Woodyard | Page 4 | Vital Football

Woodyard

Luke Imp hits the nail on the head. Woodyard is the best midfielder we've had in donkeys years and has the potential to get better - here, with the management team he's been with most of his career. He's certainly capable of expanding his game. He can play defence splitting passes - for Ginelly at Wycombe, Whitehouse at Crewe - and shoot - v Carlisle, but he seems happiest with his bread and butter - breaking up play, winning the ball, keeping it alive.

He's also just completed his first full season in the EFL and probably made more 'teams of the week' in the media than any other Lincoln player. No player is irreplaceable but in Woodyard's case, the club should be striving their utmost to ensure that situation doesn't arise, and be looking now at a further contract extension to 2020 or beyond.
 
I can't see anyone devaluing his contribution, more recognising the reality that we are facing a turning point with Woodyard. If he is to stay this season, we need to extend his contract from 2019 to 2020. If we do not do that, his value diminishes to virtually nothing in the January window and genuinely to nothing next summer when he will be out of contract. Whilst that appears a positive footballing decision for twelve months (but for twelve months only), it would be a poor business decision. Even given the club's excellent financial position, surely it cannot afford to ignore a £500,000 valuation on any player, if that is the amount we are considering?

Or does anyone believe we could not replace him for £500,000, or even for less?

For his part, Woodyard is 25. He must be considering what and when his next move is going to be, regardless of his attachment to Lincoln and the Cowleys. On that basis, would he really want to sign a new contract with us? Would you in his position?

Discussions with the players have been completed, just prior to the retained list being confirmed, so Lincoln will know exactly where they are with Alex. That will dictate whether he stays or not.

On a more general point, what we do not know is how DC intends to play next season. That makes our judgement of player movement difficult. One thing is for sure: with the advent of more skilful players such as Pett, Frecklington and now Andrade, there is a significant change in the air compared to the out-and-out direct style we have employed this season. Further signings will clarify that evolution as the summer progresses, but it may even lead to more departures - of players still under contract.
 
Wasn't there a story going round in January that his missus was keen for him to move a southern based club?
End of the day if he wants to leave and goes to the club that's triggered the release club then there's sod all we can do about it if he doesn't want to leave then fair enough, he didn't want to in January don't forget.
 
Scotimp said:
I can't see anyone devaluing his contribution, more recognising the reality that we are facing a turning point with Woodyard. If he is to stay this season, we need to extend his contract from 2019 to 2020. If we do not do that, his value diminishes to virtually nothing in the January window and genuinely to nothing next summer when he will be out of contract. Whilst that appears a positive footballing decision for twelve months (but for twelve months only), it would be a poor business decision. Even given the club's excellent financial position, surely it cannot afford to ignore a £500,000 valuation on any player, if that is the amount we are considering?

Or does anyone believe we could not replace him for £500,000, or even for less?

For his part, Woodyard is 25. He must be considering what and when his next move is going to be, regardless of his attachment to Lincoln and the Cowleys. On that basis, would he really want to sign a new contract with us? Would you in his position?

Discussions with the players have been completed, just prior to the retained list being confirmed, so Lincoln will know exactly where they are with Alex. That will dictate whether he stays or not.

On a more general point, what we do not know is how DC intends to play next season. That makes our judgement of player movement difficult. One thing is for sure: with the advent of more skilful players such as Pett, Frecklington and now Andrade, there is a significant change in the air compared to the out-and-out direct style we have employed this season. Further signings will clarify that evolution as the summer progresses, but it may even lead to more departures - of players still under contract.
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Plenty are devaluing his contribution on Facebook. I’m a little confused where this £500k figure has come from? Surely if he goes (which I sincerely hope he doesn’t) we’ll get circa £225k for him (potentially less in January)? And as for replacing him, no I don’t think you could get a like for like. He’d run through walls for the Cowleys
 
No one wants him to go but if the player wants to go then he will.
That’s how things are.
 
clanfordimp said:
Leo mate, hang in there,someone somewhere will figure out a way we can get the Cowleys out so that we can get you in as manager as soon as possible.
This needs to happen guys, Leo is the future, lets shuffle the Cowleys on,we're going nowhere with them.
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Do you mean out like Leo himself, or sacked?
 
The way I read it, the release clause allows a club to speak to Alex. He then has to agree personal terms. If five clubs meet the release clause, Alex chooses the one of the five he likes best. He can get them outbidding each other on his salary. The transfer fee stays the same.
 
There’s nothing to stop us offering him a new contract to up/ get rid of that release clause if he signs. With only a year left on his deal that’s what I’d be doing.
 
Imps2018 said:
There’s nothing to stop us offering him a new contract to up/ get rid of that release clause if he signs. With only a year left on his deal that’s what I’d be doing.
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You think Danny and Nicky don’t have a contract offer ready for their favourite player at all times? I’d always assumed there’s always a deal on the table for him to sign, Danny probably keeps it in his pocket. Remember how close together his last two renewals were?
 
Scotimp said:
Why not? The release clause is very different to any transfer fee agreed. In law, it is simpy the trigger for negotiation to begin.
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Just to highlight that point, when Sean Raggett's release clause was triggered by West Ham, Peterborough and Oxford in May 2017, City made it perfectly clear that it would take a lot more than the release clause to persuade them to part with the player.
 
like eardley, woodyard is one of the 6 or 7 i would have in a potential auto winning team. getting him on a new contract is the dream scenario.

if not, we could keep him, and aim for promotion anyway. his contract might run out, but we might be in a good position to get him to sign a new one if we are a league one club.

cowley has to weigh up how much impact woodyard has on the prospect of promotion. payments to the club go up >£400,000 if we get promoted. worth losing woodyard for £225,000?
 
I've read nothing of a release clause in Raggett's contract. If there was one, it was obviously well above what West Ham bid (£125,000, to which Lincoln said nah). Norwich bid £350,000 and Lincoln said yah.

And any club that refused to allow a player to move despite the clause being met is storing up a hell of a lot of trouble for themselves.

http://www.danielgeey.com/buy-out-release-clauses-in-football-the-basics/
 
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graemetheexile said:
I've read nothing of a release clause in Raggett's contract. If there was one, it was obviously well above what West Ham bid (£125,000, to which Lincoln said nah). Norwich bid £350,000 and Lincoln said yah.
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Plus a number of add-ons (sell-on clause etc).
 
I've said before, I don't believe you can compare Raggett & Woodyard, in terms of career progression. Raggett came from Dover and was keen to improve and progress up the leagues. The Cowleys and LCFC were a perfect vehicle for that 'stepping stone'. Woodyard is very much a Cowley player and has been for most of his career and the loyalty and trust levels are entirely different (not saying Raggs wasn't loyal and ambitious, just slightly different). Yes he's ambitious and every bit as keen to improve as Raggett, but I honestly believe he is looking at another year at least with the Cowleys (& probably more with promotion) and it wouldn't surprise me if he is planning on developing the offensive side of his game in the coming season (& maybe DC is planning that as well) to make him even more the complete midfielder. With recruitment of the right type of midfielders he can develop alongside them. Of course I might be completely wrong and nothing surprises me these days, but I don't think he's planning on going anywhere for at least another year.
 
i tend to disagree that passing sideways and backwards is woodyard's game. he has shown that he can shoot/set up goals/split a defence with a pass.

we were playing more passing football from the start of the season, with two cbs looking to pass into midfield. for defence splitting passes, midfielders need quick forwards gambling on a run into space. in game one, woodyard had ginnelly making a great run for his goal. in game 4, woodyard scores from the edge of the box, and makes a great forward run for goal two against carlisle. a great forward run setting up anderson’s goal against barnet [game 10]…

into the winter - pitch quality decreases - we went more pragmatic. then we had the january upheaval. the midfield and defence changed. our pitch seemed to get even more bobbly. after the crawley and crewe defeats, we went even more pragmatic. pass to fullback. get it to rhead.

the passes that led to goals at crewe and coventry were good examples of what he can do in a counter-attack situation, when the opposition are losing and stretched trying to get back into the game. unfortunately, most of our games have been close. counter attack opportunities have been rare. rhead isn’t a counter attack forward. at home most teams sit back against us. and in all but two of our away games we have been drawing or behind at half time. space doesn’t open up so much when you are losing or drawing.

cowley has picked him in every game. the manager is happy with the amount of shooting and through balls he does. and happy with the amount of sideways and backwards passes he does.

what makes him a prized asset to us - and i imagine to other managers - is that woodyard’s game isn’t one thing or the other. it is whatever cowley tells him to do…
 
Scotimp said:
Just to highlight that point, when Sean Raggett's release clause was triggered by West Ham, Peterborough and Oxford in May 2017, City made it perfectly clear that it would take a lot more than the release clause to persuade them to part with the player.
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Do you think Norwich paid the release clause then (minus a loan fee) because they didnt!
 
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