Walton Contract extension (1 Year)

Herald reports that Simon Walton has been given a 1 year contract extension-

Quote :

CAPTAIN Simon Walton is set to stay at Plymouth Argyle for another season.

Walton, also the Pilgrims' top scorer with nine goals this season, has had 12 more months added to his contract with the League Two club.

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Simon Walton
He was one of the Argyle players who went without being paid their full wages for several months after the club's catastrophic financial collapse last year.

Walton agreed a four-year contract with Argyle in August 2008 when he was signed from Queens Park Rangers.

However, because of form and fitness reasons, he only played 22 times in his first three seasons with the Pilgrims.

Walton spent most of 2009/10 on loan to Crewe Alexandra, and was sidelined by a cruciate knee ligament injury for much of the following campaign.

However, he has made more appearances than anyone else for Argyle this term, with 40 starts and five substitute appearances.

Walton also took over the captaincy in September when Carl Fletcher stepped up from playing as a midfielder to become the Pilgrims' boss.

He will miss the last two matches of the season because of a shoulder injury sustained in training last Friday.

But, after Argyle's successful escape from relegation out of the Football League, Walton is confident about the future.

He told Herald Sport: "This is the best springboard we could have had, after the trauma of what happened last year.

"It can only make us stronger as a team, and as a group of players. We can push on next season, on a level playing field, and I have got good feelings about it."

Walton continued: "The club is definitely going in the right direction. Everything has been sorted off the field and it's exciting times ahead.

"It's the old saying 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' and we have certainly had that this season.

"The mental toughness of the whole club has been frightening."

Walton pointed to Fletcher as an example of that.

He said: "I wouldn't like to have been captain in the situation he was put in last season, and at the start of this season.

"He was a fighter as a player and he was professional as you like. As a manager, he has done the same.

"There have been ups and downs, as there is any season, but I'm sure the gaffer, Nance (Kevin Nancekivell) and Ro (Romain Larrieu) are very proud of themselves – and they should be – for what they have done and the group of lads they have brought together.

"At the end of the day, it all starts from the coaching staff."

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He's awful but i can understand why he's been given the extension.

I had him as one of the players of the (first half) of the season when I thought he did jolly well. Seemed to fall off in the 2nd half of the year from what I saw with Wotton showing how it should be done (I've been a big fan of Wotton since he came back). Was the contract extension part of the deal from when the club renegotiated his wages? It looks as if we are stuck with him nevertheless and I hope he proves his worth next year. he will need to be inspired if he's going to aid and abet our promotion push.

Not really in favour of this.I hope this isn't the precursor to the retention of the majority of players currently on the books,a big clear out is needed if a challenge is to be mounted IMHO.Presumably he will be on vastly reduced wages from his current contract,he is a player with some talent but has the stigma of the last 3 years with him,although obviously not all of the disasters have been his fault.I wish him all the best and hope the decision is justified but bad move is my gut feeling.

No, please no!

He's fat, slow and clueless.

This does not auger well for next season.

Walton and wotton midfield pairing again then? It's not going to be pretty again.

Can't really comment as I no longer go to games but I'm happy to take Greenskin's opinion on board.

Not a good start to the fresh start I'd hoped for. Fletcher obviously rates him as he was banging on about him after the Oxford game. I don't think many on the terraces take the same view.

We still haven't got enough decent players to go chucking out the average ones, what with some loanees going back as well. I think that Walts has found his level and this just shows what a monumental f'up it was to sign him from QPR, record signing followed by 22 games in 3 years!

If he's taken a huge wage drop, and isn't going to be a starting 11 certainty, then I'm not too bothered he's been retained.

But if Fletch see's him as a pivotal part of our team, it's gonna be ugly. Again.

Also, this pretty much confirms Fletch will be here next year, if he's making contract recommendations.

I think it was part of a deal for Simon to accept a pay cut,at the beginning of this season, in return for a year's extension on his contract.Anyway thats what was said over on the Farm a few weeks ago.Looks like its now a fact.I'm not sure if I can take another season of watching our central midfield.

oddball wrote:

I think it was part of a deal for Simon to accept a pay cut,at the beginning of this season, in return for a year's extension on his contract.Anyway thats what was said over on the Farm a few weeks ago.Looks like its now a fact.I'm not sure if I can take another season of watching our central midfield.

You'll have to drink more before the games. lol

Katman2 wrote:

oddball wrote:

I think it was part of a deal for Simon to accept a pay cut,at the beginning of this season, in return for a year's extension on his contract.Anyway thats what was said over on the Farm a few weeks ago.Looks like its now a fact.I'm not sure if I can take another season of watching our central midfield.

You'll have to drink more before the games. lol

That could be the new club motto. "It's not so bad when you've had a skinful"

My concern for 2012/2013 which has not been helped by this decision is that Fletcher's style will not alter from being hard to beat. It is likely that both Walton and Wotton will be amongst the higher earners in the squad. I agree every team needs a "water carrier" but two in the same midfield when your primary aim is to score more goals than the opposition?

He is at his level at L2 but is still an enigma in terms of performance consistency for me. I suspect as suggested earlier he has become a physical hangover from the SRG days and has done a deal with the club to stay on for a further year in return for a cut in wages this season.

I hope there is more optimistic news than this to come out pre season thats for sure.

Hope we see Purse & Blanchard re-sign soon. The defence is pretty solid but everything else needs a big shake up if we are going to push on.

A disaster for me but I thought I'd already heard somewhere that the extention was nailed on already so it isn't a surprise. I don't think this is his level at all but as I don't rate him at all then this is a biased opinion. Given the hype about him when he signed as being some great hope, I think that nobody else coming in for him at all says it all. I fail to understand what anyone has ever seen in him to be honest. He has had the odd decent game this season but he is never Captain material.

Not sure what this says about tactics for next season. There are probably a fair few comings and goings to happen yet to be able to judge. Not about to write off another season without some evidence to justify it.

Sensiblegreeny wrote:

A disaster for me but I thought I'd already heard somewhere that the extention was nailed on already so it isn't a surprise. I don't think this is his level at all but as I don't rate him at all then this is a biased opinion. Given the hype about him when he signed as being some great hope, I think that nobody else coming in for him at all says it all. I fail to understand what anyone has ever seen in him to be honest. He has had the odd decent game this season but he is never Captain material.

Not sure what this says about tactics for next season. There are probably a fair few comings and goings to happen yet to be able to judge. Not about to write off another season without some evidence to justify it.

I could have written this.

Shows our level of ambition for next season when we have given another year to player we have basically being trying to get rid off for the last 3 or 4 years, I see Mcdonald is out of contract at the end of this season, will we be pulling out all the stops to get his signature? Unlikely, he will go to Gillingham or Southend... mark my words.
Im getting depressed already about next season

I think this was a done deal by both parties punchdrunk. The object to reduce the wage bill sooner in exchange for the extention somewhere back in the takeover days. Just think though that we will get a fee now when the queue forms where he could have just walked before. I am weeping as I type this though.

From what I've seen of him I don't rate him particularly and additionally he appears to be injury prone. Assuming he is on good wages for L2 (which, even after the new negotiated reduced rate, he probably is) this doesn't sound that encouraging to me given the tight budget we have to work with.

If anyone's read Garry Nelson's excellent 'Left foot in the grave' book, about his time as assistant at Torquay, he mentions that one of the hardest parts of being in football management is telling players at the end of the season that they aren't getting a new contract. Its especially hard presumably if you have played/trained alongside said player for a number of years. Its important that Fletcher & Ro can be cold hearted enough to wave goodbye to players who are not going to be beneficial to the club, even if they are friends with them.

There was a rumour that the option of a year contract extension was part of his deal to take the wage cut, so it might be that the management effectively had no choice if Walton decided to take up that option.

fletcher as manager and walton as captain again next season. L2 for the long haul.

F*** off brent