Taken from the post....... Leroy said: "IT was disappointing to hear that Garry Kenneth had asked to leave Bristol Rovers last week. It is difficult to make firm judgements until we hear exactly what Garry's reasons are for leaving the club â although it has been mooted that a lack of first-team opportunities is the reason behind it. I find this a hard one to understand when Garry has only recently returned from a long injury and, according to manager John Ward, has been carrying a groin injury for the last couple of weeks. Yes, Garry may not be in the team at the moment â but is it any surprise that John sees Tom Parkes and Mark McChrystal as his preferred partnership at the heart of his defence? I wouldn't disagree that Tom and Mark have not been on top of their form at times this season, but, that John is sticking by them through a sticky period comes as no surprise to me considering those two were the rock on which Rovers launched a successful campaign to avoid relegation last season. Garry has only been back and available for a few weeks and I'd be happier to hear him say that he is ready to get his head down and work hard in an effort to dislodge either Parkes or McChrystal. If we were at Christmas time and the situation remained the same, then you would have some sympathy with Garry's argument â but to be asking for a transfer a few weeks into the season doesn't wash with me unless something else that we don't know about has gone on behind the scenes. I'd imagine that this episode will be concluded with Garry being paid off a sum of money to facilitate a parting of the ways by mutual consent. Will supporters see that as a satisfactory way for this situation to be concluded? I doubt it. If some of those supporters wanted to leave their jobs in the morning they would be free to do so. They'd be struggling, however, if they went into their bosses office and asked for a pay off to facilitate what is their own decision to depart. It would be good, yet unlikely, to see Rovers take a stand on this occasion. In an ideal world, they may say to Garry that they are happy for him to leave the club if another club is willing to come in and take the contract off their hands. Or how about Garry goes on loan to prove himself somewhere else while his wages or a fair percentage of those wages are paid by the other club? I've been in this situation myself as a manager with other players, however, and I know how tricky it can be. The last thing you want around the training ground are unhappy players or people you are only likely to pick in dire emergency. These are situations you like to resolve quickly, which is why paying a player off is the option that so many clubs choose to follow. The ironic thing about the timing of Garry's decision, meanwhile, is that before he aggravated a groin injury earlier this week he was in line to finally get his chance! McChrystal is struggling with a knee injury to leave a space open at the back â one that John hinted Garry may have been in line to fill. Will we ever see Garry in Bristol Rovers shirt again? You'd seriously have to doubt it now. It's a shame in some ways because a fully-fit Garry Kenneth would probably be an asset." http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/LEROY-...on-difficult/story-19919842-detail/story.html
Kenneth @ the training ground this morning when the U18s were playing Swindon (3-2 win) Also Harrold and Harding.
