Summer of 2022

Smallwood has been working in a poor midfield. He seems to be getting better again and joking aside is personal life has changed baby etc etc etc

 

Agree about Lewis. Let's hope we can keep hold of him for at least until the summer. Sure he will be on scouts' lists now. If he does move on hope it is high enough up the pyramid so the financial reward for City takes the sting out of things.

 

First team keepers rarely move in the Jan window. I hope for him he has a really good agent and family around him (seems that way when he speaks) that will really look into his next offer, I'm fully expecting that offer to come through in the summer. But you do see these younger keepers have a standout season, get picked up by a middling champ club to sit on the bench and the careers go nowhere.

Thinking guys like Connor Ripley who signed a long deal at Preston in his mid 20s to sit on the side-lines for years after some impressive spells in the lower leagues. Joe Day was another, cracking spell at Newport then Cardiff grab him just to not play for 2 or 3 years. Lewis could easily be a starting keeper a few divisions up with a few starting seasons at City under his belt.

 

I can't disagree with much of that. Much as I disagreed earlier in the season I now admit he's an upgrade on Hendrie, but I still don't think he's a great defender. You implied as much yourself in an earlier post re the comparison with Darby.