Baxter is a free agent

We're SKINT!

Hope he has a good career but it's hard to see what he offers. Must be devastating to be a top schoolboy, focus on footy as a career, and ultimately not quite make the grade.

Not good enough. I was surprised he was offered a deal at all.

After the stick Everton got over the Gosling fiasco interesting to see the alternate view.

I will continue to follow his career very closely. Good luck lad. If you prove Moyes wrong I will be absolutely gutted!

And I think that 'party boy' statement is a little harsh. He trains as hard as anyone – he just got in a mix-up when he was a kid. We've all done daft stuff. Good luck, Jose.

Why Moyes out. No sense at all

He is almost Godlike with all the powers at his behest, isn't he?

I did here that Baxter was going a few months ago, the reason given was that he lacks the pace required for the PL, so I was surprised that he was offered a new deal, maybe Moyes was trying to do him a favour by giving him more time to develop.

No player should be leaving for free if we can bring any kind of fee in. Good luck to him wherever he goes - twitter seems to indicate Palace or Derby, which may be the right level for him to kick-start his career.

If he puts the work in he could have a good career elsewhere. Good luck to him.

By the way, blaming Moyes for a young player not making it is just daft.

That is why this one is such an enigma for me. I'm not one of those that expects every young hopeful to make it. I don't expect a future for Conor and am not actually even that excited about Hope. I didn't expect anything from James Wallace either and lost no sleep on that one (he was offered a contract like Baxter but also turned it down I think).

The only piece of evidence (and we who cant go to any reserve games) I can go on is that he has fallen off the England youth set up. That worried me endlessly and is quite telling in terms of his development. Still ... man I was hoping he was the next big thing.

If he'd have stayed what would he have done? 4 years ago we all heard of a 16-year-old kid that was outstanding and he turned out to be aggresively mediocre.

People are saying he was slow, some are arguing he was quick. That doesn't matter either way because he simply isn't good enough. Striker or midfielder or whatever he is; he just simply isn't good enough.

Most who have commented about his ability or lifestyle don't even know him and probably haven't seen him play more than half an hour of football, why the vitriol?

To me a lad of 20 refusing a contract that he must know means another season of reserves footie, moving to a club hundreds of miles from his friends and family and at a different level, shows a lot of guts and belief in himself.

I hope it works out for him and I'll be keeping an eye out for him.

Good Luck Jose.

Maybe it will go right for him and we will see him back in the top flight sooner or later, wouldn't be the first and won't be the last.

So again... Good luck, Jose.

Baxter was offered a contract and turned it down. We don't know why but it's not hard to guess (see above).

The idea that contracts are being withheld from promising youth players because of financial restraints is patently ludicrous. They are far easier to carry than the aging has-beens Moyes seems to prefer (McFadden, Hahnemann, Weir).

You could make the arguement that they should be given more positive encouragement and playing time, but Moyes has shown over the years he isn't inclined to that approach. They get very limited chances to impress at the highest level. If they don't impress (or worst of all, make a mistake), then back down they go.

Who does he think he is, dropping players who don't impress and end up going on a free to lower Championship or League 1 level clubs? Bloody idiot he is.

Get Garside on the blower and tell him to add that one to his article.

It is completely feasible that EFC have limited capacity to carry players on the wage bill who have potential but are not yet first team regulars. Baxter falls into this category – he has shown flashes (I remember a goal against Forest) but it literally has been flashes only.

Frankly, I don't understand the point about Hahnemann and McFadden – both have left the club already whereas Baxter was offered the chance to stay. Sounds like another excuse for a rant at the manager.

That's it, nothing else to say

Basically, we can't afford to keep players that will be the cheapest to keep and would offer the best value if we able to (therefore, have a dig at Kenwright).

Or we can afford to to keep them but it is Moyes' fault for not playing young players that have not impressed and have made mistakes at senior level (therefore, have a dig at Moyes). Moyes has never brought through a youngster after all.

Yawn.

Money will likely have been a factor with Baxter, but from the other comments it's reasonable to conclude that it's not the over-riding one. Not by a long way. The lad's been given the odd chance here and there (probably more than most to be fair), and he was given the chance to continue, which is actually better than most, who are released with no contract offer.

Amit (#439), the point about McFadden and Hahnemann is that, as senior reserve players, they were paid far more to sit on their arses than say any alternative promising youngsters from the Academy.

Youngsters who, incidentally are denied by their presence the potential opportunities to progress. Also by a fundamentally conservative unadventurous 'play it safe' manager who prefers to bring in 'cover' in the form of expensive and basically useless has-beens, rather than making a priority of giving young up-&-coming players from the Academy a better chance.

All I'm suggesting is that, perhaps more encouragement given to young players to move forward, rather than having then clearly being held back (cleaning boots?) and restricted in terms of potential opportunity — NOT for money reasons but purely in the interests of 'correct development' — may actually work negatively in terms of their development. It harkens back to the season when Rooney was coming through, and Moyes clearly held him back; but that's his style, and there are of course his acolytes who say he can do no wrong.

I think there's enough evidence (Rooney, Rodwell, Barkley... perhaps Baxter?) to suggest something of a pattern here. But we can never know with any certainty because it's the path not taken. No-one will ever know.

For a club that supposedly puts a lot of stock into growing their own, I don't think they're delivering.

I watched James McFadden come on against United, and I watched him set up two goals. so your useless quote is easily negated by...reality. I think you would make a great boxing coach Michael. 'right son, for your first fight I've got you set up with this guy called Klitschko. Its better to put you up against the best as you will learn more innit? This is the best way to develop, get stuck in'

For me, the Baxter situation seems pretty clear. He thinks he is better than the contract he was offered, so has decided to become a free agent. I don't see any conspiracy, just simply he is not a better player than what we currently have available, and nor does he show signs of becoming a first team regular. Conspiracy closed. Back to the transfer trash talk.

To get a chance our young players don't have to be better than the first team they have to be miles better, Players can only be judged with a run in the first team, yet Moyes prefers Cahill, Neville, Jagielka even when they are out of form or past it. It's not to do with saving money but about the built in conservatism of the coach.

The only hope for a young player is an injury to an old favourite. Good luck to Baxter; I don't know how good he is, nor do I think does David Moyes.