Hourihane

So they've tried to keep Summerfield on reduced terms, have they?

Yup, what 'ee said.

I doubt Summers has improved vastly but our level has deteriorated considerably and he's now got a better pedigree than us.

I can't see Summerfield coming back. The "relationship" between him and the crowd had soured horribly by the time he left. I can't think why he would want to come back for seconds.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

I can't see Summerfield coming back. The "relationship" between him and the crowd had soured horribly by the time he left. I can't think why he would want to come back for seconds.

All will be forgiven once the fans understand it's Cox and Summerfield, or Cox and Blizzard/Wotton.

Summerfield used to be our youngest, most raw player. Now he'd be among the best, and at 26/27, one of the most experienced, in his physical prime.

Another thing about Summers is that after his last season in League Two, Cheltenham were desperate for him to re-sign, but he left for a two year contract in League One.  Summerfield helped Cheltenham finish 4th I think that season - there and abouts the standard we need to he aiming towards.

It would be a coup for us to sign him to be honest, but for some reason we seem to think he is beneath Argyle. Are we still that deluded?

ejh wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

I can't see Summerfield coming back. The "relationship" between him and the crowd had soured horribly by the time he left. I can't think why he would want to come back for seconds.

All will be forgiven once the fans understand it's Cox and Summerfield, or Cox and Blizzard/Wotton.

Another thing about Summers is that after his last season in League Two, Cheltenham were desperate for him to re-sign, but he left for a two year contract in League One.  Summerfield helped Cheltenham finish 4th I think that season - there and abouts the standard we need to he aiming towards.

Cox Blizzard and Wotton wont be good enough to keep the club in league 2 let alone get promoted out of it.

ejh wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

I can't see Summerfield coming back. The "relationship" between him and the crowd had soured horribly by the time he left. I can't think why he would want to come back for seconds.

All will be forgiven once the fans understand it's Cox and Summerfield, or Cox and Blizzard/Wotton.

Summerfield used to be our youngest, most raw player. Now he'd be among the best, and at 26/27, one of the most experienced, in his physical prime.

Another thing about Summers is that after his last season in League Two, Cheltenham were desperate for him to re-sign, but he left for a two year contract in League One.  Summerfield helped Cheltenham finish 4th I think that season - there and abouts the standard we need to he aiming towards.

It would be a coup for us to sign him to be honest, but for some reason we seem to think he is beneath Argyle. Are we still that deluded?

I don't dislike Summers particularly, but you're as good as your last season. He may have helped Cheltenham finish 4th, but last year he helped Shrewsbury finish 23rd.

He's one of 5 players released without any contract offer being made.

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As I say, for me, a bit of a red flag.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

I can't see Summerfield coming back. The "relationship" between him and the crowd had soured horribly by the time he left. I can't think why he would want to come back for seconds.

To prove people wrong.

To be part of a (relatively) big club pushing on as opposed to joining a smaller club.

To gain a 2 year contract rather than a one year deal elsewhere.

Because he's familiar with the city and knows he'd be settled here.

Because two former team mates and (for all I know) friends are still in the team.

There could be many reasons. If it were me, a small but significant section of the crowd who lacked patience, understanding and the ability to refrain from verbal abuse when I was a youngster would probably be the least of those considerations.

Czarcasm wrote:

ejh wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

I can't see Summerfield coming back. The "relationship" between him and the crowd had soured horribly by the time he left. I can't think why he would want to come back for seconds.

All will be forgiven once the fans understand it's Cox and Summerfield, or Cox and Blizzard/Wotton.

Summerfield used to be our youngest, most raw player. Now he'd be among the best, and at 26/27, one of the most experienced, in his physical prime.

Another thing about Summers is that after his last season in League Two, Cheltenham were desperate for him to re-sign, but he left for a two year contract in League One.  Summerfield helped Cheltenham finish 4th I think that season - there and abouts the standard we need to he aiming towards.

It would be a coup for us to sign him to be honest, but for some reason we seem to think he is beneath Argyle. Are we still that deluded?

I don't dislike Summers particularly, but you're as good as your last season. He may have helped Cheltenham finish 4th, but last year he helped Shrewsbury finish 23rd.

He's one of 5 players released without any contract offer being made.

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As I say, for me, a bit of a red flag.

And Hartley finished 24th and was released, meaning he is probably worse?

The Shrewsbury club/team is in revolution. Their fans are not exactly happy with the signs. The first team keeper Chris Weale was released too, plus umpteen others, and they only have 10 contracts in place for next season.

Read their forum, Summers was well rated. In one match towards the end of the season the manager took Summerfield off, and the fans started moaning he took their man of the match off. Then a poster said sadly the action suggested Summerfield will be released and a number of supporters reply along the lines of 'oh great'.

For whatever reason Summerfield was released (financial/tactical/injury prone) he doesn't appear to have been out of form. Many shrews fans rated him as one of their best players last season and were unhappy to see him go. They are also openly critical of the manager there who has made a number of controversial decisions and doesn't seem to have the confidence of the fans.

Also apparently Summerfield is in talks with Cheltenham about returning, but hopefully his agent will have been alerted regarding the situation at HP. Although as SFD said, Summers might outright refuse to sign for our supporters again. Then again Reuben used to get roundly booed when he was out of his depth in the Championship - and now he is worshipped - so you never know.

I don't wanna read Shrewsbury forums. I'm really not that interested.

You bigged up Summers finishing 4th so all I did was flip that to highlight his contribution in Shrewsbury finishing 23rd.

Your comparison of the Shrewsbury/Summers situation with the Argyle/Bhasera scenario is also way off the mark. Shrewsbury have released Summers having not made any attempt to keep him. Argyle were desperate to try and keep Bhasera and broke their own stated deadlines more than once in the hope that they could hang on to him.

Those are the facts.

Anyway I'll bow out now as it's clearly quite important to you to have the last word...  

Hourihane interview with the Herald on why he left-


CONOR HOURIHANE has revealed his desire to play at the highest level possible was the motivation behind his move from Plymouth Argyle to Barnsley.

The Irish midfielder signed a three-year contract with the League One outfit after completing a £200,000 transfer.

In an interview with Herald Sport, Hourihane spoke of his gratitude to Argyle for giving him the chance to become a first team regular.

However, the 23-year-old admitted he made it clear to the League Two club he had no intention of signing a contract extension.

So, rather than see him leave next summer for no compensation at all, Argyle pushed Barnsley to three bids before finally agreeing a transfer fee.

It was, according to several sources, considerably higher than the first offer that Barnsley made for the Pilgrims’ skipper.

The South Yorkshire club were relegated from the Championship last season but see Hourihane as someone who can return to them to that level, and possibly even higher.

Hourihane told Herald Sport: “It was a very difficult decision for me to leave. I have had three very fine years at Plymouth.

“It’s a fantastic club with fantastic fans and it’s a fantastic place to live.

“But I’m a very ambitious lad and a club like Barnsley, who have played in the very top tier of English football and are hoping to get promoted straight back to the Championship, appealed to me a lot.

“They showed a great amount of interest in me, which is a confidence booster for myself, and it was an opportunity I didn’t want to turn down.

“I felt it was the right decision for me at the right time to take a step up in league and push for that promotion they are looking for.”

Hourihane added: “I work hard as a footballer and I will do everything I can to be a success there.

“Getting them back into the Championship and playing at the highest level possible is, for me, something I want to do. I’m looking forward to getting going now.”

Hourihane had been at Sunderland and Ipswich Town before moving to Argyle in the summer of 2011.

But the former Republic of Ireland under-21 international had not played any first team football for either of those clubs so it was make or break time for him.

Hourihane said: “I think I have improved season on season since I have been at Plymouth.

“I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity they have given me to play some first team football.

“I know it was difficult when I went down there first, with the club in administration, but we all stuck together and came through that with flying colours. The club is going in the right direction now.”

Hourihane made a total of 142 appearances for Argyle, scoring 16 goals, and was appointed as captain in January 2013 after the departure of defender Darren Purse to Port Vale.

He said: “When I went down there first, it was a sink or swim situation for myself. I knuckled down and worked really hard, and sometimes hard work pays off.

“An opportunity like this (signing for Barnsley) came along and I couldn’t turn it down.”

Argyle issued a statement after Hourihane’s transfer was finalised in which they stated that he had been ‘unwilling’ to sign a contract extension.

The Cork-born midfielder confirmed that was the case, and was grateful for the way the Pilgrims dealt with the situation.

Hourihane said: “I made them aware I wasn’t going to sign a new contract.

“I spent three years down there and I enjoyed it a lot but this opportunity came along and it fit the bill for me.

“I could have walked away for free the following summer so, taking that into consideration, the club said I could go.

“I’m really pleased with the way it was dealt with. They were very fair with me.”

Hourihane was also grateful to the Green Army for their support for him, and the team, over the past three seasons.

He said: “They have stuck with us through thick and thin, and especially when we have been to away games so far up north and we have taken 1,000 to 1,200 fans. It speaks volumes about them.

“I’m very thankful for the support they have shown me and I just wish them all the best for the future. I hope they get back to where they belong.”


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Doesn't really read too well that he's confident on our promotion chances next season.

He obviously privately shares many of our concerns with regards to the future of the club.

Punchdrunk wrote:

He obviously privately shares many of our concerns with regards to the future of the club.

Yeah, but #stripesareback   

It's not important to me to have the last word Czarcasm. People can have their own opinion and I can have mine in perfect harmony.

But you said something along the lines of Summerfield having a poor season that ought to be a red flag. So I have challenged that statement - as Summerfield has had two good seasons in League One and appears to be well liked. He hasn't been disgraced,  and is leaving as part of a wide cull of the first team that has upset supporters.

Your point about us bending over backwards for Bhasera is a bit exaggerated too. We made him a derisory offer and he never bothered calling back, he just went and found a club paying him something resembling his going rate. Bending over backwards i would class as improved wages, improved terms, massaging his ego - but Baz was offered League Two LB wages 'take it or leave it'.... and he left it. Where Summerfield and Bhasera have similarities is a) they both would need to take a pay cut to stay at the club through relegation b) having been involved in a relegation doesn't make them poor individual players. Another example is David Stockdale who got relegated with the Argyle team one season,  then was making Premier League appearances with Fulham the next.  They obviously didn't feel he was as good as his last season, or he'd have been loaned out again to League One.

Summers, bummers.

Apparently the Clifford deal has broken down now.

Clifford knobford.

Lets all move on a reasonable player at our level is moving up the footballing food chain - good luck to him, it's up to Sheridan now to prove his worth as a manager and get on with it.
For once I can understand the board making a decision to sell at least he didn't go for the usual paltry £25 -50k.
  

Without a replacement of equal ability or similar, our midfield is no better off than it was last season. Cox has replaced Hourihane but we now need players to replace Young and Guerrieri. No easy task and until that happens it could be argued that we are much worse off.

It's a bummer no doubt about that but I never really saw Conor as the midfield general/captain that he was touted as, not enough presence. Surely with the signing of Reid Shez must have that touch with a few players to get them interested, their must be loads of players who are playing below their natural standard for any number of reasons, whoever we sign needs to sign because he believes we can and will go up and is good enough for the league above and the CCC. Fair play for Shez to get on with things so at least this isn't a last minute nightmare, and we haven't even tapped the loan market yet.

i recall mc carthys 'bradford will get to division 1 before argyle do' oh how we laughed      

Our midfield does seem tragically light all of a sudden. Young, our best playmaker gone. Hourihane, our box to box presence gone. Gurrieri our engine gone.

Cox, Wotton and Blizzard left, and two of them are not good enough for a promotion push IMO.

I wonder when Hourihane told the club he wouldn't sign a contract extension?

She's a pretty girl, but her geography ain't the best. If she thinks a 3 hour train journey (if her connecting train's on time) or a good 3 1/2hr drive up the M1 is going to make visiting Conor so much easier she may be in for a bit of a shock.

Maybe she's confusing Barnsley with Bromley?   

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Czarcasm wrote:

She's a pretty girl, but her geography ain't the best. If she thinks a 3 hour train journey (if her connecting train's on time) or a good 3 1/2hr drive up the M1 is going to make visiting Conor so much easier she may be in for a bit of a shock.

Maybe she's confusing Barnsley with Bromley?   

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Bromley can take easily 5hrs by road........unless she rides a big bike and doesn't worry about speed restrictions.

Will take over 3hrs to get to Paddington plus underground and South Eastern Trains add another hour plus.

If her geography is that poor she could end up in east London at Bromley-by-Bow.

Maybe lover boy might buy her an air ticket..... even that's difficult from Plymouth without an Airport.