Team for next season...

[canveyshrimper]

ABSOLUTE MUST HAVES - a striker coach. It's no coincidence that so many forwards leave to become stars elsewhere.
Creative midfielder to feed balls on the ground to the strikers (see above)

Roots Hall Keep - but no chance of that

As a matter of interest how do you coach people to score goals? It's all about instinct. Football is littered with strikers who have fired blanks at one club and gone to other clubs and had good careers. The main problem we've had is supply, and we've had very little of that since the much maligned Mark Gower left the club.

 

[ibwiajwa]

Therefore, this leaves a potential team of...

Jack

Francis Barrett Baldwin Herd

O'Keefe Moussa Grant Scannell

Spencer
Paterson

I'll be amazed if we keep all of these.

 

[* ORM *]

Other than a long throw that I have not seen us take advantage of ONCE, can anybody honestly say Johnny Herd strengthens the defence or has the potential to develop ? Yet another vastly overrated player alongside Barrett and several others. Age on his side might be a saving grace if we're patient.

 

[sadsy]

GK's - Let Mildy go, use Jack/Bentley

DEFENCE - Must keep Francis. Would also keep Sankofa for versatility a la Lewis Hunt. Herd not good enough defensively but has time on his side. No chance of getting M'Voto , prob not Baldwin either. Barrett unfortunately way past his best.

MIDFIELD - Would build team around Grant. Would keep Moussa , he has the ability but hasn't impressed on a consistent basis. Macca would be a shoe-in on past form but not had a great season. Would def keep O'Keefe, sorry JFC not good enough.

WINGERS - Scannell / Laurent both had their moments so would keep them.

FORWARDS - Goodbye Vernon. Spencer has something about him so would offer him another contract. Paterson & Crawford have youth on their side , they'll be ok

 

[Big Albert]

As a matter of interest how do you coach people to score goals? It's all about instinct. Football is littered with strikers who have fired blanks at one club and gone to other clubs and had good careers. The main problem we've had is supply, and we've had very little of that since the much maligned Mark Gower left the club.

Much the same as any other specialised position. Movement, where to place shots - agreed there are naturals but I've played at clubs where strikers have been coached by other older more experienced strikers and the change is very noticable. You always hear younger strikers saying how much they learn of off veterens such as the Goat etc. So I agree with you that instinct is vital you have to have something to build on. Hooper has instinct for instance. I also agree the supply has been appalling this season hence my second point we need a creative midfielder (or two) to play balls through the defence not over the top all of the time

 

[BoyWonder2]

I'd like us to keep Mildenhall, Francis, Barrett, Herd, Scannell, Laurent, Grant, Moussa, Spencer and Paterson. Obviously the likes of Crawford and O'Keefe would be kept as well and I'm assuming all the loan players disappear.

I then would like us to dip into the non-league scene for a few players. Players that are hungry for a chance in League football. The likes of Bentley, Gower, Eastwood all joined us in that way. Just look at Dagenham, on the outskirts of the play-offs on the back on non-league signings.

I'd like us to bring in Billy Jones from Crewe (contract expires in the summer), Danny Green and Paul Benson from Daggers, Daniel Jones from Wolves (contract expires in the summer) as a starter. Then you are looking at at least 2 centre halfs, another keeper if/when Mildenhall leaves, some genuine width on the left hand side assuming we don't bring in Daniel Jones from Wolves. Someone like HRK on loan would be ideal. Then a couple of strikers and maybe some central midfielders as well.

As for the rest of the season, Vernon should be straight on that bench never to be seen in a Southend United shirt. As it stands, his loan deal expires at the end of the season, Crawford hasn't signed his pro deal, Spencer's contract is up leaving us with only Paterson as a striker who is contracted into next season. I'd be playing him now. He has been in and out of the side whereas Vernon, who has been woeful, hasn't been dropped at all. He doesn't want to be here in my eyes, and therefore we should be building for next season with the likes of Paterson, O'Keefe, Crawford etc being played now.

 

[Ulysses]

Keep - Daniel Bentley, Johnny Herd, Adam Barrett, Pat Baldwin, Simon Francis, Franck Moussa, Antony Grant, Damien Scannell, Stuart O'Keefe, Francis Laurant, Scott Spencer, Harry Crawford, Matt Paterson

Need - new GK, spare LB, CB,RB, Proper Left Winger, Playmaker CM, Defence Midfielder, 2 Strikers - 9 players in total

 

[Streaky]

Keepers
Mildy - Good keeper, can only stay if prepared to live on L2 £'s
Jack - Havent seen him play - no comment.

Defenders
Barrett - keep.
Herd - keep.
Sankofa - keep.
M'voto - back to Sunderland
Baldwin - back to Col Who
Malone - back to Wolves
Francis - would like for him to stay, but makes sense to get him off the wage bill.

Midfielders
Grant - keep, build centre of midfield around Grant
Moussa - keep
O'Keefe - keep
Laurent - keep, the only player we have that gets you out of your seat
Scannell - keep - good be a great player in L2
Macca - Not the player he was, time to move on.
Christophe - Move on.

Forwards
Paterson - keep
Crawford - keep
Spencer - keep
Vernon - back to Col Ewe



So if that happens, we would be very busy in the transfer market. It will be essential we dont make the same mistakes as this season. Get a decent CB in and a quality forward.

 

[BrettieAngell]

Keep -

Mildy
Herd
Barrett
Sankofa
Francis
Scannell
Moussa
Grant
Okeefe
Spencer
Paterson

 

[chapperzUK]

Goalkeepers
Mildenhall - Possibly on quite high wages for League Two and could leave (does his contract end at the end of the season?)
Jack - Never seen him play and watching him in our reserves is not the best place to judge him as the quality is different and we were shipping goals before he came.
Bentley - Same as Jack.

Defenders
Francis - Very good going forward and can defend very well if he puts his mind on it. Wouldn't be surprised if he left and would be sad aswell. Top player.
Barrett - Our highest wage earner and wants to stay.
Sankofa - He is a good defender and would be a valuable player to have. Need to keep him.
Herd - League Two will help him to progress as I believe it could be more his level.

Midfielders
Christophe - Sell him if possibly, but if we can't then he could be a decent back-up and I doubt he is on big wages either (I maybe wrong though).
Grant - MUST keep. Amazing player, only problem is the silly yellow cards that he gets, but apart from that he is at least a League One player.
McCormack - On his day he is a cracking player, sadly we haven't seen anywhere near that form and he could be a good player next season
Scannell - Was in cracking form before he got injured and could be vital on the right wing with his link up play with Francis.
Moussa - Feed the Moussa and he should rip up this league. He may want to leave and we should set a high asking price.
O'Keefe - Same as Herd. Needs games and match experience and he will become a good player.
Laurent - Has pace and the skill to beat players. If he gets some consistency then he could destroy this league, but where will he play as he we could have Scannell on the right and Moussa on the left.

Strikers
Paterson - Young and has potential.
Spencer - Will be our main striker. Can head a ball, can score a few goals with his feet and sure has some pace on him!
Crawford - Hasn't had much of the ball in his few first team appearances, but his movement has been very good.
Calver - Went on loan to a couple of teams this season, can't really comment as I haven't seen him in those games. Saw him in the pre-season friendly against Canvey and he scored a cracker. A good back-up.

Who do we need
Defence need reinforcements as we only have 4 players. M'voto and/or Baldwin back on loan will be very good. We need a player who can make a defence-splitting pass, so we need to give Sawyer a kick up the backside and a contract with low wages. Our strikers do not scream goals and our main and only source might come from Spencer, so an experienced striker (not OLD) to score the goals will be required.

 

[ibwiajwa]

Keepers
Mildy - Good keeper, can only stay if prepared to live on L2 £'s
Jack - Havent seen him play - no comment.

Defenders
Barrett - keep.
Herd - keep.
Sankofa - keep.
M'voto - back to Sunderland
Baldwin - back to Col Who
Malone - back to Wolves
Francis - would like for him to stay, but makes sense to get him off the wage bill.

Midfielders
Grant - keep, build centre of midfield around Grant
Moussa - keep
O'Keefe - keep
Laurent - keep, the only player we have that gets you out of your seat
Scannell - keep - good be a great player in L2
Macca - Not the player he was, time to move on.
Christophe - Move on.

Forwards
Paterson - keep
Crawford - keep
Spencer - keep
Vernon - back to Col Ewe



So if that happens, we would be very busy in the transfer market. It will be essential we dont make the same mistakes as this season. Get a decent CB in and a quality forward.

When Jack came out at half time on Saturday he looked as if he was carrying a fair amount of weight.

 

[Benji91]

Why would anyone right now sign with us? No one knows if they are going to be paid from one month to the next - i wouldnt be surprised if next season we had some of the squad we were left with and some yoofs for opening day - as well as the usual smattering of loans where we dont contribute anything to the wage.

 

[southend4ever]

the col ewe boys will be laughing when they go back to league 1 scum and we are down in the doldrums.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Why would anyone right now sign with us? No one knows if they are going to be paid from one month to the next - i wouldnt be surprised if next season we had some of the squad we were left with and some yoofs for opening day - as well as the usual smattering of loans where we dont contribute anything to the wage.

Because we'll be offering first team football.

The financial side is a risk, but there will be plenty of players who'd love the chance to play in the football league. We'll probably lack experience (Barrett aside), but we'll be packed full of players who are desperate for a crack at league football. So it'll be a combination of non-league players, kids who didn't make the grade at bigger clubs and our own kids.

Which is how the likes of Eastwood, Royce, Gower, Bentley, Scannell, Grant, Hunt, Spencer, Moussa etc ended up at Roots Hall.

I think we'll do better if we attract in players for the opportunity rather than the wages. As our wage bill has increased, our results have deteriorated. The team that won this division in 2005/06 wasn't in the top 10 for wages by a long shot.

 

[Dave of the Match]

Jack/[new]/[new]

Francis Sankofa Barrett Herd/Malone

Laurent Grant [new] Scannell

Crawford Spencer

Scannell and Francis will destroy everyone in league two. Need a couple of new keepers in case Jack gets injured and for competition, Mildy is out of here!
​

 

[BrettieAngell]

Jack/[new]/[new]

Francis Sankofa Barrett Herd/Malone

Laurent Grant [new] Scannell

Crawford Spencer

Scannell and Francis will destroy everyone in league two. Need a couple of new keepers in case Jack gets injured and for competition, Mildy is out of here!
​

What about The Moose?

 

[nevereatwhitesnow]

the col ewe boys will be laughing when they go back to league 1 scum and we are down in the doldrums.

That's way off the mark,

Had you stayed up Pat was quite keen on staying I think (subject to agreeing terms etc) as he is a local lad and family not keen on moving too far.- The transfer fee may have been a stumbling block but I understand that a potential swap deal would have been discussed (no idea who to be honest - nothing obvious that I can see apart from Herd plus AN Other?)

Scotty Vernon is out of contract with us now and will be heading back up north as that's where he and his missus are from - he would have taken up one of the other offers in Jan window for loan deals up there had it not been for the fact that his missus had a work contract down here until the summer.

Neither are likely to stay with us to be honest which is a shame as Pat is a quality CB and Scotty is a really good bloke.

Neither are taking any pleasure in what's happened so far with you lot i can promise you that!

 

[Firestorm]

I feel that unless RM's vision takes a major leap forward over the next couple of months we will have to cut back heavily on the wage front, otherwise there is the potential for further cash flow issues, and no doubt more accusations of financial mismanagement.

Of those who played on Saturday (Including the loanees) I do not expect to see Mildy, Macca, Grant, Francis, Christophe, Laurent, Mvoto, Jack, Malone, Baldwin or Vernon next season.

I feel that Scanell , if he keeps injury free could be important ,
Hopefully there will be a Freddy and a Gower in the non league boys we sign

 

[blueballs]

i thoroughly await a barrage of laughs, but how about this...

mildy

francis baldwin (new) herd

laurent grant (new) moose

paterson spencer?

we nab some young'ns from a premierships reserve team and pffer them sensible wages and first team footy, let anyone not in that list go and get some loans in just for competition. I tell you why this will work, in league 1, next season....

tranmere are gnna lose to brentford, colchester and millwall.... then stockport are gonnagive em a spanking as a farewell present... wycombe are **** and i hope to god the gills do us a favor on the last day, exeter are gnna get thumped by charlton hartlepool and hudd, then we're off to oldham to dish out some of the moose's finest top drawer finishes, stockport will crumble at our feet, and lee barnard will score a 91st minute winner and his 26th of the season, in his own net, we'll all have a disco, tilly will win the euromillions and we'll be in the premier**** in no time... any questions?

 

[MK Shrimper]

... any questions?

Yeah, what are you on?