The angst is more the message from when Acun came into the club, that no one that wanted to be here would go, that we were a family, etc. etc. and then letting one of the most popular figures at the club go for peanuts because in his eyes we weren't valuing him at what he was worth. Now I'm sure the message will swing to him being greedy, mercenary, etc. etc. but that's probably why there's a bit of frustration - at least that's why I felt frustrated at it.
Don't believe I said that, but unless a player is really unsettled where they are, they're generally willing to compromise somewhat on money if a club is willing to meet them in the middle. From both Tan and Honeyman's comments it doesn't feel like we were interested in any form of compromise.
It gets awkward now but the time to sign all these players up to new deals was 12 months ago. Once they do well in the Championship, there's always other clubs that will offer a stack. I think that's why, they've given Cartwright essentially a 5 year deal. It gives us real security and it's been done at a time when he wage demands will still be relatively low
It's why I was really surprised we put off contract talks to the end of the season rather than try to sign these guys up in February/March. While not 12 months ago, we still had plenty of time to offer deals to players, see who was keen to buy into the project, negotiate wages etc. and lock it all away well in advance of this window. The fact guys like Fleming and Greaves are still in negotiations seems a bit strange because if all of a sudden we get to a point where Graves says "Thanks but no thanks" we suddenly have a player we're almost compelled to sell this window.
Ideally, you'd definitely like to. But we were in a position were we weren't guaranteed survival, and there was a few squeaky bum weeks especially when Barnsley looked like they were picking up. I think it's pretty clear that the plan was to gut the squad as well and starting contract talks with some whilst not with others is pretty much the writing on the wall. I'm thinking of Smallwood and Eaves, both of whom were big players on the pitch and in the dressing room. Smallwood especially, we relied on massively.
Or a compromise that honeyman wanted perhaps.... He would have been nice to keep as a squad player, but I really think you are making much more out of it then needs to be to try and back up your view of how the windows going so far
Shota came out post match one week and said we wanted to keep Smallwood and were talking to him about a new contract. Now either he was misinformed or he was lying. Neither of which comes off particularly well.
Yeah I dunno, as I said before we'll see where we are come kick off on the 30th July, and then again when the window closes, but as it stands we still need a fair bit of work. The comments on Honeyman are reasonably separate to that though I would have thought.
Or the club and Smallwood came to an agreement that we wouldn't keep him as he wanted a longer contract and or more playing time elsewhere....
So if honeyman is a squad player what does that make Coyle etc? Fleming? Greaves Jones McLoughlin Get rid of all of them? Slater? First choice? Shouldn’t ever be above George But get rid? Get rid of the lot ? Complete new team?
But all contract talks were put on hold until post season, by which point we'd cut Smallwood? He was in our released list was he not? So either we never intended to open talks with him post season - in which case Shota was misinformed or lying - or we were actually negotiating deals with players through the final few months of the season and decided not to keep Smallwood. I dunno, just feels like some are trying pretty hard to spin for the club when there's a much easier way to view things.
Get rid of all of Grant’s team for me, not at the level we are aiming for going forward under the new regime.
Think there's some trying to rationalise a lot of the changes with their image of everything being positive and exciting. And that's totally fine, they're entitled to do so. If every move is correct and right and makes sense because it's OBVIOUS we need to improve the squad, then fair enough. But I don't think it's unreasonable to be questioning some of the decisions, the way things have played out, the narrative we've been fed, and what trajectory we're actually on.
If he stayed I don't think he was a week in week out guaranteed starter... But others may feel differently
I think gutting and turning over an entire squad in one window is a massive mistake and spells doom. Getting rid of the **** kickers this window in Cannon, Moncur, Eaves, Wilks, etc. is fine, and replace them with quality first XI improvements, then get rid of your Elders, Coyles, Slater, Honeyman who are around about first XI but not really anymore the following summer makes far more sense. Ripping the bandaid all at once won't work IMO. But hey, what do I know?
Make no mistake, no one's outraged and saying we've let a first XI player go for peanuts, the point was about releasing players who had a role to play this season, who had value on and off the pitch, and who the fans were very attached to. I know some of those intangibles can be sneered at and brushed off, but I do think we're trying to run before we walk. As I said before I guess I'll see where we are in a bit over three weeks, but just voicing how I feel about how things look at this point.
Some obviously look at things positively and others negatively, it's probably actually somewhere between the 2.
