what makes it disappointing, he should still be getting better.

[LiberalFan]

Top 3 budget in the league my @RSE

[Pattylallacks2]

Same hairdresser as me. Had his hair cut the day before me last week.

Said the offer he'd been given was derisory.

Perhaps he would say that.

Could be true I suppose.

Personally thought he was a limited average player and am not that fussed tbh.

Didn't think much to his haircut either. Where did he have it cut- Crawshaw's?

[royalfunkness]

We are struggling to attract to players to this football club, so letting proven L1 players with Championship experience go is beyond me! He's 26, so the 'one year old' remarks are pretty pointless.

Smallwood was good enough for Championship level and when we were last in L1 was one of our better players, albeit in a much better side. This club is in a mess, we don't have a top 5 budget, because if we did we would have started to see the squad fleshed out with starting XI players.

Don't be surprised to see all the signings made be 'utility' players that can play in 2 or 3 positions. Our XI needs improving, not the squad. If we aren't signing first teamers we are doomed! I'm thinking we'll be relegated again this season because from what I can see this club has zero ambition.

There are no real football men pulling the strings. Our manager is a workhorse ex-pro that seems to be a nice guy and loves the club; this isn't enough. I'm starting to wonder if getting rid of Stubbs was a premature decision.

[a123]

We are struggling to attract to players to this football club, so letting proven L1 players with Championship experience go is beyond me! He's 26, so the 'one year old' remarks are pretty pointless.

Smallwood was good enough for Championship level and when we were last in L1 was one of our better players, albeit in a much better side. This club is in a mess, we don't have a top 5 budget, because if we did we would have started to see the squad fleshed out with starting XI players.

Don't be surprised to see all the signings made be 'utility' players that can play in 2 or 3 positions. Our XI needs improving, not the squad. If we aren't signing first teamers we are doomed! I'm thinking we'll be relegated again this season because from what I can see this club has zero ambition.

There are no real football men pulling the strings. Our manager is a workhorse ex-pro that seems to be a nice guy and loves the club; this isn't enough. I'm starting to wonder if getting rid of Stubbs was a premature decision.

That was a great post that I found myself fully agreeing with.

Shame you had to ruin it with your final sentence.

[monty_rhodes]

Telling me that we are aiming to bounce straight back up. Smallwood is only a league 1 player. So we've offered him a contract accordingly. Only Frecks & Vaulks left in midfield, poss' Forde. So at least 2 more needed.

Do you have to work hard at being daft or does it come naturally, gwru? It tells you we're aiming to bounce straight back up!!!!!!!! You are having a frigging laugh. We were there, we made no effort to stay there, everything is currently geared to cheap options. You won't see the Championship again in your lifetime my friend.

[millers88]

Just been looking at free agents who would be an ideal replacement for Smallwood around the same age and only 1 name stood out for me and that is Jason Lowe who was released by Blackburn. Can play in a number of positions but his best position is holding midfield but im not sure what his wages would be like.

[gwru]

MR how's it read to you. To me Smallwood when he 1st signed for us he did his job, won the ball & gave it to someone who could do more with it. But you could see end of 15/16 season & start of last season he was looking slower & getting more & more negative. Sideward passing, no forward thinking. He could have done a job for us this season but if we are thinking about going straight back up, Smallwood is not a championship player in a club that wants to compete there. So as I said we offered him a contract thinking to season 18/19 as a championship club. That to me means we mean business.

[monty_rhodes]

MR how's it read to you. To me Smallwood when he 1st signed for us he did his job, won the ball & gave it to someone who could do more with it. But you could see end of 15/16 season & start of last season he was looking slower & getting more & more negative. Sideward passing, no forward thinking. He could have done a job for us this season but if we are thinking about going straight back up, Smallwood is not a championship player in a club that wants to compete there. So as I said we offered him a contract thinking to season 18/19 as a championship club. That to me means we mean business.

gwru, you're not a bad bloke at heart and I retain a certain fondness for you but your logic here is wildly wrong. A club does NOT dispense with a player's services on the wild assumption that in a season's time they might be in a higher division. It's nonsense. He left almost certainly because the manager has been instructed to reduce the wage bill down to Forest Green levels.

[royalfunkness]

Just been looking at free agents who would be an ideal replacement for Smallwood around the same age and only 1 name stood out for me and that is Jason Lowe who was released by Blackburn. Can play in a number of positions but his best position is holding midfield but im not sure what his wages would be like.

I was surprised to see that Lowe had been released. However, I feel that he will be picked up by a lower Championship club or a team with a bigger budget than us. I would be surprised if we got a like for like replacement for Smallwood, and as soon as Adeyemi made it clear he wasn't sticking around we should have ensured we didn't let Smallwood leave.

Actually, losing Smallwood and Thorpe for me is bad business. I really feel this club is terrible at nurturing any player. If you were a promising professional, taking your supporter bias out of the answer, would you sign for this club? I know I wouldn't. You'd start well, stagnate, get shipped off to a team in the division below only to return with an improved outlook and performances and then not get offered a suitable contract to stay. All the while being told you're not good enough by a clueless section of supporters that seem to think we should be finding the next N'golo Kante!