Max (and other stuff!)
lightly surprised to see that he didn't make the bench yesterday.
22 now, contract running out in the summer. As it stands sadly a little hard to see a renewal.
What future for the other youngsters out of contract in the summer, Sellers, Amadi-Holloway, Ugwu and Lynch, I wonder? presumably O'Nein gets a renewal offer.
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Lynch is the only one I would definately keep and possibly Ugwu.
you wouldn't keep O Nien ?? Are you going to games blindfold ???
I followed and agreed with Dev's assumption that O'Niens renewal is a given. I appreciate that I need to clarify for one thicko on here.
also if you think Ugwu is worth a renewal you must be clueless.
Sellers has had almost no opportunity to demonstrate his ability. It would be a shame not to give him a proper chance. Max shows promising signs but really must push on.
Holloway has had enough first team football to prove himself but is far too inconsistent and doesn't offer enough in my view. Has the ability to give defenders hell but is often anonymous.
We must keep Holloway for another season. He could turn out to be an absolute gem of a player still. On his day he is almost unplayable at this level.
I guess it all depends on wages and who else is available, but my instinct would be to keep O'Nien, Holloway and Lynch.
I agree, O'Nien and Holloway on longer contracts would be my preference too.
Wonder why O Nien got a 1 year and McGinn got 2.
Did McGinn show more? Or is he simply cheaper? Or did O Nien himself only want a one year deal.
Either way, one has played himself into first choice centre mid, and the other is a real backup player, 4th choice at best, and a little bit of a luxury, if not anything of Banton or Morgan's level
Doubt anyone would really say it'd be wise to keep Ugwu, even Craig looked like an epic goalscorer in comparison. Although quite a few seemed disappointed when he left, so I guess hard work and minimal output is enough for some.
Kretzch certainly has it all to do, and like McClure found, it won't be enough to have been here for years from the youth system. Eventually you have to cut it as a credible starter, and I can't see how he'll get a run in the team to be honest.
Craig was absolutely excellent in the last 6 games and scored a very important goal at Plymouth, he would run and run and run and worked harder the Ugwu ever has.
McGinn was coming down from Scotland so doubt he would have come without security of a 2 year deal as I believe he has a young family.
Depending on how much Holloway is on, I'd prefer it to be reinvested elsewhere. No way consistent enough.
On our small budget your expecting miracles. For me they all do ok can't really comment on sellers though.
End of the day it's more or less who Anisworth wants to stay and and if the player wants to remain at the Club.
If player had a nightmare last week or so, we would all curse and call him horrible things and if he scored tomorrow's winner, same bunch would want to give him a 2 year contract. frivolous fanbase.
Wonder who's next to be thrown under bus for a week or so.
Ugwu was without doubt the best player at hartlepool for both workrate and commitment. If he can take that on the you never know.
Looked a different player to the normal
Clueless gozie
Agree with @wycombelad.. . Ugwu was probably our best player at Hartlepool
Having seen Holloway slope off down the tunnel last night without so much as a raised hand to the Wycombe faithful - I would be surprised to see him remain at the club. When a loan player like McCarthy gives his absolute all and revels in the post match salute - it is sad to see such behaviour from a fully waged member of the club on a night like that.
Holloway had been on the field 10 minutes before I realised he was there. I wonder if he has issues getting pumped up for games. It almost seems someone has to upset him before the fuse gets lit?
@ does he think he is doing? Was he disappointed in his own performance? Was he sulking not to start? Did he simply want to show ambivalence towards the club and its players? Has he no sense of joy after a great night? No good could come out of his actions last night. How he was seen in the dressing room is another thing. There was rightly high-fives among the players as they acknowledged each others efforts so what do they think when one of their mates is off in the showers already.
Bad choice by the lad and one that might damage his future at WWFC.
It's a strange one.
AAH was the one player I looked forward to watching each week; he seemed to have that something special that few others in this league have. However his attitude and application over these past few months have been wanting, at least from what we've seen on the pitch.
I wasn't watching him last night but that's not a good indication of his current state of mind. I wonder if Gaz picked it up?
AAH needs to be follow Banton out of the club ASAP. If he can't be bothered in a game like this you can see why Gareth doesn't start him very often.
You may want to read his Twitter as he explains himself. But for now I think this conversation should be left.
You shouldnt have to read a twitter...the actions speak volumes. There is no acceptable explanation. An embarassment and such an unnecessary insult to the fans on a great occasion
Firstly we have to remember that footballers are human just like the rest of us. There MAY be something going on in his personal life that is affecting his work performance. Without knowledge of whether there are explanatory issues, it is perhaps not appropriate to judge Holloway personally.
GA will know what if anything is going on. If there are no factors explaining AAH apparent lethargy this season, then perhaps it would sadly be better for club and the player to go their separate ways sooner rather than later. There is talent there. Does AAH want to show it enough to let it out, I wonder.
I like GA as a manger and a man, he appears to ooze passion and integrity. Possibly a bit of a question mark starting to appear in respect of how many odd departures and apparent non triers there have been - Banton, Stewart, Fred, Morias, Dunne, Holloway, Morgan, Spring, Bull. Seems like a longer list than would be expected in a couple of years.
His Twitter account is locked. Is this a recent thing?
His Twitter seems to be private - what did he say?
@DevC I'm pleased to see you're beginning to take a more nuanced view on this, a refreshing change from some of your slightly unctuous posts about GA in the past. To your list you could also add Nathan Evans (GA did pick him out, even if it was a bit of a Hobson's choice) and Peter Murphy, who I'm told fell out with the gaffer after running into the box once when he had been told to stay back; was then dropped for a few matches and the relationship never recovered.
While Ainsworth has many strong qualities I do wonder about his man management.
That's not to say Holloway doesn't deserve to be moved on - yesterday's tantrum is far from the only occasion this season where he's failed to show decorum, team-spirit or motivation.
I think the large number of 'strange' departures is certainly a reflection on Gareth Ainsworth as a manager, but not perhaps in the way it has been suggested above. I think Ainsworth learnt a lot in his first 12-18 months in charge, where at the time it was widely known that we had a fair few 'bad apples' within the squad which must have an effect on team/squad harmony. Since that time, every player that has come in has been Ainsworth's choice, and by his own admission, the character of the player has been just as important as their talent.
Obviously, you can't know everything about a person before you see and work with him on a daily basis, so there have been some 'mistakes' along the way. But in each of those cases, he has identified the problem and removed that player from the squad.
I think everyone would agree we have a very tight squad of players, with an excellent team spirit - this isn't a coincidence and comes from the top and Ainsworth's man management skills. The fact AInsworth removes any potential problems quickly is a positive sign of his managerial skill. For example, Alex Ferguson was known as a fantastic man manager and had many, many falling outs with players that he moved on quickly (Stam, van Nistelroy, Beckham etc).
I think there are certainly things the manager can improve upon as he is still learning (and I'm sure he will) but i don't personally think man management is one of them.
On the whole I rather agree with you, Mr Q. The success of the last 18 months has been built on a great team spirit. The manager takes a huge amount of the credit for that. It is clear that players, of which Harriman is the latest, actively want to play for Wycombe Wanderers. That would not happen if the manager did not have a good reputation in the game for being a good guy to work for.
As Q says, GA is a relatively new manager and is no doubt still learning. I believe I remember him criticising himself in the early days for remaining too much one of the boys. Maybe he has overcompensated a little when issues arise and has a weakness in bringing players back into the fold when arguments happen.
Overall I have no doubt that GA is an outstanding manager and a good man into the bargain. We should be proud to have him. Like us all he is only human and like us all is not perfect. Maybe this is an area he needs to reflect upon.
This thread started out as a massive assumption led debate about Max getting a new deal and has now moved on to Holloway and players that have been moved on by Ainsworth. Having seen the team spirit and the running through brick walls style we have now I really don't think this is much of an issue on any level.
Some players will drop out of the system for any number of reasons and for some its for a game or two and for other it is more perminent. I've really no idea why this forms a big part of the discussion after a night like we had last night though.
All seems a bit 'TalkSport' to me. We're better than that aren't we?
AAH on Twitter:
'1 game of about 50 apps I forget to clap the fans and head straight in after because I'm so frustrated that we lost and little part that I got to play in a big occasion.. I wasn't thinking "can't be bothered clapping the fans" I was thinking a million things at once and just wanted to get back inside.. I'm only human I make wrong decisions I forget important things and I react differently to some people.'