Brilliant interview from SP.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p054n1bl

Just get the impression we've well and truly urinated on our chips here, top player, top man, really improved as the season's gone on, I reckon we'll struggle to find better but time will tell.

Shambolic decision, gutted to lose Shaun. He should have taken the armband for me, he's 27, coming into his prime. I felt he improved last season and would have been a key player next season.

He is a top, top bloke. I hope Wrexham know how lucky they are to have him.

Lets see who replaces him before we call it a poor decision. Top pro nonetheless

Top man interview says it all really,  time will tell if it was the wrong decision by the club

Poor management by the club all round on this one

Without doubt one of the best players we've had in recent years and a genuine bloke too. I can understand why RS might not consider him a first choice player in a promotion chasing side, but can't for the life of me understand why the club didn't feel he was worth a contract as one of the four CB's that they'll end up needing.

Quoted from Pontooner

Without doubt one of the best players we've had in recent years and a genuine bloke too. I can understand why RS might not consider him a first choice player in a promotion chasing side, but can't for the life of me understand why the club didn't feel he was worth a contract as one of the four CB's that they'll end up needing.

I'm not sure we are targeting promotion judging by the signings we're bringing in, the hairs haven't stood up yet JF.

Quoted from Mariner_09

I'm not sure we are targeting promotion judging by the signings we're bringing in, the hairs haven't stood up yet JF.

That was pretty much the view last time Slade was here. His signings never got the pulses racing and some of them were not really that good at the start. Jones and Reddy for instance took a while to find their feet, but eventually became excellent players for us. It's a different set of problems that face him this time around. First time we had about 5 players when he joined and he had to throw together a squad pretty quickly. This time around, he has the opposite problem and despite being a more mature manager now, with probably more contacts, he has far less wriggle room. I think Pearson would still be here had circumstances been different. Instead we end up with Boyce because of contract decisions made before Slade joined us. I'll wait and see who comes in and who goes out before i get too downhearted.

Really good candid interview that, Shaun will be sorely missed and i think letting him go was a mistake simple as that. Good luck to him at Wrexham.

Not just sentiment I know Pearson would have fitted in here he wanted to stay and had no problem with being a SQUAD player unlike some.

IMOH he was easily good enough based on how much he improved his game you got this one badly wrong GTFC.

Out of all the out goings this one is the most puzzling and embarrassing.

I have no doubt he will be a great asset to Wrexham  and wish him luck they got a bargain there.

The character and service of Shaun Pearson will be sorely missed. A great servant and a genuine top top bloke.

In his interview he came across as being far more pragmatic than a lot of GTFC fans.

Dis and Shaun are admired by all, but this admiration clouds fans opinions on their footballing ability. Look at where they are going to play next season, Alfreton and Wrexham. If they were confident of getting better deals, they would not have signed this early. They have both assessed they could not gamble on getting better two year deals elsewhere, so why would we sign them for a promotion push when they feel every other club in League Two wouldn't give them a deal.

It was clear to see how slow our team was in comparison to other teams in League Two. From the two new signings it's also clear to see that RS is addressing this already.

It is heartbreaking to see two incredibly well-loved and respected professionals leave our club in a matter of days. We'll all follow them from afar as we should, but I think we need to be as pragmatic as Shaun has been and look forward to the new season with an open heart and start to let one or two new potential legends in..

Quoted from Bigdog

The character and service of Shaun Pearson will be sorely missed. A great servant and a genuine top top bloke.

In his interview he came across as being far more pragmatic than a lot of GTFC fans.

Dis and Shaun are admired by all, but this admiration clouds fans opinions on their footballing ability. Look at where they are going to play next season, Alfreton and Wrexham. If they were confident of getting better deals, they would not have signed this early. They have both assessed they could not gamble on getting better two year deals elsewhere, so why would we sign them for a promotion push when they feel every other club in League Two wouldn't give them a deal.

It was clear to see how slow our team was in comparison to other teams in League Two. From the two new signings it's also clear to see that RS is addressing this already.

It is heartbreaking to see two incredibly well-loved and respected professionals leave our club in a matter of days. We'll all follow them from afar as we should, but I think we need to be as pragmatic as Shaun has been and look forward to the new season with an open heart and start to let one or two new potential legends in..

Agree wiry this 100%.  Maybe if we didn't have Boyce then there would be room for Pearson to stay.  I imagine RS is looking for someone with L1 potential to be first choice alongside Collins who everyone seems to agree brought much needed experience and calm to the back 4 when he arrived.  It seems RS has got Collins to stay.  I expect he will get an experienced CB and then maybe an up and coming younger player. The fact that Shaun has gone down a league to secure a 2 yr contract would suggest Town aren't the only club to consider Shaun a must have for a L2 side.

Ironically the CB that we could have done with retaining is Toto who is now playing at a higher level.

No-one can dispute SP's service to the club but I don't think we will ever see him play above L2.  We need to sign players with L1 potential, particularly if they want 2 yr deals.  Otherwise, if we go up we are stuck with a L2 squad.

I think that a young CB, either non league getting a first chance, or one of the many U 23 squad players around the country, could be the correct financial solution, perhaps a season long loan from a Championship club.

Perhaps another delve into the Nike Academy ranks to give another young player a step up to regular league playing.

Players like Davies and Collins (if he re-signs) can pass on their nous on positioning, holding lines, playing offside tactics etc whilst a willing younger player can be a speedy and physical presence that will be required amongst the back four.

We haven't got a ready made Ryan Bennett type youth player trying to force themselves into the side yet and he was a standout exception.

A solid back four is a priority, as it's easier to score 1 goal than several in games if you maintain a tight defense - cue quote re boring, boring Arsenal, but a quality defense makes the rest so much easier.

Toto would be a great partner for Collins, Toto could do all of DC's running and DC could give Toto some excellent advice on being a centre half. We missed Toto last year for me, we didn't have a dominant and athletic centre half who could push us up the field and was as comfortable with the ball at his feet as he was defending. Shrewsbury barely conceded once Hursty signed him there.

I think you may as well go and support the Shrews now 09, you seem obsessed. That manager is in the past now and for all the good he did here he also had some serious flaws, you put him and certain players on a pedestal but I seem to remember so much boring football and inept performances during that time. Toto was definitely not the player you make him out to be

It's certainly very touching when you hear an honest player say that he was gutted to be moving on and it's also sad that you can hear it in his voice that it has caused him some pain. A great professional and truly a great ambassador for the club. Best of luck Shaun, you are already being missed.

Quoted from Marinerz93

It's certainly very touching when you hear an honest player say that he was gutted to be moving on and it's also sad that you can hear it in his voice that it has caused him some pain. A great professional and truly a great ambassador for the club. Best of luck Shaun, you are already being missed.

Not many of his ilk about today that's for sure.

urine poor decision , absolutely amazed that we released him.

Sad to see Shaun go and served this club well but....

RS obviously doesn't see SP as a player that can take us forward and I have no problem with that.

It's a shame, but he is a victim of circumstances. He admits his performances in the last three months weren't great plus Boyce has got a two year deal and so the clubs hands are tied.mim sure that if the situation was reversed Russ wouldve  been v happy to keep Shaun.
Injury prone andrew gets a one year deal, exceeds all expectations and moves up in the world.Fair play to him. we sign Boyce, a known solid  petformer, on. 2 years.no complaints from us n he turns out to be awful.go back 12 months n find me a post that didn't agree with the decisions made them. You win some, you lose some....

That interview just typifies what we've come to admire about Shaun. Top man.

A massive part of me wishes we'd offered him a contract. The sentimental part of me says that even if he wasn't going to be a player good enough for League 1, he would be good to have in the building because he represents that connection that was built up between the squad and the fans under Hurst. The pragmatic side of me agrees with what Shaun himself said.

I can only wish him and Wrexham every success next season.

Kingston pretty much what I put on someone's status on Facebook. Even if he is average, the work he does off the field and the involvement in the footballing community and school of excellence was brilliant. If Slade thought he was OK if I was JF I'd have made an extra bit of funds available to keep Shaun to then continue his relationship within the coaching part of the club so when he does hang his boots or take a step back he knows the inside and outs of the club and he's already well respected etc.

A victim of the managerial merry go round this season. Whatever your opinion Slade had to make a judgement call within a month which makes it far more likely he'd get it wrong. This is why we need stability on and off the pitch. Nothing in the past suggests Slade will be here in a few years. Then what?

Quoted from Vance Warner

A victim of the managerial merry go round this season. Whatever your opinion Slade had to make a judgement call within a month which makes it far more likely he'd get it wrong. This is why we need stability on and off the pitch.[b] Nothing in the past suggests Slade will be here in a few years. Then what?

[/b


Good point as I don't think RS has completed 3 full seasons at any club.