The other names on
the list are also not that surprising. Pittman and Richards are just
too injury prone, Worley was not rated by Wilder for whatever reason;
this was obvious in his picking of Raynes over him even when the
latter was woefully out of form. Parker and McCormick were promising
but were only ever signed as a stop gap to the end of the season,
with the latter’s signing incredibly controversial. And as for
Craddock, his name appearing on the released list was perhaps the
worst kept secret of the second half of the season.
@ABrown31
We
knew this was coming. An impending doom or relief for a number of
Oxford United players and supporters, as they await confirmation on
their future. We’ve had the furore over Chris Wilder, with the
‘Grenoble Road’ civil war of “Wilderites” and “Wilder
Outers” finally taking a backseat. Now we can divert our attention
elsewhere momentarily as we decipher, analyse then praise/criticise the look of next year's playing squad.
A
dozen players were released, sparking quite the debate in the
‘twitter-verse’ amongst United fans. Stemming from who we
should’ve kept, who should’ve left, and how good so and so was
anyway. You start to really understand why the summer of transfers
and negotiations is often referred to as ‘silly season’.
The
Goalkeepers for next year looks to be an immediate strong suit, with
the first alliterative goalkeeping battle since Turley/Tardif of the
mid 00’s. With youngster Max Crocombe finishing the season in
splendid form, easing the fears of any fans who had reservations over
his potential to be a future number 1. I envisage Ryan Clarke will
resume duties in goal however after recovering from injury; after all
he is “England’s Number One”. With two solid goalkeepers, the
release of Luke McCormick seemed inevitable. McCormick provided good
cover, and will no doubt be well received if he ever returns to the
Kassam.
Full
backs are where the first controversy arises. Damian Batt, a stalwart
in the United back four for a number of years now, has been released.
For all the faults aimed at Batt, whether it is his inability at
crossing or his tendency for erroneous positioning, this disappointed
me. Batt, voted the best right back in the division in our first
season back in the league, has always offered an outlet bombarding
down the right flank. He’s been a solid player for a number of
years, he has held his place from challenges from the likes of Ben
Purkiss, and from his goodbye
tweet today, seemed to thoroughly enjoy his stay here. If forced
to select an Oxford United XI in my time watching the team, I think
Batt ousts Scott McNiven as the starting right back. I, as well as I
would imagine most other fans, wish him nothing but the best in his
future.
On
the opposite side, we saw Liam Davis and Tony Capaldi both released,
but a contract offer extended to Luke O’Brien. I have no qualms
about any of this. Davis hasn’t lived up to his first
few months of his spell at the club, and this season has been
below-par on numerous occasions. Capaldi enjoyed some of his best
displays in yellow in the heart of midfield, whether that’s
testament to his versatility, or an indictment of his inadequate
performances in his natural position, I’ll leave up for debate.
O’Brien has deputised admirably when called upon, whether or not
he’ll be the first choice next year is questionable. I’d
anticipate a couple of new full backs come August.
In
the middle we saw the departure of Harry Worley and Michael Duberry.
The former has been obvious for months. Once ‘young player of the
year’, Worley has been resorted to being an emergency striker,
turned fourth-choice centre back. His exit is understandable. Duberry,
again a release with a sense of inevitability about it, led to a more
nostalgic feel. Despite his advancing age, and the scepticism his
signing came with, Duberry immediately became a firm
favourite. His performance and subsequent post-match celebration
at Swindon last season placing him in the history books of the club.
With
Jake Wright contracted, although undoubtedly peaking the interest of
clubs in higher divisions, and the much-maligned Michael Raynes the
only remaining centre backs from this past season, I would expect
another arrival, and maybe a bigger role for youth-teamer Sam Long.
If we’re to believe that the squad is to be “25% Youth teamers”
next season, this seems a logical scenario.
Onto
the midfield, the season’s scapegoat Simon Heslop has been let go.
Despite often being played out of position and sporadically, Heslop
has had a thoroughly underwhelming season, looking a shadow of the
player we signed in 2010. This, alongside the release of Peter Leven,
the oft-injured but ever-influential Scotsman pave the way for
another addition to go along with Scott Davies and Andy Whing, who
have been offered new deals.
Josh
Parker, who impressed at the turn of the year, but then found himself
on the fringes of the squad has moved on. This comes as no surprise
to many, and again seems a pretty obvious decision to make. With the
release of injury-prone Jon-Paul Pittman as well, much to the chagrin
of a few, leaves Alfie Potter (who had his option activated) and Sean
Rigg as our two wingers for next season. I would think that there’s
potentially another acquisition for next season, probably to cover
Rigg and Potter, who were two of the standout performers over the
season.
In
the striking department, the release of Tom Craddock was met with
relief by many. Craddock, often seen as “lazy” certainly mixes
opinion with supporters. I personally believe we haven’t utilised
him to the best of his ability. In his first season, playing on the
left in the infamous 4-3-3 (or 4-5-1 depending on your philosophical
bend) he scored 15 goals and instantly made his signing from Luton
look like shrewd business.
I
believe Craddock is an intelligent footballer, maybe sometimes a bit
too intelligent, putting him on a different wavelength to others. His
effort (or lack thereof) isn’t helped when compared to James
Constable, who chases and harries every loose ball like a puppy in
the park. If Craddock was scoring goals in the league above next
season, I wouldn’t be overly surprised. Justin Richards was also
unsurprisingly released.
Next
season, the striking options looks to be James Constable, Tyrone
Marsh, who was offered a new deal and Deane Smalley, who to the
surprise of many, if not all supporters, was offered a new deal. Not
necessarily saying I disagree, I thought I’d be vehemently against
this. However I cast my mind back to early on this season, prior to
an injury, when arguably Smalley was our best striker turning some
high calibre performances. If fit, this could be a wise decision on
the part of the manager.
As
for who we will sign to replace those released, I’m seeing names
appear that seem wholly unrealistic. Jacques Magohma and Calvin Zola
will not be signing here. Burton potentially will be promoted, and
Magohma is attracting interest from higher divisions. Could we see
Jake Wright going to Bradford or Plymouth? I would expect to see some
, shall we say, “budgeted” moves. With high earners like Leven,
Duberry and Craddock off the books, there’s a genuine opportunity
to bolster the squad and make it deeper than seasons past.
Robbie
Hall proved the idea behind the loan market. I wouldn’t be averse
to seeing more youngsters from Premier League development squads
plying their trade here. Younger players are often hungrier for
success (a theory Dubes makes hard to justify), and are more than
likely highly skilled players.
Next
season will see a lot of different faces, hopefully a revitalised
attitude in the stands, and dare I say a promotion push.
@OXONAssassin
With
a dozen players released from the club (a dozen? that's nearly a
squad full), and with a handful being kept, or offered new deals,
have the club made the right decisions?
In
terms of the retained players, I believe the club were right to keep
Whing and Potter, and I also think Davies did enough to earn himself
a new deal too. But what about Smalley? Last year he had poor form,
this year he was injured for most of it, maybe the 3rd
year is the charm?
As
for the players who were released, a lot of good players like Leven,
Duberry and Jon Paul Pittman were let go, but they have barely been
fit this season, and it's hard to have a consistent season when you
don't have a consistent starting line up. Hopefully any new signings
won't have the same injury troubles. I was personally shocked at the
departures of Batt and Davis, Davis especially.
As
for the others, they just aren't part of the future plans. We may see
players like Worley and Craddock thrive at other clubs, but it's just
not happening here for one reason or another. And with 3 youth
players given pro contracts, it's possible we may see more chances
given to youth players in the coming seasons.
Thanks a lot to those three for sharing their opinions on this year's retained list. Here's what a few more of you had to say on Twitter:
The
ladies capped another fine season in style with a dominant 3-0 win
over Swindon Town in their final South West Combination match – and
their last competitive game until the beginning of their 2014 WSL2
season next March. Oxford had already mathematically been crowned
champions following Keynsham Town's 1-0
defeat to Plymouth Argyle on Sunday, but there was no chance of
them relaxing for this local derby, with revenge firmly on the mind
after their 4-2
defeat to Swindon in the Ambassador Cup back in March.
