Alex wanted to sell Wes apparently

[pete 318]

According to comments on Irish website

https://www.balls.ie/football/wes-hoolahan-alex-neil-360896

Wanted £10m for Wessi a possible fee would be unlikely so stupid idea. Unless Pritchard to step in but Alex has never indicated he fancied Pritchard.

Wes our hero sees off Alex good for him legend.

[lake district canary 4,531]

It''s just a rehash/hype of The Sun''s garbage.   This - and Sun''s article - is just a mish mash of rumour and supposition. 

[AJ 1,218]

In fairness he''s spent a lot of money signing Naismith and Pritchard with Maddison on the books as well I suppose the only one he could justify getting rid of was Wes as he''s the only one he didn''t waste money signing!

[The Great Mass Debater 1,078]

No signs Wes is losing effectiveness despite his age. Still our most vital squad member. If this is true its a poor piece of judgement by Neil

[Baldyboy 0]

Guy sits near me said Neil went to the board yesterday morning with a long list of those he wanted to ship out and Wes was top of it as he felt he was past his best! List allegedly included Naismith and Martin along with Whittaker, Turner and Klose. How true it is God only knows but when the board saw that some of those to go were actually signed by Neil that''s what tipped them over the edge!

[Capt. Pants 4,202]

I heard the same. Wes out = Neil out. Thank God we kept Wes.

[A Load of Squit 5,135]

Is the guy who sits near youa. Alex Neil?b. A member of the board?c. Just another guy with a theory?

[nutty nigel 7,509]

Just an observation from today. When Whitts came on and Pritchard''s number was held up Josh shook his head in disbelief. Realistically it was only going to be Pritchard or Wes.

[JF 694]

nutty nigel wrote the following post at 11/03/2017 7:24 PM:

Just an observation from today. When Whitts came on and Pritchard''s number was held up Josh shook his head in disbelief. Realistically it was only going to be Pritchard or Wes.

I didn''t see that but I found the fans reaction bizarre. As you say it was only ever going to be one of the two

[nutty nigel 7,509]

It was because there was frustration and disappointment all pent up over the last few weeks. The substitution was the first chance to release. The second chance was when we went behind and the board copped it. What i was disappointed about was that it took until past the 90th minute for Hooper to really cop it.

[JF 694]

He didn''t have the best of games but in all honesty I''ve seen worse refereeing. The angle of the camera footage for the sending off isn''t the best but by all accounts it was the correct decision.

[City 2nd 191]

nutty nigel wrote the following post at 2017-03-11 11:32 PM:

It was because there was frustration and disappointment all pent up over the last few weeks. The substitution was the first chance to release. The second chance was when we went behind and the board copped it. What i was disappointed about was that it took until past the 90th minute for Hooper to really cop it.

Certainly agree with that NN. I thought he was very very poor today, the sending off aside, which he got right, he was inconsistent with his decisions, in fact I believe second half he actually blew for a Blackburn foul, and seeing they were actually in possession, reversed that decision and waved play on! Don''t think he has got over the criticism from disallowing that goal against palace last season.

[city4eva 207]

I had hard that Wes was not training this week along with a few others that were ostracised after the shef wed game

[nutty nigel 7,509]

Yes this is another thing that has changed beyond recognition thanks to instant information. It''s now check the phone to see if it was a good decision instead of give the ref hell and worry about whether it was a good decision when reading Monday''s Evening News.

[paddycanary 538]

The sacking has been inevitable since December/January. The losses to Rotherham & Burton were hugely damaging; even though they sandwiched a 6-game mini revival, there were too many poor performances from October through to the New Year. AN''s two trips to Newcastle seem to have shaped the last two seasons. The cliche "a game of fine margins" rings very true. An Alex Tettey sub here, a late collapse there...

There is a small hint of sadness on his departure and nobody can take away the achievement of two years ago; he so nearly claimed automatic promotion and took us up through a glorious playoff campaign. However that goodwill has been well used up and there was no doubt this was coming after Cameron Jerome''s interview last week.

Some pros:

- Memorable playoff push

- Beating Ipswich

- Wembley

- Old Trafford win

- Some good signings (e.g. Pinto, Oliveira, Dijks) and banked some good fees for some player-outs (e.g. Grabban, Hooper, Johnson, Redmond, Brady, Canos)

- Progress of Murphys and attempted to get solid playing experience for younger squad members elsewhere

- Attempted an attacking philosophy and it was rarely boring

- Active policy of scouting & signing young prospects has left some scope for real positivity looking forward

Some cons:

- Too rigid in his playing philosophy and failed to acquire the correct players to implement the same (e.g. Tettey upgrade, mobile centre-back). Far too predictable for opposing coaches to prepare for

- With hindsight, available money was not spent efficiently on player acquisitions (Dorrans, Naismith, Pritchard, Mulumbu, McGovern, Canos, Jarvis, Andreau, even Klose all drain(ed) the finances and none are guaranteed starters)

- Lack of effective decision-making during matches, particularly responding to opposing tactical switches and his poor use of substitutions. It must be so frustrating to be sitting & watching the play on an AN bench and is surely bad for squad morale

- Arguably too honest during media engagements. We all know when we''ve made mistakes and being called out on camera by your ''boss'' is surely counter-productive

I think as time passes, we''ll remember Wembley & promotion more than the last 18 months but I still think it wouldn''t have taken too much more to have avoided either of the last two relegations (obviously AN is blameless for the Hughton relegation); that''s where the disappointment & frustration comes from.

Wes will surely have an important role to play in the Championship next season, perhaps not to start every week but a great pro to have around to influence games and help nurture the likes of Pritchard, Maddison, McGrandles, Wildschut, the Murphys. I hope he gets his testimonial - there should be some sentiment left in this sport/business (delete as required!)

Regarding the senior squad rebuilding process awaiting the new manager/head coach, here''s my two cents:

Ruddy - Good chance he''ll leave but hopefully he stays for at least another year

McGovern - Not a bad keeper but wouldn''t be too concerned if he left

Jones - No opinion!

Pinto - Hope he stays

Whittaker - Time to move on

Martin - A polarising figure on this forum but keep for next year for me

Klose - I sense he''s central to the unrest so sadly cheerio

Bassong - Goodbye

Turner - Time to move on

Bennett - Has never happened for him here but keep for next year (hopefully as a backup)

Gafaiti - Loan out

Dijks - Surely he''s gone

Toffolo - Difficult to know if he has enough to step up but keep for next year

Godfrey - Great potential - Keep

Tettey - Always liked him but we''ve been crying out for a more disciplined defensive midfielder for at least two years. A replacement for Tettey is a key requirement this summer.

Mulumbu - At the time seemed a very solid & logical signing but has been disastrous. Goodbye

Hall-Johnson - Has potential - Farm out on Loan

Dorrans - No harm to keep for next year

Howson - Should be captain next year

Wes - Keep

Wildschut - Keep

Murphys - Keep

Maddison - Keep

Pritchard - Keep but wouldn''t blame him if he left

Jarvis - Disastrous signing but how do we get rid of him?

Naismith - Difficult one - Could yet come good but seems unlikely. Also difficult to offload without taking a hit

Lafferty - Goodbye & good luck

Oliveira - Keep

Jerome - Keep

Before any new arrivals, we''d be left with Ruddy or McGovern, Pinto, Martin, Bennett, Toffolo, Godfrey, Tettey(?), Dorrans, Howson, Wes, Wildschut, Murphys, Maddison, Pritchard(?), Jarvis, Naismith, Oliveira & Jerome.

It''s unavoidable we''ll still be left with some players tainted by relegation and perceived failure this year. For me a bigger worry is the "spine" of that team even after this hypothetical clearout, i.e. McGovern/Ruddy, Martin or Bennett, Howson/Dorrans, Oliviera/Jerome. A new boss faces a huge challenge to bring a fresh & cohesive group of players together and launch a push for the top six next year.

Going by the above, for starters we need to sign two centre-backs, a left-back, a quality defensive midfielder and a goal-poacher - as does pretty much everyone else we''ll be competing against. The financial advantage we should have over the majority of the division will be gone by summer 2018. We probably say this every year but a huge & fundamentally important sequence of decisions lies ahead over the next few months, beginning with the "announcements" next week.

Best of luck to Alex Neil in the future - Thanks for Wembley

Wow, that was a long post, apologies

[nutty nigel 7,509]

Great post paddy and interesting comment about Klose.

BTW buddy, Reece Hall-Johnson was released last summer and went to Braintree? And Gafaiti was released at the same time. Went back to Algeria I think.

[Year of the tiger 54]

Gafaiti..long gone playing in Algeria I believe

Hall Johnson left last year playing for Braintree

Plus does anyone seriously believe we would get anything other than a peppercorn fee for a 35 year old even if it is Wes. £10 m delusional, perhaps that was the problem

[Greavsy 2,412]

His stock would have been at its highest when he returned from the euros, having had a quality tournament. That was when we got him to sign a new contract. Not aware of any interest at that time.

I couldn''t ever see his value that high though, not at his age etc,

[Youre a melt 0]

Really think we need to give him a testimonial year,he deserves it!

[Greavsy 2,412]

Next year i believe.

Ed Balls mentioned it too in his interview today.

Totally deserves it. .

[paddycanary 538]

[quote user="Year of the tiger"]Gafaiti..long gone playing in Algeria I believe

Hall Johnson left last year playing for Braintree

Plus does anyone seriously believe we would get anything other than a peppercorn fee for a 35 year old even if it is Wes. £10 m delusional, perhaps that was the problem[/quote]

Should probably check my facts before posting. Thought Gafaiti was still around although I had a feeling Hall-Johnson was gone alright. Shame because I felt he had potential, and versatility.

I don''t believe that rubbish about AN looking for 5m or 10m for Wes. AN is an intelligent and pragmatic man. Possibly some substance in that perhaps he wanted to make room in the squad to provide more game-time for Pritchard, Maddison, Wildschut, McGrandles... AN himself alluded to clearing out the older players this summer and looking to youth in that unfortunate press conference just hours before he got his cards.

As for Timm Klose, I''ve no sources or evidence to suggest he''s been a negative influence in the dressing-room; I just get the feeling he doesn''t fancy the Championship slog, more so now after such a disappointing campaign. I wouldn''t be surprised if his agent has already been working overtime to engineer a move away, probably back to the Bundesliga. Shame because there''s a quality defender in there somewhere. The Klose situation is symptomatic of why the last two relegations are so disappointing. Both were so avoidable (bloody Sunderland!) and just a small bit more consistency would have seen us now established in the top division, albeit bottom 8 material.

The gap is widening and other clubs are passing us out, both ''tablewise'' & financially. Too many of the signs are pointing to mid-table obscurity in the Championship for the foreseeable future. I was among those who thought keeping the bulk of the squad together last summer was the correct policy - they had the necessary experience. But for whatever reasons, it just hasn''t worked this season. By any measure, failure to make the top six with this group of players and the financial backing made available has been well below-par.

I wonder has there been unrest with players such as Olsson, Brady, Naismith, Klose... fancying themselves as "too good" for the Championship grind. Normally clubs move these players on following relegation. Perhaps this has been the root cause of player unrest and AN''s eventual sacking? If players don''t fancy it but are still getting picked ahead of others, morale heads south very quickly. I expect wholesale turnover of senior playing staff this summer. High earners under contract could well be the first brick wall facing the new management team.

[Lessingham Canary 99]

Good post Paddy, excellent points well made.