Question How big a job does Tilly have in the summer.

[DTS]

Looking like coming 7-8 this season and I think most would agree not a bad return. It was always going to be hard to repeat last seasons sudo-sucess especially losing Gower, Mulgrew and Nicky "Back in league one" Bailey.

My question is how big is Tilson's job this summer?

For my mind its massive. The only players I can say I personally think are Championship class are Macca, Clarke and maybe Moussa in time. Clarke looks like he is off too.

Francis, Barnard, Grant, Mildy, Besty and maybe Barrett can about do a job but that is no where near enough in my book.

On top of this we have (not an exhaustive list) Sankofa, Walker, Laurent,Joyce, Scannell,Master, Revell etc who are in my book simply not good enough.

The position of 7-8th really for my mind reflects the real positives to come out of this season which is Tilly's loan signings. Everyone of the loaness we have had except Robert "Im ****" Milson have been fantastic. Dorian and Theo I would say are 90% of the reason we aew where we are.

Not sure if I am the only one thinking this - Would be good to hear others views.

 

[Crawliano]

I don't think it's that bad, if someone can take a team of players who up to half way through the season looked like they were going to be playing CIFC the next in the conference, tinker a little and add a future international striker and take them into the Championship where it was a little bit too much too soon I think we've got enough about us in team spirit and unity to hold our own next season.

4 signings will be enough to steady the ship, next season on paper is going to be tough, but I can see one of Southampton or Charlton struggling like hell. Especially if either end up in administration.

 

[Wickford Blue]

Need to learn from this season and either sign people or agree season long loans. Our season fell apart mid term when we lost loanees. 3 more wins during the run of 17 would have meant the play offs.
Consistency is the key for next year and the having one of our 17 strikers having the ability to find the back of the net!!

I do not think we will struggle next year and with some stability and consistency the play offs should be the minimum

 

[dloman]

Have to agree with dts here. The Clarke situation is qute worrying as imo he has been our bes and most consistant performer this season and now our season is effectively over i would like to see Moussa moved central and possibly O'Keefe and Herd brought in for the last couple of games, just so they can get more experience without the worry of losing.

Also it would be nice to see the majority of the new squad in place ready for pre season to give them time to gel rather than waiting till at least a month of the new season is underway before we see additions.

 

[Bromley Blue]

Also it would be nice to see the majority of the new squad in place ready for pre season to give them time to gel rather than waiting till at least a month of the new season is underway before we see additions.

I agree with this in theory. In an ideal world that would be fantastic but for some reason we seem to struggle to get people on board until very late in the day. Players seem to leave it until the last possible moment to commit to a club in case they receive a better offer. We also compete each year against some big clubs in League One that can offer superior wages and so Tilly always has a battle on his hands with the finances available to him.

However I do think we could get some season long loans in place early doors so at least if we do uncover a gem like Sawyer or Dorian we have them for the entire season. Also with this sort of arrangement should they be that influential that we manage to gain promotion we would have a better chance of convincing them to stay at a Championship side.

 

[Up the Shrimpers]

I agree with this in theory. In an ideal world that would be fantastic but for some reason we seem to struggle to get people on board until very late in the day. Players seem to leave it until the last possible moment to commit to a club in case they receive a better offer. We also compete each year against some big clubs in League One that can offer superior wages and so Tilly always has a battle on his hands with the finances available to him.

However I do think we could get some season long loans in place early doors so at least if we do uncover a gem like Sawyer or Dorian we have them for the entire season. Also with this sort of arrangement should they be that influential that we manage to gain promotion we would have a better chance of convincing them to stay at a Championship side.

Have we ever had a player on a season long loan? I can't see us getting players on season long loan deals.

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

Have we ever had a player on a season long loan? I can't see us getting players on season long loan deals.

Is that not something that needs investigating now though?
If we could have got Sawyer, HRK or even Dorian or Feds for a full season back in August, I think we'd at least now have those 3 or 4 extra points in the bank to put us in the playoffs.

Wasn't Kerrea Gilbert supposed to be a season long loan before he got sent back for being sh*te?

 

[canveyshrimper]

Is that not something that needs investigating now though?
If we could have got Sawyer, HRK or even Dorian or Feds for a full season back in August, I think we'd at least now have those 3 or 4 extra points in the bank to put us in the playoffs.

Wasn't Kerrea Gilbert supposed to be a season long loan before he got sent back for being sh*te?

I'm pretty sure that Kerrea Gilbert was a half season loan, August to January.

 

[DTS]

I'm pretty sure that Kerrea Gilbert was a half season loan, August to January.

You both right...

1) It was a six month loan and
2) He was *****.

 

[bluebrian]

I'm not sure any of the issues relating to funds etc are of any relevance anymore. We are supposed to start building the new stadium this summer which in turn will see funds being released to build the team well thats what Ron has always said isnt it?.... Should be absolutely no need to worry about competing with the big boys anymore as we are now surely to be considered as one of the big teams in this division....

 

[Suffolk Blue]

The close-season job Tilly has is to prepare a team that can get us up to CCC. To that end I think we're not that far away as long as we plug 3 or 4 gaps in the squad.

Goalkeepers: Happy with Mildy. Joyce or similar as back-up is fine with emergency loan always an option.

Left Back - Need a new Left Back. Happy with Herd/Barrett as back-up.

Right Back - Happy with Francis. Sankofa is a good enough squad member as back-up.

Centre Backs - Need a big strong CB in the Dorien mould to play alongside a Clarke/Barratt. Assuming we can't have DD, and PC leaves, we'd need a 1st choice CB and a good back-up for Barratt.

Left Wing - Need a real winger. Someone who can only move around the pitch by means of the white lines around the edge - Betsy isn't fast enough in my opinion back-up at best.

Right Wing - We need a Right Wing too. Either as back-up to Scannell (who I still think has something to offer), or as 1st choice if good enough.

Centre Mid - Sorted really unless we can get our hands on Sawyer, who would be an improvement on what we have. For my money, and from what we have today, I'd have Macca and Grant as first choice with Moussa and Jeff as back-ups.

Forwards - Again I think we're sorted for next season even if we can't keep hold of Theo. I have high hopes of Laurent and I like Barney as both provider and also poacher, so they would be my starting 2 (if Theo leaves!). Revell, Walker, and Freedman offer something different and also cover for Barney's inevitable injuries. Plan A collapses though if we get with the number of injuries we saw this season.

One of our strengths is probably the range of positions that Moussa and Grant can play which means that we can afford to have decent coverage across the park with a reasonably small squad.

By my reckoning then, and on the assumption that the only leavers/returnees are Dorien, Clarke and Theo, we need:
Left Back - 1st Choice
Centre Back - 1st Choice
Centre Back - Benchwarmer
Left Wing - 1st Choice
Right Wing 1st Choice.

Of course there'll be other leavers who'll need replacing (really replacing too, not like replacing Gower with Betsy).

If we do manage to go up then we can worry about whether we're good enough or not then; who knows what the situation will be at the end of next season.

 

[BoyWonder2]

I don't think its a massive job his got on his hands, even with Clarke likely to leave.

For me Barrett and Clarke are much of a muchness and either one can do a good job for us with the right partner. Clarke has shown this since Dervite has come in, and Barrett showed it with Sodje/Prior and Edwards before Clarke came in. I'm happy with Barrett moving in field, but we need to sign a "Dervite" type player who can bring the best out of Barrett in there.

Only other areas that we are desperate to sign are left wing, left back and a forward with pace. Yes, one or two areas could do with a bit more quality, like the right wing, but we have the bodies there to do a job. Our form since end of Jan through till now has been expectional, very much like last season. It goes to show the difference of having a settled 13/14 players that we have used during this spell.

How many of our players are Championship class I'm not sure, but we aren't a Championship side. We are a top 10 League One side, and the players we have are more than capable of doing that again next season. The play-offs has to be the target next season, and with the right tinckering in one or two places I think we can do it.

 

[Suffolk Blue]

You both right...

1) It was a six month loan and
2) He was *****.

Not sure he was lacking in ability. It was an attitude/character problem that still hasn't gone away.

He's played 30-odd times as part of a decent Leicester side this season which should indicate that he's capable. On top of this Arsenal still considered him as a prospective 1st teamer when they leant him out. I understand their thoughts about him may have changed though when he got done for Drunk and Disorderly last Autumn.

 

[Tinks]

More to the point, how much does Tilly have (financially) at his disposal?

 

[BoyWonder2]

Right Wing - We need a Right Wing too. Either as back-up to Scannell (who I still think has something to offer), or as 1st choice if good enough.

I agree with the majority of what you said in your post but I wanted to pick up on one thing, that being the right wing spot.

Next season I can see Sawyer or Macca being played wide right in the Petts/Bentley/Bradbury type role and on the left hand side having a proper winger out there in the Gower mould.

Playing with 1 winger and 3 central midfielders effectiviely has served Tilson very well with us, thats been the plan during this good run as well with either Betsy or Scannell wide right and Moussa on the left.

 

[GNH]

Gone for 3-4 players needed, however these would need to be for the starting XI. In addition we desperately need a few decent squad players for when the enivitable injuries/suspentions kick in, this is where we've been sadly lacking for a few years now.

 

[TJC]

I think the second half of the season has proved that we are almost good enough. Going by Leicester, we are there with what we've got, just need to butter up the referees a bit better!
I'd like to see Theo become perm as well as (although unlikely) Devite. Maybe one other winger.
I think the Moose is going to quite some player next year and would like to see Herd back in the team as it looks like Barrett will move back to the middle with the departure of Devite and possibly Clarky.
Herd has a few defensive frailties, but he is such a excellent young prospect and is a great attacking fullback and I'm sure experience will quickly tighten up his defensive duties.
Keeping Barney and Freedman fit could be the key though.

 

[Crawliano]

Effectively I think it's time Tilly brought the kids through and used them in the cup. Once the final of the Carling Cup has been reached, let the men take over and win the cup, leaving us to then concentrate on the league and fielding our best team against league opposition. I would also like to see us make a little more effort on the FA Cup this term, the second half performance against Chelsea was shocking and mistakes need to be picked up on if we are going to maintain our push to break into the "big 4" and crack England's elite.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Dave, I'm a little concerned about your maths. You do know there are 11 players in a team right? If we were half way there that would be 5 or 6 players.

Anyway, we need to rebuild our central defence, otherwise we're not too badly set. We need a couple more additions elsewhere, but we've got the major pieces in place (Mildenhall, Grant, Moussa, probably Barnard) to build around plus some serviceable players (Barrett, McCormack, Revell, Christophe) who we can put in around that core. We've then got a load of players who offer depth to the squad (Betsy, Sankofa, Freedman, Laurent, Herd, O'Keefe).

I'd therefore like in addition to 2 centre-halves, upgrades at right-back, one midfielder (probably a left-sided one) with a bit of class on the ball and a striker with some pace.

Whilst we are having to rebuild our defence, I think we are in a better position than last season when we had to rebuild our style of play, following the loss of Gower (and to a lesser extent Bailey and Black).

 

[Tin Bath]

well one saying thats often repeated is "the league table never lies" and this year we will more than likely finish below what we did last year, the aim was to reach the play-offs, ok so we have missed by a short distance but if you want to deal in facts a figures finishing below last years position can be classified as a step backwards. I dont think MK Dons and Leicester who beat us recently are miles better but they have forwards that take their chances, we dont have one player who features in the top 20 divisional goal scorers. Now if it appears next year we have Charlton, Southampton and Norwich in our league (all ex premiership teams within the last 5 years and average crowds around 20k) getting out of league one next season could be even harder than this year. If we want to be in that top 2 or top 6 we are going to need 5 or 6 players to come in to improve and give options to challenge, of course i expect a couple to go, Betsy and Walker are two that i would look to move on and as much as i like Barnard when 100% fit (and i dont think he has been in recent games) can he put half a dozen to ten games back to back ? If not then maybe free up the wages. I think Tilly will have a bigger job next year than this season