| Looking ahead to Next Season 16:16 - Apr 6 with 4205 views | 49thseason |
Which ever division we are playing in, this coming Summer has a whole raft of players coming to the end of their contracts. By my reckoning we only have 9 players contracted for next season:
Morley,
Humphrys
Newby
Beesley
Rathbone
Grant
Shaughnessy
Brierley
Odoh
Dunne has another 1year option
Reaching the end of their current deals are McLaughlin, McNulty, McShane, O'Connell, Dooley, Lynch, Keohane, Done, Ryan, Lund, Baah, Hopper and Bradley. Going back to parent clubs are Bazunu, Roberts, Osho and Vale
How many of the OOC players would anyone realistically re-sign? For me, O'Connell, Lynch Keohane Lund would be favourites O'C and Lund being good enough for L1 should we manage what is looking more unlikely and stay up, Lynch as a Number 2 keeper (or Brad Wade if they think he is anywhere near ready) and Keohane simply for his versatility. This means signing an almost entirely new defence! Does anyone realistically think Baah might re-sign?
That would give us 1 Goalkeeper
1 Centre Half, plus Dunne if they take up his 1 year option.
7 midfielders (including Keohane)
4 forwards + Baah?
Hopper and Bradley ??
Peter Thomas and Kacper Mialkowski I presume will be kept.
I really don't want another on-loan keeper, indeed where possible I think I would avoid loanee defenders altogether and try and bring in a couple of pacey forwards.
I think we need to say thankyou and farewell to a number of players who are blighted by injuries, if you have a small squad anyway, the risk of them having long term injuries is too great.
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 16:29 - Apr 6 with 2566 views | Hopwoodblue |
There’s a lot of things that need sorting out. First and foremost who’s making the decisions when it comes to signings or offering extensions to players contracts. (cough)
If there is a change in the boardroom there may also be a change of manager who knows ?
It needs sorting before to long as players won’t sign if they don’t know who’s going to be managing them.
If we are relegated which looks likely the last thing we need is to be playing catch up with other teams. Don’t forget if we are in league two we CANNOT afford a bad season as there will be no coming back from it. We won’t have the luxury of just dropping into league two anymore.
The next two or three months are vital for the future of our Football Club both on and off the pitch. [Post edited 6 Apr 2021 16:31]
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 16:32 - Apr 6 with 2553 views | richfoad32 |
If we drop into League Two, can you realistically see Humphrys and Rathbone wanting to stay either? |  | | |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 16:35 - Apr 6 with 2545 views | 49thseason |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 16:32 - Apr 6 by richfoad32 |
If we drop into League Two, can you realistically see Humphrys and Rathbone wanting to stay either? |
Well, in as much as they are under contract yes, But then Humphrys was contracted at Southend so possibly not. If they go we would be severely screwed. | | | |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 16:40 - Apr 6 with 2514 views | Dalenet |
The club will need to think hard about the budget if relegated. If we thought this season was hard, we lose more from FL pot than the revenue we gain from having crowds back. I can see the Board cutting the playing budget again. All so avoidable!
We have the benefit of our more experienced and thus more expensive players moving on of course. It will be a very hard rebuilding job for our very talented young manager. He won't have any excuses now as he needs to find a dozen players at least. It will then truly be his team.
I would like us to try and keep Lund and O'Connell. But I suspect both will get offers elsewhere. Lets see | | | |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 16:41 - Apr 6 with 2514 views | Nigeriamark |
Your last point is particularly true about Mclaughlin. The few times he can put together a run of games, he looks like he could be one of our top 3 players on speed and ability. I'd even take him if you could be guaranteed 35 games a season, but unfortunately you can't. I think after COVID & most teams in Leagues 1 & 2 likely to have taken a financial hit, I think loans are here to stay in a big way & those who play loanees & have developed some on to better things will get the better ones. Over the last 4 years I'd say we have a decent track record. I wonder if we will see alliances between premier league clubs & teams at our level?
Agree with most of your thoughts, but for leadership, I could see McShane possibly doing another season. Injured early in the season but seems to be reasonably fit now & adds a calming influence. Baah could do worse than sign with us as he is getting game time. Personally I think he is really struggling now teams are putting 2 on him but still a lot of potential.
The division we end up in will have the biggest say, but I could see Done, Ryan if we are in L2, Lund & EOC if they will stay, being the basis of a decent squad especially in L2. As with every season I like to see a few cleared out & some new faces come in. so we can build our hopes around them just to be dashed by Nov !! |  | | |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 16:48 - Apr 6 with 2496 views | richfoad32 |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 16:35 - Apr 6 by 49thseason |
Well, in as much as they are under contract yes, But then Humphrys was contracted at Southend so possibly not. If they go we would be severely screwed. |
Contracts mean nothing really, if they want out they'll be gone. Ollie has already had Hull (allegedly) sniffing around this season and Humphrys will have attracted the attention of others. If we have any chance of re-signing O'Connell as well (and I don't think we have) then staying in League One is paramount. | | | |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 16:59 - Apr 6 with 2451 views | jonahwhereru |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 16:35 - Apr 6 by 49thseason |
Well, in as much as they are under contract yes, But then Humphrys was contracted at Southend so possibly not. If they go we would be severely screwed. |
Interesting thread 49.
To take Humphrys first. His contract at Southend meant that his wage drop 50% when Southend were relegated, according to Fitz interview with him. He did start the season at Southend, so I am optimistic he will stay. Likewise not sure Rathbone is a sure fire starter in most league one teams. So he might stay.
Assuming we drop a division I think O’Connell will leave.. Lund I think may sign, he has played L2 and wouldn’t be to proud to drop a division. On reduced terms Done is worth a contract. Agree Keohane, another with L2 experience is worth a contract, provided it is not at the expense of signing a left back, ditto that on Done. I keep saying league 2 experience as it is a different animal to the 1st and BBM teams are not naturally equipped to play the more physical style.
Starting to struggle after that on players I would keep. Although I do think we should try and move on Osho in the summer, he has played at Mansfield previously.
With so many clubs under financial pressure I do think like last year there will be a lot of players released across the league so I wouldn’t want to tie down to many of the existing squad. Especially the fragile ones. In any event we need to sign some robust, full blooded pro’s to mix with those already contracted. | | | |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 17:11 - Apr 6 with 2405 views | ChaffRAFC |
Lets face it, this summer is a case of building for League Two.
Of the out of contract players you'd ideally keep Lund, O'Connell and Baah. Baah, I doubt very much we'll see him next season as his future obviously lies further up the ladder. You could argue that about O'Connell as well but he's not been as impressive this season as he was last either. Lund has been superb but is known to have injury issues and I think is much more achievable in keeping. I know Jimmy Keohane has done well this season but I think that's a clear sign of where we are as a club and not how good Jimmy is. He's also the wrong side of 30 now as well. He's possible worth a one year deal on a reduced wage. The rest can go. They're either not good enough or not on the pitch enough and there will be some big wages in that lot too.
This coming summer is a huge one in terms of recruitment given the amount of contracted players we have and the fact that some of them are players that have been brought in with the future in mind instead of the now.
The goalkeeper situation is a tricky one, I'd release Lynch as he's not a steady number one keeper and Brad Wade has won enough plaudits to warrant being our backup keeper. I disagree with the OP about the use of the loan market. I like loan keepers and think we've done very well out of them overall. It's a way of saving on a wage while getting a usually fairly high standard keeper, admittedly Bazunu was potentially two years too early for us. I'd be more than happy for us to loan a keeper again.
We have no idea on the budget, or how financially f****d we really are so it's anyone's guess really but recruitment has to be spot on this summer and on the whole, BBM's recruitment has been decent, we just need to stop signing players with a history of missing too much through injury. |  |
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 17:19 - Apr 6 with 2374 views | Nigeriamark |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 17:11 - Apr 6 by ChaffRAFC |
Lets face it, this summer is a case of building for League Two.
Of the out of contract players you'd ideally keep Lund, O'Connell and Baah. Baah, I doubt very much we'll see him next season as his future obviously lies further up the ladder. You could argue that about O'Connell as well but he's not been as impressive this season as he was last either. Lund has been superb but is known to have injury issues and I think is much more achievable in keeping. I know Jimmy Keohane has done well this season but I think that's a clear sign of where we are as a club and not how good Jimmy is. He's also the wrong side of 30 now as well. He's possible worth a one year deal on a reduced wage. The rest can go. They're either not good enough or not on the pitch enough and there will be some big wages in that lot too.
This coming summer is a huge one in terms of recruitment given the amount of contracted players we have and the fact that some of them are players that have been brought in with the future in mind instead of the now.
The goalkeeper situation is a tricky one, I'd release Lynch as he's not a steady number one keeper and Brad Wade has won enough plaudits to warrant being our backup keeper. I disagree with the OP about the use of the loan market. I like loan keepers and think we've done very well out of them overall. It's a way of saving on a wage while getting a usually fairly high standard keeper, admittedly Bazunu was potentially two years too early for us. I'd be more than happy for us to loan a keeper again.
We have no idea on the budget, or how financially f****d we really are so it's anyone's guess really but recruitment has to be spot on this summer and on the whole, BBM's recruitment has been decent, we just need to stop signing players with a history of missing too much through injury. |
we have helped develop 2 international keepers in 2 years ( although 1 didn't do as much for us as the other). There should be a big club more than willing to give us a decent one for development. I'd say Rathbone is similar to your comment about EOC. Both of them seem to have dropped a bit since last year which could ironically increase their chances of staying with us | | | |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 17:32 - Apr 6 with 2343 views | RooleyMoorBlue |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 16:35 - Apr 6 by 49thseason |
Well, in as much as they are under contract yes, But then Humphrys was contracted at Southend so possibly not. If they go we would be severely screwed. |
We were severely screwed the moment BBM was given another year. I'd put him on gardening leave and let McShane and/or McNulty show us what they can do. At least the defence would be sound. We also need a permanent goalkeeper. |  | | |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 17:46 - Apr 6 with 2297 views | judd |
What's all this talk of recruiting footballers?
Heretics, the lot of you.
Tsk. |  |
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 17:56 - Apr 6 with 2269 views | 442Dale |
So much needs to be clarified and stabilised before we even get onto the squad.
At the moment, if the thread title was actually a question, no. Not one bit. |  |
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 18:01 - Apr 6 with 2259 views | nordenblue |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 16:41 - Apr 6 by Nigeriamark |
Your last point is particularly true about Mclaughlin. The few times he can put together a run of games, he looks like he could be one of our top 3 players on speed and ability. I'd even take him if you could be guaranteed 35 games a season, but unfortunately you can't. I think after COVID & most teams in Leagues 1 & 2 likely to have taken a financial hit, I think loans are here to stay in a big way & those who play loanees & have developed some on to better things will get the better ones. Over the last 4 years I'd say we have a decent track record. I wonder if we will see alliances between premier league clubs & teams at our level?
Agree with most of your thoughts, but for leadership, I could see McShane possibly doing another season. Injured early in the season but seems to be reasonably fit now & adds a calming influence. Baah could do worse than sign with us as he is getting game time. Personally I think he is really struggling now teams are putting 2 on him but still a lot of potential.
The division we end up in will have the biggest say, but I could see Done, Ryan if we are in L2, Lund & EOC if they will stay, being the basis of a decent squad especially in L2. As with every season I like to see a few cleared out & some new faces come in. so we can build our hopes around them just to be dashed by Nov !! |
I'd get rid of both McShane and Mclaughlin both paid too much for ultimately sitting down far too often during a full season, while constantly hoping they're fit every week, get 2/3 hungry young players instead on similar wage that 'guarantee' a decent return of games played. | | | |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 19:03 - Apr 6 with 2145 views | 49thseason |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 17:19 - Apr 6 by Nigeriamark |
we have helped develop 2 international keepers in 2 years ( although 1 didn't do as much for us as the other). There should be a big club more than willing to give us a decent one for development. I'd say Rathbone is similar to your comment about EOC. Both of them seem to have dropped a bit since last year which could ironically increase their chances of staying with us |
I looked at the difference that bringing in Lonergan made in 2019. Having an experienced head between the sticks can be a major influence on the whole team, it gives confidence and organisation. You can start to build a competent defence in front of a dependable keeper, bringing in inexperienced keepers rarely has that effect. We have had some fantastic loan keepers and some forgettable ones. Sanchez and Banuzu are chalk and cheese for me, indeed Banuzu's stats are somewhat inferior to Lynch's, with Lynch having a better ratio of clean sheets, fewer average goals per game against and more goals per game scored on average in his 9 starts vs Bazunu's 29. It would be fascinating to know how much they both have been paid. | | | |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 19:18 - Apr 6 with 2112 views | D_Alien |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 19:03 - Apr 6 by 49thseason |
I looked at the difference that bringing in Lonergan made in 2019. Having an experienced head between the sticks can be a major influence on the whole team, it gives confidence and organisation. You can start to build a competent defence in front of a dependable keeper, bringing in inexperienced keepers rarely has that effect. We have had some fantastic loan keepers and some forgettable ones. Sanchez and Banuzu are chalk and cheese for me, indeed Banuzu's stats are somewhat inferior to Lynch's, with Lynch having a better ratio of clean sheets, fewer average goals per game against and more goals per game scored on average in his 9 starts vs Bazunu's 29. It would be fascinating to know how much they both have been paid. |
Hence my insistence that Lynch is far from being inadequate competition for Bazunu. Thanks for doing the analysis; which isn't to say that he'd necessarily be my number one choice, but we've certainly had worse
Your point about an experienced, competent keeper (doesn't have to be a great shot-stopper) is sound, particularly in relation to the effect upon those in front of him
It's no coincidence that Dale's downwards trajectory in the last 3/4 years has seen no regular no.1 keeper, and that includes Lillis
The heart and soul of any lower league team are the battle-hardened pros who still have ambition. EOC would meet that criteria but imo he's almost given up on the club and who can blame him. He's not even providing much in-game leadership now which contributes to our inability to change it when things aren't working
As has been posted above, there are so many issues that'll need to be resolved off the pitch before we hit rock bottom, wherever that might be, but the principles of success in both L1 & L2 remain unchanged. We're nowhere near capable of following them with BBM |  |
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 19:28 - Apr 6 with 2082 views | Shun |
Agree with most - Lund, EOC and Baah are the three we absolutely should be offering contracts to. I’d add Keohane too for his utility. And I’d like to see us approach Osho again with the view of a season-long loan.
As for the keeper, I’m with Chaff, I’m quite happy to have another loan keeper as number 1. |  | | |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 19:40 - Apr 6 with 2030 views | dingdangblue |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 19:03 - Apr 6 by 49thseason |
I looked at the difference that bringing in Lonergan made in 2019. Having an experienced head between the sticks can be a major influence on the whole team, it gives confidence and organisation. You can start to build a competent defence in front of a dependable keeper, bringing in inexperienced keepers rarely has that effect. We have had some fantastic loan keepers and some forgettable ones. Sanchez and Banuzu are chalk and cheese for me, indeed Banuzu's stats are somewhat inferior to Lynch's, with Lynch having a better ratio of clean sheets, fewer average goals per game against and more goals per game scored on average in his 9 starts vs Bazunu's 29. It would be fascinating to know how much they both have been paid. |
I'd think Lynch is one of our lowest wages and Bazunu's wage is probably covered by City. |  |
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 20:02 - Apr 6 with 1981 views | blackdogblue |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 17:46 - Apr 6 by judd |
What's all this talk of recruiting footballers?
Heretics, the lot of you.
Tsk. |
Strongly agree 😀
How much is a new Manager? |  |
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 20:12 - Apr 6 with 1958 views | 442Dale |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 19:03 - Apr 6 by 49thseason |
I looked at the difference that bringing in Lonergan made in 2019. Having an experienced head between the sticks can be a major influence on the whole team, it gives confidence and organisation. You can start to build a competent defence in front of a dependable keeper, bringing in inexperienced keepers rarely has that effect. We have had some fantastic loan keepers and some forgettable ones. Sanchez and Banuzu are chalk and cheese for me, indeed Banuzu's stats are somewhat inferior to Lynch's, with Lynch having a better ratio of clean sheets, fewer average goals per game against and more goals per game scored on average in his 9 starts vs Bazunu's 29. It would be fascinating to know how much they both have been paid. |
Mentioned this to someone yesterday, while there is no doubt Lonergan was very good in his time with us, it was for a very short period (six weeks) and only three games after BBM took over.
Previous to that he’d played four times, all defeats and twelve goals conceded. After the change in manager, it was two wins and a draw so he undoubtedly played his part initially in the change in form
However, it was Josh Lillis who played in the subsequent four victories in seven games (all clean sheets) that secured our L1 position. | |
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 20:44 - Apr 6 with 1873 views | TVOS1907 |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 19:18 - Apr 6 by D_Alien |
Hence my insistence that Lynch is far from being inadequate competition for Bazunu. Thanks for doing the analysis; which isn't to say that he'd necessarily be my number one choice, but we've certainly had worse
Your point about an experienced, competent keeper (doesn't have to be a great shot-stopper) is sound, particularly in relation to the effect upon those in front of him
It's no coincidence that Dale's downwards trajectory in the last 3/4 years has seen no regular no.1 keeper, and that includes Lillis
The heart and soul of any lower league team are the battle-hardened pros who still have ambition. EOC would meet that criteria but imo he's almost given up on the club and who can blame him. He's not even providing much in-game leadership now which contributes to our inability to change it when things aren't working
As has been posted above, there are so many issues that'll need to be resolved off the pitch before we hit rock bottom, wherever that might be, but the principles of success in both L1 & L2 remain unchanged. We're nowhere near capable of following them with BBM |
Although, stats can be chosen to suit any argument.
Take yesterday; Bazunu would have probably kept a clean sheet as well, given the way the game panned out. In fact, Magnus Norman might have done... maybe! |  |
| When I was your age, I used to enjoy the odd game of tennis. Or was it golf? |
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 21:02 - Apr 6 with 1812 views | D_Alien |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 20:44 - Apr 6 by TVOS1907 |
Although, stats can be chosen to suit any argument.
Take yesterday; Bazunu would have probably kept a clean sheet as well, given the way the game panned out. In fact, Magnus Norman might have done... maybe! |
True
It's just that i don't recall Lynch making any match-changing errors, for all his perceived shortcomings. In that respect, he meets the basic requirements we need, whereas Bazunu doesn't
[Post edited 6 Apr 2021 21:04]
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 21:13 - Apr 6 with 1784 views | 49thseason |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 20:44 - Apr 6 by TVOS1907 |
Although, stats can be chosen to suit any argument.
Take yesterday; Bazunu would have probably kept a clean sheet as well, given the way the game panned out. In fact, Magnus Norman might have done... maybe! |
Agreed, damn lies and all that however, Bazunu isn't demonstrably better than Lynch on any measurement, and I accept that Lillis wasn't the worst keeper we ever had by a long chalk but bringing in loanee keepers season after season isn't exactly an incentive to the lads in the Youth and Academy teams. There are loads of competent keepers in the EFL competing for 92 1st team places I don't believe we cant find one at sensible money that we might eventually sell on rather than keep borrowing somebody's 5th choice. | | | |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 21:20 - Apr 6 with 1762 views | TVOS1907 |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 21:13 - Apr 6 by 49thseason |
Agreed, damn lies and all that however, Bazunu isn't demonstrably better than Lynch on any measurement, and I accept that Lillis wasn't the worst keeper we ever had by a long chalk but bringing in loanee keepers season after season isn't exactly an incentive to the lads in the Youth and Academy teams. There are loads of competent keepers in the EFL competing for 92 1st team places I don't believe we cant find one at sensible money that we might eventually sell on rather than keep borrowing somebody's 5th choice. |
Couldn't agree more. | |
| When I was your age, I used to enjoy the odd game of tennis. Or was it golf? |
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 21:22 - Apr 6 with 1762 views | 442Dale |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 21:02 - Apr 6 by D_Alien |
True
It's just that i don't recall Lynch making any match-changing errors, for all his perceived shortcomings. In that respect, he meets the basic requirements we need, whereas Bazunu doesn't
[Post edited 6 Apr 2021 21:04]
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In his last game before Monday, the 4-1 home defeat by Gillingham, he made a poor error for the first and should have done better with the second. He’s never looked anything more than a stop-gap in the same way the likes of Brendan Moore was, and certainly never going to be a first choice but it could be that he fits budget wise. He was, however, in goal when we’ve had our best wins at Plymouth and Wigan. [Post edited 6 Apr 2021 21:38]
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| Looking ahead to Next Season on 21:37 - Apr 6 with 1717 views | D_Alien |
| Looking ahead to Next Season on 21:22 - Apr 6 by 442Dale |
In his last game before Monday, the 4-1 home defeat by Gillingham, he made a poor error for the first and should have done better with the second. He’s never looked anything more than a stop-gap in the same way the likes of Brendan Moore was, and certainly never going to be a first choice but it could be that he fits budget wise. He was, however, in goal when we’ve had our best wins at Plymouth and Wigan. [Post edited 6 Apr 2021 21:38]
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He'd no doubt just found out his manager had been awarded another year's contract | |
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