Deal or no deal? Final thoughts...

So, we have some 15 players, well it was more like 18 in the end I think, set to have been out of contract in the summer (or seeing their loans with Pompey end) it is even closer to us now deciding who deserved a new contract and who did not deserve the drippings from my nose, well ours noses!

I would think that most has been decided now.

I was going to look at them all together, but I think doing them one at a time was the better way to go... It was a simple question, and as the bearded one would say, 'deal or no deal?' And we answered.

This is what I thought at the time of doing each player:

Sol Campbell... No Deal.
Sean Davis... No Deal.
Richard Duffy... No Deal.
Theo Gekas... No Deal.
Hermann Hreidarsson... Deal.
Kanu... No Deal.
Lauren... No Deal.
Glen Little... No Deal.
Noe Pamarot... No Deal.
Pele... Deal.
Jermaine Pennant... Deal
Linvoy Primus... No Deal.
Matt Ritchie... Deal.
Jon Stewart... No Deal.
Armand Traore... No deal.
Djimi Traore... No deal.
Jerome Thomas... Deal.
Joel Ward... Deal.

Some of these thoughts would have changed since, but in the main they remain the same - and for some to change, money would be a factor, as in 'dropping a large amount' of the wages they were on!

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this series as much as I have enjoyed writing them - in all honesty some of my thoughts have changed along the way, of course some have also been offered new deals or are stalling on them, but all in all my overriding thoughts have remained the same, and these are...

Final thoughts

The worry is with so many leaving if they are not given deals we are in big trouble. Reality is most of these do not feature much, if at all in the 1st team anyway, so what benefit do we get from the majority in the first place?

We will certainly save money, money that is otherwise being wasted on the wages we give them!

Players coming in will most probably be coming from within with the youngsters promoted to the 1st team. Those that do arrive will likely be on the cheaper side of things or free agents - on lower wages though - depending of course on the club being sold or not, I would say 'not' is more likely though...

For me, something that we need more than anything is for some of our youngsters to start coming through and making inroads into the 1st team, and as I say I expect they will. Even if they only come in to sit on the bench and get some experience, being used sparingly that will help. We cannot throw them in, but if they are good enough they are old enough. If they are good enough, then could they do any worse than the senior experienced pros they have replaced? They will also be on a darn sight less than these senior pros that we have parted with!

In theory, and hopefully this is the case with any that do come through, that hunger to succeed and desire to 'play for the shirt' will be worth something a little extra too?

All in all now though I think in the main those that have their futures secured are ok, those still unsure on their future - if out of contract - are going to go, that big brush will come out and sweep away most, if not all that are left over...

It certainly is not going to be a 'boring' summer anyway, although most activity is likely to be in a direction out of Fratton, as opposed to in it.

These are my thoughts, what about yours? As always please share them below...

PLAY UP POMPEY!

For the very latest Premier League odds

For massive weekly jackpots - Play the Football Pools Online

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.