2024 Released Players & City transfer rumours

Stop it. That names gives folk of acertain age nightmares.

 

Heard a few of Graham’s ex players talk about the Austria trips on a couple of podcasts.
They loved it and said it really helped bed in the new players etc . Hardwork but they felt the benefit when the season came around .

 

Interesting signing for Walsall - Albert Adomah - seems to be coming with the right attitude - "I started off in League Two at my local club Barnet nearly 16 years ago, so now I’m back in League Two where the journey started," he told the Saddlers' website. "With my experience, hopefully I can help the youngsters."

 

I remember him last time at Barnet what a player he was. Also the Palace lad. They had some team there...

 

Good signing. Played quite a few championship games last year and was pretty much a first choice the year before that.

At 36 his age may be a slight issue as he'll have lost some pace but should still possess some quality.

 

Have you seen the video interviews on the Club website?. Clearly loving it including dips in the freezing lake instead of ice baths after training.

 

Salford have signed Ben Woodburn on a 2 year deal. Former Liverpool youth, after some time at Preston. Just 1 start in the championship last season, way above his level it seems.

 

Another arrival from Stockport. This could be a great signing.

 

Walsall also linked online to Matt Smith, still to find a club after his decision to leave Salford. Think he's from that neck of the woods.

 

The physio has a background in rugby!!?? Surely the injuries are different to football ?

 

His career is looking very similar to Harry Chapman's with a lot of potential when he was younger but not fulfilling it. He only ended up with 3 goals and 3 assists for Preston from over 60 appearances. So far in he's played 140 senior club games but only got 8 goals and 10 assists. If he didn't score a goal on his debut for Wales I don't think he would be as highly rated, a big sign of his decline is that he's not been in a Wales squad since 2021 and he's not played a competitive game for them since 2018.

 

I'm not talking about him. I'm on about Eastwood.

 

Wonder what happened to his business he was reckoning on setting up. I did think he had another season in him and would struggle to walk away from full time footy.

 

I thought exactly the same thing about Chapman when I read the original post.

 

Never seems to have game time looking at his career so far. He's had 94 games in all comps across his last 3 seasons at Preston and Hearts, but only had 34 starts, and he's played 90 minutes just 5 times in the last 3 seasons.

It's not an injury thing either, he's fit, they just never played him. Over the 2 seasons at Preston, he was in 82 of the possible 92 CH matchday squads, but only played in 59 of them and only started 17, finished 90 just 4 times for Preston. Weirdly, he's nearly 25 but there's still a question over what kind of player he can be as he just barely plays.

 

Sounded like he was always going to have one more season, but was looking for his next options when the boots are hung up. He has his coaching badges too apparently to keep options open. Tough signing a player who'll be a big earner whenever he goes knowing its just for 1 season. And the squad know it too.

 

Another of those players who seems to have built a reputation and then gone backwards. Chapman was a strange one, moments of brilliance but more often a terrible pass or the wrong option. Not much of a shot either. Put in the same file as ex Plymouth winger George Cooper.

 

This would be a urghhh signing for me. Appreciate he was playing Championship but 6 goals and 9 assists in his last 4 seasons. Thats a revolting statistic for a winger.

If he was 26 (or even 30), rather than 36 you could look past that but he aint getting any better at his age.

 

A skeleton is a skeleton Silver?

 

Chapmans career was completely derailed by injury at Blackburn. Think he was about 20/21ish? Quick tricky winger but had about a year out with that bad injury and sounds like he never really sprinted as he used to but then had random hamstring issues ever since too, he plays within himself. One who just never managed to have a long run of fitness and his career has really limped along.

Woodburn is a weird one. Seems to have peaked at 17. He's had no real injuries other than a broken bone in his foot 5 years ago. But has never really kicked on. He's nearly 25 and has never had a first team run in his career. Should have left Liverpool years before when all parties knew he wouldn't make the grade, but signed a long and hefty contract that nobody would buy out. So rather than trying to forge his career at 20 around the EFL, he stuck around until 22 and had little on his CV. Preston took a chance on potential but he's just not at that level either.

For Salford, best case is they have a good L2 winger they can sell on if he does well. He'll take on the Louie Barry role that worked wonders for him after a few seasons of doing little at Villa after he burst onto the scene.