Mark Ellis let go

[GSMITH]

He's announced on his Twitter he's on his way out.

Poor decision this unless we find better. Harry Davis playing ahead of him most likely. This will be getting stupid if he keeps playing and we keep conceding sh*t loads when he plays.

[objective]

I like Ellis.. At his best he is our best centre half... However with scarce finances for next year it makes no sense for us to have 4 centre halves under contract. The time is right in my opinion to give George Ray and Harry a chance to grow into a long term partnership with Duggie there if he is needed.

Poor decision this unless we find better. Harry Davis playing ahead of him most likely. This will be getting stupid if he keeps playing and we keep conceding sh*t loads when he plays.[/quote]

[Gobstopper]

If this is true its a bit of a surprise, but the wage bill needs to be cut and Osman and Ellis are probably two of our bigger earners. I wish Ellis all the best he has been a great servant for the club. No doubt SD has decided to go with the younger players coming through such as Ray but we still have a lot of experience with Davis and Dugdale, but all the same a bit gutted for Ellis, tough decisions sometimes have to be made.

[RedandWhiteSpartan]

Very poor managerial decision, does anyone disagree that Mark Ellis was the best centre half we had?

Great reward for keeping us up.

There's a very funny smell in the air.

PS
Best Wishes to Mark, best of luck at your next club, hope they appreciate you more than we appear to, and thanks for all you've done for the Alex.

[DaveWoo]

Yeah totally agree
Been our best centre half since he came to the club
So next season we probably go with Ray who has not been good enough to get in the team this year - some sort of trusted logic there
Obviously Harry is a shoe in regardless of form!
So news of Phiillps Osman and Ellis, but nothing of AJ, which very worryingly means he may have been offered a new deal? Not impressed if he has.
I always find it very interesting to see where our released guys end up. Pretty sure Ellis will do OK. not so sure about the others.

[NEVTHEDEV]

Surprised to see Mark go(is it something with the Alex if you help us to victory,you get the push,reave Artell).
Mark has steadily improved over the season,prefer him to many of the younger ones.
Not suprised over Abdul,not featured much over the season,when he did he was very negative.
Steve?,don`t know if he wanted to go or stay,but we will now need 1/2 goalies for cover,plus a goalkeeping coach.
Whose next?,Audel,Wolf,Max,Byron,AJ.
Hate getting news in dribs and drabs,especially through Twitter,would have been better on the O/S,when it was all finalised like other clubs do.

[alexmick]

First I have heard if this along with the news concerning Steve Phillips. I am disappointed to see our most consistent central defender leave the club. He is the best we have, even above Harry Davis in my opinion. I cannot understand why the boss is releasing him. He wanted to stay, he was happy and his family were settled in this area.

[kidsarealright]

Massive loss to the club this. I understand that the club needs to balance the books somehow, but leaving Ray and Guthrie as back up to (presumably) Duggy and Davis doesn't fill me with confidence. Another experienced centre half is a must IMO

[Crewe99]

Big mistake from SD as Ellis is our best defender. Not too enthusiastic over our choices at centre half - Harry & Duggy are at best OK but Ray isn't at L1 level (should be out on loan in L2/Conf) and Guthrie is fine at left back but not CH.

[AlexLeicester]

I'm sorry to see Ellis go - his heading has improved over the last few matches, and he did not bonk it straight to an opposition player - but we do need to bite the financial bullet.
Six youngsters have been offered contracts and I feel reasonably confident that most graduates from the current Academy will step up.
Garratt - No 1
Tootle, Davis, Dugdale, Guthrie
Ray (or Nolan or Turton), Inman, Grant
Oliver, Pogs, Waters (and we still have Saunders, Murdoch, Molyneux, plus, currently, Clayton, Moore and AJ)

Yes, there are some potential weak spots, but there is a spine of experience topped up by youthful exuberance.