Retained/Released Lists 2023

[kieran_vale]

It’s a shame but if you could get a full season out of him constantly he’d never have dropped to L2 in the first place. Even if you look at the appearances he has made it’s not often at all he completes a full 90 minutes. I’d imagine he’ll go to a L2 promotion contender and do very well when he appears but encounter the same problems there too.

 

[valefan16]

It’s a shame but if you could get a full season out of him constantly he’d never have dropped to L2 in the first place. Even if you look at the appearances he has made it’s not often at all he completes a full 90 minutes. I’d imagine he’ll go to a L2 promotion contender and do very well when he appears but encounter the same problems there too.

He will probably end up at Wrexham or Stockport I would think.

Shame but every tackle he took seemed to put him out for weeks last season. All three spells were the result of being tackled and made of glass but let’s face it had he not got his injury problems he would never be at this or the below level in the first place

182 league apps at 27 with very few being 90 tells its story though but sad to lose him, as said in terms of technical ability he’s Premier League quality and haven’t seen anything like it at Vale since I’ve been going.

Good luck Willo!

 

[SVH]

Surprised Wilson didn’t bag 25 goals after the way you Port Vale fans went on last pre season.

 

[valefan16]

Surprised Wilson didn’t bag 25 goals after the way you Port Vale fans went on last pre season.

He’s not an out and out goal scorer for one; a didn’t manage a single 90 minute appearance for us this season… which is the reason we have offered the contract type likely similar to Gibbons last season.

We can’t afford someone on the highest wage who gives us 1000 minutes in a season.

When fit and on the field his touch and vision are another level, makes everything look so easy, as said in the 20 years I’ve been going I’ve not seen better in that aspect but there is a reason he’s at this level and that’s because he isn’t capable of staying fit.

 

[Moomin]

Would love to sign Collins but think he'll sign for a high L1 or low Championship side!

Being a west country lad he might not want to go too far away from where he knows!

Any rumours?

There have been a few people saying Collins could be on Bristol Rovers radar. Obviously you’re a bigger club but I get the feeling he’ll want to go a bit higher, as you say. That said, I’m not convinced he’s Championship level so if you make a good offer, who knows. The other thing to consider is the tribunal compensation we’d be due. He’s played 200 odd games and has come through the academy, so hopefully we can recoup a fair chunk.

 

[Kernow_gas]

There have been a few people saying Collins could be on Bristol Rovers radar. Obviously you’re a bigger club but I get the feeling he’ll want to go a bit higher, as you say. That said, I’m not convinced he’s Championship level so if you make a good offer, who knows. The other thing to consider is the tribunal compensation we’d be due. He’s played 200 odd games and has come through the academy, so hopefully we can recoup a fair chunk.

His name has been mentioned on our forum by a few but nothing to say that he's on the clubs radar.

If I was him I wouldn't see us as a good stepping stone in his career unless JB can sell him the possibility of a promotion push and championship football in a couple of seasons....not realistic in my view but JB has the gift of the gab!

As you say I think he'll want to go higher. Do you think Plymouth would go in for him and would he sign?

 

[Moomin]

His name has been mentioned on our forum by a few but nothing to say that he's on the clubs radar.

If I was him I wouldn't see us as a good stepping stone in his career unless JB can sell him the possibility of a promotion push and championship football in a couple of seasons....not realistic in my view but JB has the gift of the gab!

As you say I think he'll want to go higher. Do you think Plymouth would go in for him and would he sign?

Yeah if Barton gave him a great deal and Collins felt that Rovers had a chance of pushing the playoffs then I could see him signing.

As for Plymouth, I can’t see it, but it’s not out of the question. I suspect he’ll be on Rotherham’s radar as Matt Taylor loves him and I think he’d get a proper chance to prove himself at that level.

 

[thewwfc]

The general feel is that Smith, Knibbs, Mitov and Jones either have clubs lined up already or fancy themselves to get a better deal elsewhere. I’d definitely have kept Smith and Jones (chortle) and possibly Knibbs. Jones swept up all the POTS awards last week and Smith has just hit 7 goals in 9 games to keep us up.

I’m certainly not going to get excited about a one-liner off some toss football rumours site…but…this says we’re in for Jones.

https://therealefl.co.uk/2023/05/14/wycombe-wanderers-plot-league-one-transfer/amp/

Whilst I’m not going to go giddy over the rumour itself, it’s quite fun to even have pointless speculation out there this early, given we barely signed anyone either last summer or in January and so Wycombe-related scuttlebutt was at a premium.

We should be good to bring in 4-6 new faces this time around, I reckon - or even more if you count dev squad players, but you don’t tend to hear rumours about the latter as they usually don’t have enough profile in the game to be worth spreading gossip about.

 

[SVH]

Jones would be a quality signing for any top 7 team in this league. His only downfall is his injury record. He’s been injury prone his whole career.

 

[thewwfc]

Oh god no, we need to steer well clear then. I can’t remember the last time we had a settled back line - precisely because 2 of our first choice CBs are made of glass. We’ve done the “he’s a better player than we could normally afford - but it’s cos he’ll spend half the time in the treatment room” compromise once too often.

 

[LeonTheGreen]

Yeah if Barton gave him a great deal and Collins felt that Rovers had a chance of pushing the playoffs then I could see him signing.

As for Plymouth, I can’t see it, but it’s not out of the question. I suspect he’ll be on Rotherham’s radar as Matt Taylor loves him and I think he’d get a proper chance to prove himself at that level.

It won’t happen, but would love for us to get Josh Key. Perfect competition for Edwards on the right

 

[Laker]

I’m certainly not going to get excited about a one-liner off some toss football rumours site…but…this says we’re in for Jones.

https://therealefl.co.uk/2023/05/14/wycombe-wanderers-plot-league-one-transfer/amp/

Whilst I’m not going to go giddy over the rumour itself, it’s quite fun to even have pointless speculation out there this early, given we barely signed anyone either last summer or in January and so Wycombe-related scuttlebutt was at a premium.

We should be good to bring in 4-6 new faces this time around, I reckon - or even more if you count dev squad players, but you don’t tend to hear rumours about the latter as they usually don’t have enough profile in the game to be worth spreading gossip about.

I’d say I’d be surprised if he leaves us to join Wycombe (no disrespect) as I consider us to be similar sized clubs and I think he’s good enough to compete at the top of this division, and I’d be a bit annoyed at him leaving us for you unless you’ve significantly increased his wage!

 

[The Terminator]

Ours is out today as expected:

Leyton Orient - Leyton Orient

Official Leyton Orient FC Website - The O's

www.leytonorient.com

Released From Club​

Craig Clay
Sonny Fish
Anthony Georgiou
Jordan Lyden
Sam Sargeant
Harry Smith
Connor Wood
Matt Young

Offered A New Contract​

Omar Beckles
Jordan Brown
Rhys Byrne
Dan Happe
Darren Pratley
Paul Smyth
Harrison Sodje
Jayden Sweeney
Lawrence Vigouroux

Loan Deals Expired​

Stephen Duke-McKenna
Idris El Mizouni
Charlie Kelman
Jamie McCart
Kieran Sadlier
Ed Turns

Under Contract For Next Season​

Theo Archibald
Aaron Drinan
Rob Hunt
Tom James
Ethan Light
George Moncur
Zech Obiero
Shadrach Ogie
Ruel Sotiriou
Jephte Tanga
Adam Thompson

No real suprises. As good as Craig Clay has been for us, he is a League Two player at best and is now 31 - He was the only real question mark in terms of first team players.

Of the out of contract players Paul Smyth and Lawrence Vigouroux will almost certainly end up signing for Championship clubs or one of the power houses in this league.

I would expect the rest of the out of contract players to stay - Jordan Brown might get pinched from us, but I think he'd be better staying here.

Then there is Richie Wellens - He will get a shot at a bigger club for sure at some point, but I think he'd be better off staying here for one more season and learning this level at a club that is stable. He's on a long term deal himself (Another 2 years on his contract) so anyone that wants him will have to pay for him, but he's got stability here and the team is basically his now.

 

[leedsvaliant]

Ours is out today as expected:

Leyton Orient - Leyton Orient

Official Leyton Orient FC Website - The O's

www.leytonorient.com

Released From Club​

Craig Clay
Sonny Fish
Anthony Georgiou
Jordan Lyden
Sam Sargeant
Harry Smith
Connor Wood
Matt Young

Offered A New Contract​

Omar Beckles
Jordan Brown
Rhys Byrne
Dan Happe
Darren Pratley
Paul Smyth
Harrison Sodje
Jayden Sweeney
Lawrence Vigouroux

Loan Deals Expired​

Stephen Duke-McKenna
Idris El Mizouni
Charlie Kelman
Jamie McCart
Kieran Sadlier
Ed Turns

Under Contract For Next Season​

Theo Archibald
Aaron Drinan
Rob Hunt
Tom James
Ethan Light
George Moncur
Zech Obiero
Shadrach Ogie
Ruel Sotiriou
Jephte Tanga
Adam Thompson

No real suprises. As good as Craig Clay has been for us, he is a League Two player at best and is now 31 - He was the only real question mark in terms of first team players.

Of the out of contract players Paul Smyth and Lawrence Vigouroux will almost certainly end up signing for Championship clubs or one of the power houses in this league.

I would expect the rest of the out of contract players to stay - Jordan Brown might get pinched from us, but I think he'd be better staying here.

Then there is Richie Wellens - He will get a shot at a bigger club for sure at some point, but I think he'd be better off staying here for one more season and learning this level at a club that is stable. He's on a long term deal himself (Another 2 years on his contract) so anyone that wants him will have to pay for him, but he's got stability here and the team is basically his now.

Harry Smith was a bit of a nuisance as far as I can remember last year and is a big lad. Scored 15 too. Has he lost his way?

 

[valefan16]

Harry Smith was a bit of a nuisance as far as I can remember last year and is a big lad. Scored 15 too. Has he lost his way?

He was the lad giving it the big un when they went 2-1 up and when we scored the winner Mad Cov nut megged him when he tried to retrieve the ball! Handy player though we need a big lad.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

Harry Smith was a bit of a nuisance as far as I can remember last year and is a big lad. Scored 15 too. Has he lost his way?

I think he has a lot of off the field issues. So much so he has played in L1 and the National League this season

 

[joethegill]

I think he has a lot of off the field issues. So much so he has played in L1 and the National League this season

The only reason he had to drop to the National League was due to the rule about not playing for more than two EFL clubs in one season. After appearing for Exeter and Orient, there was no way he could play for another club unless it was non-league.

 

[The Terminator]

Harry Smith was a bit of a nuisance as far as I can remember last year and is a big lad. Scored 15 too. Has he lost his way?

He has off the field issues with gambling. Went off on loan to Exeter as he also doesn't really fit Wellens style of play (being able to press from the front alot and having pace), but got homesick so cut the loan short.

Came back and upset the dressing room with his off field issues and Wellens quickly got rid of him and even took a dig at him in the press saying he dropped his standards in training.

 

[The Terminator]

Darren Pratley confirmed as staying for one more year.

 

[E10rifle]

Ours is out today as expected:

Leyton Orient - Leyton Orient

Official Leyton Orient FC Website - The O's

www.leytonorient.com

Released From Club​

Craig Clay
Sonny Fish
Anthony Georgiou
Jordan Lyden
Sam Sargeant
Harry Smith
Connor Wood
Matt Young

Offered A New Contract​

Omar Beckles
Jordan Brown
Rhys Byrne
Dan Happe
Darren Pratley
Paul Smyth
Harrison Sodje
Jayden Sweeney
Lawrence Vigouroux

Loan Deals Expired​

Stephen Duke-McKenna
Idris El Mizouni
Charlie Kelman
Jamie McCart
Kieran Sadlier
Ed Turns

Under Contract For Next Season​

Theo Archibald
Aaron Drinan
Rob Hunt
Tom James
Ethan Light
George Moncur
Zech Obiero
Shadrach Ogie
Ruel Sotiriou
Jephte Tanga
Adam Thompson

No real suprises. As good as Craig Clay has been for us, he is a League Two player at best and is now 31 - He was the only real question mark in terms of first team players.

Of the out of contract players Paul Smyth and Lawrence Vigouroux will almost certainly end up signing for Championship clubs or one of the power houses in this league.

I would expect the rest of the out of contract players to stay - Jordan Brown might get pinched from us, but I think he'd be better staying here.

Then there is Richie Wellens - He will get a shot at a bigger club for sure at some point, but I think he'd be better off staying here for one more season and learning this level at a club that is stable. He's on a long term deal himself (Another 2 years on his contract) so anyone that wants him will have to pay for him, but he's got stability here and the team is basically his now.

No surprises at all. None of the released players are remotely good enough for League One and the same could be said for a couple of the contracted players as well (Drinan and Sotiriou being the ones that immediately spring to mind). Imagine that most of the players outside of Smyth and Vigouroux will sign on. Delighted if we hang on to either or both. Brown will sign; only one I’m worried about losing is Sweeney.

 

[The Terminator]

No surprises at all. None of the released players are remotely good enough for League One and the same could be said for a couple of the contracted players as well (Drinan and Sotiriou being the ones that immediately spring to mind). Imagine that most of the players outside of Smyth and Vigouroux will sign on. Delighted if we hang on to either or both. Brown will sign; only one I’m worried about losing is Sweeney.

I think Sweeney will stay - we'd be entitled to a fee if he goes and I can't see anyone willing to pay it with only really half a season of regular football under him.

 

[The Terminator]

I would expect the rest of the out of contract players to stay - Jordan Brown might get pinched from us, but I think he'd be better staying here.

Jordan Brown now confirmed as staying on a 2 year deal, started slowly since moving from Derby, but Wellens managed to get a tune out of him. Still has a few things to work on in his game, but he never let us down and has slowly got better.

 

[BogDaddyO]

Jordan Brown now confirmed as staying on a 2 year deal, started slowly since moving from Derby, but Wellens managed to get a tune out of him. Still has a few things to work on in his game, but he never let us down and has slowly got better.

Really pleased with this, he's so incredibly versatile and always does a job wherever he is played.
He's one of the best passers in the team, handy in the air, can shoot and tackle, great all-rounder and almost certainly good enough for League 1.
You forget he's only 21 as well, good career ahead of him I reckon.

SAs an aside I'd be very surprised if Vigs or Smyth go championship, having just been promoted I think they'll be tempted to sing 1-year deals, hope so anyway.

 

[Claret Forever]

He has off the field issues with gambling. Went off on loan to Exeter as he also doesn't really fit Wellens style of play (being able to press from the front alot and having pace), but got homesick so cut the loan short.

Came back and upset the dressing room with his off field issues and Wellens quickly got rid of him and even took a dig at him in the press saying he dropped his standards in training.

When we had him, there was a period of time where people were saying he off the game a lot because he had family issues, and part of the reason we released him was the Curle said he was homesick and needed to be further up North, so definitely a player who needs a lot of looking after. Also, he was obviously much better for Leyton Orient than us, but in my experience wasn't really a target man per say as he wasn't that great in the air and better with his feet despite his size.

With Vigeroux and Smyth leaving, how big a recruitment job have Leyton Orient going to have in this League? Seems like a lot of players our of contract that you want to keep a hold of?

Seconding Lloyd Jones being quality in this League, he was unfit and injured for us and still stood out in our relegation season.

 

[BogDaddyO]

When we had him, there was a period of time where people were saying he off the game a lot because he had family issues, and part of the reason we released him was the Curle said he was homesick and needed to be further up North, so definitely a player who needs a lot of looking after. Also, he was obviously much better for Leyton Orient than us, but in my experience wasn't really a target man per say as he wasn't that great in the air and better with his feet despite his size.

With Vigeroux and Smyth leaving, how big a recruitment job have Leyton Orient going to have in this League? Seems like a lot of players our of contract that you want to keep a hold of?

Seconding Lloyd Jones being quality in this League, he was unfit and injured for us and still stood out in our relegation season.

For me our season boils down to whether we keep Wellens in the dugout or not.

We'll have a mid-table budget I imagine but nothing super exciting. I have a feeling Smyth and Vigs might stick around - they're key players in a newly promoted team with a great manager, they'd be the first names on the sheet each week, we should really be giving them a few more quid for another year given how important they were to our championship-winning season.

But yes, plenty of recruitment work to do I think, would expect to see a fair few new signings and some loan activity before the start of the season, our aim will be to avoid relegation which I'm confident we can do with Richie, lose him and it could be a bit of a Forest Green situation...

 

[The Terminator]

When we had him, there was a period of time where people were saying he off the game a lot because he had family issues, and part of the reason we released him was the Curle said he was homesick and needed to be further up North, so definitely a player who needs a lot of looking after. Also, he was obviously much better for Leyton Orient than us, but in my experience wasn't really a target man per say as he wasn't that great in the air and better with his feet despite his size.

With Vigeroux and Smyth leaving, how big a recruitment job have Leyton Orient going to have in this League? Seems like a lot of players our of contract that you want to keep a hold of?

Seconding Lloyd Jones being quality in this League, he was unfit and injured for us and still stood out in our relegation season.

I always thought he was better with the ball at his feet than his head I agree. But he is not a front foot presser/runner, you need to get the ball to him which is why Wellens didn't fancy him.

We've already said we'll likely sign 5 players minimum, will likely be around double that if all out of contract players leave, but I don't think that will happen, two have signed already.

We've had some large investement in recent years into our squad for depth, which is partly why we won League Two, the board have already said they will invest more in this season which should help us pick up the scraps that Charlton, Sheff Wed, Portsmouth, Wigan, Blackpool and Derby don't want!

 

[Brox]

No retained/released for us yet but Luke Norris and Jake Taylor have left according to their posts on instagram.

Sad to see both leave as they've served us well.

Up top we had Reid, Rose, Norris, List and March - would say there's question marks against each of those in regards to making the step up so not overly surprised to see Norris let go as a result, I guess we'll be aiming to improve in this area so some bodies will have to make way to accommodate the new arrivals.

Not surprised to see Taylor go, wasn't first choice and whilst he was a decent squad option in League Two I feel we need to target better if we're to stay up next season.

 

[HutchECFC]

I'd take Jake Taylor back in a heartbeat.

My bae.

 

[EricSabin]

I'd probably still take Jacobs back tbh, my favourite ever academy prospect, I don't think even Toney had the talent he had when he was a teenager (though obviously wrong in hindsight considering the latter's career).

Our retained list showed zero surprises. The bulk of a squad is under contract or signed up to big deals next season, including longer contracts for Guthrie who Wrexham had a rejected bid for last year, which is both good and bad. A lot of consistency going in rather than a massive turnover which is the opposite of the last few years we've gone up, but the bulk of a success has come from have a deep fairly level squad without obvious gaps in quality which means on the other hand that we've got limited options to reinforce and improve to a League one level.

Only first-teamer who isn't under contract and offered is Koiki - if he hadn't been injured for 6 months now he might have attracted interest from one or two here because of his pace as full-back. I think as everyone else signed up a few months ago, it might suggest he was reluctant to sign back up with the interest shown in him, but I think the 6 month injury may put off his suitors now. King who has been offered terms was great when called upon this year, and would still be backup to Burge, I guess if someone in League 2 comes forward to ask him to be number one keeper who might be tempted, as he's good enough for that level. Dyche is still a teenager and 3rd/4th choice and any compensation offered I think will put others off, so 90% sure he'll sign up.

As for the released, there is nobody that anyone in this League or higher will be interested in.
David Norman - Came here on a free mid-season basically on non-contract terms to cover the 13 long injury list and the 3 centerbacks we had out injured. Great pass for a CB, but I think i'd have doubts he knows how to defend well enough for the English professional Leagues. Maybe non-league will give him a punt, Morecambe sniffed at him before we were interested in.

Josh Harrop - Same as Norman in terms on basically being paid nothing, but equally got 3 minutes football from about 5 months in the club. Seemed to think at the end of year awards his injuries are finally sorted, so maybe someone will take a gamble on him... bit of a risky one.

Jonny Maxted - Relegated to 3rd choice keeper and been out for a while due to personal reasons.

Paul Osew - Same as Normal and Harrop as coming in on tiny wages to put himself in the shop window mid-season to cover the injury crisis. Didn't play enough to get an accruate read on, but I think the one most likely to be worth a League 2 clubs interest.

Miguel Ngwa, Jack Connor, Liam Cross - All academy players on 1st year professoinal contracts who played in the Papa Johns. Need to get some regular football at non-league level to try and make it back up if they want to be pros.

We have 18 signed up now - the gaps will be the two loanees going back in Bowie and Leonard at CM and RW that will need League One quality, and also Eppiah theoretically (because he was injured and never really played), which means there's probably 3 main targets we'll need to go out and get before the teams finished.

Brady has said it’s 18 signed but not really 18, as it includes young lads and a couple that will go out and that he’s targeting 8 new signings

 

[Luke Imp]

Then there is Richie Wellens - He will get a shot at a bigger club for sure at some point, but I think he'd be better off staying here for one more season and learning this level at a club that is stable. He's on a long term deal himself (Another 2 years on his contract) so anyone that wants him will have to pay for him, but he's got stability here and the team is basically his now.

He needs to, he's jumped been to 5 clubs in 5(?) years and doesn't have a great record in L1 either so it'll be easier for him to approach L1 with a squad he's already built coming into it.