Graham Cummins: January window a time when unwanted players can net a much-needed 'pay-up' 

It's a game of cat and mouse between players and managers at this time of the season

Graham Cummins celebrates scoring for

Released or 'came to a mutual agreement', it doesn’t matter what spin a club or player puts on it, at the end of the day it simply means the club sees no further use for a player and they want him out the door. 

The word ‘released’ looks worse for a player than ‘mutual agreement’, but both amount to the same thing — the player is not good enough for that club at that moment.