General - 2024-25 OUFC Retained List (2024)

Contract offered:
Josh Murphy, Joe Bennett, Josh McEachran

Contract extension triggered:
Marcus McGuane, Josh Johnson

Released:
Billy Bodin, James Henry, Macrus Browne, Steve Seddon

Other:
Kyle Edwards - rehab from injury

Updated 23/05/24 @ 1910

Scotchegg said:

But it wasn't "one of my main arguments" To be clearly I said that Thorniley would possibly be made available, but unless someone is willing to offer him a deal that matches the one he has with us, then he may well end up staying.

He has a lot of Championship experience and I wouldn't be against him being 4th choice centre back depending on who else would come in.

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If we bring in just one more CB then Thorniley won't even be 4th choice.

Bath Yellow said:

Not sure about Cummings, think we can do better someone who commands his area more.

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Once we got the defence sorted out, did he really put a foot/glove wrong?

Sheik djibouti said:

Once we got the defence sorted out, did he really put a foot/glove wrong?

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I agree. I reckon Cumming looks one of the most decent goalies Oxford have had for some time. Beadle was very good, but I’d be surprised if we had him back. I wonder whether Bristol City would go in for him. Mind you I reckon Manning won’t be there much longer to decide that

Peterdev said:

I agree. I reckon Cumming looks one of the most decent goalies Oxford have had for some time. Beadle was very good, but I’d be surprised if we had him back. I wonder whether Bristol City would go in for him. Mind you I reckon Manning won’t be there much longer to decide that

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Quite - look at Cummings stats for this season compared to Beadle. There's not really much between them at all.

Scotchegg said:

Out of interest, how big do you think our budget will be next season? You seem to want to replace most of the existing squad, many of whom are on multi year deals.

Getting rid of many of these isn't being ruthless it's suicide.

We absolutely need to add quality, but the vast majority of those here will be more than good enough to be solid Championship squad players as a minimum.

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Steve Gilbert said:

People are writing Thorniley off but remember he has done it at championship level. I wouldn’t get rid of him at all. He might have had an off season with us this year but that doesn’t mean he won’t come back in the summer and end up putting himself ahead of Brown.

I think the obvious ones are:

Browne
Edwards
Henry
Bodin

After that then I think we might see McEachran available for transfer and GOD out on loan again.

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I said exactly this earlier. I think it’s madness to get rid of Thorniley, who do we replace him with? Are we really going to get an upgrade on him who is going to be content to bide his time on the bench? I think some fans are getting ahead of themselves, whatever stardust gets sprinkled on this squad, we still need good, reliable, pros who won’t let you down when called upon - Thorniley is one such player.

Steve Gilbert said:

People are writing Thorniley off but remember he has done it at championship level. I wouldn’t get rid of him at all. He might have had an off season with us this year but that doesn’t mean he won’t come back in the summer and end up putting himself ahead of Brown.

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Towards the end of the season not only was Thorniley not starting, but he wasn't even making it onto the bench. In the final, Des preferred to have Stevens and Leigh on the bench, and he's scarcely featured for him since we've been at full strength. He may have played in the Championship, but Blackpool didn't want to keep him in League One. I think now we're in the Championship we should be looking to bring in players who are an upgrade on Moore and Brown. As good as they've been, we should always look to improve the team.

dickwalton1964 said:

I said exactly this earlier. I think it’s madness to get rid of Thorniley, who do we replace him with? Are we really going to get an upgrade on him who is going to be content to bide his time on the bench? I think some fans are getting ahead of themselves, whatever stardust gets sprinkled on this squad, we still need good, reliable, pros who won’t let you down when called upon - Thorniley is one such player.

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I actually think we need an "upgrade" in Brown or Moore, or at least someone with the potential to be an upgrade on them, who can be eased into 1st team football, much in the same way McNally and Dickie were.

Don't get me wrong, Moore and Brown have been absolute colossi ever since Des got the best first choice lineup available, employing the tactics he wanted, but I think they may on occasion be found wanting, especially for pace and ability to play out from the back (which both Rob and Luke had in abundance).

If nothing else, we need someone of that calibre (or potential to exceed it) who can easily step in, should either Brown or Moore have any extended time out of the team. It would also be good to again have a real saleable asset at that level!

dickwalton1964 said:

I said exactly this earlier. I think it’s madness to get rid of Thorniley, who do we replace him with? Are we really going to get an upgrade on him who is going to be content to bide his time on the bench? I think some fans are getting ahead of themselves, whatever stardust gets sprinkled on this squad, we still need good, reliable, pros who won’t let you down when called upon - Thorniley is one such player.

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You move Thorniley on to bring in someone who will look to start ahead of Moore and Brown. You can't evolve and improve a squad if you look only to replace a backup player with another backup player.

I don't think it's quite struck everyone the waters we're now shopping in when it comes to new players. A step up in division also means a step up in the players we're looking to target, and players who might've been good to keep a hold of in League One won't be good enough to keep us up in a division that features many sides benefitting from Premier League windfall payments.

dickwalton1964 said:

I said exactly this earlier. I think it’s madness to get rid of Thorniley, who do we replace him with? Are we really going to get an upgrade on him who is going to be content to bide his time on the bench? I think some fans are getting ahead of themselves, whatever stardust gets sprinkled on this squad, we still need good, reliable, pros who won’t let you down when called upon - Thorniley is one such player.

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As I said on the other thread, I think we need to bring in a more agile first choice CB with better acceleration than our current options to start alongside Moore; chances are we're going to need that to counter the quicker, zippier, more technical strikers at Championship level.

Brown then becomes an ultra-reliable option as our #3, and a safe pair of hands if either of our first choice pairing gets hurt.

And Long is fine to be your emergency cover as #4 CB, and backup RB......assuming we loan out Negru so that he can get regular game time.

battman said:

You move Thorniley on to bring in someone who will look to start ahead of Moore and Brown. You can't evolve and improve a squad if you look only to replace a backup player with another backup player.

I don't think it's quite struck everyone the waters we're now shopping in when it comes to new players. A step up in division also means a step up in the players we're looking to target, and players who might've been good to keep a hold of in League One won't be good enough to keep us up in a division that features many sides benefitting from Premier League windfall payments.

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Ignoring the fact that Thorniley has a decent amount of Championship experience and is only 27.

dickwalton1964 said:

Ignoring the fact that Thorniley has a decent amount of Championship experience and is only 27.

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He was also been released by Blackpool who didn't want him in their League One squad, and his last appearance was on 6th January in the EFL Trophy. He's clearly out of favour and won't stay here.

battman said:

You move Thorniley on to bring in someone who will look to start ahead of Moore and Brown. You can't evolve and improve a squad if you look only to replace a backup player with another backup player.

I don't think it's quite struck everyone the waters we're now shopping in when it comes to new players. A step up in division also means a step up in the players we're looking to target, and players who might've been good to keep a hold of in League One won't be good enough to keep us up in a division that features many sides benefitting from Premier League windfall payments.

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Should we try and upgrade on Brannagan too then? At what point do you stop upgrading? Why not try and identify a younger Murphy who might only want £10,000 a week.

dickwalton1964 said:

Ignoring the fact that Thorniley has a decent amount of Championship experience and is only 27.

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Thorniley is slower to move the ball on than Santos!

beyondthefourth said:

This is all so refreshing after the euphoria of Saturday. Barely half a week later, after an almost perfect performance, there are people who think that besides Brannagan, Murphy and Goodrham, we have no-one in the squad they want to see in a yellow shirt next season.

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It's not that long since none of them was apparently good enough for top 6 league one, and that includes Murphy!

Moore & Brown is a partnership we are not breaking up.

Bennett has a partnership with Murphy.

Brannagan is a non-negotiable.

Cumming, Long, Dale, Goodrham, Rodrigues & Harris are who need a serious back up for them next season. Possibly even an improvement signing.

ljs said:

Thorniley is slower to move the ball on than Santos!

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That’s why I’m suggesting we keep him as a fourth choice centre back. This is my point - you get rid of your 4th choice centre back and replace him with who? You ain’t getting the next Paulo Maldini warming the bench on a wet Tuesday night at Stoke!

dickwalton1964 said:

I said exactly this earlier. I think it’s madness to get rid of Thorniley, who do we replace him with? Are we really going to get an upgrade on him who is going to be content to bide his time on the bench? I think some fans are getting ahead of themselves, whatever stardust gets sprinkled on this squad, we still need good, reliable, pros who won’t let you down when called upon - Thorniley is one such player.

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Well you dont buy a back up do you, you buy a first choice or two with Brown and Moore then becoming the back ups, that way you always improve.

Oxford84 said:

Well you dont buy a back up do you, you buy a first choice or two with Brown and Moore then becoming the back ups, that way you always improve.

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Fair enough. Do the same with Brannagan too?

Jster said:

It's not that long since none of them was apparently good enough for top 6 league one, and that includes Murphy!

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And that period was only 6 months after the same squad was walking the league with Portsmouth and 8 points clear of third place!