Breaking News Released and retained players

[Austin the Shrimper]

Jack Payne just been released by Huddersfield

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Jack Payne just been released by Huddersfield

Lol. Keep up Austin. That's been spoke about all day on here.

 

[Harry Bullocks]

Left back & a "big unit" centre back, midfield roughty-toughty, and a striker....pretty much the spine of the team.…………...

Down to you KB / Harry...………………..

 

[Fitz]

Jack Payne just been released by Huddersfield

Don’t want any former players back, and he showed no loyalty whatsoever when with us....he should have stayed at Southend. Another couple of years and got his head down.

 

[Harry Bullocks]

Good player...IMO… doesn't fit in with the potential shopping list

 

[Shrimpers are Magic]

Ted only has himself to blame...

Go on

 

[Shrimpers are Magic]

So just who are we left with now?

An awful lot of average midfielders and a shortage of defenders.

 

[smith72]

Ted only has himself to blame...

Ted only has himself to blame...

definitely to blame ?

 

[Jay_SUFC]

Surprised nobody has really mentioned Ted Smith. Was excellent when given his chance.

I mentioned him quite a few times on the other thread. Personally I would have kept him, and maybe loaned him out. Still think he's a good keeper and I hope the decision to give Oxley a 3 year deal last year hasn't played a part in having to shift him out.

 

[TheGoat]

I liked Ted. Always did well when he came into the team and I remember when Bentley moved on, we all seemed to be okay with it because we had no doubt that Ted was waiting in the wings with bundles of ability. Such a shame how injuries can affect a player’s future.

But he’s (23?) now and with Oxley already signed up for the foreseeable and the really impressive emergence of Bishop, I guess it makes complete sense to not have three first team goalkeepers.

I hope he finds a good club, stays clear of injuries and ends up having a good career in league football.

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

Don’t want any former players back, and he showed no loyalty whatsoever when with us....he should have stayed at Southend. Another couple of years and got his head down.

I think anyone would be pretty stupid to turn down a contract with a huge pay increase. That Hudds contract has potentially set him up for 10 years after football. If another company increased my wages by X5 I'd be straight out the door.

 

[fleabag1]

We need players that dont get injured not injury prone players . we need some goals from midfield an exciting winger a tall fast centre back .A alan McCormack type player would be my first choice centre mid .I liked Bolger when he was here

 

[Jay_SUFC]

I think anyone would be pretty stupid to turn down a contract with a huge pay increase. That Hudds contract has potentially set him up for 10 years after football. If another company increased my wages by X5 I'd be straight out the door.

Totally agree and no different to what previous Southend players have done in the past; even Chris Powell did this to us as a player!!

 

[Jay_SUFC]

We need players that dont get injured not injury prone players . we need some goals from midfield an exciting winger a tall fast centre back .A alan McCormack type player would be my first choice centre mid .I liked Bolger when he was here

No, we need a mobile midfielder, not another one that just sits in the middle of the park, strolling around, we have enough of those already.

When Dru isn't in the side, we have no other player capable of doing this, so this must be the priority and unfortunately with current personal, we can't sign multiple centre midfielders.

 

[Ricey]

On Ted Smith, I’m gutted he’s gone he showed so much promise but that injury just came at the wrong time. Oxley hit form and became player of the season and then he got injured and Bish stepped up and proved he is going to be a talent. Unfortunately I don’t think even if we did keep him he’d be happy being 3rd choice. At a club with our budget can we really have to afford to have a 3rd choice on a contract like Smith whereas we can have a youth player and look how that’s turned out with the likes of Bentley, Smith and Bishop coming through.

I wish him the best of luck and hope he finds a league club.

 

[RHB]

The issue of releasing two left backs is one that will need to be addressed, soon hopefully. As for Ben being let go, my first thought was I'm not sure. Since then I've tried to look dispassionately at his appearances over the last five seasons. In 2014/15 he managed 33 games in league and cup. In 2015/16 the appearances improved and his tally was 44 games (not bad). 2016/17 dipped again with 33 games and in 2017/18 he managed 22 games. As we know last season was the worst statistically with just 17 appearances in league and cup.

So certainly, over the last three seasons, his appearances have gone down. Southend do have a history of sticking with long term injured players and have had some success in rehabilitation, but if I was Bond my first stop would have been at Ben Clarkson's door and the question would have been 'what do you think?' I haven't a clue what his answer was/could have been, but leaving aside the injury situation there didn't seem to be too much enthusiasm generating from the player with regards to staying. So purely on a business asset basis I would have released the guy. I'm not sure what all this proves, or doesn't, but at least it's a lot clearer in my head now and I agree with the decision to let him go.

As for Hendrie, well that's another matter entirely...........that was a big mistake unless Mr Bond has someone lined up to come in, and soon.

 

[SeaSideDoughnut]

Real shame about Coker, I'm sad to see him leave. I don't think we'll find a better left back next season. Forgot about where we 'should be', 'we should be up there'. Players and agents are going to look at where we finished and how close we were to relegation, and a lot will say that's not where I want to be.

I think his got more stick than he deserves. His basically treated his career the same as anybody else would in their profession. If you don't back yourself when your stock is high you won't get anywhere. The difference being this is football, this is OUR club, and we hope players love it as we do. But not everyone's AB or KM.

I wonder how much of these decisions were made by Bond. After all, his only been in charge for 6 games.

Very pleased for Barratt. Tough luck for Smith. Not surprised with Hendrie. Wabo... Where was all that promise.

 

[Hawkwell Blue]

No real surprises. I personally would’ve binned off White too, but I know that’s an unpopular opinion. Any player that is year upon year described by so many as “good backup” should’ve moved on by now. Or just for sheer stupidity of the push that nearly relegated us. Either/or.

Lucky he scored that first half goal then.

 

[geoffmundo]

Totally agree and no different to what previous Southend players have done in the past; even Chris Powell did this to us as a player!!

And the great Stan Collymore.....oh Stan where was your loyalty? 6 months and you left us!

 

[bluesfansince1952]

For us fans football is a sentimental business. We support our club for a variety of reasons, some of which may be totally irrational, and, our loyalty is unquestionable. Players come and go but our support of Southend will remain undiminished. For players and managers it is a brutally unsentimental business. Failure is always more likely than success, but even if a player can see off the challenges of his contemporaries and secure a regular first team place it might be for an unsuccessful team with the result he will have a good chance of being roundly abused by the home 'fans'. It is my experience that some Blues fans are especially hard to please.
Careers can be fleeting and even those players who can avoid being released may see their playing days curtailed by injury or the whims and prejudices of those responsible for team selection. For a favoured few a glittering and glamorous career but for most a precarious and insecure existence.
A year ago Ben Coker was in a very good position. Acknowledged as being one of our leading players he was one of the first names on the team sheet. Rumours circulated of interest from 'bigger' clubs (and that definition may cover more than half of those clubs outside of the Premiership!) and I may have once read on SZ that he was a favourite of Ron's son (if I did read it on SZ it must be true!). At that time Ben Coker had, as they say, leverage in his contract negotiations with the Blues. He rejected a contract offer from us, and whether this was just a negotiating position we have no way of knowing. Perhaps, a bit of both; at best he may have been hoping to attract interest from an Ipswich, Reading or Millwall or at worst to secure an improved offer from us.
A few months later he suffered a cruel injury at The Stadium Of Light and suddenly his situation became very different. A player who is thirty years of age coming off an ACL injury has next to no leverage. His reputation might just secure him a longer and better offer than Southend were ever likely to make but that is by no means certain. Given our financial situation it makes no sense to pay over the odds for a thirty year old left back with a questionable injury record. Had he accepted our offer last season we may have found ourselves in a situation where SZ was in meltdown by next January with Coker's name being added to our already long list of perceived 'overpaid' veterans. Did we just dodge a bullet? Time will tell and it will be really interesting to see how many games he plays next season. I may be wrong but I would doubt that his deal with Lincoln is better than the one we offered and he turned down before his injury.
I bear him no ill will for trying to maximise his situation last season when turning us down and I would have done exactly the same had I been in a similar position as would most on this site.
However, even if he goes on to have a stellar career I also think releasing him was 100% the right decision. The cost of making him an offer that he would be willing to accept is just too high for a club of our means.
His replacement? Hart on loan again may be a remote possibility but I cannot see us being able to afford paying a fee for him. I suspect the likeliest scenario is Elvis playing on the left as he did at least once for CP. The way he finished the season will make him hard to leave out but if Demi is fit I cannot see him relegated to the bench.
I was really pleased to see Barratt was retained as, from what little I saw of him last season, I thought he had a lot to offer. Good on the ball, he could beat a man, not afraid to shoot, a decent left leg and a good long throw in. If he can stay fit he may prove to be at least a good impact sub.
By all accounts Wabo has a poor attitude and a player of his skill set is unlikely to make it without some dedication. Perhaps us releasing him will give him the wake up call he clearly needs. I wish him luck but it is hard to argue with his release.
I admire both White's attitude and dedication. He is a great man to have on the bench as he can cover a number of positions. As a starter he makes me nervous, and, although I could see us challenging for play off space if he is usually on the bench I fear if he was to start every week we will likely struggle. Nevertheless he deserves the offer he has received.
I wish all those released luck in their futures.