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Gregan, Hughes, Kalala, Maher leave Latics
Reporter: Tony Bugby
Date online: 13 May 2009
STRIKER Lee Hughes and midfield players Jean-Paul Kalala and Kevin Maher have been released by Athletic.
They join captain Sean Gregan, Mark Crossley and Andy Liddell in not being offered new deals by the club.
New manager Dave Penney is still in negotiations with Mark Allott, Matty Wolfenden and Stefan Stam about possible new contracts.
Gregan yesterday bcame the first player to become a casualty of the end-of-season clear-out at Boundary Park.
The 35-year-old out-of-contract defender was informed by Dave Penney he wouldn;t be offered a new deal.
Penney is now clearing the deckcs in advance of rebuilding the squad.
Midfield-man Allott had previously been offered a one-year extension to his contact and Athletic were waiting to see if he accepted their terms.
Gregan joins goalkeepers Mark Crossley and Josh Bell and midfielder Andy Liddell in being released, while striker Lee Hughes will move on next month when his contract expires.
Penney has rejected reports that he is planning a large-scale raid on former club Darlington.
He said: “Everyone assumes I will be going after Darlington players as they have all been made available, but that is not necessarily the case.
“We are not going to rush our recruitment as there are lots of players out of contract and we will pick the best we can afford.
“We will have a good look round and select the players we need for the areas we have already identified.”
It is understood Gregan was the highest-earning player on the staff and that had a bearing on the decision to release him.
Penney paid tribute to the big defender, who signed from Leeds in October 2006, initially on loan.
He said: “Sean is a great professional. He has done well for this football club and we wish him all the best for the future.
“But I want to freshen things up and put my own stamp on the team. I am looking for young, hungry, fit and athletic players.”
Penney confirmed he will be having talks today with Martin Gray and Andy Collett with a view to them becoming his No 2 and goalkeeping coach, respectively.
Gray and Collett were sacked by the administrator at Darlington last week and Penney is keen to be reunited with them at Boundary Park.
Comments
GET READY FOR DARLINGTONS SQUAD TO TURN UP AT LATICS IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS. THE WAY FORWARD?? YOU WATCH THE CROWD DWINDLE NEXT SEASON. IF THEYRE TRYING TO GO UP WITH LEAGUE TWO PLAYERS THEN THEY CAN THINK AGAIN. I STILL REMEMBER SHERIDAN ON LOCAL RADIO SAYING EVERYTHING WAS FINE IN THE CAMP AND THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS!! JUST LOOK NOW 4 MONTHS ON. YOU CAN HOODWINK THE PUBLIC BUT ONLY FOR SO LONG!!!!!!!!
I can't believe the neagativity surrounding getting rid of gregan. Penny as only been in the job for Five mins and people are already slating him. Lets judge him on the results before we start having a go.
What an over reaction to a little speculation from the press. Skint! On 5000 fans, that figures. Can we have the name of who is waiting to throw millions at Pro Footballers for us? Could a board of directors who kept us afloat be a decent option? Where can we find players on our budget? Erm! That’s a tough one. A reserve Championship player possibly, hoping they would be better than the sorry bunch we have had on loan. Na! lets ask the fans their opinion.
What about a manager with a very good record over 5 years at OUR level and below. It would help if he if he could spot a players limitations, like can he run! Or potential, can he cross a ball from the by-line? Can he coach one touch passing? Can he appreciate the advantage of a 6’ 3 striker? Is he a better judge of players than our last manager? Abramovich, Ferguson or Ronaldo aint coming here. Dave Penney has soon sussed things out. And he is a good communicator. So lets get realistic.
i am more than happy to give penney a chance, as i have for every manager to walk through the door. but lets get it right, the board are treating the fans like idiots. if they came out and said the club is struggling and this is why were getting rid of players then i would be happy with that.its the constant excuses that annoy me. were a mediocre league one team, let's start accepting it & stop pretending penney can find 6 or 7 non league superstars to get us promotion!
Now we know where rg2403 is coming from, 'another planet' RG has gone from signing half the Darlington side to 6 or 7 non-leaguers in one day. This without anyone at Boundary Park knowing anything about it. This also while in a state of being ‘more than happy to give Dave Penney a chance’. If you didn’t laugh you would cry’ springs to mind. Try to and wait and see RG or be more constructive. Again ‘who is the guy with the money to put in’?
Ohhh lifes such fun :), no one is allowed a opinion but others feel just to put theres, very few will agree with each other thats why its a open forum for their individual views on the club.
I agree with Rg2403 that the board be more transparent and open in stead of the promtion drive waffle promised 5 yrs ago championship football within 2yrs
This club has regressed not progressed and the only real achievement by the directors is knocking down part of the ground in 5yrs. Perhaps if they was honest from the start that they are not upto the task of getting us promoted but are happy to keep the club afloat, I could have gone along with that and hoped for a little luck for us to progress.
Now that Stam has also gone, was he also surplus to requirement???..... lets have some honesty Latics I think the fans deserve that at least, most fans might not like what they hear but are more likely to understand and accept it and still turn up next season, the way things are being done at the moment your only cutting your own lifeline and the money saved by cost cutting now maybe lost with fans voting with their feet next season.
What does honesty from the board mean? Nearly every chairman in the football league at the start of the season talks of going for promotion. The exceptions are some of those promoted will go for consolidation. This has been the case for 110 years. Has there ever been 1 single case of the board going for relegation. On a fan base of 5000 we are punching above our weight and have been for years. We all know what has happened to the economy causing the plan to backfire.
It does not take Einstein to understand that 99% of club owners that are not local buy into a club as a business venture. It is no different in our case. It is also well documented that building on a large plot of land and making a profit was the business venture in our case. If this resulted in saving the club from extinction and building a new stand what possible objection could any one have? As I remember there was no one else in the queue to help us nor is there now.
No one is to blame, least of all the board. They deserve credit for sticking with it. Yes we all have an opinion but these pages are also for debate and also rational comment. People going off like a rip-rap is not constructive when the only people with any money are (in my opinion) doing there best in very difficult circumstances. None of the over the top predictions have any bearing with facts or indeed alternatives. I also think we will win more than 9 games at home next season.
Have Your Say
the photo above sums oafc up - the new manager giving a player of the season award to somebody hes just released. if you dont laugh you cry!
to quote penney “But I want to freshen things up and put my own stamp on the team. I am looking for young, hungry, fit and athletic players.”
this means he is looking for cheap, unproven league two players because were absolutely skint! by the way i HAVE bought a season ticket for next year so im looking forward to the darloldham merger
By rg2403 @ 13/05/2009 13:31:40