Real shame for Lee-Barrett as he really did a job for us when we were stuck with no goalkeepers for the end of the season, would've preferred him as number 2 to Brown, but maybe that's just sentiment over ability.

Thought that may happen re Martin, expect he'll go to Charlton or someone like that.

ALB - his heart was in the right place even when some others weren't. A loyal servant who dropped down the lists.

Drury - hardworking player. However it's logical not to keep him as he's now a senior player some distance from the first team.

Ultimately both players were competing to play for the reserves and could benefit from dropping a division.

Released or mutual decision? No way he'd settle for not having regular football, not a Michael Owen etc happy to pick up a wage for not playing.

Really disappointed for LB, as a hometown boy myself I know how he must feel about this club.

Like Drury too , he was there when we were struggling under Clown Keane and PJ.

YOYOY offer Martin a contract though, when his goals and assists to minutes played ratio is so shocking , let alone an abysmal disciplinary one.

Sadly you will all be remembered for being there at the very depths matched only ever once in the Duncan era.

It seems harsh on players like Lee-Barrett & Drury, because they seem like genuine decent lads who can do a job, but it's the right decision as room in the squad has to be made for new signings who will offer greater potential. The Martin situation is interesting, although I suspect Mick isn't overly concerned by it. Martin is nowhere near as good as he himself, his agent & his current terms suggest, but he is not as bad as a lot of the criticism he gets is either.
Most of us want Tabb to sign & it looks like he will, but we will still need an out & out left sided winger in the squad too. A reduced terms Martin, free of injuries, without any uncertainty over his future & with some coaching on his final ball/shooting would still be a dangerous asset in this league. If not, cheerio, Mick will get somebody else, no big deal.

Bit harsh on Lee-Barrett, always did a top Job when called upon.
Drury is a bit more understandable, good enough player but too far from challenging for a forst team place every week, right decsison if he wants to be playing week in week out

Martin is an average player on very high wages. I bet what we have offered him is still too much for his ability. I won't shed a tear when he departs, unlike Drury who is hard working and honest, not he best, but for me much like old Sticky Mockwell

Drury did can out and say a few months back that he wasn't happy being out of the team and would rather have gone out on loan to play some first team football. I don't think we can guarantee that, so probably best we let him find a new club.

The ALB one surprises me, a decent backup keeper. This says to me that we will be after a new keeper in the summer, the question is will we sign a number 2 as Loach's understudy or a new number 1? I think it would be harsh on Loach if he wasn't our first choice at the start of next season.

And as for Lee Martin, i don't think he will sign but if he does the boo boys have got to back off, if a player is out of form and he's getting boo'd by his own fans it's hardly going to give him confidence.

both decent back up to the 1st team - really liked Drury - creative and a decent shot, but Mick will have his own ideas im sure - hope you both get decent clubs and contracts.

Martin needs to go

Seems to be a consensus that it'll be sad to see Drury and LB go.

I've always liked what I saw in Drury, my only criticism being his athleticism/pace. And I suppose you've either got that or you haven't.

I wish him all the best, hopefully playing for Town was a good step for his career, and he goes on to find a decent club.

ALB has been a great servant, nothing more to be said, best of luck to him also.


Finally...Martin....

Unsure on this one. If we could get him on reduced terms, all well and good, his work-rate is brilliant, I always like that in a player, but he does seem a bit of an Adrian Durham's "Head's Gone" at time, and at this level you simply can't afford that.

Will he mature? No idea? I'm a 10x better player now at 33 that I was at 23 because i'm a lot calmer and more thoughtful (although i'm not kidding anyone when I still know i'm at the poor end of ability) thankfully i've not lost my pace! Anyway, I digress, players can and do mature, and if we can get him on the lower terms, he still has plenty to offer at this level.

To much sentiment levelled at him for his petulance, not concentrating on the overall contribution he makes. We're all guilty of it because we love the club so much.

Step back, take a pragmatic view, and he's still a decent player, but with FFP, the money must be right for ITFC.

Needs to free up wages so good choices.

Nice handling of Martin as well, you are nearly good enough but not quite mate, only worth what you are worth, take it or leave it, hopefully the latter. Ridiculous last 10 minutes last week typical of this player, No end product.

Was hoping drury is going was hoping that when we signed Alan judge that we would have a judge and drury midfield

Is it a 1 year deal? (Martin) if so I think we could sell him in the summer to get some money

the definition of madness is repeating the same thing but expecting a different result. our results with drury and martin in the team left us fighting relegation. we need to make room for the much needed flair that mm will have up his sleeve.

No surprises really. Best of luck to them. Hopefully they can get sorted quickly. Fairer to do it now.

Poor old Martin

Am I right in saying Martin was a god at the end of last season for his performances just behind the front 2 and everyone was calling for us to sign him up and a long term deal.

Now it's all get rid not bothered if he stays or goes.
Wonder who we will turn on next season Cresswell got some stick at the start of the season,

How fickle we are

Karlos- agree completely, although i would currently not put martin in the starting 11, last year he showed he had some very beneficial qualities. This season they have not been displayed as much...glad he has been offered a new contract, not worth the reported £13,000 a week mind, and hope he stays because i believe he could play some part in a promotion push..strenght in depth is everything.

No surprises there to be honest but got a feeling Chopra will go at some point due to his high wage

I suppose the one hesitation with letting Drury go is that we've only got 2 other central midfielders currently contracted to the club. Letting go a decent pro who played 30 games this season, on unspectacular wages and who's adequate in a couple of positions might be a bit hasty at this point.

Best of luck to Drury and Lee-Barrett, hard working players who I liked but I understand the decision to release them as we look forwards.

So Martin cost us £4.7M then with transfer fee and wages. Imagine what Mick could have done with that money!!

I wish ALB no ill will as he was a good professional while at the club, however, his release finally puts to bed the myth amongst some supporters that he is a decent goalkeeper at this level. Some people could never see beyond his shot stopping ability, but the fact is he was a liability every time he played for us. Anybody saying different quite frankly has very little understanding of goalkeeping.

Would happily applaud the departure of Martin who epitomised Keane's tendency to waste money on over-rated players. Yes he's very energetic but there's not much going on up top which explains the pointless yet repeated red cards. Martin carries little goal threat, rarely beats his man, final ball is inconsistent and finishing woeful. Promotion will never be won with the likes of Martin in the team.

This year FFP will be taken far more seriously and I think will start to restore some credibility and drag the game back from greedy agents and players. I don't buy that in the Championship the clubs with parachute payments have a significant advantage Wolves and Blackburn are yet two more teams who have struggled as a result of the pressure to get back to the promised land at the first attempt - largely by the instability and panic caused by desperate owners. I think we have an exceptional manager in Mick who has a clear plan in his head about building his squad in a very intelligent and versatile way. Sadly the squad does have to be pruned to allow the manager to make room for new players that he thinks will improve the squad and also to ensure old pros (who are likely to be only squad players) do not stifle the opportunities for younger players coming through the ranks. I say sadly because both Andy Drury and Arran Lee-Barrett have shown to be very decent professionals (unlike others at the club who cause frequent headlines in the papers). I do hope these lads get fixed up and I will watch their careers with interest, thank you both.

Hopefully we can secure the services of Jay Tabb who has looked excellent in the last two matches (and indeed put in solid performances for the other games he started in). If rumors are true about Alan Judge and Kenny McLean then these would be two excellent signings and with Wordsworth would give our midfield great balance, versatility and numerous options. Without a much better end product I feel Lee Martin could even struggle to hold a place on the bench. But Lee does have some raw talent and is still a relatively young player but I wouldn't be surprised to see him move on.

Lee-Barratt has done the club a great service, but it is important that he is allowed another chance at first team football. Drury never really looked like he was going to make it as a regular, its unfortunate because he had shown some potential, he was just a bit of an unnecessary buy from PJ. Its positive that lee martin has been given a new contract but very important that he is on reduced terms, from what i've seen of him he needs to re-evaluate his attitude and start pulling his weight around the club.