The release of Chris Beardsley came as no surprise. One tends to think that when a Manager has already tried to ship a striker out from a team that struggles to score, that your time may be up. A mixture of mystery injuries and an inability to hit the net this season, despite strenuous efforts was always going to count against him.
Getting rid of Craig Westcarr is more of an eyebrow raiser. Everyone knows he has quality. Everyone also knows he doesn’t apply it as often as he should. Cooper knew this when he brought him back after the “Stevenage Incident”. So what has changed?
More problematic for me is the release of Brett. Despite many people saying he isn’t Premier standard I have yet to see his qualities eclipsed by other Poppies midfielders. Last year’s title success was built upon goals from midfield, but this season they have been almost entirely absent. Will Andre or Darren burst into the box to become an additional attacker? Unlikely based on their efforts this season. Will the next half dozen midfield loanees we take on bust a gut to get in the last ditch tackle? Not based on what I’ve seen. I couldn’t see the likes of Warlow or Artus putting in a first ditch tackle let alone a last ditch one.
It seems Brett’s release was simply one of those things that was pre-ordained. He was being described as “too old”, “too slow” or “too ginger”. If we get in someone better then fine, but I sense his departure, and that of Chris and Craig owed as much to their relationship with the Manager than their efforts in a Poppies shirt. Box-to-box midfielders with an eye for goal may well be beating a path to our door. I hope so, particularly if rumours of the departures of Andre and Darren Wrack are true. The premature release of Brett may well come back to haunt us.
The players released are all in their prime. Good for a lot more football. Good luck to them all in the future.
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