Retain or Release
(Image via HTAFC)
Matt Shaw, Founder.
Twitter: @TTCMatt
Set me free why don't you, babe
Get out my life why don't you, babe
'Cause you don't really love me
You just keep me hangin' on
Set me free why don't you, babe
Get out my life why don't you, babe (ooh-ooh-ooh)
'Cause you don't really need me
But you keep me hangin' on.
SET ME FREE WHY DON’T YOU BALDWIN/NEIL/LEIGH/KEVIN
If visions of Kim Wilde don’t set your pulses racing, then surely the Huddersfield Town’s retained list will do just that for you. I know, I know… Matt you insatiable, transfer loving animal! Yes, yes, I am. But the main question is which animal is in control of Town’s decision making at the moment? Dean Hoyle, Neil Warnock and maybe Leigh Bromby all appear to be in Town’s departure lounge and Kevin Nagle is yet to take the club over, possibly leaving a bit of a leadership void. I understand that Nagle does have some advisors, one of them being Dave Baldwin who oversaw a pretty rancid January window, but I suspect that there is a capable team with input from Neil Warnock that has made these decisions. Well, I hope so anyway… :-D.
Right let’s get to it!
Rolando Aarons - RELEASE.
Rolando Aarons. My trigger phrase. If you ever want to wind me up and set me off on a rant, then speaketh the words “Rolando” and “Aarons” to me. Back in 2020 I was vehemently against this signing. Town with players dropping like flies due to soft tissue injuries were about to sign an injury prone winger who had struggled to exert himself into a bottom end SPL side and a League 1 club in Wycombe. Yet, he was the man identified to replace 16m sale Karlan Grant. WHO THE HELL THOUGHT THIS WAS EVEN A REASONABLE IDEA!? What makes this signing worse was that we bollocksed up the signing in the summer window, had MONTHS to change our minds yet still went and signed him when the winter window opened anyway, it was an absolute madness and showed that Messrs Marsh and co had learnt little to nothing about how to talent spot wide players. Town, got incredibly lucky that Josh Koroma (who was signed initially after playing as a striker) had a real rich vein of form in 20/21 which effectively kept the club in the division, had they have had to rely on Aarons then Huddersfield Town would have been relegated to League 1. Anyway, after 12 first team appearances, zero goal contributions and about 35 injuries, it’s time to wave goodbye to “Rizz”. We paid a fee for him as well… 🤦♂️
Etienne Camara - Trigger option and offer new deal.
Anyone who listens to the podcast knows that I’m a big fan of Etienne Camara. The young Frenchman oozes composure belying his age and his growth potential and development window is huge. But he will only develop if he’s willing to knuckle down and work for his future. If he does, then offers of big moves will come and come quickly. Neil Warnock recently revealed that he sat down with Etienne at the end of the season and had a long and frank conversation with him on his future. I obviously think that if he extends his deal with us and works hard then he’ll be Premier League bound and most importantly developing properly towards that. Alternatively, he can keep rejecting contract offers from the club, go money hunting at 20 years of age and end up on the scrapheap in a couple of years after an unscrupulous agent has used him to get himself a back pocket wedge and moved him to a club that doesn’t suit him. It’s all down to Etienne, let’s hope he makes the smart choice.
Romoney Crichlow - RELEASE.
AGENT ROM: YOU HAVE ONE FINAL MISSION BEFORE THE SEASON IS OUT. REPEAT, ONE LAST MISSION. That mission is more than likely his last at Huddersfield Town. Crichlow is 24 this summer and has never effectively pushed above League 2 level. I’ve seen him on a couple of occasions this season and to be honest, I’m not so sure that he’ll end up higher than lower-level League 1 over the next few seasons, so keeping him doesn’t really seem like a worthwhile exercise at present and Town have their eyes fixed on developing the likes of David Adewoju and Mustapha Olagunju (injuries permitting) over the next few years.
Matty Daly - RELEASE.
Roll back 4 years and the sky seemed like the limit for Matty Daly. England youth call ups and Premier League appearances seemed to indicate a bright future, but it never really happened in the end. Daly’s Achilles heel is that he spends way too long out of games or on the periphery of them. There are flashes whereby it looks like things will click and he’ll go on to be an effective attacking weapon, but he has so far failed to build on moments like his goal for Town at Charlton and his good run for Hartlepool in the Papa John’s Trophy. There is absolutely no doubt that there is a good player in there, but is it a personality issue, a work rate problem or just circumstance which has so far meant that he has failed to reach his potential? Either way, at 22 it’s probably time that Town cut the cord and Daly rebuilds his career lower down the pyramid. If he finds the right club and motivation, then I wouldn’t back against him working his way back up to Town’s level at some point in his career.
Danny Grant - RELEASE.
DANNY GRANT AHA! It’s a shame that the popular Bohemians song was never sung in the South Stand. Upon signing from The Boh’s it appeared that Town had signed a rapid winger who looked set to excite the masses. Unfortunately, a double hamstring injury, covid, long covid and other factors hampered his progress and unfortunately things never got going for him. A fresh start lower down the pyramid is probably the best thing for him and I’m sure Town fans would wish him fairer fortune.
Florian Kamberi - RELEASE.
Another of those “what were you thinking” signings. Mark Fotheringham felt that he could get the best out of his former player, yet in 5 months Kamberi only amassed 58 minutes of football. He did however score a goal in The FA Cup and the surprise of that has left Kosi in awe ever since! Kamberi’s previous spell at Sheffield Wednesday indicated that he would never be good enough for a step up to The Championship and so it proved with youngsters Tyreece Simpson and Kian Harratt preferred to him.
Josh Koroma - Offer new deal.
It’s taken 2 years to re-crack the enigma code that is Josh Koroma, but when Neil Warnock’s motivational machinery was able to encode the Londoners personality it paid off in spades with 3 goals and an assist in his final 7 starts of the season. As the founding member of the Josh Koroma Fan Club, it should come as no surprise that I would keep him, but that is heavily caveated. Keeping Koroma wouldn’t guarantee success, especially now that Neil Warnock has departed, and he could just as easily slip into ‘2022 Koroma’ should the new manager not suit him. Alternatively, Town have been in contract talks with JK for over a year, so hopes that Koroma might stay are starting to look rather forlorn with 6 weeks to go on his current deal. Josh Koroma could do anything next season, he could be amazing, he could be useless or just bang average, but Town don’t have any other real game changers in the squad, so I would take the risk on renewing, although I have a feeling that Koroma may see his future lie elsewhere next season.
Charles Ondo - 1 year deal.
I’ve got to be honest, when Ondo came on for the first team as a striker it looked like he’d never played the position before in his life - but you could level that accusation at many more senior players around that period too! Ondo is 19 and probably worth keeping for another 12 months to see how he develops in Town’s B team. I’ve got a lot of convincing that that development is best served as a striker and in his previously more favourable position of left back he has a lot of competition with Jaheim Headley, Ben Jackson, Luke Daley and Shane Maroodza, but that could push him on to better achievements.
Josh Ruffels - Undecided.
I’m on the fence with Ruffels. Pre Warnock, Ruffels looked like a nervous cat on a hot tin roof type left back who’s indecision and nervousness made him look like The Championship was a step too far in his career. Then here comes Neil Warnock, reinventor of careers and all of a sudden Ruffels has looked more than a fairly steady option down Town’s left side and also weighed in with some important goals. Initially Ruffels was signed as backup and in truth that role would still suit him but for the emergence of both Ben Jackson and Jaheim Headley, and with Yuta Nakamura fit next season do Town need another option down the left or if they do, do they need a more enterprising option? If Town trigger Ruffels reported 12-month option I don’t think many people will have many qualms, you can’t have enough good men, but they could probably do better if money is available too. It’s just dependent on where Town want to spend that and how much is available.
Ryan Schofield - RELEASE.
I feel for Ryan Schofield. A boyhood Town fan with a dream of playing for his local club turned into a bit of a nightmare. Thrown to the wolves in 20/21, Schofield never really recovered and basic errors became the norm, and his nervousness was palpable every time he put the gloves on. Ryan like some of the other young lads needs to drop down a few leagues and work his way back, and I’d absolutely love it if he was able to work his way back up the leagues, all the best Ryan.
Tomas Vaclik - RELEASE.
Vaclik made a really ropy start to his life in HD1. An early video of him appearing to limp during the warmup at Wigan Athletic didn’t favour his opinion and he was then rather harshly nicknamed “The Tin Man” on account of a number of stiff performances. However, once Vaclik had reached fitness and Clem had applied some WD40 we saw what a good keeper Vaclik is, and he became an incredibly important figure in Town’s late run to stay in this league. Should we keep him? Well probably not. Vaclik was always here to deputise for Lee Nicholls and now that the big man is fit and back between the sticks it is likely that Town would want a more cost-effective measure to push Lee Nicholls - that may come in the shape of young Nic Bilokapic who filled in admirably for Vaclik when he had a spell out through injury in February.
Danny Ward - Offer 12 month deal.
And here it is, the red rag to the Dale Marsden shaped bull (Hi mate!). Ok hear me out. Going into next season I don’t believe that Danny Ward should be our intended #1 striker. Ward’s time at Huddersfield has been blighted by niggly injuries and his availability has proven to be sketchy. However, when fit, Danny Ward has produced some excellent performances and has also shown recently that if fit, he is still a pest at this level for opposition defences. As Ward heads towards his mid 30’s it is likely that his recovery time and injury susceptibility could increase but as an experienced bench option Ward would be very useful. With a young roster of strikers needing guidance and Jordan Rhodes’s continued rumoured departure, I think experience and continuity in that department is necessary and Ward provides that. Again, I caveat that with Ward not being the #1 striker and as such would be renumerated as so. My final rationale is that signing a striker in any window has proved incredibly tough for Town, signing two and getting them both right in the same window without a full recruitment team in place at the minute? I don’t really like the sound of that.
Right that’s it! Let me know in the comments what you guys would do.
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