Yes would be a big loss to lose these 2 as well
depends on terms offered as well I guess - not sure a better proposition in terms of club prospects for either, certainly not stanislaus. wouldn't surprise me if we offered stan reduced terms. Smith probably has more chance of a lower prem side offering him a 3 year deal.
I'm now leaning towards getting a new manager in, the idea of Woodgate leading the charge the charge for next season doesn;t excite, inspire or fill me with confidence at all, sadly. hopefullyt the board has learnt from the last 2 ropey appointments and understand importance of having the right man at the helm..
As much stick as Blake gets on here, part of me has been hoping the reason we brought woodgate in was due to clubs main preferences not being available in feb, for whatever reason, so board brought him as interim, until better/preferred candidates became available this summer. Keeping cards close to their chest and weren't able to disclose the managers we really wanted for whatever reason...
a good appointment (not henry, veira, terry etc, someone with a track record) will give the club and all around it a much needed lift and buzz to take us forwards. coupled with if we start signing quality players, could be a very exciting season ahead... In fact I'd be more excited this summer being in champ with a quality manager coming in, quality signings etc than I would getting promoted this season and potentially facing an embarrassing year in the top flight. At least staying down would give us chance to bring the right man, give him chance to mould squad and take us up with a better chance of surival. Basically going up to the PL without a solid foundation, ethos, structure etc is likely to end in disaster for a club like ours.
if we're just looking to consildate and become a champ side (which I hope isn't the case), then would rather have woodgate than a 'big name' ex player with no managerial achievements.