Retained & Released List - 2022

Is Osadebe the most polarising player we’ve ever had?

If we keep him as our #10, we will finish 13th-19th again.

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I think its best for both parties he moves on to be honest.

Pretty obvious we have offered him less money else we would have triggered the extension.

FWIW i think Flynn would get more out of him, s if he stays then fair enough.

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Silly me. Secretly every player wants to be verbally abused and agree to a lower contract, as long as that will be provided in abundance :wink:

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Couldn’t care less to be honest. He had a handful of good games in two seasons, in quite possibly the worst teams I have saw in my over 20 years supporting Walsall FC.

As @el_nombre said, his best games were at RWB, which says it all when he is supposed to be a CAM.

He obviously thinks he is better than us, and the vast majority think he isn’t. Only one outcome for me.

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Bristol Rovers have let Whelan and Clarke go they seem surprised about Whelan they seem to like him despite his age.

They’ve also released Jon Nolan.

I had a chat with Sadler last month about his time at Shrewsbury and Nolan was brought up. Sadler really rates him, although since leaving Shrewsbury for Ipswich he hasn’t really done much. Maybe he needs the right environment in order to flourish?

Maybe he is a possiblity and we could have a look at him due to his links to Sadler? He was a very good player in League 1 only 3 years ago for a team who came very close to promotion.

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Osadebe was in and out of the team under DC, it was only when Dutton became manager that he became a regular. At that point he barely would have played with Holden due to his injury, likewise McDonald not fitting into Duttons preferred system.

Perry is our most forward thinking midfielder in the way his first thought isn’t to go backwards like the rest of those that play in the middle, but he’s by no means creative. Earing has been converted from an attacking midfielder to the person who plays deepest, keeping us ticking over rather than creating.

Kiernan is frequently lambasted for his final ball and does his best work going back towards his own goal, although admittedly he has chipped in with a couple of goals. Khan didn’t play a great deal of football here and when he did, a good chunk of it was at right back where he was hardly used in a way that Trent Alexander Arnold is.

Wilkinson has been in and out of the team when he hasn’t been injured, and a decent portion of his time on the pitch was as a lone striker, rather than in areas where he can create. You can include Kieran Phillips to, who was shoved out on the wing in his first season at professional level when he’s a centre forward by trade.

Again, Shade has been another in and out of the team but has been a decent creative source since Flynn came in. My point is that, bar the odd few games he hasn’t had creativity and forward thinking players around him. As you say, he looked his most creative at wing back where he consistently had Shade, Wilkinson and Miller on the pitch with him.

He still played though.

What?

That maybe true, but he still gets forward and involves himself in the final third.

Simply not true. Think he played one cup game there. Rest of his time was in the 10 or right wing.

Must …… not …… explode ……

I didn’t say he had all of these players around him at all times. But he’s always had at least one or two. That’s what I mean when I say the creative onus has never been solely on him.

Thankfully.

Saying that he played with McDonald and Holden is like saying Simeon Jackson was onside. It happened so fleetingly that it’s hardly worth mentioning, but factually you’re correct

Perhaps I should have been more clear about Perry. He’s a forward thinking player but I’ve never heard anyone describe him as creative. He’s in the same vein as Alfie Bates was, and probably Jack Earing too in respect of dictating the play from deeper. Both Kinsella and Labadie have at times been involved in the final third too, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve troubled the goals or assists tally of the team. For the record I’d like to see Earing play in the more advanced role with Perry playing deeper. Each could then play their more natural game

Again, maybe I was wrong saying that he was solely relied on to create, but a large part of our game was to look to Osadebe for some inspiration and playing a system where “one or two” attack minded players are in support hampers his game as he’s simply not good enough to dictate a game consistently. If he had more attack minded players around him then his every misplaced pass/wayward shot etc wouldn’t be scrutinised to the nth degree because he has others around him in support to do a similar role that he’s asked to do

I’m not going through that season tallying up when he played that season but most of the time, one of those would have been in the side. Plus a championship level striker for half of it. The fact he didn’t get much game time is neither here nor there to the point, when he did get game time there were other attack minded players on the pitch.

Well not every player is going to be a creative maestro (that’s number the ten, you know, Osedebes literal role in the team) but that doesn’t mean other players don’t chip in.

Who by trade is a number 10 by the way.

But that’s what you get on 4-2-3-1 and everyone bitched about it? Two wingers either side of a number 10 and a striker. That’s 4 “attack minded” players in the pitch. Not counting a ball playing centre mid. And I’ve got news, if the latest excuse is “he hasn’t had enough creative players around him” he will get even less with 5 at the back.

No, me either, but again, he didn’t play with a Championship level striker for half a season because that would imply he was a regular in the side, which he wasn’t.

They don’t chip in though do they? Again, I’m not going to trawl through stats (even though it wouldn’t take long) but our midfielders (Earing, Kinsella, Labadie and Perry) probably didn’t reach ten goals between them. Add Osadebe’s tally to that and it’s still very, very poor

Yep, something a pointed out in reply to your initial post

Yeah, that exciting 4-2-3-1 with those Kiernan and Phillips really getting the crowd on their feet. The “5 at the back” isn’t exactly that though. Shade and Osadebe were very advanced for wing backs in that system when Flynn first came in. Meaning at times we had five or six players going forward with the two strikers, the attack minded midfielder, the ball player and both wing backs.

Anyway, this is going round in circles so I’ll politely agree to disagree

No it wouldn’t, it implies he did play in that side at times, which he did. And my point is he’s never been our sole attacking or creative outlet.

Goals? I thought we were talking about players getting involved in attacking moves rather than leaving it all to Osedebe? As a number ten I’d hope he is scoring more goals than Jack Earing and a couple of wingers.

Not the point. Your complaint is that Osedebe has been shite because he’s the only player with the onus on him to create and attack. Well in that formation 4 out of the 11 players on the pitch are trying to do that. I’m not defending Jamie Fullerton’s recruitment.

And yes, it is 5 at the back, and yes your wing BACKS get forward but their main job is still defending.

Yes we will have to agree to disagree that at times Osedebe has been our sole attacking threat :+1:

One for the Paddy haters:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1529132373568372736

Oh for f….

Shh! God works in a mysterious ways :wink:

Hopefully trying to put himself in the shop window with this :crossed_fingers:t3:

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The lord works in mysetrious ways…

Shows how any shit player can look good in those highlight reels.

I would love to see one of Osei Yaw? :joy: