I see that he has been released by Bury and joined Alfreton until the end of the season. I think there is a discussion here.
1. Should we have signed him? Wherever he has gone after he left us it hasn't worked out for him. Yet his goalscoring record apart from when he was at Bury wasn't that bad. I thought he was a good player for us. We need another striker. He was obviously keen to play in this area. Why didn't we sign him?
2. Would he have wanted to join / would the club want him to join? Is there bad blood on either side? I read somewhere that he said that our score is the first that he looks for and he can't understand why he gets booed at the Pirelli.
3. Are you one of those that holds a grudge? Are you now thinking 'Ha, the grass isn't always greener is it !' He said he wanted to go and better himself at a higher level. ('Fair enough' I thought). He went sideways to Northampton. (Raised eyebrows). He got his move to Bury (then league 1). He wasn't scoring so he went out on loan to Rotherham and Cheltenham in league 2. And now he is in the Conference - a league below ours.
4. Maybe you simply think he was good for us back then but we can get better players than him now.
I don't boo him on his return. I respect his record for the club. I think we could do a lot worse than have him on the books (though that is no longer an option). Am I forgetting something that happened or am I unaware of something that went on behind the scenes?
What do you think?
Shaun Harrad
posted on 17/1/14
Yes we should have signed him again and well done to Alfreton for doing so.
I personally don't hold him a grudge. At the time of his leaving there were undoubtedly people on the bench weeks in,weeks out getting far more than him, so why shouldn't he try and get a better deal, even if it meant leaving the Club.
posted on 17/1/14
I suspect Gary is possibly eying someone from either the Premiership or the Championship who is starting out on his footballing career who is taller and stronger and more of a target man ,someone maybe who needs games at our level with proven goalscoring ability . Thats my hope , Shaun was a good striker at our level but maybe his time has come and gone and again Gary is looking to take our club forward to another level. All theory ,or he perhaps feels he already has a jewel in Dominic Knowles now that he has got off the mark... time will tell .
posted on 18/1/14
You all know i rated Shaun Harrad very highly when he was with us.His work rate and goals scored were fabulous and i certainly didnt want him to leave.Things have not worked out for him on his travels i suspect bad advise from his agent is to blame.No i wouldnt want him to come back now the club have moved forward and he is at a low football wise and we dont need players who are not switched on to move Burton Albion forward to the next level.I would never boo any ex player never mind Shaun and i think folk who do are morons and disrespectful to a player who gave his all for us.I wish him well at his new club and hope he can find the form he showed for us.THANKS SHAUN HARRAD you were brilliant for us.
posted on 18/1/14
Trying out the young players at Championship and Premiership clubs could lead you to get;
- A Jacob Blyth, a Nialle Rodney, a James Ellison or an Adi Yussuf.
- However, you could also get a James Collins or a Sam Winnall.
I would prefer an experienced player with games under his belt who knows where the net is and who knows lower league football. There is less risk compared to taking a gamble on 'an 18 year old Barnsley prospect'.
I think that Shaun Harrad would have been a good addition - aswell as signing another striker. With Rory and Rene not on the wage bill we surely can afford it.
posted on 18/1/14
Shaun was a good player and I was sorry to see him leave us but I certainly don't bear a grudge against him. If he came back he'd work hard for us, I'm not sure if it's the right thing for the club right now, though. How old is he?
posted on 18/1/14
This just a bit of wild surmising by me but his departure from was not just influenced by his agent making a ludicrous wage demand but also by PP shoving him on the bench when he was top scorer and playing James Collins, a lad who declared right from day 1 that he would not be joining us permanently.
I would have been happy to see him return, but I am not concerned that he hasn't, we have moved on.