2024 Retained List

Can't disagree with that. Hope Dyer re-signs,
 key player.

Would hope we could get Buse back.

Has he been retained by Yeovil?

comrade powell wrote:Has he been retained by Yeovil?

I believe he was as still on contract. Day, their no.1 keeper, was on loan. Supporters want him back.

A shame to lose Tom Smith. Was it the mullet did for him?

The correct decision I think. Has been a shadow of the player who was judged to be in the NLS team of the season a few years back and needs a fresh challenge. 
Pleased that in his tribute JG highlighted his goal at Eastbourne - Tom scored some great goals and considering the game situation I think this was the best…

https://youtu.be/44-12ql-AvY?si=nv1lGMEu1jqEcJAy

A screamer from Tom and also from Stillman!

Beau Nash wrote:https://www.bathcityfc.com/bath-city-fc-retained-list-2024-25

So is my reading of this that we had eight players on two year contracts (I know Ewan only signed his a few months ago)?

In a way I am not surprised that Tom Smith has gone, because we do need to find a goalscoring midfielder - JT was third top scorer and he left at the end of January. I thought it might have been Elliott Frear who went, but didn't realise he was signed on for next season. Hayfield could be that player, but perhaps needs to play further forward, assuming he stays of course.

Like others I would be happy to see Will Buse back - as I understand it he has another year to run on his contract at Yeovil but presumably didn't feature in their plans last season so unlikely to now they have been promoted - perhaps on a season long loan.

Seems that Rovers aren't looking to sign Vassell so I wonder if we might take a punt on him on a non-contract basis - I thought in the last couple of games there were flashes of the player he used to be.

Difficult to determine as we haven't had the fanfare re-signings. Fair enough. Midfield needs improvement for sure, not sure Hayfield up to it. Will be the critical factor, we can score but need Midfield to step up. Russe will ensure defence protected.

To answer my own question from earlier, apparently Cody, Ewan and Morgan were already signed on for next season and the others have all signed new contracts since the end of the season. Perhaps we kept it quiet to deter other clubs from sniffing around.

I thought Hayfield would start to shine this season in his preferred position but he hasn't really stepped up. My feeling is that central midfield is where we need to strengthen.
Having said that both Smith and Lines have been released so it is clearly an area where Jerry is looking to recruit.

Just want to throw in my views on what is happening.

I am absolutely devastated that Tom is leaving us - the question that I would dearly loved answered is whether he has been told to leave, or did he decide to move on elsewhere! Again - in my humble opinion, Tom's most effective midfield position on the pitch was playing just behind the front two - made a world of difference to his input to the game. Too many times he was played deeper than that, so no wonder his goal scoring prowess was not put to the test. Correct me if the stats are wrong, but Tom scored two very good goals towards the end of the season - the same as Scott W, in a similar period of time - yet Scott was not left out of the starting line up - we had to suffer all his huffing and puffing without scoring week on week, whilst poor old Cody soldiered on almost alone up front.

Tom is still a class player - but getting all the accolades from Mr Gill seems to be a 'death knell' to players these days! He was mismanaged by being played out of position so much, especially as we were so short of attacking ability.

Whilst I am still seething - I agree with what others have said about Hayfield - there were some matches when I could not fathom out what he was on the pitch for! As for Scott - people are saying (wrongly) that Tom is only a shadow of his former self now - but Scott, having played so well until about November, then completely lost his way, and should have been dropped to the bench ages ago!

To end on a happier note - must agree that the loanees proved to be an asset for us - and that, if needed, I would like to see most of them chased for another spell with us next season - long term though.

1500 fans on the terraces, so about 1,000 different views on performances - I do appreciate that, but this Forum is rightly here to air our thoughts on.

As Steve said there will be a number of different views but based, mainly, on home performances. I am disappointed about Tom Smith but my disappointment is that he seemed to be unable to reach the performance levels of pre-covid seasons. It may well be he is at the same level but the overall level of the league has also increased.
It also seemed that Tom had also become prone to yellow cards that meant his game was often impacted by concern over a potential dismissal.

My first reaction was that it is a shame the fans have not had chance acknowledge his time with the club. There will be a number that are sad to see him go.
I thought he would go at the end of last season as he had made little impact, but this season he has put in some good performances and been dependable. But he is really a classic No10 and the team isn't set up for him as demonstrated by his lack of goals.
We need midfield to make a contribution on this front. If only we could find another Jordan Thomas.

Tom has done nothing since COVID. He's half the player he was. So many times he was in the perfect place to shoot/score but hesitated. If you watched him closely you would have seen that when he relied on instinct he shot and hit the target. When he thought about it...a case of my granny could do better.

I am going to miss TS, but I think his best football in a Bath kit has been behind him. I dont know for sure what happened to cause him to lose that spark, but it was evident while listening to the matches that he was hesitating more before taking a shot. That hesitation, either from overthinking it or not trusting himself anymore caused him to miss more than he hit the back of the net.

As stated above, I also feel he was playing out of position. I had to rely on the commentary and the video highlights, but if you compare his earlier successful seasons to the last couple, he has been much deeper on the pitch than he used to play.

With that being said, I wish him well on his next endeavors, but now to the more pressing question....whose away kit will I sponsor now? I have done Tom's away kit for the last few years so I am not sure who to help out now!

NCJesster wrote:I am going to miss TS, but I think his best football in a Bath kit has been behind him. I dont know for sure what happened to cause him to lose that spark, but it was evident while listening to the matches that he was hesitating more before taking a shot. That hesitation, either from overthinking it or not trusting himself anymore caused him to miss more than he hit the back of the net.

As stated above, I also feel he was playing out of position. I had to rely on the commentary and the video highlights, but if you compare his earlier successful seasons to the last couple, he has been much deeper on the pitch than he used to play.

With that being said, I wish him well on his next endeavors, but now to the more pressing question....whose away kit will I sponsor now? I have done Tom's away kit for the last few years so I am not sure who to help out now!

Luke Russe - total commitment, absolute powerhouse.

Luke Russe - total commitment, absolute powerhouse.

Agree 100%