The new guys

[fbm]

So, we have had something like 14 players leave and 7 join, with 2 youths stepping up.

We have got rid of -

1 keeper. Dan Bentley has been replaced by Mark Oxley.

Is Oxley better than Bentley?

No. I'm not even sure he's better than Ted Smith.

2 defenders. Prosser and Bolger have been replaced by Sokolik and Demetriou.

Is Demetriou a better right back than White or O'Neill? Probably not a lot in it, so let's say they are about the same. Can White or O'Neill play centre back? Yes, White. Is he better than Prosser or Bolger in that position? No.

4 wide midfielders. Worrall, McQueen, Weston and Hurst have all gone. We have signed McGlashan. Is he better than any of them? Possibly Hurst, maybe Weston, even more close would be McQueen. Definitely not Worrall. O'Neill has been converted to a wide player and is worse in that position than all of the other options.

3 central midfielders Deegan, Kamara and Moussa. We've signed King. He was ok last night but absolutely dreadful on Saturday in his late cameo. I'd rather have Moussa I think.

4 forwards Loza, Barnett, Hunt and Payne have been replaced by Cox and Ranger with Jack Bridge and Jason Williams also playing more of a part. There's possibly an improvement with Cox generally but I think Barnett would have been more effective in the last 2 games. Ranger is as yet an unknown. On paper he should be an improvement but the trouble is that we play on grass. Bridge has got something but has only played a few minutes and Williams hasn't contributed at all in either of his sub appearances. So overall we are still worse off.

This just shows how lightweight the squad is and how far we have to improve to be even the same as last year.

 

[Parold]

Good post.

When you put it like that, we're doomed. :'(

 

[palexander]

Yup, definitely feels like we've gone backwards, which is an awful way to start a season and unfortunately (not wanting to be considered a Brown Basher!) the buck stops with him on this one.

 

[OrangeyBrown]

The only one I would disagree with there is Demetriou, he's better than White + O'Neill in my opinion. Might be worth redo-ing this thread after we've signed the 2/3 players that Brown wants before the window closes.

 

[HudsonNo1]

Agree with Oxley, I'd much rather see Ted given his turn now. Don't see how he can be any worse then Oxley. Obviously he was always going to be harshly criticised purely because he isn't Bentley.

Loosing prosser was no big deal, I don't see him playing better then Barrett Thompson or Sokolik, I'd even fancy John white over prosser at CB, Bolger is a big loss though, no one to dominate big strikers in the air.

The midfield is the key part for me, loosing deegan is not being proven to be a massive thing I think, mentioned it on another thread already how he could've broken up a lot of gillinghams dominance in the middle of the field. On the wings I don't see anything major to whinge about apart from lack of depth, Worrall wasn't the same player last season as we see before and Mcglashing shows signs of promise. I'd have brought McQueen back in aswell. I'll avoid opinion on King until he has played a proper part. I don't think loosing Hurst or Wesyon is a big deal either.

We lost Payne but gained Cox, so I can't complain too much there, also bringing in Ranger and hopefully Simpson I think we have one of the best set of strikers in the division. Even mooney on his day (rare as they are) can be good at this level.

If we had a big dominating nonsense defender and a defensive midfield enforcer then if be a lot happier then I am now. Depth is our key problem at the moment, out actual potential starting eleven if all fit is good enough for a top half finish. I just don't know if we have the tactics to get us there, or atleast the belief

 

[manor15]

For me it's pretty similar.

In goal, Dan Bentley > Mark Oxley every day of the week. I don't think Ted is ready yet, but I've watched Oxley play 180 minutes now and struggle to think of a save he's made. Early days though.

In defence, Demetriou is better than White or O'Neill. Sokolik is better than Prosser but not as good as Bolger. Prosser and Bolger are both better than nobody, which is who has replaced them.

In midfield, McGlashan is better than Hurst, Weston, McQueen but not Worrall. That said, he seems to have less of the off the field baggage. I'd put Bridge into this category too, and I'd be happy to have him over Hurst and possibly even McQueen based on current ability.

In central midfield, I'd take King over Kamara as he's something different we don't have in the squad, but would rather have both Deegan and Moussa.

Up front, Cox is a massive improvement on anyone we had there last year. Ranger is a complete unknown and a gamble, given a choice of him or Barnett I'd have preferred Barnett. Williams is a waste of space. Would've kept Hunt but only on lower wages which he wouldn't have accepted, Payne is obviously a massive loss, and Loza would be an upgrade on Williams but I wouldn't have chased him.

Pretty much agree with fbm, and we desperately need additions. That said, it's a bit early to judge on King and I expect he'll improve as the year goes on. Oxley seems to be a real confidence player so we'll see if he picks up his performances or not, and it'll be interesting to see whether McGlashan can maintain a bit of consistency unlike most wingers we have.

 

[ESG]

Is Oxley better than Paul Smith?

 

[fbm]

Is Oxley better than Paul Smith?

Is he better than Cyril Smith?

 

[Chairman Trigg]

Only positive about Oxley is his kicking.Would have been better if he had started the campaign away from home...think his card may already be marked by a number of supporters which won't help his confidence in home games.If Ted can now dominate his area and show confidence might be his time, a season on from his debut.

 

[united we stand]

So, we have had something like 14 players leave and 7 join, with 2 youths stepping up.

We have got rid of -

1 keeper. Dan Bentley has been replaced by Mark Oxley.

Is Oxley better than Bentley?

No. I'm not even sure he's better than Ted Smith.

2 defenders. Prosser and Bolger have been replaced by Sokolik and Demetriou.

Is Demetriou a better right back than White or O'Neill? Probably not a lot in it, so let's say they are about the same. Can White or O'Neill play centre back? Yes, White. Is he better than Prosser or Bolger in that position? No.

4 wide midfielders. Worrall, McQueen, Weston and Hurst have all gone. We have signed McGlashan. Is he better than any of them? Possibly Hurst, maybe Weston, even more close would be McQueen. Definitely not Worrall. O'Neill has been converted to a wide player and is worse in that position than all of the other options.

3 central midfielders Deegan, Kamara and Moussa. We've signed King. He was ok last night but absolutely dreadful on Saturday in his late cameo. I'd rather have Moussa I think.

4 forwards Loza, Barnett, Hunt and Payne have been replaced by Cox and Ranger with Jack Bridge and Jason Williams also playing more of a part. There's possibly an improvement with Cox generally but I think Barnett would have been more effective in the last 2 games. Ranger is as yet an unknown. On paper he should be an improvement but the trouble is that we play on grass. Bridge has got something but has only played a few minutes and Williams hasn't contributed at all in either of his sub appearances. So overall we are still worse off.

This just shows how lightweight the squad is and how far we have to improve to be even the same as last year.

bit unfair on Williams- he only played for 5 mins last night- you can hardly count that as an appearence. On saturday I made a point of watching him, and to be fair I lost count of the amount of times he called for the ball and pointed to where he wanted it played adn we played it soemwhere else . Twice (from where I was sitting) it looked like he would have been thru on goal had the pass been made. I'm not saying he is great or anything, just think its a litle unfair.

 

[Bromley Blue]

So, we have had something like 14 players leave and 7 join, with 2 youths stepping up.

We have got rid of -

1 keeper. Dan Bentley has been replaced by Mark Oxley.

Is Oxley better than Bentley?

No. I'm not even sure he's better than Ted Smith.

2 defenders. Prosser and Bolger have been replaced by Sokolik and Demetriou.

Is Demetriou a better right back than White or O'Neill? Probably not a lot in it, so let's say they are about the same. Can White or O'Neill play centre back? Yes, White. Is he better than Prosser or Bolger in that position? No.

4 wide midfielders. Worrall, McQueen, Weston and Hurst have all gone. We have signed McGlashan. Is he better than any of them? Possibly Hurst, maybe Weston, even more close would be McQueen. Definitely not Worrall. O'Neill has been converted to a wide player and is worse in that position than all of the other options.

3 central midfielders Deegan, Kamara and Moussa. We've signed King. He was ok last night but absolutely dreadful on Saturday in his late cameo. I'd rather have Moussa I think.

4 forwards Loza, Barnett, Hunt and Payne have been replaced by Cox and Ranger with Jack Bridge and Jason Williams also playing more of a part. There's possibly an improvement with Cox generally but I think Barnett would have been more effective in the last 2 games. Ranger is as yet an unknown. On paper he should be an improvement but the trouble is that we play on grass. Bridge has got something but has only played a few minutes and Williams hasn't contributed at all in either of his sub appearances. So overall we are still worse off.

This just shows how lightweight the squad is and how far we have to improve to be even the same as last year.

All of the above is based on comparing players that you've watched maybe 40 or 50 times (at least) against players you've seen twice, in two poor team performances. Not really a fair test is it?

 

[Floval Flyer]

I'm missing Bentley and Payne already and it's only 10th August !

 

[fbm]

Let's be clear, I'm not necessarily being over critical of Oxley... he just hasn't saved much yet. I am genuinely undecided as to whether he is is better than Ted.

But it is obvious that he is not as good as Bentley.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Unlike many, I think, I wasn't so sure we'd miss Bentley that much. He's a great keeper don't get me wrong, but there are others who can perform consistently at our level and the transfer fee ought to ensure we could afford the wages for one.

Lets hope Oxley settles better than he appears to have started. To be fair to him (as has been explained on other threads) he has a bigger shower of ***** in front of him than Bentley did.

 

[fbm]

bit unfair on Williams- he only played for 5 mins last night- you can hardly count that as an appearence. On saturday I made a point of watching him, and to be fair I lost count of the amount of times he called for the ball and pointed to where he wanted it played adn we played it soemwhere else . Twice (from where I was sitting) it looked like he would have been thru on goal had the pass been made. I'm not saying he is great or anything, just think its a litle unfair.

All of the above is based on comparing players that you've watched maybe 40 or 50 times (at least) against players you've seen twice, in two poor team performances. Not really a fair test is it?

It may well not seem fair, but generally you don't need to see a player 40-50 times to know whether he is a good addition or not.

They are professional footballers, they can all play the game. It's not possible to be a pro if you're rubbish.

You therefore would expect them to make some sort of positive impact if they are good players. We've had a decent pre-season, there is no need for the new guys - mainly experienced pro's - to need to take a long time to bed in.

You could possibly excuse WIlliams and Bridge but this is Williams 3rd or 4th year of being on the fringe. You may well be right and we just don't play his way, but by the time they've all settled in with a cuppa, nice little chat and are ready to knuckle down, it'll be September and we will have nil points. Metaphoric of course, but I'm sure you get the point.

Oxley is potentially an SPL keeper, Demetriou played many games for a team that was mainly at the top of L1, Cox is an experienced Irish international, King is from a Premier League team and McGlashan has played brilliantly against us before.

There should be at least one of them that can be immediately shown to be a real upgrade on what we have.

So far, there hasn't been and whilst it's only 2 games, the manner of the capitulation has been worrying.

 

[amsemp]

Demetriou about the same as White and O'Neill?

That's surely not a serious comment, is it?

 

[RHB]

I saw the title to this thread and thought 'Great, news at last about very new players'. I'm now very depressed, thank you fbm!

 

[fbm]

Demetriou about the same as White and O'Neill?

That's surely not a serious comment, is it?

Well, he's got different attributes but I haven't seen anything in the Col U friendly or the two Gillingham games that would indicate he's any better or worse all round. They all have different things they bring to the team and they all have different areas of their game that perhaps aren't so solid.

 

[Bromley Blue]

It may well not seem fair, but generally you don't need to see a player 40-50 times to know whether he is a good addition or not.

They are professional footballers, they can all play the game. It's not possible to be a pro if you're rubbish.

You therefore would expect them to make some sort of positive impact if they are good players. We've had a decent pre-season, there is no need for the new guys - mainly experienced pro's - to need to take a long time to bed in.

You could possibly excuse WIlliams and Bridge but this is Williams 3rd or 4th year of being on the fringe. You may well be right and we just don't play his way, but by the time they've all settled in with a cuppa, nice little chat and are ready to knuckle down, it'll be September and we will have nil points. Metaphoric of course, but I'm sure you get the point.

Oxley is potentially an SPL keeper, Demetriou played many games for a team that was mainly at the top of L1, Cox is an experienced Irish international, King is from a Premier League team and McGlashan has played brilliantly against us before.

There should be at least one of them that can be immediately shown to be a real upgrade on what we have.

So far, there hasn't been and whilst it's only 2 games, the manner of the capitulation has been worrying.

I take your point but to be honest, if the team is playing poorly and low on confidence then they can look like totally different players to players in a team thats won 5 on the bounce. So lets see where we are after 12 games. Players will have had a chance to bed in and learn each other's games and thats a decent amount of time also to judge individuals.

I do concede that Phil Brown himself might not last 12 games this season but thats another matter. I agree with those that have said elsewhere that he needs some results from those 2 winnable home games coming up. Ron's not a trigger happy chairman and to be honest IMO thats one of the best things about the guy.

 

[SeaSideDoughnut]

The biggest problem I see in the comparison is the number of players in compared to out.

It's going to be difficult to make the changes needed without depth. There's only so many options available.

[Not a defence of Brown]