Smallwood signs

[Scotland1]

12 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Just shows the lunacy in signing up Smallwood, Evans, Bennett et al on lucrative new deals.

No chance they’d be snapped up by anyone else, so surely you see how the season in the higher league pans out?

If they are up to it, you start to hand out the new deals around now. If not, thanks for your efforts, but we won’t be needing you next season, freeing up valuable space in the squad for upgrades.

Now in the summer, we are going to have a squad full of contracted, well paid, league 1 footballers, seriously restricting our room for manoeuvre. Jobs for the boys mentality that will do is serious harm.

100 percent this! How Reed isn’t the first name on the teamsheet ahead of these two is beyond me.

Evans is classic played for a contract would happily see us ditch this waster.

Mowbrays blind faith is it down to faith in the players or a lack of trust in his ability to build a squad?! 

[tomphil]

That's what I've been saying ages in regards to people expecting massive changes- it won't happen he's tied us to them and them to us and they aren't the types coveted by others who'll pay a fee or they'll take a pay cut off their lucrative contracts to go somewhere else.

It would take a massive injection of funds of huge wage bill hike to bring in better to replace them and plonk them on the bench as back ups never mind what it would do to this fabled dressing room spirit.

What you saw yesterday will make up the core of the team that starts next season and in all likely hood similar football because this guy and his sidekicks can't coach anything different that much is obvious. There'll be no huge upgrade in personnel and no big tactical change either what we realistically need to hope for is a bit of quality. verve, and steel at the back adding to what we have and a bit more consistency turning loses into wins they way we play now.

It's plain daft to expect anything else we've seen nearly two and a half seasons of Mowbrays management and style now. Hows he going to turn all that on it's head in one summer at this stage of his career ?

Not happening, best we can hope for is an improvement on the same stuff !

[Tom]

He didn’t even do his usual full pelt sprint off when subbed yesterday 

[Stuart]

2 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Just shows the lunacy in signing up Smallwood, Evans, Bennett et al on lucrative new deals.

No chance they’d be snapped up by anyone else, so surely you see how the season in the higher league pans out?

If they are up to it, you start to hand out the new deals around now. If not, thanks for your efforts, but we won’t be needing you next season, freeing up valuable space in the squad for upgrades.

Now in the summer, we are going to have a squad full of contracted, well paid, league 1 footballers, seriously restricting our room for manoeuvre. Jobs for the boys mentality that will do is serious harm.

Easy to say in hindsight Matty!

Smallers could have been the next Roy Keane in Mowbray’s eyes.

[blueboy3333]

1 hour ago, Tom said:

He didn’t even do his usual full pelt sprint off when subbed yesterday 

Is there a better sight in football than Smallwood opening his legs and going full pelt? I'd suggest not. 

[Wegerleswiggle]

Just noticed Smallwood's agency is SEM group. I used to like the bloke, but he's gone down in my estimation now. 

[SBlue]

LONG LIVE THE KING

[MarkBRFC]

After seeing Lowe and Evans stroll around our midfield for what seemed like decades, this guy was a breath of fresh air in our league one campaign, finally someone flying into tackles and showing a bit of urgency in midfield.

Special mention for that winner at Fleetwood and that performance in goal at the hawthorns.

He isn't quite upto it at this level, and should have gone 12 months ago in my opinion to play some football, but his contribution to the league one promotion shouldn't be overlooked.

[A Northern Horde...]

Apart from Dack there is not one single player I would lament leaving this club at present..what a sad damning statement to make on matters.

 

[Herbie6590]

Just now, A Northern Horde... said:

Apart from Dack there is not one single player I would lament leaving this club at present..what a sad damning statement to make on matters.

 

Travis, Armstrong, Lenihan, Nyambe ?

[davulsukur]

34 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

After seeing Lowe and Evans stroll around our midfield for what seemed like decades, this guy was a breath of fresh air in our league one campaign, finally someone flying into tackles and showing a bit of urgency in midfield.

Special mention for that winner at Fleetwood and that performance in goal at the hawthorns.

He isn't quite upto it at this level, and should have gone 12 months ago in my opinion to play some football, but his contribution to the league one promotion shouldn't be overlooked.

Spot on really.

[K-Hod]

6 minutes ago, A Northern Horde... said:

Apart from Dack there is not one single player I would lament leaving this club at present..what a sad damning statement to make on matters.

 

You seen that Armstrong fella?

[A Northern Horde...]

3 minutes ago, Herbie6590 said:

Travis, Armstrong, Lenihan, Nyambe ?

The players mentioned are average imo,they reflect our team as a whole...consistently inconsistent.

[Blue blood]

1 hour ago, MarkBRFC said:

After seeing Lowe and Evans stroll around our midfield for what seemed like decades, this guy was a breath of fresh air in our league one campaign, finally someone flying into tackles and showing a bit of urgency in midfield.

Special mention for that winner at Fleetwood and that performance in goal at the hawthorns.

He isn't quite upto it at this level, and should have gone 12 months ago in my opinion to play some football, but his contribution to the league one promotion shouldn't be overlooked.

Can't really add to this really. 

Had he been used better in the championship as a squad player I think people would remember him more fondly. 

[RoversClitheroe]

Personally didn't rate him.

Good season in league 1 to get us promoted.

Found that whenever he lost possession he wouldn't sprint back.

Mowbray should never of extended his contract.

Smallwood should have left when Mowbray told him he wouldn't play this season. Or at least gone out on loan to save wages. 

[tomphil]

Not getting all misty eyed about this one like some seem to be in some places.  Did a great job at his level in league 1 but obviously struggled with the step up.  TM did the right thing replacing him with his numerous other mids but keeping him around doing nothing coupled with him at one point turning down games with the U23s doesn't sit well with me.

Had his moment and we are thankful but also seems to be another who's done very well out of this manager and his soft side.

Best of luck to him in the future but imo should have been gone  7 months ago.

[K-Hod]

@MarkBRFC pretty much nails it with his post, tbh. But my own comments.
League 1- great for the first half of the season, when he had that potential two game suspension hanging over him, he seemed to lose his edge. 
Championship- well, he never hit the same heights as he did in the league below, let’s be honest here.

Overall- it was good to see a combative midfielder again, after years of watching crabs and he made some very important contributions. But, now we have superior players in his position, so there’s now no room at the inn and all that.

[Admiral Nelsen]

1 hour ago, MarkBRFC said:

After seeing Lowe and Evans stroll around our midfield for what seemed like decades, this guy was a breath of fresh air in our league one campaign, finally someone flying into tackles and showing a bit of urgency in midfield.

Special mention for that winner at Fleetwood and that performance in goal at the hawthorns.

He isn't quite upto it at this level, and should have gone 12 months ago in my opinion to play some football, but his contribution to the league one promotion shouldn't be overlooked.

Don't really need to add anything to this, other than in the summer before he signed it was quite difficult to even like most of our players. Smallwood was one of the main figures in changing that in the L1 season.

The ceiling of his ability is towards the lower half of this division, so right for all parties that he goes, but's right to recognise his role in letting us enjoy going to the football again.

[arbitro]

35 minutes ago, RoversClitheroe said:

Personally didn't rate him.

Good season in league 1 to get us promoted.

Found that whenever he lost possession he wouldn't sprint back.

Mowbray should never of extended his contract.

Smallwood should have left when Mowbray told him he wouldn't play this season. Or at least gone out on loan to save wages. 

I agree. Smallwood was good in League One but hung around for 18 months in the knowledge there was very little chance of actually playing. I remember a Lancashire Cup match against Accrington last season and Mowbray (stupidly in my book) gave senior professionals who weren't getting game time the option of playing. Danny Graham played and put a real shift in but Smallwood was nowhere to be seen. That was disappointing to me.

[Gav]

Never forget the fans on the pitch at Doncaster dancing and singing his name, can't add anything more than MarkBRFC.

[Dreams of 1995]

Regardless of what league it was in it is always nice to remember a player fondly. I loved Smallwood in our league 1 days, and spent many a night chewing my pals ears off about the King of Ewood. Hope he gets a decent club to go to and play football again.

[roversfan99]

Yep, very important in League 1, not a Championship level player but just what we needed when we went down.

Don't blame him for sitting on his contract either, anyone would struggle to rip up a years worth of wages higher than he could have got anywhere else, we handed out far too many to average players when we got promoted, Smallwood, Williams, Bennett, Mulgrew etc, I suspect that all of them could be off the payroll now had we not done that.

[A Northern Horde...]

I just pray and hope we can improve upon players like Smallwood.We MUST if we are ever to move forward.

[Dreyski]

He was probably the best keeper at the club last season...?

[Hoochie Bloochie Mama]

19 minutes ago, A Northern Horde... said:

I just pray and hope we can improve upon players like Smallwood.We MUST if we are ever to move forward.

Smallwood hasn't been anywhere near the first team for months so we already have improved on him with Travis. 

Travis and Evans are a top 6 CM partnership IMO. Evans is underrated.