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.