Players Released

[jellytot]

My money is on

One of Dan Lincoln or Stuart Moore
Sean Long
One of De'Juane Taylor-Crossdale and Germaine Ofori, possibly both. Maybe Hakeem Odoffin, but he's in a younger age category so might get more of a chance.

k

Which senior player will be ths first to go? I mean contracted. My bet is McCleary.

[Hoop Blah]

Hi Craig, it's Nige. Just wondering if you'd like to be on the bench for the first team this weekend?

Hey Gaffer, sounds good, I'll just check my schedule. Ah, sorry boss, nocandoosville, got lunch with Liam Kelly.

I know it sounds a bit daft, but it seemed they may have been concentrating the younger lads on their youth team games instead of throwing them into the fringes of the first team at one point. That's important for their development and they may have seen it as better for them than being sub not used on the bench for in the Championship.

[maffff]

k

Which senior player will be ths first to go? I mean contracted. My bet is McCleary.

McCarthy or ALF for me.

[andrew1957]

My money is on

One of Dan Lincoln or Stuart Moore
Sean Long
One of De'Juane Taylor-Crossdale and Germaine Ofori, possibly both. Maybe Hakeem Odoffin, but he's in a younger age category so might get more of a chance.

I think that the young players under contract are as follows:

Goalkeepers - Henly (will most likely join first team squad), Moore and Lincoln. Would have thought we would need both if Henly steps up.

Full backs - Keown, Long, Griffin and Owusu (if offered contract) - would think all 4 would get at least a year extension.

Centre backs - Partridge, Sweeney, Cooper, Hyam and Dickie (if offered contact - hope so as he looked class in the games I saw him). As you say would assume Partridge would go as he is 20 already and has only been loaned to Basingstoke so far - plus the other issues.

CM - Tshibola, Kuhl and Fridjonsson

Wide forwards - Edwards, Murombedzi, Fosu and Stacey (would think Murombedzi will go as he was behind the younger players in the Under 21's this season)

Forwards - Samuel, Tanner and Kelly plus maybe Taylor-Crossdale (if offered contract)

Really cannot see many of these being released as we will have the Under 21 league and cup to play. Most of the Under 18's step up this season so it will be harder for the Under 21's to raid the Under 18 team - as most will be 17 next time round. This season the likes of Kuhl, Fosu, Stacey etc regularly played Under 21 football despite being just 18.

The upshot is I would hope that we keep this squad largely intact as there is a lot of potential there. Doubt many will step up to the first team next season as they are mainly still very young.

[Royal Ginger]

I really can't undertand the angst at these lads moving on. None of them have shown enough quality to really compete for a place here so there is no real need to keep them. #

It seems too many just fall for the hype and PR from the club about how great some of these kids look. Even the stats can make these kids look a lot better than they are but when you Ugwu as a 20 year old up against 16 year old centre backs at times he really should look promising when in reality he's probably not going to play above League Two at best. As for being on the bench being a barometer for potential, who else was fit and available at the time for Adkins to put in ahead of them?

Hopefully the likes of Tanner and Cardwell will kick on next season and start to push for involvement with the first team but there is no point financially or in any other way to keeping players on the books if they're not going to get games and challenge for the first team.

How many are still rueing the loss of Andre Sheppard, Peter Castle or even Andre Boucard?

^^^ this

No club can hold onto a player forever, even if they think he does have potential. Unless you're a serious contender for a first team place it helps neither the player nor the club to hang on. What's better for Uwgu next season, sitting on the bench & playing U21 football, or moving to a League 1/2 club having a genuine chance to getting a run in the team and working your way back up to Championship level?

We held on to Simon Church too long.

[Major Monkey]

Dirty Betty took my corn on the cob

[maffff]

My money is on

One of Dan Lincoln or Stuart Moore
Sean Long
One of De'Juane Taylor-Crossdale and Germaine Ofori, possibly both. Maybe Hakeem Odoffin, but he's in a younger age category so might get more of a chance.

I think that the young players under contract are as follows:

Goalkeepers - Henly (will most likely join first team squad), Moore and Lincoln. Would have thought we would need both if Henly steps up.

Full backs - Keown, Long, Griffin and Owusu (if offered contract) - would think all 4 would get at least a year extension.

Centre backs - Partridge, Sweeney, Cooper, Hyam and Dickie (if offered contact - hope so as he looked class in the games I saw him). As you say would assume Partridge would go as he is 20 already and has only been loaned to Basingstoke so far - plus the other issues.

CM - Tshibola, Kuhl and Fridjonsson

Wide forwards - Edwards, Murombedzi, Fosu and Stacey (would think Murombedzi will go as he was behind the younger players in the Under 21's this season)

Forwards - Samuel, Tanner and Kelly plus maybe Taylor-Crossdale (if offered contract)

Really cannot see many of these being released as we will have the Under 21 league and cup to play. Most of the Under 18's step up this season so it will be harder for the Under 21's to raid the Under 18 team - as most will be 17 next time round. This season the likes of Kuhl, Fosu, Stacey etc regularly played Under 21 football despite being just 18.

The upshot is I would hope that we keep this squad largely intact as there is a lot of potential there. Doubt many will step up to the first team next season as they are mainly still very young.

I've got the squad eligibility for next season based on teams as they are at present (based on a cutoff date of being under 21/18/16 as of 31 August) roughly as:

Senior:
GK: Feds, McCarthy, Andersen
Def: Gunter, Kelly, Pearce, Morrison, Cummings, Hector*, Obita (u21 eligible)
Mid: Karacan, Drenthe, McCleary, Akpan, Robson-Kanu, Guthrie, Williams, Taylor*, Carriço,
Att: Pogrebnyak, Le Fondre, Blackman,

u21:
GK: Henly, Lincoln*, Moore*, Gogic+, Legg*+
Def: Keown*, Partridge*, Sweeney, Long*, Cooper*, Griffin, Dvali, Dickie+, Hyam+, McLennan+, Owusu+
Mid: Tshibola*, Edwards, Murombedzi*, Fosu-Henry+, Fridjonsson+, Jeffrey+, Kelly+, Kuhl+, Shaughnessy+, Stacey+
Att: Tanner, Samuel, Ofori*+, Taylor-Crossdale*+, Vastsuk+,

u18:
GK: Ward, Southwood+
Def: Ethelston, Jules, McIntyre, Osho, Watson,
Mid: Collins, Husin, Lawal, Sheppard, Urbancic, Waritay,
Att: Barrett, Cardwell, Novakovich, Odoffin*, Williams

u16:
GK: McAdden, Wingate
Def:
Mid: Chatee, East, Farah, Fowodu, Roache,
Att:
Unknown position: Alexis, Denton, Frost, Akinwunmi, Thompson-Lee, Harrison Bennett

*out of contract (I don't know this for a lot of u18/u16's, and it's possible some of those down as out of contract have extended without it being public knowledge)
+ moving up an age category (some might have already appeared at that level, but means they become ineligible for the band below)

(please let me know of any obvious errors... I don't know a lot about who will be stepping up from the u16's to the u18s - lots of gaps there, and it's possible some of the u16's have already left as it seems the teams they play for below u18 are pretty fluid)

[KC Royal]

I really can't undertand the angst at these lads moving on. None of them have shown enough quality to really compete for a place here so there is no real need to keep them. #

It seems too many just fall for the hype and PR from the club about how great some of these kids look. Even the stats can make these kids look a lot better than they are but when you Ugwu as a 20 year old up against 16 year old centre backs at times he really should look promising when in reality he's probably not going to play above League Two at best. As for being on the bench being a barometer for potential, who else was fit and available at the time for Adkins to put in ahead of them?

Hopefully the likes of Tanner and Cardwell will kick on next season and start to push for involvement with the first team but there is no point financially or in any other way to keeping players on the books if they're not going to get games and challenge for the first team.

How many are still rueing the loss of Andre Sheppard, Peter Castle or even Andre Boucard?

^^^ this

No club can hold onto a player forever, even if they think he does have potential. Unless you're a serious contender for a first team place it helps neither the player nor the club to hang on. What's better for Uwgu next season, sitting on the bench & playing U21 football, or moving to a League 1/2 club having a genuine chance to getting a run in the team and working your way back up to Championship level?

We held on to Simon Church too long.

We held on to Nicholas Bignall even longer...certainly felt like it anyway!
I'm assuming that he isn't still at the club.

[Elm Park Pasty]

We held on to Nicholas Bignall even longer...certainly felt like it anyway!
I'm assuming that he isn't still at the club.

I think he's at Basingstoke? Sure he scored a hat-trick for them the other week. I'm not sure we did hold on to Bignall. Think he was released two seasons ago (think Mafff might know?) but I think he got a serious knee injury so the club allowed him use of the facilites etc to get him back into the game.

[maffff]

Yep! - released summer 2013. we kept him with us for another season on a non-contract basis and helped him to fitness. He played in a couple of friendlies around the turn of the year and started speaknig to other teams. Joined Basingstoke in March and so far is looking pretty good for them, scored a hat-trick a couple of games in.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Hopefully we've got a buyback option.

[winchester_royal]

Looks like we've signed up most of the out of contract youngsters, including Tish.

[maffff]

Just Murombedzi and Partridge to add to the casualties.

Good work.

[Tilehurstsouthbank]

Just Murombedzi and Partridge to add to the casualties.

Good work.

Was Partridge the player who was a grade 'A' nutcase?

[MouldyRoyal]

Stamped on an opposition player's nutsack and beat up an old dude in a fit of road rage, so yes.

[YateleyRoyal]

http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article ... 50264.aspx

D'Ath and Ugwu gone.

[maffff]

http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article ... 50264.aspx

Add to those leaving De'Juane Taylor Crossdale, Germaine Ofori and Jack Jeffrey.

[maffff]

Stamped on an opposition player's nutsack and beat up an old dude in a fit of road rage, so yes.

old dude? he was 40!

[MouldyRoyal]

Oh?

In my head I have exaggerated it to him beating up some grizzled old grandad as he (the old man, not Partridge) clung to his zimmer frame for dear life.

[Pepe the Horseman]

I'm closer in age to the old dude than I am to Partridge