The thing that surprises me is that cas have so much space on their salary cap

Disappointed with the news on Watts as thought he was a real threat for us on the field. However reading the piece in the HDM it would seem there is more to the clubs decision than just his lack of on field discipline.
We have to back club to do what is best in terms of the whole team and professional ethos of the club.
If Radford & Ellis feel it was decision that had to be made then we have to trust them.
Hope we look to replace Watts though will be a difficult task.

Hearing Watts is pretty upset by it but if it's off field as well as on field discipline then it's his own fault and the club has to stick to it's morals. Burgess for next season?? He was seen with the FC players in Australia and with Ellis!

Never replaced Hardaker

It's a massive statement.

Short term pain for long term gain maybe?

Really disappointed to see Watts go, I'd hoped he'd spend the rest of his career at Hull. Having said that, I'll back the club over this. I'd heard he'd been on a warning for some personal stuff and no player is bigger than the club. As DGM said we released Lineham and Westerman to much hand wringing from some supporters but both moves worked out OK for us in the long run.

It's difficult in these situations because we never get to hear the full story.

Watts does have 'history' of off field problems such as him & Cockayne in a car chase with police and then trying to leg it. Cockayne was slaughtered for his part in the incident but actually Watts was the driver.

Long time ago but he was forgiven by Rovers only to fall foul of club discipline again and allowed to join Hull.

He was kicked out of Castleford at an early age too for reasons unknown.

You've had 6 good years out of him it was Justin Morgan who rescued him from the scrapheap and then developed him into a England Knights player. Now you have got a healthy transfer fee. You've done very very well out of Liam Watts and who knows possibly had his peak years. If Pearson & Radford think the time is right to part company they are probably right.

yeah, jog on troll.

yeah, jog on troll.

Absolutely gutted from a playing perspective - in our top 3 players IMO along with Sika and Kelly and brought some irreplaceable skill to the table. Great hands, great feet, superb player. Incredibly disappointing.

As others have said though, it appears that he's got disciplinary form off the field and if you're trying to build a culture you have to put a marker down, you can't let individuals take the pis$. The Lineham/Westerman precedent is very relevant here - Watts a similar character just, IMO, with greater potential. Have to trust the club but unless we can replace with quality, which we all know is extremely scarce, particularly mid season, it definitely reduces our chances of on-field success this year. With a host of other players OOC this year such as Kelly, Mini, Manu, Carlos, Green, there's the nagging doubt that we'll see a repeat of our experiences after success in 1991 and 2005 where key players weren't adequately replaced. We have a strong pipeline at least but I'd have thought Watts was a player for us to build a team around, hence Powell and co biting our hand off.

Disappointing because he's such a good player on the field and if he stays healthy there's a lot left for him to offer. But I was wary about the Westerman and Lineham transfers and good players that they undoubtedly were (though I think Watts is that little bit better still), quality replacements were found. Fingers crossed that the FC management has got it right for the 3rd time. Be interesting to see what this move does for Watts international prospects which were apparently nil when at Hull.

It will do nothing for his international prospects, unless he manages to improve his discipline, both on and off the field.
He will need to go the rest of this season free from issues, and probably most of next, at least, before it would even be considered. IMO

I wonder what the transfer fee is.

After how Cas's last transfer fee on Hardaker turned out I'm surprised they have gone and paid another (I imagine) rather big fee, especially for a player who we are willing to let go because of his disciplinary issues (apparently on and off field).

who Would we all like as a replacement for watts ? Like I mentioned earlier it would be a massive statement from the club for a Sam Burgess type player to walk through the door but I dont think anyone can honestly see that happening.