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Good luck to the guy, but in reality we are glad hes gone. Sir Martin would not have got rid if he knew he had no plans in his promotion winning 2012/13 squad. I presume that means 2 more are needed to fill the jigsaw. COYY

I sort of always felt that McPhee's signing last year was more out of convenience, rather than a shrewd strategic move. He needed a club in this area. We needed some players. However, it did not take too long for Ling to recognise McPhee's limitations as a FL Player which for us only confirmed what we knew from the first time he was here.

He may have done well at BSP level and by the sounds of it, that is perhaps where he will return, or lower if he wants to be a coach as well. I wish him well though. By all accounts a decent bloke!!

Yes - it was obvious Ling took about two minutes to realise that he had made a dreadful mistake. Reckon there is a taxi on route to Plainmoor waiting to pick up Mr Macklin.

brucie wrote:Yes - it was obvious Ling took about two minutes to realise that he had made a dreadful mistake. Reckon there is a taxi on route to Plainmoor waiting to pick up Mr Macklin.

Can you and Macklin share the fare?

I doubt the taxi driver would be worth paying...

brucie wrote:Yes - it was obvious Ling took about two minutes to realise that he had made a dreadful mistake. Reckon there is a taxi on route to Plainmoor waiting to pick up Mr Macklin.

The McPhee signing is the obvious error you could say Ling has made (that and Leadbitter but he still has time to change this). Every manager makes them - even Fergie (Taibi, Kleberson, Djemba-Djemba etc)

We can more than forgive him!

McPhee with his versatility was worth a shot at the time when we had a threadbare squad and not a lot of resource to change it. I questioned the 2 year deal for someone of his age unproven at this level but didn't question the logic behind the signing.

i think a year on with the players we have who have stepped up to the plate plus with the new additions has made McPhee completely surplus to requirements. Wish him well, I'm sure there will be 5 or 6 BSP clubs who would take him.

bobby93 wrote:You can say what you like about him and we all knew his limitations, but he never gave anything less than 100% when called upon. Must have been frustrating for him but his attitude and work rate obviously impressed the manager far more than some of our other reserves, shall we say.

Good luck Chris, thanks for your efforts and I hope you succeed at your next club.

100% right bobby.

i think it unfair to say the signing was an error by ML. i think we all knew at the time he was being brought in as back up, and that's exactly what he's been. ML was limited with what he could do, had very little time to do it, and brought in McPhee, knowing exactly what he would give us - reliable backup.

i remember thinking McPhee deserved huge credit for coming back here, as things didn't go well for him first time round, and knew the brucies of the world would not give him a chance. he hasn't quite made the grade, but at the same time he's never let anyone down, and should leave with everyone's best wishes for the future. I hope he finds a decent BSP club and does well. Good luck Chris.

Not disappointed to see McPhee leave us. He always gave 100%, which is more than players like Atieno who undoubtedly had more ability but chose not to use it on a regular basis. I would rather have Chris than Tai but that said, he is what he is and that is a decent BSP player. He isn't good enough for league football but i wish him all the best and cheers for the service Chris. Like others have said, Ling probably brought him in to shore up a threadbare squad as a last ditch addition.

I believe he was actually one of Ling's first signings, Andy. It was between him and Leadbitter in the race for first signing.

To be fair with Macklin he does have talent. He just chooses not to use it.

I assume to be upto 24 players again McPhee will be replaced? Possibly get a loan in?

I'd hope so AG, how much there will be spare after McPhee leaves we shall see. Depends how much the settlement would be, unlikely to be the full amount usually given to released players as it was by mutual consent, but I'd be surprised if it were less than 6 months of his wages. Could be a young upcoming player though.

cambgull wrote:I believe he was actually one of Ling's first signings, Andy. It was between him and Leadbitter in the race for first signing.

Correct. Oastler re-signed first, but Ling's first 'actual' signings were McPhee and Leadbitter on the 28th of June.

"Chris is a very versatile player and in the four games he played against me when I was at Cambridge, he was probably the best player in three of them. "He has England caps at non-League level, playing twice at right-back and once at centre-back, so his versatility is massive."

Lingy obviously wanted him in the squad due to his versatility, but I think it was this that probably held him back....where was his actual postion? It certainly wasn't up front!

cambgull wrote:I believe he was actually one of Ling's first signings, Andy. It was between him and Leadbitter in the race for first signing.

I didn't know that Luke but cheers anyway. =D What the hell has happened to Leadbitter anyway? Is he still on the books?

Still on the books, Andy. Still think he'll come good, injuries killed his chances last year (aswell as our excellent season!!)