Slatter and Dumas released

[lamps]

I'm very disappointed to see these two players go, particularly Ashley Dumas who I think is a better left back than our current one, but he was obviously never going to get the opportunity to prove his worth while the "old pals" stay in the team.

 

I would like to wish both players every success for the future and express my thanks for their efforts whilst at the club.

 

All I hope now is that we can start winning some games and lift the gloom surrounding the supporters.

[Rick the Dick]

Although it's been inevitable, I find the departure of Dumas particularly depressing. The fact that last seasons Player of The Season, widely tipped to be a fine young prospect, wasn't even in the squad for the last few games presumably meant the writing was on the wall. Good luck Ash. You had a hard act to follow taking Kerrers spot & coped admirably.

 

In my opinion Cousins solid tackling etc.. is negated by his distribupion. If he was able to complete a few more creative passes we wouldn't be seeing so much of the opposition in our half, & his undoubted defensive skills wouldn't be called upon so often.

 

Bearing in mind our lack of goals it's sad to see a creative player like Ash leave the club.

[Paul J]

Not for the life of me will I EVER understand how Dumas won Player of the Season last year. I chuckled to myself at the time and wondered if I had been watching an entirely different season to everyone else That withstanding, I wish him all the best for his future career at Braintree/Hornchurch (delete as appropriate)

 

Slatter did a lot of running and tackling but didn’t really create much did he. He would have been a good one to have kept hold of but we need creativity and goals so I can understand him being sacrificed.

[rupert]

Not for the life of me will I EVER understand how Dumas won Player of the Season last year. I chuckled to myself at the time and wondered if I had been watching an entirely different season to everyone else That withstanding, I wish him all the best for his future career at Braintree/Hornchurch (delete as appropriate)

 

Slatter did a lot of running and tackling but didn’t really create much did he. He would have been a good one to have kept hold of but we need creativity and goals so I can understand him being sacrificed.

[rupert]

Paul

 

Very interested to read you couldnt for the life of you understand how Dumas was player of the year last year and yet you are expecting him to sign for Braintree or Hornchurch

[bill-ER-ricky]

Ashley needs to be playing regular first team football, i totally agree, has BS shut the door on competition at left back?, Ashley should have left when BS brought in his old captain and mucker from Haybridge. i cant really comment on Danny Slatter as ive only seen him play a hat-full of games, good luck to the pair of them and we will probably see them back scoring goals against us!

 

on another note the forum has been really quiet lately - has everyone given up voicing their opinions? seems that way to me! there's no team prediction, no debates on who should start, nothing, probably a reflection of what's happening on the pitch

 

IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE!!!!!

[GazzaBTFC]

on another note the forum has been really quiet lately - has everyone given up voicing their opinions? seems that way to me! there's no team prediction, no debates on who should start, nothing, probably a reflection of what's happening on the pitch

 

IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE!!!!!

 

 

Shhhhhhhhh....you'll wake us up. We've all gone into hibernation until next season starts.

 

On a more serious note, I am disapointed to see either players go. Both are top notch players and would grace any top Billericay side of the past...

 

...........

 

Good luck to the both of them.

[John M]

Tend to agree with Paul J - maybe I never saw enough of Ash to fully appreciate why he won such an award last season. What I did see was a generally steady full back who normally looked comfortable playing at our level but, prehaps more importantly, used the ball well when he had it. It was very quickly apparent that his days under BS were numbered when 1) he was bought to the club by a former manager and 2) he occupied a position strictly reserved for BS's golden boy. Good luck Ash - I'm sure you will do well wherever you pitch up.

 

Danny Slatter, IMHO, did well for us without really going that extra bit to make himself irreplaceable - maybe that was due to the overall standard of the team he was playing within or the fact that he didn't join from Heybridge

 

Now to wait with baited breath to see what non-league mega-star striker is tempted by BS to join the career limiting excitement of our relegation battle. Maybe another Bill Garner (for those of you with very long memories) or Tommy Langley (for those the right side of 50)!!

 

Rumour has it that Douglas Bader is still available - apparently his legs have long gone but he's bloody good in the air........

[Elwood_Blues]

But did he play for Haybridge?

Edited February 11, 2010 by Elwood_Blues

[Keith.P]

Feck me !! Weve had more player fixings going on than Toyota have had cars in the workshop

 

Anyway good luck to both Dumas and Slatter.

 

We can just wait for the next player(s) to come in.

 

Come on Town !!!

[GazzaBTFC]

Rumour has it that Douglas Bader is still available - apparently his legs have long gone but he's bloody good in the air........

 

 

The old ones are the best, eh, John?

 

The reason for the release of these two players is to free up funds. I presume the Brian has his eye on a striker...Whereas I understand the reason to release players, especially in this instance where we are looking for a striker, I question the release of Slatter. With Danny Green, Slatter worked hard and well for us on the wing. As with Danny, his delivery has been good, if not better than some. One would think that, if you have a good striker, you would want to keep a player that can give quality ball for the striker into the box for him to get onto? A striker can do nowt if the ball is spannered out constantly for a goal kick!!! That is if we get the opportunity to get into the position to make the cross....

 

Ashley was always going to be either go under his own steam or be released. He is a young player and a quality one IMO. As he isn't being played, it is in his best interests to go. It's a shame because he really wanted to play for the club. My own personal feelings echo those that have praised him on this forum. When he joined us, he didn't realise his potential until the seccond half of last season and worked his way into becoming a favorite. As much as I am upset to see him go (as I am most players that have had the privilege to wear the blue shirt), he never appeared to figure in Brian's plans and his contribution has been limited. Because of that, Slat's release has more of an impact, IMO....

 

Despite my (our) feelings, where funds are tight, football clubs have to do things like this to free up funds to get players that will enhance the squad. We have been looking for a striker since October when Flackie left and in order not to distrup the squad have had some hopeful punts into that "exhaustable" pool. Without putting words into his mouth, I think Brian would agree that Simon Thomas was a player that should've worked for us but didn't. Thomas is a quality player, make no mistake but with the issues he has had at his former club and not wanting to play at our level, it was something that didn't work...but I can't blame Brian for trying him out. I question the mentality of the player...

 

Back to finances....Southend, Portsmouth have all had a stay of execution....there are others out there. Banks are questioning the debts of Mnchester United, Liverpool....etc. The money isn't out there and the level of debt is becoming unsustainable. Okay, these clubs are at a much higher level than we are but there are clubs at our level that are in a similar or worse position. I do not presume to second guess our financial position but we are in a much better position than most, thanks to our Chairman. Steve Kent has always maintained that the football has to be sustainable at Billericay, therefore, our players are our assets and if we need cash to bring in a desired player, we either transfer or release to make up the funds....that is the way. It's either that or we as supporters do more to support the club and raise cash to compete against our rivals.

 

Bearing in mind that we may not like it, we do have a club to support and thanks not just to Steve Kent but also to those who do help out.

 

Now, I know this doesn't address our teams performance and we are, going on our current form and league position, in trouble (lets not beat around the bush here) but thems the reasons as far as I can see for the release of these players...I don't like it, you don't like it, I'm sure that Brian doesn't like it and Steve Kent doesn't like it but it happens and in this case, it probably has to happen. What we as supporters should do is, yes, have an opinion because it is our club but also support the club.

Edited February 11, 2010 by GazzaBTFC

[Sticks]

Disappointed that both players have been released. Imo Dumas (along with a few other 'pre BS' players) wasn't given a fair crack of the whip this season.

 

Hopefully this will free up funds to bring in the striker to score 20+ goals from now until the end of the season that helps keep us up!

[Rick the Dick]

 

I do not presume to second guess our financial position but we are in a much better position than most, thanks to our Chairman. Steve Kent has always maintained that the football has to be sustainable at Billericay, therefore, our players are our assets and if we need cash to bring in a desired player, we either transfer or release to make up the funds....

 

...thems the reasons as far as I can see for the release of these players...I don't like it, you don't like it, I'm sure that Brian doesn't like it and Steve Kent doesn't like it but it happens and in this case, it probably has to happen. What we as supporters should do is, yes, have an opinion because it is our club but also support the club.

 

I think we all understand the need to free up funds by the release of "assets". The interesting thing for us supporters to debate is which "assets" should be released, and why certain "assets" are retained.

 

Sustainability is obviously important. Therefore to be succesful on a Sustainable budget you need to a) invest wisely in players with an eye on value for money & get the team to consistently perform to its maximum potential.

 

We've seen some examples of out teams maximum potential against some of the top sides in this league. We've also seen regular examples of them underperforming against teams like Horsham, Ashford, Harrow & Avely.

 

We are, quite rightly, not privvy to financial details of the players we have so lets take it as read that they have been chosen wisely and the team represents good value. The problem, therefore, must be one of managing and motivating them. But we have a proven management team who have been succesful elsewhere, so why do we have a problem in that regard?

 

There is always the possibilty that the team management themselves don't feel motivated enough, and that somehow rubs off on the squad. But I have no idea why that might be.

[bullensblue]

 

I do not presume to second guess our financial position but we are in a much better position than most, thanks to our Chairman. Steve Kent has always maintained that the football has to be sustainable at Billericay, therefore, our players are our assets and if we need cash to bring in a desired player, we either transfer or release to make up the funds....

 

...thems the reasons as far as I can see for the release of these players...I don't like it, you don't like it, I'm sure that Brian doesn't like it and Steve Kent doesn't like it but it happens and in this case, it probably has to happen. What we as supporters should do is, yes, have an opinion because it is our club but also support the club.

 

I think we all understand the need to free up funds by the release of "assets". The interesting thing for us supporters to debate is which "assets" should be released, and why certain "assets" are retained.

 

Sustainability is obviously important. Therefore to be succesful on a Sustainable budget you need to a) invest wisely in players with an eye on value for money & get the team to consistently perform to its maximum potential.

 

We've seen some examples of out teams maximum potential against some of the top sides in this league. We've also seen regular examples of them underperforming against teams like Horsham, Ashford, Harrow & Avely.

 

We are, quite rightly, not privvy to financial details of the players we have so lets take it as read that they have been chosen wisely and the team represents good value. The problem, therefore, must be one of managing and motivating them. But we have a proven management team who have been succesful elsewhere, so why do we have a problem in that regard?

 

There is always the possibilty that the team management themselves don't feel motivated enough, and that somehow rubs off on the squad. But I have no idea why that might be.

You say that we have a management team which has ben successful elsewhere. Please elaborate - it certainly wasn't at Heybridge!

[Rick the Dick]

You say that we have a management team which has ben successful elsewhere. Please elaborate - it certainly wasn't at Heybridge!

 

I thought Swifts had some of their best times under BS, but my memory isn't what it was. Didn't they reach the play-offs? Anyway, I'm not out to defend his record. Just making the point that he wsn't an unknown quantity in the same way that Jason was.

[GazzaBTFC]

You're right Rick, they did make the play offs...

[bullensblue]

You're right Rick, they did make the play offs...

As we did on two occasions, latterly reaching the Final.........but that was when we had a more positive thinking management team.