RETAIN OR RELEASE? TOUGH DECISIONS AHEAD...

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It’s that time of year again… well 2 months later than usual… but you get the idea. It’s time for the retained list to be announced and it’s sure to be an interesting one: on the one hand the club are looking to move to new heights, but on the other, we are in amidst a global pandemic and financial crisis. I have compiled a list of all the players who were under contract last season (so minus the players that were on loan) and split them into RETAIN and RELEASE. It may cause some heated debate among fans as some discussions already have, but then – football is a game of opinions…

UNDER CONTRACT

Firstly, I’ll just clear up those who is  under contract:

Liam Gordon is believed to have a clause in his contract to extend his deal for a further year, while the likes of Elliot Justham, Myles Weston, Kenny Clark, Mitch Brundle, Angelo Balanta, Sam Deering, James Dobson, Joe Quigley, Reece Grant, Chike Kandi all have contracts beyond the end of the season.

STRONG SPECULATION

Furthermore, there have been some reports of Manny Onariase being linked with the likes of Orient, Bolton & Cambridge from numerous sources. Also, after Alex McQueen put a highlights reel of himself on Twitter which ended in ‘For Further Enquiries Please Contact Agent’ – we could perhaps safely say he won’t be staying.

RETAIN

Liam Gordon

With the fact of him having the option to extend his stay a further year, for me it’s a no brainer that Liam Gordon (one of our own) is first choice LB next season.

Elliot Justham

Best Keeper in the league. Signed a long-term contract during last campaign which delighted every Dagger! Can’t wait to see him in between the sticks again next season as we challenge for promotion.

Kenny Clark

Captain Kenny is also under contract and I believe he is the right man to marshal the back line going into next season – wearing the armband with pride.

Mitch Brundle

Mitch came under a lot of criticism last season as fans were frustrated at times with his lack of desire, but the stats don’t lie, and he accumulated a fair few goals and assists last campaign from the middle of the park. At the end of the day, it’s goals that win matches and his attacking mindset is a great fit for McMahon’s style.

Angelo Balanta