Shaun Pearson

I trust the gaffer and his team. Obviously sad to see Disley and Pearson go but I guess you just got to deal with it... Watched Pearson''s interview and he seems happy and his family seem happy to give it a go in Wales so best of luck to them.

Quoted from ginnywings

The squad we have are good enough to hold their own in League 2, but to progress we need players capable of getting out of this league and holding their own in the one above. Players come and go and some we get more emotionally attached to than others; Shaun being one of them. I felt that he was 50-50 to be here next year because no doubt he is good enough to play at this level and is a great servant, but is he good enough to take us to the next level? Some will say he is and that's fair enough, but the manager has to look at it impartially and from a purely footballing perspective. I'd be happy if he stays, but i won't be heartbroken if he moves on. It's football and it's the name of the game. If the manager feels he can do better, then we have to back his decision.

I like Pearson a lot and liked the look of him when I saw him play for us in the conference.Having said that others who have seen him more than me have said on the ball is poor but has a good header on him. Eg goes in line with what your saying and Slade may resonate with above?

Best of luck to Shaun at Wrexham, been excellent for us, should be a cracking signing for them. Hope he has a great season and they finally go up. Thanks Shaun

Quoted from Rick12

I like Pearson a lot and liked the look of him when I saw him play for us in the conference.Having said that others who have seen him more than me have said on the ball is poor but has a good header on him. Eg goes in line with what your saying and Slade may resonate with above?

Did you go to the Plymouth game? How can a player who can take a ball to the bye line and put in a decent cross be poor on the ball?

The main and possibly only consistent problem Shaun had was actually getting out contested for headers in the penalty box especially when a ball came into the near post nothing to do with ability this just poor reading of the game and his opponents movement

I wish he was still with GTFC as he was an asset, I wish him and his family all the best as he was a great servant for GTFC on and off the pitch.

Great man and good player. But come on guys we are not talking about a Mark Lever or Paul Futcher here.

Shaun has spent loads of time on the bench over the years because of better players. It's no accident either that he has now taken a step down the leagues when fans feel he is capable of playing up the leagues.

I think people are getting quite hysterical over this.  Look at the reaction and you learn a lot:

All the praise on here and on social media is along the lines of: Club legend, great in the community, great man, more than just a footballer, etc.

I haven't read one comment along the lines of "We'll really struggle without him", or "We won't be able to replace him" or "We've sold a Promotion-winning centre-half".

Yes, Pearson has been great for us over the years, but RS has to build a squad to get into the playoffs or top 3 next season.  He clearly thinks he can bring in better, and after having been let go, Pearson has vindicated RS's assessment of him by  managing to get himself a move to a mid-table non-league team.

I think some on here need to remember that when they're dishing out vitriol to Getyourfactsright and wearing out their Caps Lock keys.  This board (as evidenced by the multitude of threads begging us to resign any former player coming out of contract: Podge, Bennett, Woodhouse for manager, John McDermott for assistant etc) is overflowing with sentimentality.  

In cold, hard, football terms, RS is correct in letting SP go.  Good luck Shaun.

Quoted from 120790

Great man and good player. But come on guys we are not talking about a Mark Lever or Paul Futcher here.

Shaun has spent loads of time on the bench over the years because of better players. It's no accident either that he has now taken a step down the leagues when fans feel he is capable of playing up the leagues.

Can't believe you're mentioning Mark Lever in the same breath as Paul Futcher!!

That would be like comparing a Ford Focus to a Rolls Royce...

Quoted from mariner91

It's Shaun, not Sean. Though I suppose he wasn't here very long so it's hard to remember his name.

So you pick up on my spelling his Christian name wrong and then take a sarcastic swipe at it. You could, of course, have argued logically and civilly about the points I raised but chose not to. We all have our opinions and that is what a message board is for, airing opinions.

Quoted from rancido

So you pick up on my spelling his Christian name wrong and then take a sarcastic swipe at it. You could, of course, have argued logically and civilly about the points I raised but chose not to. We all have our opinions and that is what a message board is for, airing opinions.

Is there any point in arguing logically and civilly with you when you've made it abundantly clear through the daft nicknames you give RS (super morphing whatever manager and the like) that everything he does is wrong in your eyes. Just the other week you claimed you were unhappy with the squad he was building because he's in negotiations with Ben Davies. He's not even signed ffs. You said "everyone seems to think that RS has all these contacts" as though it's questionable whether a manager who's just spent the last 11 years working at a higher level than this (winning L1 manager of the year twice in that time) has got contacts within the game. What's he been doing for the last 700 odd games in the FL then? It is an absolutely ludicrous suggestion. He's also got an experienced and well respected coach alongside him who has contacts throughout the game after a career spanning 35 years, the vast majority of which was in the top two divisions. Yet you seem to think between them they won't have any contacts. Ridiculous.

You then bemoaned the fact that there is only one player remaining from the team that got us promoted. That was a team that finished 21 points behind the Cheltenham team that this season finished 4 points above relegation. It is the same team that had won 2 of their last 13 games in the league below. You regularly criticise RS for not having got a side promoted ever. Yet you then criticise him for deciding that perhaps the players from a team who got promoted by the skin of their teeth from the NL won't quite meet the standards required to get promoted from a league above that. Absurd.

Since Town were last in the football league, Russell Slade has managed over 350 games in L1 and the Championship. It's his job that is on the line if he fails to improve the team and I daresay it wasn't an easy decision to let Shaun (not Sean) go and I imagine he's frustrated at being left with many players that PH signed on two year contracts who definitely aren't good enough. However, if he's decided that he thinks we need better than Pearson in order to challenge for promotion then I trust his and Wilko's opinion over pretty much everyone's on here. They are the ones who's jobs are on the line. It's also interesting to note that PH, a manager who has been with Pearson for 8 years and is currently towards the lower end of L1, didn't make a move for him (or at least wouldn't offer him as much as midtable NL side Wrexham) suggesting that he probably doesn't think he's good enough for that level and I daresay he's someone to make that call.

Quoted from mariner91

Is there any point in arguing logically and civilly with you when you've made it abundantly clear through the daft nicknames you give RS (super morphing whatever manager and the like) that everything he does is wrong in your eyes. Just the other week you claimed you were unhappy with the squad he was building because he's in negotiations with Ben Davies. He's not even signed ffs. You said "everyone seems to think that RS has all these contacts" as though it's questionable whether a manager who's just spent the last 11 years working at a higher level than this (winning L1 manager of the year twice in that time) has got contacts within the game. What's he been doing for the last 700 odd games in the FL then? It is an absolutely ludicrous suggestion. He's also got an experienced and well respected coach alongside him who has contacts throughout the game after a career spanning 35 years, the vast majority of which was in the top two divisions. Yet you seem to think between them they won't have any contacts. Ridiculous.

You then bemoaned the fact that there is only one player remaining from the team that got us promoted. That was a team that finished 21 points behind the Cheltenham team that this season finished 4 points above relegation. It is the same team that had won 2 of their last 13 games in the league below. You regularly criticise RS for not having got a side promoted ever. Yet you then criticise him for deciding that perhaps the players from a team who got promoted by the skin of their teeth from the NL won't quite meet the standards required to get promoted from a league above that. Absurd.

Since Town were last in the football league, Russell Slade has managed over 350 games in L1 and the Championship. It's his job that is on the line if he fails to improve the team and I daresay it wasn't an easy decision to let Shaun (not Sean) go and I imagine he's frustrated at being left with many players that PH signed on two year contracts who definitely aren't good enough. However, if he's decided that he thinks we need better than Pearson in order to challenge for promotion then I trust his and Wilko's opinion over pretty much everyone's on here. They are the ones who's jobs are on the line. It's also interesting to note that PH, a manager who has been with Pearson for 8 years and is currently towards the lower end of L1, didn't make a move for him (or at least wouldn't offer him as much as midtable NL side Wrexham) suggesting that he probably doesn't think he's good enough for that level and I daresay he's someone to make that call.

Fantastic post this mariner91! I agree 100% with you on all points. RS hasn't quite had a promotion but boy he's done some cracking work. Even in a difficult season last year at charlton/coventry. There was some positives. He made some cracking signings at charlton, and was a little unlucky to get sacked after only 21 games. 5 wins 10 draws . Declan Rudd, Andrew Crofts, Ricky Holmes and Nicky ajose all fantastic signings he made. Then at Coventry he got them to Wembley. I have every faith in him