Stallard
Scored two for Mansfield today and made one. Legs gone but a football brain that knows where the goal is and how to conserve energy without being lazy. I am glad that he is plying his trade elsewhere but cannot help thinking that end product is more important than aimlessly running around whether or not the manager thinks you are powered by Duracell batteries.

I'm pleased for him. It was always a tough call letting him go for me. Perhaps time had caught up with him but if it turns out last season was just an 'unlucky' one for him for injuries then I'll regret letting him go. A fit Mark Stallard I would pick before ANY of our crop of strikers. Come to think of it I'd pick Jamie Forrester above ANY of our current crop of strikers.

In hindsight that is easy to say now BJM, but you say fit? What level of fitness can MS and JF obtain now? Great footballing brains and 3/4 years would be a lethal partnership at this level. But as we saw last season - playing them together didn't work, as we haven't the players and this isn't the league to keep finding a frontman's feet. Ben Wright will come good if we again play to his strength, running in behind - but he has to fire himself up alot more than present.

I know it's easy now - but that is why I mentioned it being a difficult call about Stallard. However, Forrester was not a difficult call for me. I wanted him to stay. Forrester got some flack last season when not scoring but to me his contribution was still great. In a poor side he never hid or disappeared - unlike some players who seemed immune from criticism for a long time. Forrester was fit enough for another season. He never had much pace but was always five yards ahead of everybody else in his head. I don't know what the reasons behind his departure were, but I was very disappointed to see him go. I agree Stallard's fitness was questionable. Forrester would walk into our side now if I were picking the team... ...but I'm not!! I'm just spouting forth on a Message Board!! :D

i concur BJM...think forrester would do well in this side..

I was gutted to lose both Forrester and Stallard. If we'd have kept either (preferably Forrester), I would have been a happy chappy, but to lose both, with the experience they both had, and the footballing brains they had really was a blow :(

I was really gutted to see Forrester leave, I would like to have seen him play in the pocket behind two strikers where he could use that brain to create goals.