GT on decision day for youths
Graham Turner admits it never gets any easier, the day he sits down each year with the youth teamers to decide their futures.
Winger Jack Gwilliams was the only one of this year's crop of second year scholars to be offered a professional deal with Shrewsbury Town.
But it was the end of the line at the Greenhous Meadow for Connor Wearing, Lewis Phillips, Warren Holmes, Sam Westray, Javia Roberts, Dillan Stephenson, Charlie Musslewhite and Deion Evans who have all been released.
"It doesn't get any easier, but I think they were aware what the decisions would be," said the manager. "They had a good inkling of how it would go.
"But it's always difficult and you're almost putting on hold a young man's dream.
"They've come here and spent two years as scholars, have worked hard and it doesn't materialise for them.
"But when you look at a lot of players' backgrounds, particularly in the lower leagues, they maybe have to go non-League and start again somewhere else and then come through to make a career in League football. There's many players who do that.
"But when you look at the percentage of young lads that come into the game and don't make it, it's a very high per cent."
GT added he had been impressed with what he's seen on Gwilliams, who was on the bench for the first team earlier this season, and that he hoped the youngster would accept the contract he's been offered.
"Jack's a winger with a lot of pace, a lot of ability, good dribbling skills," he said. "I think dribbling is coming more into the game again. It used to be a feature of it and you look at some of the top players now with low centre of gravities.
"It can go in cycles, the production of youth players. Obviously we had the three in Tom Bradshaw, Jon Taylor and Connor Goldson who all come through close together. Ryan Woods was the only one from last year's group and now we've only got Jack from this group.
"But I'm told the next group has got some outstanding players, one of whom Dom Smith is playing regularly in the reserves and from time to time he trains with the pros and doesn't look out of place.
"We've also offered a scholarship to a young 15-year-old goalkeeper who happens to be Ken Mulhearn's grandson. We concluded that yesterday with Harry Lewis.
"At 15 he's six-foot-two and a very bright prospect. He's got all the ingredients of being a top goalkeeper so at 15 years of age we're delighted to have tied him in.
"We've got young Callum Burton who has been involved with the England under-16s and 17s. We've got two more goalkeepers joining us this year as scholars and then we've got Harry Lewis at 15 so there's four in the pipeline right at the moment."