IMO Poleon was really done for when NA changed the formation to play 3 up front. The two attackers supporting big Tom needed to fall into midfield when not in possession and Dom failed to grasp this role. In a three he was always competing with Barchy on the left (LTB occupying the right) and Barchy at least showed a willingness to work for the team. NA constantly talked about the “givens” last season and sadly Dom failed to “give” in this respect.
With the arrival of Kwesi and Cody McDonald, Dom would have known that he was #4 on the list – he chose to cut and run instead of fighting for a place. A shame, but I’ll not lose much sleep over his departure.
Jake Reeves, IMO, is a completely different matter. What is the saying – “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”? I think this is the case with Jake, whose departure does seem to be imminent.
Easy to grumble at his ‘show pony’ style, a perceived lack of passion, a tendency to misplace passes and a woeful record in front of goal, but he must have had more touches and more time on the ball than any other player over the last two seasons. He invited criticism because he tried passes that others couldn’t see or couldn’t execute. He was our playmaker and the heartbeat of our team.
Gillingham, a side far worse than us last season, have just sold their playmaker, Bradly Dack, for £750,000. If Jake goes for a paltry £150,000 then IMO our entire transfer kitty of £500,000 would probably not be enough to acquire a player of similar ability or value to the team.
Lord only knows how negotiations with our top target goalkeeper will be affected if we lose two players in a week, including arguably our best player?!
At the moment some very dark clouds are gathering over this close season…
.
