Released/retained lists

[shoddycollins]

Some clubs have released players or offered new contracts here and there, with the season now over we've been quick to act and released a bunch of players, including some that would surely have been kept on had this been a normal summer.

Under Contract
Nick Anderton
Callum Guy
Aaron Hayden
Max Hunt
John Mellish
Omari Patrick

four of these are players Chris Beech brought in himself. Hayden and Mellish were signed last summer but Hayden was given and extension after breaking into the team while Mellish's option for an extra year has been exercised.

Development Players
Jamie Armstrong
Charlie Barnes
Charlie Birch
Taylor Charters
Josh Dixon
Liam Lightfoot
Tom Wilson

most of these are youth team players who have yet to feature for the first team, though Charters has featured more recently, while Lightfoot and Birch have featured on the bench or in the Leasing.com trophy. Josh Dixon has been in the senior squad since summer but then not featured due to injury.

Contracts Offered
Lewis Allesandra
Jack Bridge
Gethin Jones
Byron Webster

Allesandra was signed by Beech short term which we'll now look to extend. The others were signed last summer, or in Jones' case in autumn. There'll be a few eyebrows raised at the offers for Bridge and Webster considering who we're releasing. Jones was offered a longer term contract originally but rejected it in favour of one till the end of the season, keeping his options open presumably so we'll see what he has in mind now.

Released
Adam Collin
Kelvin Etuhu
Louis Gray
Jack Iredale
Mike Jones
Keighran Kerr
Nathaniel Knight-Percival
Harry McKirdy
Mo Sagaf
Stefan Scougall

We've released a number of fringe players in NKP, Gray, Iredale (who was becoming more of a fringe player as the season went on) and Sagaf (who did very well in the first part of the season). Jones, Collin and Scougall were first team regulars this season but who fans might not be surprised that a new manager wants to replace (Jones has been a good servant to the club and I'd have wanted to keep). Etuhu hasn't played this season due to injury and Kerr was a first year pro who didn't break through in the way Charters has.

McKirdy will be the big surprise there and it's not explained why he's been released as sometimes it's not that the club don't want him but that the player makes it clear they don't want to stay, or maybe given the circumstances, that they don't want to accept a reduced salary. He's been a love-hate figure with the fans and you could understand if he's not happy with that but he's been a total revelation this season and the majority of fans will be very disappointed to see him go.

Loanees
Nathan Thomas
Olufela Olomola
Ryan Loft
Marcus Dewhurst
Joshua Kayode
Elliot Watt

Naturally they all go back to their parent clubs, Dewhurst, Watt and Kayode in particular we said we'd definitely have wanted to keep till the end of the season had there been one and Rotherham announced today that Kayode's loan is extended in case of the season continuing. Nathan Thomas will be out of contract at Sheffield United and most certainly not in their future plans but we've said we can't afford him.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1261712701929259009

Looks like the cost-cutting has begun up on Kersal Moor.

Gibson and Conway were massive earners. Neal, O'Connor and Pond were well off too. The rest were probably on more average wages for the division. Ash Hunter who was on a decent pay packet also won't be signed permanently in the current climate too.

Deluded Salford fans believe the chequebook will be coming out to sign adequate replacements. Not only does this sum up the fact that their fanbase has a significant Manchester United entitlement complex completely out of touch with lower league football within it, it also appears that they're going to be very disappointed this Summer when a potential salary cap is implemented...

They may fluke a promotion to League One one day, but all this talk of Championship football in that Lego house Neville was bleating about? Not gonna happen. Instead of marquee signings, I suggest they get some proper toilets in that away end instead.

 

[valefan16]

Big cull that. Occy only signed a few weeks before the end of the season. Add in that Rooney was flogged just before the lockdown.

Salary cap if based on income and no loopholes would see them really struggle to compete.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Big cull that. Occy only signed a few weeks before the end of the season. Add in that Rooney was flogged just before the lockdown.

Salary cap if based on income and no loopholes would see them really struggle to compete.

His future will be up in the air. With wages set to drop dramatically, I can see minority of older players retiring before their time or opting to sign for part-time clubs and potentially learn another trade/do another job on the side for income reasons this Summer. Some will obviously accept the reduced wages, but I get the feeling Occy is only in it for the money going off his most recent moves.

Adam Rooney going Solihull means that tit who is blowing a lot of money at Solihull has his own cost cutting to make this Summer. A lot of National League owners will be feeling the pinch to a point where clubs like Notts County, Stockport and dare I say it Wrexham could be in a better position to return to the league without the glut of bankrolled clubs to stop them.

Should know more about the proposed salary caps tomorrow as well.

 

[valefan16]

His future will be up in the air. With wages set to drop dramatically, I can see minority of older players retiring before their time or opting to sign for part-time clubs and potentially learn another trade/do another job on the side for income reasons this Summer. Some will obviously accept the reduced wages, but I get the feeling Occy is only in it for the money going off his most recent moves.

Adam Rooney going Solihull means that tit who is blowing a lot of money at Solihull has his own cost cutting to make this Summer. A lot of National League owners will be feeling the pinch to a point where clubs like Notts County, Stockport and dare I say it Wrexham could be in a better position to return to the league without the glut of bankrolled clubs to stop them.

Should know more about the proposed salary caps tomorrow as well.

To be fair O Connor left us to be closer to his Lincoln home as he was commuting in every day so got closer via Notts Co then Lincoln which made the Salford move all the more surprising!

See going forward if Salford is still viable with the owners other businesses being in hospitality and if Lim still wants to help bankroll it after this pandemic, dare say their crowds will drop it the £10 tickets have to be scrapped.

 

[Conker]

Expect a massive exodus at Mansfield, Neal Bishop already confirmed, along with Haydn White who if it wasn’t for injuries would be a top L1 RB by now.

Maynard likely to go if he only had a one year deal too.

 

[chipmunx]

His future will be up in the air. With wages set to drop dramatically, I can see minority of older players retiring before their time or opting to sign for part-time clubs and potentially learn another trade/do another job on the side for income reasons this Summer. Some will obviously accept the reduced wages, but I get the feeling Occy is only in it for the money going off his most recent moves.

Adam Rooney going Solihull means that tit who is blowing a lot of money at Solihull has his own cost cutting to make this Summer. A lot of National League owners will be feeling the pinch to a point where clubs like Notts County, Stockport and dare I say it Wrexham could be in a better position to return to the league without the glut of bankrolled clubs to stop them.

Should know more about the proposed salary caps tomorrow as well.

Solihull have already done their list - they released 15 or 16 players

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Solihull have already done their list - they released 15 or 16 players

That'll be Eales cutting his spending then for good. Still will be saddled with that heavy Rooney contract though surely?

 

[Crewelad87]

I'm expecting many of our "dads army" to be released in this current climate. I think Porter, Green and Hunt are out of contract and will probably leave. Hunt will probably retire, although he could still do a job, never let us down when played at centre half. Porter and Green have probably got another season in them, both very effective players at this level. It will be most interesting to see what we do with James Jones who is out of contract. 2 years ago he was on the verge of joining Preston, then he got a nasty injury and he's only just before this pandemic struck, getting back to being close to where he was a few years ago.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Expect a massive exodus at Mansfield, Neal Bishop already confirmed, along with Haydn White who if it wasn’t for injuries would be a top L1 RB by now.

Maynard likely to go if he only had a one year deal too.

Has the insurance salesman and his bint given up?

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

I'm expecting many of our "dads army" to be released in this current climate. I think Porter, Green and Hunt are out of contract and will probably leave. Hunt will probably retire, although he could still do a job, never let us down when played at centre half. Porter and Green have probably got another season in them, both very effective players at this level. It will be most interesting to see what we do with James Jones who is out of contract. 2 years ago he was on the verge of joining Preston, then he got a nasty injury and he's only just before this pandemic struck, getting back to being close to where he was a few years ago.

Said if we were in League One we'd have got rid of them all anyway, Pandemic or no Pandemic. Jones touch and go but I think he'll move on if we're going up a league because every penny will count and he's had enough chances before.

 

[chipmunx]

That'll be Eales cutting his spending then for good. Still will be saddled with that heavy Rooney contract though surely?

yep - stuck with him

 

[Conker]

Has the insurance salesman and his bint given up?

Nope.

We’ve got a talented squad that’s completely bottled it two seasons running and we have a new manager, hence a clearing out is what you’d expect.

Sorry for the bad news!

 

[Luke Imp]

Mansfield ought to be going in for O'Connor, I don't think he'll look to move too far from Lincoln. The Salford move gave him some decent earnings for six months but by all accounts, his thoughts on the set-up at Salford mirrored those of Nathan Arnold a couple of years ago and I don't think he'd have taken up his year option if offered it anyway.

Let's hope Andrade's move there pans out better for him and them because out of the four they've signed from us, three haven't worked out. Massive waste of transfer fees on their part.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Mansfield ought to be going in for O'Connor, I don't think he'll look to move too far from Lincoln. The Salford move gave him some decent earnings for six months but by all accounts, his thoughts on the set-up at Salford mirrored those of Nathan Arnold a couple of years ago and I don't think he'd have taken up his year option if offered it anyway.

Let's hope Andrade's move there pans out better for him and them because out of the four they've signed from us, three haven't worked out. Massive waste of transfer fees on their part.

Salford's scouting looks absolutely abysmal. Seems to be based on players who have impressed on national TV in the last few years and anyone who has played for Fleetwood that they don't want.

 

[Conker]

Mansfield ought to be going in for O'Connor, I don't think he'll look to move too far from Lincoln. The Salford move gave him some decent earnings for six months but by all accounts, his thoughts on the set-up at Salford mirrored those of Nathan Arnold a couple of years ago and I don't think he'd have taken up his year option if offered it anyway.

Let's hope Andrade's move there pans out better for him and them because out of the four they've signed from us, three haven't worked out. Massive waste of transfer fees on their part.

Yeah, GC will definitely have O’Connor on his shortlist, his type of player.

Before all this kicked off we pretty much had a few deals nearly sorted, dunno what’s gunna happen to them.

 

[darren gregory]

Mckirdy is an interesting one.
Does he just stand out because his socks are rolled down and he's a snidey diving git ?.
He seemed lively against us and was Carlisle's main man it appeared.
Cut out the antics and he'd be a far better player .

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Mckirdy is an interesting one.
Does he just stand out because his socks are rolled down and he's a snidey diving git ?.
He seemed lively against us and was Carlisle's main man it appeared.
Cut out the antics and he'd be a far better player .

Massive Stoke fan as well. Another big red mark against him.

 

[darren gregory]

Massive Stoke fan as well. Another big red mark against him.

Has he been tasered up a tree yet like Mr Colclough !!

 

[The Terminator]

We're in a postion where must of our squad are under contract for next season - Time will tell if this will benefit us or not:

Under Contract for next season:
Sam Ling (RB)
Joe Widdowson (LB)
Josh Coulson (CB)
Craig Clay (CM)
Conor Wilkinson (ST)
Jordan Maguire-Drew (WG)
Sam Sargeant (GK)
Myles Judd (RB)
Dan Happe (CB) - Was likely to be sold, not so sure now.
James Brophy (WG)
Louis Dennis (WG)
Lee Angol (ST)
Lawrence Vigouroux (GK)
Jamie Turley (CB)
Hector Kyprianou (CM)
Jayden Sweeney (LB)
Danny Johnson (ST)
Josh Wright (CM)

Out of Contract players:
Marvin Ekpiteta
Matt Harrold
James Dayton
Ruel Soitirou
Brendan Shabani
Jobi McAnuff
Arthur Janata

The only two I'd keep for sure are Marvin Ekpiteta and Ruel Soitirou. Jobi McAnuff may stay as player coach - But now I'm not so sure with finances due to be a huge issue.

Ekpiteta has been in negotiations with the club since last year and he was expected to leave as there have been no signs that he wants to sign an extension, his agent appears to have advised him not to. We did reject a bid from Rotherham for him last summer and his form was very shaky to begin with, but he did manage to pull it together.

Ruel Soitirou is a very promising young striker we have who's now looking like he will fulfill his potential, I'd be suprised if he got a move elsewhere but we shall see.

The rest can all go.

All those under contract until next summer, their deals expire next summer as far as I know.

On Loan Players:
Ousseynou Cisse - From Gillingham, he made a huge impact on our team and our form picked up when he arrived. Would love to sign him pernamently.

George Marsh - Youngster from Spurs, would happily have him back - Played very well in central midfield and at right back.

Kazaiah Sterling - Youngster on loan from Spurs, never played due to injury and then the season never restarted.

 

[valefan16]

Wasn’t Ekpiteta the one who had an absolute mare in the 3-3 against us first half? If so assumed he’d be out the door first!

 

[Boletus Edulis]

We're in a postion where must of our squad are under contract for next season - Time will tell if this will benefit us or not:

Under Contract for next season:
Sam Ling (RB)
Joe Widdowson (LB)
Josh Coulson (CB)
Craig Clay (CM)
Conor Wilkinson (ST)
Jordan Maguire-Drew (WG)
Sam Sargeant (GK)
Myles Judd (RB)
Dan Happe (CB) - Was likely to be sold, not so sure now.
James Brophy (WG)
Louis Dennis (WG)
Lee Angol (ST)
Lawrence Vigouroux (GK)
Jamie Turley (CB)
Hector Kyprianou (CM)
Jayden Sweeney (LB)
Danny Johnson (ST)
Josh Wright (CM)

Out of Contract players:
Marvin Ekpiteta
Matt Harrold
James Dayton
Ruel Soitirou
Brendan Shabani
Jobi McAnuff
Arthur Janata

The only two I'd keep for sure are Marvin Ekpiteta and Ruel Soitirou. Jobi McAnuff may stay as player coach - But now I'm not so sure with finances due to be a huge issue.

Ekpiteta has been in negotiations with the club since last year and he was expected to leave as there have been no signs that he wants to sign an extension, his agent appears to have advised him not to. We did reject a bid from Rotherham for him last summer and his form was very shaky to begin with, but he did manage to pull it together.

Ruel Soitirou is a very promising young striker we have who's now looking like he will fulfill his potential, I'd be suprised if he got a move elsewhere but we shall see.

The rest can all go.

All those under contract until next summer, their deals expire next summer as far as I know.

On Loan Players:
Ousseynou Cisse - From Gillingham, he made a huge impact on our team and our form picked up when he arrived. Would love to sign him pernamently.

George Marsh - Youngster from Spurs, would happily have him back - Played very well in central midfield and at right back.

Kazaiah Sterling - Youngster on loan from Spurs, never played due to injury and then the season never restarted.

That is a lot of players still on contract. Are you still liable for their salaries? If so, how big is your piggy bank?

 

[Luke Imp]

We're in a postion where must of our squad are under contract for next season - Time will tell if this will benefit us or not:

Under Contract for next season:
Sam Ling (RB)
Joe Widdowson (LB)
Josh Coulson (CB)
Craig Clay (CM)
Conor Wilkinson (ST)
Jordan Maguire-Drew (WG)
Sam Sargeant (GK)
Myles Judd (RB)
Dan Happe (CB) - Was likely to be sold, not so sure now.
James Brophy (WG)
Louis Dennis (WG)
Lee Angol (ST)
Lawrence Vigouroux (GK)
Jamie Turley (CB)
Hector Kyprianou (CM)
Jayden Sweeney (LB)
Danny Johnson (ST)
Josh Wright (CM)

Out of Contract players:
Marvin Ekpiteta
Matt Harrold
James Dayton
Ruel Soitirou
Brendan Shabani
Jobi McAnuff
Arthur Janata

The only two I'd keep for sure are Marvin Ekpiteta and Ruel Soitirou. Jobi McAnuff may stay as player coach - But now I'm not so sure with finances due to be a huge issue.

Ekpiteta has been in negotiations with the club since last year and he was expected to leave as there have been no signs that he wants to sign an extension, his agent appears to have advised him not to. We did reject a bid from Rotherham for him last summer and his form was very shaky to begin with, but he did manage to pull it together.

Ruel Soitirou is a very promising young striker we have who's now looking like he will fulfill his potential, I'd be suprised if he got a move elsewhere but we shall see.

The rest can all go.

All those under contract until next summer, their deals expire next summer as far as I know.

On Loan Players:
Ousseynou Cisse - From Gillingham, he made a huge impact on our team and our form picked up when he arrived. Would love to sign him pernamently.

George Marsh - Youngster from Spurs, would happily have him back - Played very well in central midfield and at right back.

Kazaiah Sterling - Youngster on loan from Spurs, never played due to injury and then the season never restarted.

Did you give everyone a contract when you got promoted? Second season is where you usually get rid of 95% of your NL players left.

I can probably guess the answer to this, but how've Angol and JMD done?

 

[Son of Cod]

Did you give everyone a contract when you got promoted? Second season is where you usually get rid of 95% of your NL players left.

I can probably guess the answer to this, but how've Angol and JMD done?

Unless you're Grimsby Town, then you get the ball rolling in January of your promotion season so that by May/June all your best players can't wait to go to Hartlepool.

 

[Chief Rocka]

Unless you're Grimsby Town, then you get the ball rolling in January of your promotion season so that by May/June all your best players can't wait to go to Hartlepool.

And both ended up refusing to play to force transfers elsewhere, excellent bit of business all round

 

[shoddycollins]

Mckirdy is an interesting one.
Does he just stand out because his socks are rolled down and he's a snidey diving git ?.
He seemed lively against us and was Carlisle's main man it appeared.
Cut out the antics and he'd be a far better player .

Him and Thomas have been our best players this season, and before the pandemic hit most fans were concerned that we'd only given him a one year deal and he would leave on a free in the summer for League One. Can only assume that we've discussed the possibility of a new contract and it's been clear that he doesn't want one, like when Jabo left because he wanted to be near his family, technically it gets reported that we didn't offer him a new contract but that's because he didn't want one.

I don't think his attention-grabbing antics particularly relate to his performances on the pitch either, a bit like Tom Pope, he may wind people up with his behaviour but it's not like you'd say he's being held back by an attitude problem.

 

[valefan16]

Port Vale Football Club announces the list of players who will be released in June, those retained for next season and those offered further terms of reengagement.

The following out-of-contract players have been offered new deals:

David Amoo


Rhys Browne

Shaun Brisley

Cristian Montano

Tom Conlon

Mark Cullen

Nathan Smith

The following players remain in contract

Scott Brown

Scott Burgess

Ryan Campbell-Gordon

Adam Crookes

James Gibbons

Alex Hurst

Leon Legge

Manny Oyeleke

Tom Pope

Dan Trickett-Smith

David Worrall

The following player has an option to sign a new deal:

Luke Joyce (we are delighted to announce that Luke has confirmed that he will be taking up his option and staying with the club)

The following players have returned to their parent clubs on conclusion of their respective loan deals:

Jake Taylor (Nottingham Forest)

Mitch Clark (Leicester City)

We thank both Jake and Mitch for their contributions this season and wish them well for the future.

The following first team players are out of contract and have been released:

Will Atkinson

Callum Evans

Kieran Kennedy

Ryan Lloyd

Johnny Maddison

Jordan Macfarlane-Archer

The Manager and all involved with Port Vale Football Club would like to thank our departing players for their contributions to our successful 2019/20 season.

Browne is a surprise one as he seemed out, Lethal Brizzle has become a cult hero after his horror show at Swindon possibly down to fitness he was a monster the weeks after until getting injured at Walsall.

Glad Amoo is offered one and one bonus of this situation is Smith may sign now rather than risk hoping a bigger clubs comes in.

Glad to see Joyce has signed, had an outstanding season.

Released players are no surprise although maybe Atkinson would have been useful with his ability to cover most.

Continuation looks the plan, keep Amoo and Smudge and get maybe a half decent striker and keep Manny fit and should have a good chance.

 

[kieran_vale]

Am a little surprised we didn’t offer Maddison something. Seemed a half decent keeper from the admittedly very little have seen of him. Good luck to all those released though, can only imagine how uncertain the immediate future must be for them in the current climate.

Good to see Joyce extend his stay, he has been brilliant this season and also really helped Burgess develop.

 

[Richard Cranium]

We've released Kristian Pearce. Fucking hell, Someone will get a very good CB if at this level.

 

[darren gregory]

Am a little surprised we didn’t offer Maddison something. Seemed a half decent keeper from the admittedly very little have seen of him. Good luck to all those released though, can only imagine how uncertain the immediate future must be for them in the current climate.

Good to see Joyce extend his stay, he has been brilliant this season and also really helped Burgess develop.

Signing a keeper seemed a ball ache last summer and was very last minute. Didn't go to the Checkatrade game but I'm not sure what sort of replacement JA can expect for the peanuts Maddison will be on.
Only shock for me is Browne , a season of fits and starts but I guess he's a good option.
The rest are as expected, prior to Taylor injury in January I wasn't a huge Conlon fan but he really came to the fore so had to be offered terms