Deadwood?

[Massimo Giovanni]

I have read on posts in a few threads that we have up to 6 "deadwood" players in our squad and that in 6 weeks time they ought to be moved on to allow others in.
Q. Who are those players? names please and reasons.
Q. What area of the playing staff do we need to strengthen?
Q. Who do we bring in?

 

[rigsby]

Where do we get the money to upgrade 6 players in January, won't be from this years cup run

 

[RHB]

I have read on posts in a few threads that we have up to 6 "deadwood" players in our squad and that in 6 weeks time they ought to be moved on to allow others in.
Q. Who are those players? names please and reasons.
Q. What area of the playing staff do we need to strengthen?
Q. Who do we bring in?

I'm told Phil will hold a root and branch review of the squad. I doubt many will twig what's going to happen though. Maybe some will turn over a new leaf?

 

[Liam AAS]

I would imagine that it goes as follows:

one of White/O'Neill - Demetriou already has the RB position on lock
Barrett - Club legend, but not a long term option for the club. Speaking pragmatically
Williams - Had an opportunity to break into the first team but Brown went with Fortune instead
Fortune - See Barrett's reason above (minus the club legend status)
Mooney - Currently averaging a goal every 5 games, not good enough.
Sokolik - Not the player he was after being with us the first time.

All of these players have contracts that run out at the end of the season or before so I expect that only one of O'Neill or White will stay.

 

[RobB11]

Agree with the above. Reckon o'neill would stay over white because he can cover a midfield position as well and fortune may stay until the end of the season, whether that would be the correct decision remains to be seen.

 

[RHB]

I would imagine that it goes as follows:

one of White/O'Neill - Demetriou already has the RB position on lock
Barrett - Club legend, but not a long term option for the club. Speaking pragmatically
Williams - Had an opportunity to break into the first team but Brown went with Fortune instead
Fortune - See Barrett's reason above (minus the club legend status)
Mooney - Currently averaging a goal every 5 games, not good enough.
Sokolik - Not the player he was after being with us the first time.

All of these players have contracts that run out at the end of the season or before so I expect that only one of O'Neill or White will stay.

Interesting. I reckon John White and O'Neill will still be around. I agree that Williams is liable to be released and Barrett will probably become something with the management team. If Barrett does move on/up then it's vital that Sokolik is retained as cover. Same argument goes for Mooney and Fortune, especially Fortune as he gives us a hold-up front player that we otherwise don't have if Ranger blows up.

 

[MK Shrimper]

It was jolly good and sadly ended too soon. I think think they're making a fil..... oh. :blush::unsure:

 

[rlb999]

The term deadwood is far too strong. Just as some fans are daft to think they can demand 'loyalty' from someone they would like to retain and who is getting offers from higher up the pyramid, they are daft to think they can cast off someone who is not in the first team picture but is very much under contract. The error is often in recruitment.

Equally why do we need to bring people in? Hasn't half the problem in recent months been the sheer number of players we have in the squad enabling the manager to chop and change every time he doesn't get 3 points? Wouldn't it be better with a smaller tighter knit squad where we can get some consistency in selection and performance? Quality over quantity and all that?

Without using the term deadwood, I'd argue as follows:

Ted Smith
Surely getting some first team football would be of more benefit to him - as he clearly has potential - than sitting in our reserves. Appreciate it's not easy to loan out a keeper - you need a team at around conference level that a) needs a keeper and b) wants Ted when there will be other options - but if that club can be found, get him out and get him playing.

Ryan Inniss
Has he gone already? If he hasn't, he's adding no value and is so weak on the ball that we're never going to sign him permanently - he makes Bolger look like a ball playing centre half. Get him gone.

Adam King
Is doing nothing other than denying Jack Bridge playing time. Get him gone.

Luke O'Neill
We have a number of right sided players and he's arguably lowest down the pecking order for me. Was always a strange signing unless they were expecting him to blossom - as we clearly had players ahead of him from the day he arrived.

Jason Williams
Our tendency to sign injury prone forwards means he keeps getting in and around the squad, but he'd never get there in his own right and has done nothing to suggest that he's even close to being a league 1 player. If we suffered double relegation to the conference I'm still not sure he'd be a starting player. Get rid.

We have a couple of others that are useful bodies to have around but will offer us nothing after the end of the season - Marc-Antoine Fortune and Adam Barrett (unless he ascends to deity) are examples. There are a couple of others who have been here a while and, if they aren't in the first team, are probably due for a change. John White (much though I admire him) and Dave Mooney are examples.

That's 7 gone and I'm not convinced any of them actually need replacement as not having them there would only afford more bench time to kids such as Bridge, Kyprianou, Matzuska (probably spelt wrong) etc. The question at the end of the season then becomes who can we get in that adds something? And subsequently who don't we need as a result? I'll start you off with Oxley who in all fairness has been much improved in recent weeks and is rightly our number 1 - however if we do our homework properly we'll find someone more consistent in the summer.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Agree with the above. Reckon o'neill would stay over white because he can cover a midfield position as well and fortune may stay until the end of the season, whether that would be the correct decision remains to be seen.

And White can cover any of the back 4 positions so I don't follow your argument.

For me those off will be Inniss and King, both returning to parent clubs. Williams out on loan, probably Bridge too. Pains me to say it, but I can't help but think Barrett will be released too, if not then I think Sokolik will go. Not sure about a 6th, could be any of Smith, Matzusaka or Kyprianou on loan or could just be Fortuné, I think he only had a contract till January.

Would be harsh in the extreme to release Mooney at this time, and I believe White will see out his contract.

 

[Gremlin]

This time last year some may have called McLaughlin dead wood. Should we have offloaded him?

 

[Stuart W]

I would imagine that it goes as follows:

one of White/O'Neill - Demetriou already has the RB position on lock
Barrett - Club legend, but not a long term option for the club. Speaking pragmatically
Williams - Had an opportunity to break into the first team but Brown went with Fortune instead
Fortune - See Barrett's reason above (minus the club legend status)
Mooney - Currently averaging a goal every 5 games, not good enough.
Sokolik - Not the player he was after being with us the first time.

All of these players have contracts that run out at the end of the season or before so I expect that only one of O'Neill or White will stay.

Ok working with a squad of 25 (which includes Bridge, Williams and Kyprianou), your exclusion of the above 6 players would leave 19, broken down by position:-

Goalkeepers 2
Defenders 6
Midfielders 9
Forwards 2

Little bit unbalanced, don't you think?

Agreed I have put O'Neill as a midfielder, but even if he is a back four player, we still need to cut down our midfielders. Personally I would send King back tomorrow, and also be inclined to loan Bridge out to a league 2 club. Let's face it there are plenty of southern clubs in that division who are struggling at the moment, and I could see him doing a job at one of them.
Also, I would certainly not unload Fortune yet, not a goal scorer maybe, but a forward who holds the ball up (particularly useful each time Ranger has an injury, and yes there will be more to come).

Sokolik, Mooney, Williams no argument with. Barrett to stay for a coaching position.

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

I have read on posts in a few threads that we have up to 6 "deadwood" players in our squad and that in 6 weeks time they ought to be moved on to allow others in.
Q. Who are those players? names please and reasons.
Q. What area of the playing staff do we need to strengthen?
Q. Who do we bring in?

I have also seen mention of us (Southend United) having "a clear out" - and that suggests a number of players leaving but I agree with a couple of the posts above in that this doesn't seem to quite ring true.

There always seems to be changes in the squad in the "modern game" and I can't see that the next window will be any different to any other as I do not see that we have a great number of players that we should be "getting rid of".

Good posts by Rootshallbloke (post no. 6) and rlb999.

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

Adam King
Is doing nothing other than denying Jack Bridge playing time. Get him gone.

Don't let Wriggsby see this. He said we need to get used to him being in the team early on in the season

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

I may have got the wrong end of the stick but I would have thought the club needed 4 strikers who were capable of playing at this level ............ we have 4 now in the shape of Cox, Ranger, Mooney and Fortune.

I certainly would not want to see any of those 4 leave unless there was an immediate replacement lined up.

 

[GrumpyBlue]

Can anyone explain to me why Adam Barrett should be considered for a coaching position other than being a fans favourite ?

 

[Zeuss]

Ok working with a squad of 25 (which includes Bridge, Williams and Kyprianou), your exclusion of the above 6 players would leave 19, broken down by position:-

Goalkeepers 2
Defenders 6
Midfielders 9
Forwards 2

Little bit unbalanced, don't you think?

Agreed I have put O'Neill as a midfielder, but even if he is a back four player, we still need to cut down our midfielders. Personally I would send King back tomorrow, and also be inclined to loan Bridge out to a league 2 club. Let's face it there are plenty of southern clubs in that division who are struggling at the moment, and I could see him doing a job at one of them.
Also, I would certainly not unload Fortune yet, not a goal scorer maybe, but a forward who holds the ball up (particularly useful each time Ranger has an injury, and yes there will be more to come).

Sokolik, Mooney, Williams no argument with. Barrett to stay for a coaching position.

Yes,definitely unbalanced-even more so since Kyprianu isnt(yet)good enough defensively to play fullback-if Coker was missing,remember White played OK at LB for us,when he came on loan.
Up front,it wouldn't be easy to find better replacements at this level than Fortune' as targetman and Mooney as goalscorer.
Sokolik is at present our only real cover for Thompson and Ferdinand.

 

[Firestorm]

Williams on loan
sokoliks only on a short term deal, will it be extended ?
King and Inniss sent back
Horton canned.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Can anyone explain to me why Adam Barrett should be considered for a coaching position other than being a fans favourite ?

I agree that being popular ought not to be the criteria for a coaching position.
I don't know if he has done his coaching badges? He does have a role in kid's football holiday clubs so maybe a youth team type role would be suitable if there was a position vacant.
On SZ there have been rumours of him AB and PB not getting on and that would in effect bar him from any senior roles IF there is any substance to that gossip.
What does Mr Horton do?

 

[LCBB72]

I agree that being popular ought not to be the criteria for a coaching position.
I don't know if he has done his coaching badges? He does have a role in kid's football holiday clubs so maybe a youth team type role would be suitable if there was a position vacant.
On SZ there have been rumours of him AB and PB not getting on and that would in effect bar him from any senior roles IF there is any substance to that gossip.
What does Mr Horton do?

What does 70s Northbank think .

 

[SeaSideDoughnut]

I can't see too much changing in this window.

The players that are available in this window are usually available for the wrong reason i.e this deadwood thread. If we send two players back from loan can we loan two more considering they were season long loans? I know there were changes to the loan system - I don't know too much about it.

Smith, Kyprianou, Bridge and Williams going on loan would be great, I hope they get that experience. But that's nearly an entire bench [+Inniss and King] and a lot of changes for January.