Who do we keep and who needs to be let go

[Bearded Shrimper]

i'd first like to know if there are any youth team players around who can make the step up.

then something like

keepers
i'd keep all three but maybe formalise Smith's coaching role

White - keep
Coker - keep
Thompson - keep
Bolger - keep
Barrett - i think he can do a job as a player coach
Prosser - probably vulnerable i'm afraid. Strikes me as a League Two only player and given that i'd keep all those above he'd probably be the one to squeeze out to look at getting a more experienced head in to upgrade on Barrett

plus need two full back options. Binnan-Williams could come in on a permanent but i'm not blown away by him. Leonard can cover right back if necessary

Worrall - keep
Leonard - keep
Timlin - keep
McLaughlin - keep if possible, if not, try to replace with similar type of player

Atkinson - does a job, wouldn't be in a rush to get rid
Deegan - as above
Hurst - really tough one. second choice wide right behind Worrall, maybe behind Atkinson too. when on form he's great but needs to be on form. could actually do a job more centrally i think. keep probably
Weston - even tougher. did great yesterday but hasn't convinced me overall. i don't mind him up front but doesn't do up front or wide well enough for me. maybe useful as a sub
Payne - keep

to add - a passer and/or goalscoring midfielder in the MacCormack/Bailey mould. and/or the Gower mould - can Hurst be that man?

Payne - keep

Corr - keep
Barnard - i guess off. has done it at level before but not for a while
Piggot - keep is possible
Cassidy - maybe keep, i love a worker and he certainly is that. add some goals and maybe he could be a very decent player
Williams - will it be his breakthrough season? i certainly hope so but too young to rely on him

overall, not masses of changes but certainly a few

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

We will add 5-6 good players to the bulk of our current squad. dependent on who we get in that will in my view get us to top half- the biggest need is pace/goalscoring capability up front and quality creative midfield- that where I would invest what budget we have- the back 4 on show on Sat was arguably the best in L2 and won't be too shabby in L1. AB never had pace particularly & I don't notice he's got any slower- he is however a leader and organiser who clearly has another year in him.

yep, totally agree with that.
the defence has been excellent but we've had so many chances that we couldn't take and that is where we must improve. it might not even be a player, it might be a coach or a psychologist or something like that, but if we took more of our chances we'd be a serious team even at League 1 level

 

[Leoblue]

Just want to put this out there...could Barnard do better in league 1? Where he has scored most of his goals... Just a thought.

I just don't know whats happened with Barnard, sad really because he has something (or did) but has just lost his way...

 

[mgh]

we'll need another CB to support Bolger and Thompson, assuming Barrett retires. Coker is the best LB in L2 but if he's injured the replacements are poor. John White is solid at the back but offers nothing going forward 99% of the time, but when he doesn't have time to think about it can put in an amazing cross. I think he'll stay but he may not be first choice next season.
Of the midfield Leonard has massive potential but needs to deliver after a very poor campaign this time. Worral is a keeper, as is Timlin. Payne should get another year but needs to improve his starting performances. Deegan I like but again he's a squad player. Atkinson is a workhorse but showed in our FA cup run last year he can show quality. Does he do it enough though? Hurst has lost his pace seemingly and he will go. Weston is what he is...L1 will be no different for him
Corr was for the knacker's yard last year but has been much fitter this year so assuming he wants it, to stay as a squad player.

So in:
Bentley,Smith
Coker, Bolger, Thompson, ?Barrettt, White
Timlin, Leonard, Payne, Deegan, Worral, Weston, ?Atkinson
Corr

those in bold starters for me. so we need another CB and RB, competition in midfield and absolutely at least 2 forwards; preferably one with some pace (i'm not MrsbLUE). of the loanees i'd have Piggott and McGlaughlin if they become available.

 

[united we stand]

lets not forget how much Brown leeps (rightfully) banging on about 'team spirit'. The last three games have emphasized that again again and yesterday to a new level. Whatever he does we MUST keep that. For example I am not White's biggest fans , but its notable that he won 'players' player ' of the year. That says a great deal to me. Sometimes as fans we don't see the whole picture.

 

[OldBlueLady]

we'll need another CB to support Bolger and Thompson, assuming Barrett retires. Coker is the best LB in L2 but if he's injured the replacements are poor. John White is solid at the back but offers nothing going forward 99% of the time, but when he doesn't have time to think about it can put in an amazing cross. I think he'll stay but he may not be first choice next season.

He's got a couple of assists and has hit the woodwork this season. He can put in one of the sweetest crosses as we saw with McLaughlin's goal against Stevenage at Roots Hall. He is a solid defender who can play in ANY of the four defensive positions. I am really not sure what some people want!

lets not forget how much Brown leeps (rightfully) banging on about 'team spirit'. The last three games have emphasized that again again and yesterday to a new level. Whatever he does we MUST keep that. For example I am not White's biggest fans , but its notable that he won 'players' player ' of the year. That says a great deal to me. Sometimes as fans we don't see the whole picture.

No, he didn't, Bentley did. JW was runner up, but otherwise I agree.

 

[mgh]

He's got a couple of assists and has hit the woodwork this season. He can put in one of the sweetest crosses as we saw with McLaughlin's goal against Stevenage at Roots Hall. He is a solid defender who can play in ANY of the four defensive positions. I am really not sure what some people want!

right, so exactly what I said?
in fact i'm going to add more, the way the game is played now the FB is pretty much the most important player on the pitch. When Coker plays well, Southend plays well. White does not offer that ever. As i said, and you agreed, a couple of times a season he will hit a great cross. mostly it's bollox. he defends well hence his inclusion.

 

[OldBlueLady]

right, so exactly what I said?
in fact i'm going to add more, the way the game is played now the FB is pretty much the most important player on the pitch. When Coker plays well, Southend plays well. White does not offer that ever. As i said, and you agreed, a couple of times a season he will hit a great cross. mostly it's bollox. he defends well hence his inclusion.

No, I disagree. White often puts in a decent cross, most games in fact.

 

[Leoblue]

It's a hard one to call who we keep and release. We do have a big squad for L2 and to be fair Ron has backed PB and every player this season has contributed to our success. I'm sure PB will go away on holiday with his family, come back and look at next season and build further.

I do believe PB will be supported again by RM (they seem to have a great bond) and let's face it PB is no mug and very passionate about our club and wants to take us further. I would be happy with mid table next season but something is telling me we'll be in a shout of the play offs. Optimistic maybe, but that's my gut feeling.

 

[TTS]

It all depends who's in charge !!

We need to sort the Brown situation first and foremost.

I see a lot of similarities in this squad as we had with the Tilly 'family' !

Let's add to this and not look at wholesale changes. This team ethic and one for all mentality is amazing and we have to retain that, that is our strongest trait as opposed to individual abilities!

So pace out wide and upfront and we ain't too far from at minimum a respectful showing next season !

 

[Norwichshrimper]

He's got a couple of assists and has hit the woodwork this season. He can put in one of the sweetest crosses as we saw with McLaughlin's goal against Stevenage at Roots Hall. He is a solid defender who can play in ANY of the four defensive positions. I am really not sure what some people want!

A cherry on top I suspect

 

[buffalowolf]

PB has really surprised me ,and i was one of his biggest knockers,he has won the respect of the players,which isnt always easy,i could see that in the way they responded to him.Hopefully we can firstly keep him,there wont be many changes to the squad 3 or 4 will go to make way for others .Definitely we need a couple of strikers ,a playmaker and central defender.All this talk about White is nonsense ,he does his job has the respect of the players,what more can you want from your club captain.

 

[* ORM *]

When we last got promoted from 4th tier what changes did Tilly make ? I can't remember. I think we have the nucleus of a great squad. Some of the loanees may be persuaded to stay as well. I would like to think we need a central defender, central midfielder and a goalscorer. I don't think we need to go overboard with wholesale changes and the likes of Leonard and Weston will shine.

 

[Andyhsufc]

I think the key area to strengthen is up front. We need at least two strikers who can get into double figures to support Corr. The rest of the team I would say is pretty solid and its a case of if we can get better, then we should but if not, we should go with what we have got. Certainly no need to panic buy.

 

[DTS]

and stats 'proved' that Worrall has the least impact on us winning matches ! When the players walked round the pitch he looked more excited and happy than any of them. you would never have guessed he didn't play. Also he has put his body on the line so many times for us. (granted on its own not a reason for keeping him, but everyone mentions it with Timlin) I didn't see any panic the last time in played (sub for Coker) , I did see a last minute tackle/block that saved us though ! He is one of the players I feel a 'connection' with, something months ago many of us were saying we didn't feel with this team. For me he is an individual who understand fully the word 'team'

Che Wilson was a good guy and Alex Revell wrote a good blog. Both good team player but neither were good enough for us at the time.Same as Prosser.

 

[Danshrimper]

We don't need to make too many changes.

Keep:
Bentley
Ted Smith
White
Coker
Bolger
Barrett (If he's willing to not play as much)
Thompson
Weston (impact sub)
Leonard
Timlin
Deegan (Not 100% he's good enough but a decent squad player maybe)
Worrall
Corr
Payne

Would add to this with a quality Centre Back, a right back to challenge White, one or two midfielders, a winger and two strikers.

Release:
Paul Smith (or keep as player coach)
Ibenfeldt
Prosser (a shame but not sure if he's up to it, unlikely to be played as well.)
Hurst
Atkinson (Works hard but not sure if good enough, won't complain if he stays though)
Barnard
Clifford

Loans:
Pigott- Keep either permanently or on loan.
Cassidy- Would say keep as i like him and he's got potential but i think we need to focus on signing a more prolific striker.
JBW- Would love to keep permanently as he's got great potential but highly rated at Palace so a loan is probably the only option and he probably won't get played much if he came on loan again so no.
McLaughlin- Maybe, although he can dissapear from games which we don't want in League 1.

 

[manor15]

Think we need to be careful in signing players in positions we need, as opposed to just signing players because their good at that level. No better example than John Joe O'Toole, we had no need for another midfielder and were crying out for a striker, yet signed a midfielder who was a waste of space and went straight back where he came from. PB's obsession with signing central midfielders might need to take a short break.

 

[chapperzUK]

I thought this was going to be a serious thread, then I saw some saying we should get rid of a "proven goalscorer" when for the past 12 months this is the exact thing some have begging for.

 

[Norwichshrimper]

Think we need to be careful in signing players in positions we need, as opposed to just signing players because their good at that level. No better example than John Joe O'Toole, we had no need for another midfielder and were crying out for a striker, yet signed a midfielder who was a waste of space and went straight back where he came from. PB's obsession with signing central midfielders might need to take a short break.

Surely if players become available that are better than those we have, then we should sign them. Regardless of their position? I agree we shouldn't stockpile midfielders for the sake of it, but we should strive to improve every area.

 

[1966 and all that]

I really don't get all this "Barrett lacks pace" rubbish, he did ok against Liverpool and his footballing brain and positional sense more than makes up for his age.

Bobby Moore didn't have much pace.