The season ahead

[RHB]

Still too tough to call this for me so far. I've watched just 90 minutes friendly football and 30 minutes of that encouraged me to think 'that was ok and good enough to have a good season'. The remaining 60 minutes has already been deleted from my memory. We're still missing two of our newbie signings so I have no idea what impact they will have on the team, and we're still waiting for Phillip to add to our numbers. So, how/when should I offer an opinion? Maybe 5 games in? What I am confident of is Mr Brown building a team that is fit, sound defensively, and hard to beat. What will that give us? Well that depends on who else he signs.

 

[bluesfansince1952]

If the Dad's Army Tendency can stay fit and play in most of our games I think we will finish at least near the play offs.
How many of them will be able to pay forty games or more? That would be my concern and I see the likes of Ogogo and Murphy as being very difficult to replace should they be out for any prolonged period of time.

 

[Mick]

My expectation are at this current present mid table but that could all change if brown gets 3/4 players in before ball kicked, and I might have few quid on us making the play offs.

Well you won't get very rich with that ! Odds on at the moment.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

One could argue that getting rid of them strengthens the squad! Especially with adding Murphy!

I did say that I didn't rate any of them three so I don't really get your point. I also said that Murphy has a bad injury record so its a real gamble. At the end of the day we need a minimum of two more strikers.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

If the Dad's Army Tendency can stay fit and play in most of our games I think we will finish at least near the play offs.
How many of them will be able to pay forty games or more? That would be my concern and I see the likes of Ogogo and Murphy as being very difficult to replace should they be out for any prolonged period of time.

Out of interest, where do you think we'll get the goals from with only Murphy and Rush as our strikers and no goal scoring midfielders added 'AS YET'? What makes you think we might get near the playoffs? Genuinely interested to try and understand.

Don't get me wrong, with 4 or 5 decent signings things could look a lot better but IMO, the squad as it stands is a pile of crap.

 

[Shrimpergonzo]

I did say that I didn't rate any of them three so I don't really get your point. I also said that Murphy has a bad injury record so its a real gamble. At the end of the day we need a minimum of two more strikers.

I was being facetious! I think your point is well made actually, Rhys Murphy is an excellent acquisition but you're correct, we're still light in the striking department where we needed to upgrade. Comparing like with like I guess it's:

Brandon Goodship - Rhys Murphy
Simeon Akinola - Simeon Akinola (if he stays!)
Emile Acquah - Hamzad Kargbo (if he signs on loan)
Greg Halford - need to replace with a new signing of (much) higher quality
Matt Rush - Matt Rush

Therefore if Akinola stays, Kargbo signs on loan AND we sign another experienced no.9 we'll have the same number of strikers but hopefully they'll be an upgrade on quality.

We need that big no.9 though, and hopefully Phil has someone up his sleeve now that he's told Moore he's not wanted (who I think might have done a job for us).

 

[ColinMorrisWalksOnWater]

When you have the backing financial backing that Wrexham and Stockport have, then I too think top 2 is very, very unlikely. Wrexham have taken all the headlines, and adding Marque signing Paul Mullin, meant Harry Lennon, who isn't an insignificant signing at NL level, never got a mention outside the websites of Wrexham and ourselves. Meanwhile, Stockport's front 2 pairing of Madden and Scott Quigley costing a reputed combined fee of £400k, reference for that is the N-L paper, that shows you the level of intent we are up against. Meanwhile, apart from Murphy, our signings have hardly raised the bar in comparison and with our history of financial mis management, it's no wonder people on here are getting nervous.

There are very confident noises coming out of clubs like Torquay, Notts County and even Dagenham, who, if they steer clear of injuries, look like being play off contenders. This league is going to be tough, make no bones about it and anyone thinking it is going to be a cakewalk, then you need to take a reality check right now.

It looks like once again we will need to steer clear of injuries to have a good run, but I have lots of mates who support the likes of Dagenham, Maidenhead, Dover and our first opponents, Kings Lynn. They all say one thing in common, whilst they are looking forward to playing us and coming to the Hall for a league match, pushovers they won't be and if we turn up with a bunch of ageing show ponies, then we are in for a big shock. Also, so far, none of the signings we have made, or the team we came down with frighten them on paper. As an outsiders view, our strongest tool for this season is seen as PB as he is still admired for his achievements in the game and viewed as a motivator.

For the reasons above I am far from totalling up the chickens in my mates freeholding and I am awaiting a couple more much needed signings, because this is going to be tough and any words of encouragement, patience or intent that Ron Martin may come out with only make me more nervous with his track record at the helm.

I want the season to start, but for us to hit the ground running and at the moment, hesitation, stagnation in squad development, news of yet another signing suffering an injury before he even kicks a ball for us is not filling me with confidence.

Hopefully, these feelings will change in the next week to ten days, but after the last three seasons......I ain't holding my breath!

 

[Loan Shark Linda]

I did say that I didn't rate any of them three so I don't really get your point. I also said that Murphy has a bad injury record so its a real gamble. At the end of the day we need a minimum of two more strikers.

If Murphy is injury prone and we don't bring anyone else in then if he is in the treatment room more than he is on the pitch we will have less strikers than last season!

 

[Strykr]

If Murphy is injury prone and we don't bring anyone else in then if he is in the treatment room more than he is on the pitch we will have less strikers than last season!

To call goodship, halford, akinola, and acquah strikers is a bit of a stretch tbh...

 

[kentblues]

For Wrexham and Stockport there will be huge pressure. The Sunderland’s and Portsmouth’s of the world have missed out regularly despite throwing the money around. Yes they may be at the top- but just as likely they will find themselves in the playoff scrap. Sutton showed you can’t necessarily buy your way out of the NL.
In a way Wrexham and Stockport having a target on their backs every game may take some pressure of us.

 

[Jai]

If your mates think our biggest asset is Phil Brown, personally I would treat their views on football with extreme caution. On the other hand, if they are right, that is a terrifying thought.

 

[Paulie Walnuts]

For Wrexham and Stockport there will be huge pressure. The Sunderland’s and Portsmouth’s of the world have missed out regularly despite throwing the money around. Yes they may be at the top- but just as likely they will find themselves in the playoff scrap. Sutton showed you can’t necessarily buy your way out of the NL.
In a way Wrexham and Stockport having a target on their backs every game may take some pressure of us.

Exactly that and the fact Wrexham have signed that injury prone joker off us tells me their manager isn’t that great either.

 

[Jonny_Stokes]

Well you won't get very rich with that ! Odds on at the moment.

I will be reinvesting my winnings from last season’s under/over points market (picked you up in June @62 ?) on laying your ridiculous playoff odds.

 

[bluesfansince1952]

When you have the backing financial backing that Wrexham and Stockport have, then I too think top 2 is very, very unlikely. Wrexham have taken all the headlines, and adding Marque signing Paul Mullin, meant Harry Lennon, who isn't an insignificant signing at NL level, never got a mention outside the websites of Wrexham and ourselves. Meanwhile, Stockport's front 2 pairing of Madden and Scott Quigley costing a reputed combined fee of £400k, reference for that is the N-L paper, that shows you the level of intent we are up against. Meanwhile, apart from Murphy, our signings have hardly raised the bar in comparison and with our history of financial mis management, it's no wonder people on here are getting nervous.

There are very confident noises coming out of clubs like Torquay, Notts County and even Dagenham, who, if they steer clear of injuries, look like being play off contenders. This league is going to be tough, make no bones about it and anyone thinking it is going to be a cakewalk, then you need to take a reality check right now.

It looks like once again we will need to steer clear of injuries to have a good run, but I have lots of mates who support the likes of Dagenham, Maidenhead, Dover and our first opponents, Kings Lynn. They all say one thing in common, whilst they are looking forward to playing us and coming to the Hall for a league match, pushovers they won't be and if we turn up with a bunch of ageing show ponies, then we are in for a big shock. Also, so far, none of the signings we have made, or the team we came down with frighten them on paper. As an outsiders view, our strongest tool for this season is seen as PB as he is still admired for his achievements in the game and viewed as a motivator.

For the reasons above I am far from totalling up the chickens in my mates freeholding and I am awaiting a couple more much needed signings, because this is going to be tough and any words of encouragement, patience or intent that Ron Martin may come out with only make me more nervous with his track record at the helm.

I want the season to start, but for us to hit the ground running and at the moment, hesitation, stagnation in squad development, news of yet another signing suffering an injury before he even kicks a ball for us is not filling me with confidence.

Hopefully, these feelings will change in the next week to ten days, but after the last three seasons......I ain't holding my breath!

For Lennon to make any kind of impact he will have to significantly exceed the number of games he has ever played in a season. That might be a tall order.

 

[bluesfansince1952]

Out of interest, where do you think we'll get the goals from with only Murphy and Rush as our strikers and no goal scoring midfielders added 'AS YET'? What makes you think we might get near the playoffs? Genuinely interested to try and understand.

Don't get me wrong, with 4 or 5 decent signings things could look a lot better but IMO, the squad as it stands is a pile of crap.

If Murphy can play 40 plus games looking at his record it would seem not unreasonable to expect him to score at least twenty goals.
If Holmes, JD and the rest of the veterans can stay injury free and avoid any age related dip in their performance levels I think this squad could grind out sufficient results to challenge for the play offs. If it happens it is unlikely to be pretty.
However, there a lot of ifs involved, and, realistically I think it unlikely.
If Murphy was to make less than twenty appearances and score less than ten goals we might end up fighting for our lives.
While I think 'a pile of crap' might be overstating it there is not a lot of depth to the squad, and, I have always thought it over optimistic to think that age will not catch up with some our players, or, the playing time of some will not be limited by injuries.
I am not that optimistic about our prospects but I thought as a ball has yet to be kicked in anger I should not be negative.
I still stand by what I wrote in that I do believe if the squad can avoid significant injuries, and, Murphy plays sufficiently we will be close to the play offs.
If if if.......as I said a lot of ifs and probably unlikely. But not impossible.

 

[Murkey_Mouse]

We are 1 relegation & Bower & Pitsea are 1 promotion away from playing each other in same league, a side that our U23 beat last night 2-0!

 

[Jai]

I will be reinvesting my winnings from last season’s under/over points market (picked you up in June @62 ?) on laying your ridiculous playoff odds.

Not a bad shout - we are a looooong way off the playoffs with this squad.

 

[Jonny_Stokes]

I will be reinvesting my winnings from last season’s under/over points market (picked you up in June @62 ?) on laying your ridiculous playoff odds.

Aaaaaaaaand that’s numberwang! Never mind, all the best clubs take two years to get back out of Hell ;)