Sean Roughan – Should He Stay, or Should He Go?

May 13, 2023 Gary Lincoln City, Opinion 0

Credit Graham Burrell

Darling, you’ve got to let me know,

Should I stay, or should I go?

Classic lines from an instantly memorable song by The Clash, and something doubtless going around the head of young Sean Roughan at present. Sean has come to the end of his current contract, he’s been offered a new one, and, at present, he hasn’t signed that deal. You would think it is a no-brainer; an established first-team regular at 19 with a team aspiring to Championship football, getting international honours, and with a bright future. Surely a secure, long-term deal and a chance to impress is something he should snatch our hands off for, right?

Yes and no. it’s never going to be that easy, and to make it a little clearer, I thought I’d pen this piece, to help you see it from all party’s points of view.

The Club

First of all, let’s consider the two main characters in this love story of sorts, Lincoln City. We’re a team who have a track record of producing exciting young players or helping them in their careers. Tayo Edun, Anthony Scully, Harry Toffolo and Cohen Bramall have all moved up for a fee, Regan Poole is going to do so. Brennan Johnson used us as a springboard for success, Brooke Norton-Cuffy found his career aided by a spell with the Imps. However, we do tread a fine line between over-exposing ourselves to risk, and losing key talent.

I’ve already seen people saying we should have given Sean a new deal a year ago. Remember a year ago? He was a few weeks into a loan with Drogheda, having not kicked a ball for us in the league in what, maybe 18 months? At that time, would you have handed him a bumper, three-year deal? Would he have even signed it? it’s all well and good saying we should ‘tie players down’, but Regan Poole penned a two-and-a-half-year deal when he arrived, and whether we offered him one last summer or not is immaterial if he didn’t want to sign it. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it swim. Or something like that.

Credit Graham Burrell

I think it is incredibly naive to think a football club with people in place managing every aspect of a player’s development might need a forklift driver from North Hykeham (that’s a character not based on anyone in particular) to tell them how to manage the contracts of players. I have a sneaky suspicion they may already have thought of that possibility. The situation is this – we’ve done everything we’re going to, there’s a contract on the table, and it is ‘over to him’.

The Player

Sean Roughan is a teenage prodigy who has already spent 18 months frozen out, and come back fighting. He had trials at Southampton and Chelsea, and he’s played on the international stage. In the last 12 months, he’s managed to kickstart his career and got plenty of first-team exposure, which has undoubtedly led to him being coveted by other teams. He’s been used as a left-back, but it feels like his long-term position might be left centre-back. He’s clearly highly-regarded at the club, he’s got a new deal in front of him that one would imagine is two or three years, and he has a big decision to make right now.

He’s also already intimated, in my opinion, that he is considering his options. In a post on his Instagram page, he said, “Looking forward to what the next few months has to bring” – well, at that point, he already knew they were bringing a new contract with the Imps, so what is it he’s looking forward to? It feels like it’s saying something a little deeper than it is.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsBWYiyI_Ae/?hl=en

Stay?

So, should he stay, or should he go? I do try to be objective, but I really think Sean Roughan’s interests are best served staying with Lincoln City. There are plenty of reasons – firstly, with Regan Poole leaving and Harry Boyes going back to Sheff Utd, both of the positions Roughan plays in are available. He’s started 26 League One matches for us this season as well; only Sorensen, Rushworth, O’Connor, House, Poole and Diamond have started more. He’s an established first-team player here, with guaranteed minutes. If he’s confident of his ability, then whatever is put in front of him now, as a 19-year-old prospect, will only increase as his performances continue to build. If he takes a deal from a bigger club, he’s not guaranteed minutes at all – it’s like taking the first offer the banker makes you on Deal or No Deal.

He’s liked by supporters here. Let’s assume he is offered a deal by Southampton, previous suitors. Does he start there? Probably not. Do the fans know him there? Again, perhaps not. If he turns in a performance like he did against Portsmouth a few seasons back, or makes an error like he did against Bolton or Exeter, is he likely to be ‘excused’ (if that’s the right word) by the fans of his new club? Possibly not as he would be here, no. He will be ‘that kid that’s come from Lincoln’, not the hot academy prospect he is here.

Credit Graham Burrell

Depending on where he might go, he has to think about game time. Sure, he’s 19 now, riding the crest of a wave, but what if in 18 months’ time, he is simply sitting in the reserves at Southampton, looking at a loan deal to Forest Green? He would essentially be starting over, on more money, but surely at 19, it isn’t only about money. He’s not out for one last payday, or even like McGrandles knowing this is his last stab at a big deal. He’s got the world at his feet, and the path ahead is littered with examples of players who have moved to big clubs and just got gobbled up by their U23 side.

One example is Sam Hughes, who we were linked with in 2017. Now, he did move from Chester to Leicester, so the jump was further, but how much possible football did he miss out on? Two years, then he was loaned off to Salford. He’s at Burton now, that’s his level, and he’s a decent player, but what if he’d come to us instead, got two seasons under his belt of playing in a decent team and getting headlines? Maybe the deal that comes after that would have been better. Maybe.

Mark Kennedy knows about being a teenager, making a big move and not quite making it at the new club. Mark had a good career, it would be remiss to say otherwise, but I wonder if he might have remained at Millwall if he had his time again? Could he have played 40-odd games, made headlines and prepped himself better for that step up? Would he have been better equipped for Liverpool? Maybe, maybe not.

I genuinely believe that Sean Roughan’s career is best served by staying here, playing regularly, and establishing a reputation. He’s 19; what harm in being 21 and having 100+ league games under your belt?

Credit Graham Burrell

Go?

Of course, there’s a compelling argument to leave. What if it’s Chelsea, Liverpool or someone like that? How could a young player not have his head turned by possibly mixing it with Van Dijk, or Koulibaly, even if he is around the U23s? If they’re offering money that’s beyond his wildest dreams, it would be really hard to turn that down as well. If I was 19 and I’d been offered the world on a plate in any profession, I’d have taken it, whether it was the best thing to do or not.

What if it’s Bristol City, or Middlesbrough, a team like that? He might be around the first team squad, he might not, but he might think that all it takes is one injury in the summer, one knock in an EFL Cup game in October, and his stock begins to fall. Before you know it, he’s 24, at the end of his contract, and Joey Barton is on the phone, or a top-end League Two club wanting a bit of a name, a former child star they believe they can invigorate. Before you know it, you’re at Boreham Wood or Dagenham, scratching every penny together.

It’s a decision I wouldn’t want to make, not with an agent claiming to have your best interests at heart. I don’t trust agents. Does an estate agent make money if you choose not to move house after all? No. It baffles me how agents (and I’m sure it’s not all agents) convince players they have their backs when they make money by moving them on, not by them being happy and settled.

Credit Graham Burrell

Conclusion

Here’s my honest conclusion – Sean Roughan’s career is best served by negotiating a deal with us that has a reasonable release clause (£750,000 perhaps), and then staying put where he’s known, loved and gets minutes, and proving himself as a solid prospect. His international prospects are good here, we’ve had internationals before, and we can develop players as we’ve demonstrated.

However, I think he’s going. I think the lure of those names from the other summer, Southampton and Chelsea, are too much. I think he’s focused and ambitious, and I suspect it is hard to see how staying with Lincoln is progression. I would imagine it is hard to see what I’d term the bigger picture.

If he goes, the club might lose out on a few quid, but we would get a fee for him as we’ve developed him and given him game time. It wouldn’t, as I’ve seen on social media, be ‘peanuts’ as we do have things in our favour – this article by the Guardian explains how there are plenty of factors taken into account.

If he stays, we have a good left-sided centre-back for another year or two, and the hope of a big fee. If he goes, we get a decent fee, and the reputation we have for developing players has another name added to it. It might not seem like a win/win, but in my eyes, it probably is.