I had some of the same questions about the development squad, but there’s a very helpful interview with Sam Grace on a recent RTB episode which explained a lot of it.
Probably good for people to remember these aren't just "I want to stay" or "I want to leave" decisions.
We've got no idea what we have offered the players that we might have wanted to keep and what they might expect or have been offered elsewhere. Both in cash terms and squad status.
I’ve tended to be in a minority of one on here historically with regards Jack Wakely, so I’m really pleased to see us looking to keep him.
The raw materials are really good. Big, strong in the air, comfortable on the ball, two-footed and therefore capable of playing either left or right side. Plus he’s also one of us which is always a nice bonus.
Not the finished article and desperately needs game time to show whether he can cut it at League One level. If Matt chooses to go with a back three next season, as he did at Colchester, he’ll be strong competition for JJ for the left side role.
I’d a horrible feeling we’d let him go and then he’d turn up somewhere else lower down, kick on and soon be in demand from League One clubs.
The norm is that we don't announce anyone until the 1st July as then we know they have def signed for us. Just like with Wing and Freeman, reading between the lines, they have a deal lined up / signed but neither club nor them can announce it.
Yes I’m disappointed it’s not worked out for Leathers. Not sure the Maidenhead loan has helped him at all. They’ve been in free fall for weeks and they’ve been unwilling to give him much of a chance.
I think there’s a decent chance he’ll still come through somewhere.
You’d have to imagine that Willis is on significantly more money than Jack Wakely given what he’s done at first team level and clubs he’s played for. So it can hardly have been a straight choice between them.
Given we’ve already got Taf, Chris Forino and Jack Grimmer, Wakely just offers more potential value.
I'm not sure how anyone can look down that list and then conclude anything was obvious or clear about who is staying/going or why those decisions have been reached by player/club.
We just don't know all the facts that have contributed to the outcome.
He was always up against it being the supposed marquee signing of the Championship promotion.
Not helped by the overhyped memories of "destroying" us a few years before with it being overlooked that we had Bean at full back that day . Think a lot of us expected a dazzling winger.
I thought Wakeley looked decent in the Leicester friendly, then he vanished. Wing going not a big surprise but disappointing. I also hope Nick Freeman finds a berth for regular games. Stevenage might start looking for experienced L1 players who don't want to move too far!
He was brought in as an emergency out of contract player when we were really stretched defensively. He was here 2 or 3months and didn't play one 90min game. It would have been incredibly surprising to see him stay.
Good point @Malone about the overhyped reaction to his performance in that Cup game against PNE. Can’t recall who replaced Marcus Bean during the second half but I’m pretty sure it couldn’t have been a regular fullback.
I do remember GA saying he was signed as "one for the future" but still as a first team player, rather than a dev squad member.
I personally haven't seen anything of him so far (even flashes) where I would think, "he's got something there" but in fairness he was pretty much always coming on (from my memory, which is trash) when we were either chasing the game, and playing badly, or winning and therefore no longer attacking (which tended to be the GA way rather than add to the goal tally).
I may have seen him start in a Pizza Cup game or the like and I want to say even a lone league game (maybe in the Vokes injury wilderness?), but again, haven't been that enthused.
But that said I would have said the same about Al-Hamadi and look what happened there.
The success of players can be down to how well the manager features their skillset within the team, not just about the individual having to take on a whole amount of weight on their shoulders.
I remember him roasting the hapless Will de Havilland early in the second half. Not that it took anything out of the ordinary for any half decent attacking player.
Wing is a big shame but not surprised - he must have been spoken to by Championship clubs already if he’s made this decision so early.
Freeman and Thompson have been incredible servants for us and it’s really sad to see them go. As many have mentioned there was a run in the Championship where Thompson was almost unplayable.
I’m happy that we still have Taf. I know he divides opinion, but he’s a classy player and comfortably our best defender, and a leader on the pitch as well.
Strange to see some of the development decisions, Wakely surely can’t be seen as anything other than cheap CB depth and Leathers always impressed me. Olly Pendlebury seems to have done well since leaving us and I worry a little bit that we’ll end up seeing these kind of players moving up the leagues with no return for us.
Or could just be fitness concerns/learning from our mistakes like with Mawson/offering money to a crocked player/we have a replacement lined up or all of the above
Interesting that while nearly all the development team are being let go that we’re keeping Antoine Makoli and Luca Woodhouse.
Both are still teenagers, so plenty of development to come from them but good to have a couple of young full-backs in the squad.
I’ve only seen them play once each but can see why we’re keeping them. Both are capable of being dangerous going forward, so could play as wing-backs. In fact, Woodhouse has been playing left wing-back on loan at Slough in National League South and has done well by all accounts. Pretty good that at 18.
Sorry to see Wing, Willis, Thompson & Freeman leave. Matching their quality with new signings won't be easy - and that's just to stand still - not to improve the squad.
Comments
I had some of the same questions about the development squad, but there’s a very helpful interview with Sam Grace on a recent RTB episode which explained a lot of it.
Probably good for people to remember these aren't just "I want to stay" or "I want to leave" decisions.
We've got no idea what we have offered the players that we might have wanted to keep and what they might expect or have been offered elsewhere. Both in cash terms and squad status.
I’ve tended to be in a minority of one on here historically with regards Jack Wakely, so I’m really pleased to see us looking to keep him.
The raw materials are really good. Big, strong in the air, comfortable on the ball, two-footed and therefore capable of playing either left or right side. Plus he’s also one of us which is always a nice bonus.
Not the finished article and desperately needs game time to show whether he can cut it at League One level. If Matt chooses to go with a back three next season, as he did at Colchester, he’ll be strong competition for JJ for the left side role.
I’d a horrible feeling we’d let him go and then he’d turn up somewhere else lower down, kick on and soon be in demand from League One clubs.
He’s worth a punt in my view.
Couldn’t even get in Maidenhead’s team.
I thought Leathers looked extremely promising too.
Beat me to it, disappointing
The norm is that we don't announce anyone until the 1st July as then we know they have def signed for us. Just like with Wing and Freeman, reading between the lines, they have a deal lined up / signed but neither club nor them can announce it.
The odds against Lewis Wing going to QPR must be quite short, I’d have thought. Pure class and will be much missed.
Yes I’m disappointed it’s not worked out for Leathers. Not sure the Maidenhead loan has helped him at all. They’ve been in free fall for weeks and they’ve been unwilling to give him much of a chance.
I think there’s a decent chance he’ll still come through somewhere.
Tools to return?
Willis looked really good when he came on and looked a decent player. Clearly Bloomfield didn’t fancy him.
You’d have to imagine that Willis is on significantly more money than Jack Wakely given what he’s done at first team level and clubs he’s played for. So it can hardly have been a straight choice between them.
Given we’ve already got Taf, Chris Forino and Jack Grimmer, Wakely just offers more potential value.
Yes, perhaps Willis = Tools and Jack. Or someone else and Jack since I we don’t have to re-sign former players!
Hang on, Mellor is still under contract? That was an odd one.
I agree but I suspect Christie Ward may have edged it. His goal-scoring potential may have been a factor, especially with the departure of Lewis Wing.
That thread title about Wing and Freeman felt like a blow to the solar plexus.
I'm not sure how anyone can look down that list and then conclude anything was obvious or clear about who is staying/going or why those decisions have been reached by player/club.
We just don't know all the facts that have contributed to the outcome.
He was always up against it being the supposed marquee signing of the Championship promotion.
Not helped by the overhyped memories of "destroying" us a few years before with it being overlooked that we had Bean at full back that day . Think a lot of us expected a dazzling winger.
I thought Wakeley looked decent in the Leicester friendly, then he vanished. Wing going not a big surprise but disappointing. I also hope Nick Freeman finds a berth for regular games. Stevenage might start looking for experienced L1 players who don't want to move too far!
He was brought in as an emergency out of contract player when we were really stretched defensively. He was here 2 or 3months and didn't play one 90min game. It would have been incredibly surprising to see him stay.
Good point @Malone about the overhyped reaction to his performance in that Cup game against PNE. Can’t recall who replaced Marcus Bean during the second half but I’m pretty sure it couldn’t have been a regular fullback.
I do remember GA saying he was signed as "one for the future" but still as a first team player, rather than a dev squad member.
I personally haven't seen anything of him so far (even flashes) where I would think, "he's got something there" but in fairness he was pretty much always coming on (from my memory, which is trash) when we were either chasing the game, and playing badly, or winning and therefore no longer attacking (which tended to be the GA way rather than add to the goal tally).
I may have seen him start in a Pizza Cup game or the like and I want to say even a lone league game (maybe in the Vokes injury wilderness?), but again, haven't been that enthused.
But that said I would have said the same about Al-Hamadi and look what happened there.
The success of players can be down to how well the manager features their skillset within the team, not just about the individual having to take on a whole amount of weight on their shoulders.
That ball not quite falling for him with an open goal in that first game v Rotherham, 2mins in stays in the memory.
Score that, hold on and it all looked bright. Instead we lost late on to the team likely to be the next weakest in the league to us..
I must admit I was underwhelmed by Wing to begin with...but he suddenly seemed to gel with Josh mid-season. Sad to see him go.
I remember him roasting the hapless Will de Havilland early in the second half. Not that it took anything out of the ordinary for any half decent attacking player.
Wing is a big shame but not surprised - he must have been spoken to by Championship clubs already if he’s made this decision so early.
Freeman and Thompson have been incredible servants for us and it’s really sad to see them go. As many have mentioned there was a run in the Championship where Thompson was almost unplayable.
I’m happy that we still have Taf. I know he divides opinion, but he’s a classy player and comfortably our best defender, and a leader on the pitch as well.
Strange to see some of the development decisions, Wakely surely can’t be seen as anything other than cheap CB depth and Leathers always impressed me. Olly Pendlebury seems to have done well since leaving us and I worry a little bit that we’ll end up seeing these kind of players moving up the leagues with no return for us.
Or could just be fitness concerns/learning from our mistakes like with Mawson/offering money to a crocked player/we have a replacement lined up or all of the above
Interesting that while nearly all the development team are being let go that we’re keeping Antoine Makoli and Luca Woodhouse.
Both are still teenagers, so plenty of development to come from them but good to have a couple of young full-backs in the squad.
I’ve only seen them play once each but can see why we’re keeping them. Both are capable of being dangerous going forward, so could play as wing-backs. In fact, Woodhouse has been playing left wing-back on loan at Slough in National League South and has done well by all accounts. Pretty good that at 18.
Sorry to see Wing, Willis, Thompson & Freeman leave. Matching their quality with new signings won't be easy - and that's just to stand still - not to improve the squad.
I'd have let Gape go too, being as injury prone as he is. Of course, he might still leave.
JJ potentially the last man standing from the 17/18 promotion team, then.