Callum O'Hare and Mitch Clark

[curiousorange]

Every club will have players who they should have kept. Great motivation for a released player to ram it back down the club's throat. Nature of sport though.

[Larry Duff]

I am the resident bore off the Academy and reserve thread.  I go and watch the Youth Team most home games and watch the U23s quite often.
I have been a big supporter of Mitch and thought that He and Callum were the pick of a very good Youth Team a couple of years ago.  i thought that they were better than Jake Doyle Hayes, RHM and Andre Green at the time and I still probably do, although all are good players.

It's a cut throat business and although Mitch has at times done very well at Port Vale He has not proved that He is better than that level.  Our excellent Young players when loaned out like Jack Grealish, Gary Cahill and Barry Bannan got consistently rave reviews at lower league level.
Personally I would have given him one more year but I think He is destined to be a lower league player and there is nothing wrong with that, in fact 99% of us would kill to have a career as a Professional Footballer.
I really hope Mitch does come back to haunt us as He gave me great entertainment in the youth and reserves and was one of those players who played with a smile on his face. 
He liked a chat with the spectators occasionally.

Good luck Mitchell
 

[curiousorange]

I think for some players their time doesn't come until much later, possibly after the muck and bullets of lower league. Countless youngsters drift away after this first huge disappointment but a fair few work their way back up. Jamie Vardy, Charlie Austin, Rickie Lambert...perhaps not great examples of players whose class shone through but good examples that the journey's not over.

[Larry Duff]

I think Mitch has got the character to keep going and I know He won't be short of offers to sign a 3 year deal as a Pro in League 1 or League 2.  On a free He might well get a championship club give him a deal.
The other players we released I can't say I am surprised about, Easah Sulliman I expect to be released soon as well.
It is an ongoing situation.  If we keep Mitch at the club how is Mungo Bridge and Dominic Revan going to progress and in a year or two, we will have to shift them on if they are not threatening the first team in favour of the latest youth players etc.

[SoccerHQ]

Amazed by Clark leaving tbh. Had a good loan spell, played o.k in some league cup appearences and pretty versatile which is always handy for a 46 game league season.

I was looking forward to him being integrated into the first team sport next season. It's not like we've got a huge amount of prospects in both full back areas....AEM, Hutton and Taylor I doubt any will be with us in 18 months time. Will have to see how the new French guy  settles aswell.

Can only think he wanted to push for regular games next season and DS didn't think he was even championship standard. Is said lots when we replace young players and actually very few come back to haunt us but think we might've missed a trick with Clark, can see him playing international football in near future.

[PeterWithesShin]

Some? He only played once for us. He seemed decent from the few times I saw him in games shown on youtube but he hasn't even had an U21 cap for Wales so not sure he's going to get a full cap in the next year or so.

[PeterWithesShin]

“He needs to be challenged and I challenge him on a daily basis,” says Clark’s agent Lee Marsh.

“He's been at Villa since he was six and is grateful for the opportunity. I couldn't believe he hadn't got a squad number after playing pre-season games.

“I took him to Port Vale and he's done very well in an ugly standard of football. I'm adamant that I'm going to try and get him the career I think he deserves.”

Marsh added: “Obviously it's a shock to his system that he's unattached but it's for a reason.

“Dean (Smith) didn't see him playing for a club in the top six of the Championship at this time and I respect his views.

“I believe that I can take him on to bigger and better things than what he's doing at Port Vale.

“At this moment in time I've got a big interest from a Premier League club and two German clubs. He won't be signing for them if it's under-23 based, I can tell you that.

“There's Championship clubs and that would be appealing as well because it's a stepping stone.

“I understand why Dean has let him go but I'm sure there'll be staff at Villa who won't be too pleased about it. You've got to move on in life sometimes and this is his opportunity.”

[SoccerHQ]

Some? He only played once for us. He seemed decent from the few times I saw him in games shown on youtube but he hasn't even had an U21 cap for Wales so not sure he's going to get a full cap in the next year or so.

Ah thought he played v Boro and Colchester aswell, was unused sub in both.

[danno]

Whenever a young player is let go I often think a manager is trying to balance what is best for the club with what is best for the player.

Perhaps at this stage of his career he really needs to be playing first team football, and we simply can't guarantee him that.

He might have been useful as a squad player, alternately keeping him might have hindered his development in the longer term.

[Matt Collins]

If you're 20 or so and playing two leagues down, you really need to be ripping up trees

I think ohare has and I'd be surprised if we let him go

Clark has done OK I think but not better

I think with rhm and jdh they've been injured so it's hard to tell

But I like our new approach with the under 23s. We're playing much younger players who I imagine will play there for a year or two and then be loaned out or integrated

I can't say I've watched loads of under 23 games  but from the half dozen or so I saw in the last year, the standard and level of competitiveness is just nowhere near high enough to really tell how good players are

We had a few who may be flat track bullies

[Axl Rose]

Just seen this on Instagram, and was wondering if it's true;

theavfcfaithful
I would like to address my sincere condolences to the following players, Harry McKirdy, Jordan Cox, Kelsey Mooney, Harvey Knibbs, Mitch Clark, Jordan Lyden, Corey Blackett-Taylor, Alex Prosser
I've been waiting to post this for a while, but waited in respect to the players themselves, it finally got confirmed today that their journeys at Aston Villa have come to an end 💜

I wish you lads all the best, great crop of youngsters who are bound to come back and haunt us one day at VP, like we've seen in the past and I'm sure a few of these will be mistakes.. Good luck on your careers and onwards and upwards 🦁
#AVFC #UTV

I really think McKirdy will go on to have a great career. He's got a bit of Grealish about him.

Good luck to all the lads.

[eamonn]

Speaking of moved-on yoof, interesting article on the Beeb about our former highly-coveted midfielder Dan Crowley, who after being lured away from us by Arsenal, has since landed in the Netherlands and will play against Ajax in the Dutch cup final tomorrow.
I wonder if he had stayed with us, would Grealish's progress have been hampered - I know Jack is older but Crowley was expecting first team football quite early on.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48111164

[Clampy]

Just seen this on Instagram, and was wondering if it's true;

theavfcfaithful
I would like to address my sincere condolences to the following players, Harry McKirdy, Jordan Cox, Kelsey Mooney, Harvey Knibbs, Mitch Clark, Jordan Lyden, Corey Blackett-Taylor, Alex Prosser
I've been waiting to post this for a while, but waited in respect to the players themselves, it finally got confirmed today that their journeys at Aston Villa have come to an end 💜

I wish you lads all the best, great crop of youngsters who are bound to come back and haunt us one day at VP, like we've seen in the past and I'm sure a few of these will be mistakes.. Good luck on your careers and onwards and upwards 🦁
#AVFC #UTV

I really think McKirdy will go on to have a great career. He's got a bit of Grealish about him.

Good luck to all the lads.

I like what I've seen of Jordan Cox and McKirdy so i'm surprised by those two being let go.

[Axl Rose]

Just seen this on Instagram, and was wondering if it's true;

theavfcfaithful
I would like to address my sincere condolences to the following players, Harry McKirdy, Jordan Cox, Kelsey Mooney, Harvey Knibbs, Mitch Clark, Jordan Lyden, Corey Blackett-Taylor, Alex Prosser
I've been waiting to post this for a while, but waited in respect to the players themselves, it finally got confirmed today that their journeys at Aston Villa have come to an end 💜

I wish you lads all the best, great crop of youngsters who are bound to come back and haunt us one day at VP, like we've seen in the past and I'm sure a few of these will be mistakes.. Good luck on your careers and onwards and upwards 🦁
#AVFC #UTV

I really think McKirdy will go on to have a great career. He's got a bit of Grealish about him.

Good luck to all the lads.

I like what I've seen of Jordan Cox and McKirdy so i'm surprised by those two being let go.

That's a good shout about Jordan Cox as well, Clampy. Looked a decent goalscorer.

I'm curious as to why they've all been released? Smith doesn't fancy them or something else? Maybe we'll never know.

[Lastfootstamper]

Maybe we're seeing the beginnings of a comprehensive overhaul of how we do things below senior level. This, Sean Kimberley's departure, the letting go of the scouts. I've said before how having a successful U23 side seemed to have become an end in itself, and there was that ridiculous business of the disconnect between "The Villa Engine" and the first team squad.

I can't comment on their talent. Maybe some of them could do a job where we are, would they be able to take us where we want to go? Good luck to the lot of them, I hope they all succeed in getting to do what we'd all loved to have, making a living kicking a bag of wind around a field.