Josh Wright - Officially Released

[rigsby]

Well I think he's signed off with dignity and no bitterness. Top Man. I think he's much better than he showed us. By all accounts he's best when the main man in the midfield and given a free reign, with others doing the donkey work. Some Manager will figure that out and get him back to his best. Very best of luck to you Josh.

Next season that will be Dru. So Wright and Wordsworth are both not needed. Top of the midfield shopping list will be the right man or 2 to compliment Dru. If your going to play two wide men like Kightly and McL and expect them to gallop on and attack then you need a real solid man to compliment 3 midfielders who can scare anyone in L1 on their day.

Wright did have good energy and some lovely touches and short passing skills, which were obviously not as effective on the seasons pitch. He was also carrying a hamstring injury for quite some time. CP clearly wants the ball forward quicker and that's where Josh hardly shined. He is possession and pass completion rather than risk.

So I understand if he feels unhappy because I don't think he did a lot wrong its just he wont fit into what CP wants. Good luck to him and I wish hi well. Lets hope we don't have to much slagging of an ex player....Save that for people who let us down and deserve it, Not Josh Wright.

 

[shrimpfan]

As I understand it, Rochdale was his 20th appearance and the trigger was for 'more' than 20.

Small print in contract 21?

 

[OldBlueLady]

Feel quite sorry for him, think we all thought that trigger clause had been activated. We didn't see the best of him, but our midfield when he arrived, was quite a tricky one to compete in, and then, when he could, he was injured and the manager changed.

Sounds as if the club haven't covered themselves in glory over their handling of this though.

 

[Firestorm]

He was given a short term contract with an extension clause. Regardless of whether he understood or even read the clause he failed to meet the criteria and , as such has been released
Given that a number of games he was being shoehorned into a disjointed midfield just to get him on the pitch, some may say he was fortunate to even make the wording on the clause up for discussion.
He failed to take his opportunity when it arose. He failed in the one thing we all thought he could do, score from the spot.
I have seen nothing to indicate that the club have done anything wrong other than a petulant swipe and a rant by a dad who has now seen two sons fail to make the grade at Roots hall

 

[bazzashrimper]

If he had played better we would have given him the extra match and triggered the contract extension. There may have been mitigating circumstances, and it may be our loss longer term, but if he had played better he would still be here. I wish him well.

 

[Jonesheshrimp]

I can’t see Kites doing a lot of games, seems injury prone, and Mantom (if we snare him) the same, injury prone, Wright had a good fitness record, time will tell.

 

[buffalowolf]

Personally i think we need Midfielders that can not just do a job in Lge 1 ,but also hold their own in the championship if thats what SCP aiming for therefore by all accounts Re your comments Wright isnt quite good enough ,therefore its best to let him go so he can find a new club and us the type of midfielder we require.

 

[mattitouk]

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised to see Josh Wright back at Gillingham again next season, considering he is released now and the fans seem to really want him back, he's had 2 spells with them already & nearly 100 appearances (a bit like our Adam Barrett).... added to that, he normally only plays for southern local based clubs (& there's not many left in this division sadly)...... I suppose he could go to Luton at a guess. But can't see him dropping down to a southern based Division Two level at this stage...But what do I know!!

As for you wanting midfielders capable of doing a job in the Championship, easier said then done. & most likely not on our budget. I think it will be case of plucking a promising young talent that could be at that level in the future (ie..Leonard), rather than a cast off from some Championship team that is realistically only really a half decent Division One player.

 

[ms brush]

Don't think we saw the best of Josh Wright, think he is decent player. That said, I have thought for a long time that our midfield department has been overcrowded which inevitably means that some players will be released. Happens every year at every club, in some guise or other, so would just like to wish Josh all the best as he can do a good job somewhere in League 1. Will we miss him? Possibly. Can we upgrade? I suspect we can!

Just a bit of a shame that his family and mates have felt the need to wade in with some public comments, that leaves a bit of a bad taste, when their opinion really isn't important. The trouble is, the whole TOWIE connection probably hasn't helped Josh's football career - unfair when the player himself has maintained a dignified position and has done nothing but behave like a professional :sad:

 

[Taunton_Shrimper]

No great loss in my opinion, not good enough to get in the team in his desired position of CM and we will hopefully be looking to build the midfield based around Dru for the next few seasons. Wright offered nice touches and probably his pass success rate was pretty good mainly because it was usually low-risk sideways stuff.

 

[wildheart]

He never looked fit to me? And like others have stated he had his chance. He was a PB signing and Chrissy obviously does not fancy him. That's football, Gills are welcome to him in my eyes.

 

[wakes123]

Personally i think we need Midfielders that can not just do a job in Lge 1 ,but also hold their own in the championship if thats what SCP aiming for therefore by all accounts Re your comments Wright isnt quite good enough ,therefore its best to let him go so he can find a new club and us the type of midfielder we require.

Much easier said than done to get those players in though. If someone is Championship quality, why would they come to Southend? The gap between the Championship and League 1 is getting bigger imo - just look at Leonard struggling to get into the Sheff U team.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Much easier said than done to get those players in though. If someone is Championship quality, why would they come to Southend? The gap between the Championship and League 1 is getting bigger imo - just look at Leonard struggling to get into the Sheff U team.

Have you answered your own question there?

Anyway, as I've said before it's less about quality and more about fit. Plenty of League One footballers could hold their own in the Championship in the right set up for them (including Josh Wright and Anthony Wordsworth who we released, who have both played at that level before).

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

Have you answered your own question there?

Anyway, as I've said before it's less about quality and more about fit. Plenty of League One footballers could hold their own in the Championship in the right set up for them (including Josh Wright and Anthony Wordsworth who we released, who have both played at that level before).

Yes - how does the player "fit" into the team. Can the manager get the best out of the player ......... and can the player play at their best if there are "weaknesses" in other parts of the team that means they have to "hold back" for instance. So many factors to consider.

 

[South Bank Hank]

Don't get some of the anger above. I'd have been comfortable if he'd stayed and I'm okay with him moving on if he's not part of Chris' plans. Reading between the lines, sounds like a mistake was made around whether the contract kicked-in on 20 games or on more that 20 games, so there'll always be two sides to the story. Even though he's clearly disappointed, his public post was both respectful and full of gratitude. Comes across as a very decent guy. I wish him luck for the future.

 

[AndyT]

Yep and I think he played a few games when not fully fit, as was asked of by the club, which left him with the more prolonged injury he picked up in that home game (Fleetwood?).

Decent player, but I can see why he possibly would get limited game time if he stayed.

 

[LBBlue]

Let's not forget when we signed him -he had fallen out at Gillingham and left them on 29th August -mutual consent contract cancelled and had no club at transfer deadline day. He missed a penalty and got dropped.

We were in **** creek - Leonard had had to play centre half, Timlin was playing left back, Wordsworth, White, Coker, Turner, Kiernan and Kightly were all injured, Yearwood wasn't trusted yet and Hendrie was awful.

So he desperately needed a club and we were desperate.

So I imagine Brown said I cant guarantee you a start when everyone is fit but I'll give you an incentive - start 20 league games and you can have a contract to 2019. He signed on 16th September ​

It was the echo that announced the 20 starts ( ignoring Checkatrade) extension before the Rochdale away game - not the club. He actually started 19 League games and the FA Cup Tie at Yeovil. Clearly there was a misunderstanding and a jumping of the gun.

All Chris said was that he was aware of Wright's contract terms. The only games he started this year 2018 was that Rochdale game and the Doncaster game before it .

He was disadvantaged because Brown played him when he was injured. But Brown never accepted injuries as a reason not to play. If you played with an injury it showed you had the right attitude.

From his point of view he probably feels aggrieved but if he is as good as he thinks he is he shouldn't have any trouble getting another club. That's life as a footballer.

 

[LBBlue]

Yep and I think he played a few games when not fully fit, as was asked of by the club, which left him with the more prolonged injury he picked up in that home game (Fleetwood?).

Decent player, but I can see why he possibly would get limited game time if he stayed.

Shrewsbury on a sticky pitch - he'd gone off against Charlton -the game before and said he didn't really want to play against Shrewsbury.

 

[Dubai]

Shrewsbury on a sticky pitch - he'd gone off against Charlton -the game before and said he didn't really want to play against Shrewsbury.

Probs still wanted to pick up his full pay check though?

 

[Shrimpet]

Wasn't good enough! And didn't score the goals he did for Gillingham! All I can say is nice guy!