I still can't understand why?

Anthony Pilkington didn't make our 25 man squad?

Any rational and factual footballing reasons as to why?...

my opinion...
although he has decent ability after 4 years i still dont know what he is..
he seems to be nearly good enough to play in 3 or 4 positions but not actually good enough to secure a place in any of them.
has played here under 4 managers and going on their use of him it suggests they dont know what to do with him either..
add to this that nobody wants to take him off our hands ..maybe initially that could be put down to wages but surely wages have caught up with what we pay him..?
if you were a manager of another club would you sign him.? and if yes, to play where?

my opinion...
although he has decent ability after 4 years i still dont know what he is..
he seems to be nearly good enough to play in 3 or 4 positions but not actually good enough to secure a place in any of them.
has played here under 4 managers and going on their use of him it suggests they dont know what to do with him either..
add to this that nobody wants to take him off our hands ..maybe initially that could be put down to wages but surely wages have caught up with what we pay him..?
if you were a manager of another club would you sign him.? and if yes, to play where?

Yup about sums it up.

No pace to play wide in our system..

Not strong enough to play upfront.

I agree with all of the above comments but they also suggest he is a versatile player who would add depth to the squad. Not a starter in any way but impact from the bench? Certainly IMO.

Also with the news NML is out for 3 to 6 months and the 25 named squad being provisional until everyone else's transfer windows close on 31/08 could we deselect NML and promote AP?

Very interesting and intelegent points,,,, but on versatility alone, I personally would have included him, even if only as an impact sub. He certainly has the knack of nicking a goal or two when we need it.

Thing is with 7 subs how versatile does a planer need to be? IMO as a side player I think he is considerably behind NML. Hoilett, Murphy, Harris simply because of the way we play. Probably just being Patterson as well. As for striker we'll for me he is being Zohore Medine and Ward and Reid.

If we are able to bring him up for NML then it makes sense to do so if he is out for so long however I wouldn't see him making the bench to often.

Thing is with 7 subs how versatile does a planer need to be? IMO as a side player I think he is considerably behind NML. Hoilett, Murphy, Harris simply because of the way we play. Probably just being Patterson as well. As for striker we'll for me he is being Zohore Medine and Ward and Reid.

If we are able to bring him up for NML then it makes sense to do so if he is out for so long however I wouldn't see him making the bench to often.

agree...looks like both NML and Hoilet out sunday so for me straight away that puts harris ahead of him..as are all our forwards and midfielders..and the days of having just the one utility sub are in the distant past and getting further away year by year..
if NML is out for a minimum 3 months it might be a decent call though but as you say will be so far down the pecking order will hardly feature..

Thing is with 7 subs how versatile does a planer need to be? IMO as a side player I think he is considerably behind NML. Hoilett, Murphy, Harris simply because of the way we play. Probably just being Patterson as well. As for striker we'll for me he is being Zohore Medine and Ward and Reid.

If we are able to bring him up for NML then it makes sense to do so if he is out for so long however I wouldn't see him making the bench to often.

agree...looks like both NML and Hoilet out sunday so for me straight away that puts harris ahead of him..as are all our forwards and midfielders..and the days of having just the one utility sub are in the distant past and getting further away year by year..
if NML is out for a minimum 3 months it might be a decent call though but as you say will be so far down the pecking order will hardly feature..

I think 1 utility player who can play a couple of positions isn't a bad idea but with a squad of 25 players and being allowed 7 subs a game I don't think they are required like they used to be with a 5 man bench before.