A look at the six out of contract in the summer.

Saints have six players out of contract in the summer and the big question is whether they should be offered a new contract or not.

But it isnt just about whether they deserve one for their on field displays, there are other considerations as well and that includes pruning the squad and wage bill to allow new arrivals to come into the club.

First on the list is

David Connolly

On the basis of the impact that Connolly had in the run in to promotion and the uncertainty over Lee Barnard i feel that Connolly would be worth another one year deal, age is against him but he is clearly still fit and in terms of experience and quality is the best striker at the club, the only question mark is fitness.

Conolly himslef stated that he has been fit since Xmas which beggars the question why Nigel Adkins didnt use him earlier, a close one to call but I think he is worth another year.

Radhi Jaidi

On the basis of his performances in the second half of the season, he would be well worth another deal, however he is one whom circumstance might dictate otherwise, he will turn 36 in August and there are issues about his fitness both instaying injury free and his pace, in 09/10 he played 26(1) League games out of 46 and in 10/11 31, is this ratio enough to warrant a new deal ?

As a relatively high earner and given the number of centre backs at the club and that we do need to get a quality long term partner for Fonte, sadly I feel now is the time to thank Jaidi warmly and wish him well.

Aaron Martin

There are many who feel that Martin should have partnered Fonte at the centre of defence, Nigel Adkins didnt seem to be one of them thouggh and this could swing against Martin, he let no one down when he played and indeed put in a couple of man of the match performances.

In short to clear the decks either he or jaidi will have to go, I think given his age and potential, he might just get another deal ahead of Jaidi, most Saints fans would agree with that.

Dan Harding

Now its well documented that i am not a big fan of Harding, I am therefore going to try to be objective in my comments about him.

The first thing to note is that Harding is one of four left backs on a professional contract at the club and that doesnt include Dan Seaborne who has also played in that position, I think that the fact of the matter is that this is far too many and that therefore Harding will be let go, I would agree there, that this is harsh, but the fact is in my opinion Dickson is a better left back, Joseph Mills is now experienced at Championship level and Ben Reeves the reserve left back has just been given a new two year deal this season and at 20 is ready to challenge for the position.

If Saints are to progress and keep progressing they neeed to lose one left back and in truth could also do with getting rid of another to free up wages.

I may be critical of Harding but I would say even his supporters would agree he is not heads and shoulders above Dickson to really sway the situation, again a harsh call but I think circumstance may dictate that Harding be released.

Danny Butterfield

I dont think this one will be too hard, Butterfield's versatility alongside his experience in the Championship make it an easy call, another one year deal for the ex Palace man.

Oscar Gobern

I said at the start of the season that Gobern would play a part in this promotion campaign and although it wasnt quite as big a part as i would have predicted, he was a vital member of the squad as the season went on, big and strong he is improving almost by the week, again I would think that he would be one we would want to keep, he only made one start, but added ten appearances as a sub in the second half of the campaign.

With a big squad Saints will not just stop at the out of contract players if they want to bring in new faces, I expect to see at least two of those six leave as i stated and it wouldnt surprise me to see at least one shock out of the other four, to be blunt we do need to prune, so i think that we need to trim the squad by moving others on as well, as i said we need to shift at least one more left back if harding is released, that could well be Joseph Mills, if he does stay though I think that Reeves will be put out on loan to gain him experience, other first team squad players who we may want to get rid of would be in no particular order, Jonathan Forte, Jason Puncheon, Dan Seaborne, Lee Holmes, Tommy Forecast,       

All of them are periphera for a number of reasonsincluding either injury in the case of Holmes or just too many other players in their positions, with a current first team squad of 26, we really need to shift at least half a dozen players in the summer or see some paid when they have no hope of a first team game.  

Photo: Action Images

bstokesaint added 12:41 - May 11 Connolly - Agreed, he is a class act when fit and should be retained. Jadhi - Also agreed, had a superb second half of the season, but age is against him and a step up is likely to be too much. Martin - Another one worth keeping, will be one for the future. Harding - Disagree with the above, he didn't have a great start to the season, but improved greatly in the second half of the season and gives some great delivery into the box. Butterfield - Another season at a level he has already played makes sense. Gobern - I have to say I really don't get what Gobern adds to the team/ squad. I personally haven't seen enough from him. With regards to the others I think if you were going to be absolutely brutal then you could say goodbye to all mentioned, although I'd like to see a bit more of Forte.

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darkangelv2 added 13:35 - May 11 Joseph Mills has played 18 games for Donny out of a possible 36 since he joined them in October. He is not Championship level, struggles for strength and plays with no real intelligence. He may well get away with remaining in a struggling/middling Championship team - he's not for us. I am not Dan Harding's biggest fan but i think he is excellent cover for Ryan Dickson who is the better athlete of the 2. I have not seen Ben Reeves, so fingers crossed him & Harding can have a good battle to back up Dickson. I still feel Gobern has the potential to play for Saints more regularly - it's clear to see he's played with Lallana from a young age as they seem to sync as soon as they're on the pitch together. I can't help but feel more confident with Aaron Martin defending rather than Seabourne! He's got more pace and isn't still fighting his way out of Craig Mickail-Smith's pocket like Seabourne is...... The 'Oldies' - give them a year if the medical staff think they're up to it! :)

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splurty added 13:42 - May 11 I agree with your views nick ,with the exception of jaidi ,unless we sign a monster ball winner in the air as good as him as that's why we don't concede as many late goals especially away from home ie when the kitchen sink comes out .Just think away at Leeds etc .For years we would get practically beaten up by certain teams but with the big man this no longer happens .Forever a saint ! COYR

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1teeminants added 13:49 - May 11 I agree with everything you say here Nick apart from Harding . I think he was excellent towards the end of the season . I rate Harding and Dickson very highly and what about all the votes Harding had for player of season and votes by fellow professionals ?, they cant all be wrong ffs.
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SaintNick added 14:19 - May 11 Thanks for the reasoned replies, I can understand why some would want to keep Harding, my basis for letting him go is entirely that we have too many in that position on the books and cant afford to keep them all nor do we need them all, given that position then surely it would be silly to pay another signing on fee and wages to Harding, if we shifted Mills and Seaborne, I could agree with a case for putting Reeves out on loan and Harding staying

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legod7 added 15:53 - May 11 Personally I would only let Jaidi go out of the six and have Seaborne as the centre half alongside Fonte with Martin as back up as well as signing another experienced centre back. Nigel Adkins has only signed 2 players. Forte & Chaplow. Forte was signed on a three and a half year deal so it is very unlikely he would be let go. I would also hope and pray that someone comes in for Puncheon,as has well been shown he is NOT a team player in all senses of the word. I am also uncertain about Dale Stephens as towards the end of the season he was not even in the match day squad

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bstokesaint added 17:29 - May 11 I'm still amazed that a player struggling to show any form in League 1 is now in the Premiership. I used to sympathise with Puncheon, but his attitude would suggest his biggest fan is himself. That said it's no loss given the wingers we currently have.
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zonehead added 18:17 - May 12 Yes keep Dickson cos he`s an athlete!
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Andylad63 added 19:00 - May 12 Splurty has nailed it with his comment re: Jaidi. The championship promotion is normally won by teams with monster centre forwards and I've not seen anybody for a number of years in a saints shirt who can deal with that brute force better than Jaidi. N.A. will obviously have to manage him well and pick his fights but i for one would rather R.J. was dealing with the bruisers in number 9 shirts than anyone on saints books at this moment.

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Josimar86 added 13:05 - May 16 What is going on with Anthony Pulis? Is he out of contract? I thought he originally signed a two year deal, but he was still contracted this season. I can only assume that he had a clause in his contract that entitled him to a third year if he played zero games.
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