thorpebayshrimper
First XI
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2009
- Messages
- 611
How and why did they cease playing for us then?Neither were let go.
How and why did they cease playing for us then?Neither were let go.
They were all offered one-year contracts but got better offers elsewhere - Bentley joined Gillingham (I think) because he was offered a two-year contract and he wanted the security of the extra year to help look after his family.
Think Jupp joined Gillingham as well for similar reasons; I can’t remember what happened with Gray but I’m almost certain he was offered a deal as well.
I don’t think they were offered wage increases, which was the problem. The only one who stayed was Che Wilson, who was given a pay rise as he was on pittance.
Correct, both went over the river for 2 year contracts. If we had offered the same they would have stayed...so we 'let them go' when we could and should have retained them. Our mistake. We all know the hardest thing is to assemble a winning team and squad. It's not just about the capability of individual players, though of course that's key. The way ALL interact and bond with each other on and off the pitch is vital for success. They wouldn't have set the world alight in the Champ but for the sake of an extra 12 months for each we lost 2 parts (of a very small number in total) of that winning formula. And instead wasted the money on Ricketts!!They were all offered one-year contracts but got better offers elsewhere - Bentley joined Gillingham (I think) because he was offered a two-year contract and he wanted the security of the extra year to help look after his family.
Think Jupp joined Gillingham as well for similar reasons; I can’t remember what happened with Gray but I’m almost certain he was offered a deal as well.
I don’t think they were offered wage increases, which was the problem. The only one who stayed was Che Wilson, who was given a pay rise as he was on pittance.
Fair enough, I thought you meant 'let go' as in released.Correct, both went over the river for 2 year contracts. If we had offered the same they would have stayed...so we 'let them go' when we could and should have retained them. Our mistake. We all know the hardest thing is to assemble a winning team and squad. It's not just about the capability of individual players, though of course that's key. The way ALL interact with each other on and off the pitch is vital for success. They wouldn't have set the world alight in the Champ but for the sake of an extra 12 months for each we lost 2 parts (of a very small number in total) of that winning formula. And instead wasted the money on Ricketts!!
I'm still angry about what happened with Corr, who clearly wanted to stay but couldn't get through to either Brown or Ron during their holidays to sort the contract out. The fact that neither knew he had signed for Cambridge until after they got back says it all. Corr and Cox would have been a great front two.Similar to how we lost Atkinson and Corr when we got promoted.