Zak will soon find a new club - if he hasn't already. Wilbers, I'm not so sure, but they both leave with nothing but praise for helping to get us where we are today
I'm not surprised by Alby's departure, he served the purpose he was bought for, but I wish him well! Zak, however does surprise me, I thought, before injury intervened, he and Ayala were our best central defensive pairing!
i don't think anyone will be overly surprised by this news. whitbread was a good player but i do think he'd be 3rd choice at best next season. would have been a risk to pay him big money to keep him. wilbraham did a fine job when called upon and he will always be fondly remembered in these parts i'm sure. always liked the look of dawkin and especially matt ball at youth and reserve level but i think they are never going to be more than league one/two players unfortunately. richard brindley likewise
I think Whitbreads injuries have been the biggest reason behind his release but good luck to him and wilbraham along with the youngsters who hopefully have a bright future ahead of them. I do hope this means drury, fox etc will be kept on
Wasn't Zak rumoured to be going to Sunderland? He turned down the contract we offered him or something. Good player for us, but I can't help feeling he is now surplus to requirements. I know a lot of people rated him, but I couldn't help but feel nervous when he was on the ball sometimes and his injury history is not great. Wilbraham will find a new club no problem- Lambert said they had loads of offers in January to take him on loan. Will be picked up by a mid-championship club I'd have thought. Deserves to get more game time because, while not good enough for the prem, he has shown he's a worker and can score goals occasionally even in the prem. Not mentioned in the OP, but Matt Ball, Josh Dawkin and Richard Brindley have also been released unsurprisingly. Josh looked promising, but couldn't break into the Cambridge team so no surprises he had to be released, good luck to him. Mat Ball I thought was a hot prospect, but clearly also hasn't quite managed to make the grade. Richard Brindley I don't know much about, unfortunately.
this is true. whitbread was told to accept our offer or leave, so its no surprise he's gone. i think that has saved ward's bacon too as i feel he would have gone otherwise. he still might of course! as you say, they'll both have no problems finding football clubs to play for next season
I'm absolutely devastated to lose Zak, in my opinion he was comfortably our best and most reliable CB when fit and I was looking forward to seeing him and Ryan Bennett building up a decent partnership together. It must be a money thing and with the rumours of Sunderland's interest I guess that's where he will end up. Absolutely gutted, definitely one of my favourite Canary players and he will be missed - all the best Zak
I must admit, lots of fellow Canaries have said this, but I've never been that taken by Whitbread. Don't get me wrong, he was decent for us, but I just felt his decision making on the ball was often wayward and he would do too many risky things. I thought he would be behind Ayala and Bennett if they were both fit next season because both are much better all rounders. Ultimately, though, I imagine he was released because a settled back four is probably the most important thing in football and his injuries just hampered us, every time we had to start a new partnership from scratch
Comes as no surprise at all to me, although Zak was a decent CB (when fit), I think Lambert is looking towards Bennett and Ayala as his first choice pairing and he was therefore never going to offer a lucrative contract to a player who would not be first name on the team sheet. As for Wilbraham, well I think I have made my views clear on him many times. A tryer ? Yes, but unfortunately couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo ! The 'ability to hold the ball up well' argument is a bit of a myth IMHO too. Still, I wish them both well
Gutted for both of them I really thought a lot of Whitbread (despite the injuries) and thought he looked very competent in defence easily surpasses Ward whom I don't rate at all and I wouldn't be sad to see go. Wilbraham - well it's been coming being solid in the dressing room/training ground and being second fiddle to our main strikers is only going to get you so far. Onwards and upwards and best wishes to them both!!
