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Tommy2holes

Life President⭐
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
11,419
We are essentially a couple of results from safety.

We have a squad of players who are fairly old or very young. Quite a few who are injury prone and some who quite frankly haven't earned their money with performances.

I don't usually advocate wholesale changes but we have to make quite a few next season.

I have a feeling coker may leave us ( hope he doesnt)
Ferdinand should go
Kiernan should go. Never likely to be fit!
Turner white and Demetriou to stay.
Oxley may leave. Which would be a blow.
I have high hopes for kyprianou and bwomono but maybe a season long loan in the conference would help both mature.

Midfield is literally a minefield.
Brightest spot this season is the emergence of young Drew. I'm sure he will be here next season and we should be looking to keep on improving his game.
Timlin. Committed player. 1 year deal.
Wordy. Pricey and always injured. Release
Wright. Tied down to a deal but I've not seen anything from him yet To suggest first team regular.
Kightly and Macca are contracted
McGlashan should be moved on.

Up top is our biggest problem area.

How many league goals have our strikers scored this season?

Probably about 15 between 6 or so players! Criminal...

Personally i would have a clean sweep.

Cox and Fortune never really look like scoring.
Ladapo and Harrison are not the answer.
Robinson... do I even need to say anything?
Wabo shows promise and should be given some pre season game time.

I would invest some pennies in this area. Find a couple of young and regular scorers in league two or the conference and pay a fee. Sammy smodics at col u would be a start.

I think it's essential that we bring down the average age of the squad. The pressing game which CP likes to employ is impossible to sustain with old legs and a cabbage patch of a pitch.

That brings me onto the next change. Bring in another top groundsman. I have no doubt at all that we have lost points this season due to the state of the pitch. It is an abomination for a league 1 club in the south east. Ffs It needs sorting properly next season.


I do honestly think our future is bright under CP but I think he needs to be bold in the reshaping and rebranding of our style of football. Much like the teams he played in. They attacked with lots of purpose and swagger and I'd like to see the same.

Finally. June and July could be pivotal in the history of the club. We should know before a ball is kicked in the league next season whether we will be allowed to move to FF or not.

As this season dwindles the next looks a big one.

What are your thoughts or suggestions?

UTB
 
SCP has his work cut out, that work starts now with getting our survival first and after we know what’s going on there then we can start planning to rebuild. It could be a whole different story if god forbid we got relegated. I don’t think it will happen but it’s still possible at the moment so until we are safe next season won’t be in his mind.

I do agree wholesale changes are required, we need more upfront, need more cover in defence and we need to ditch all of these injury prone players. We need a settled 11 for next season that we can trust and rely on.

Oxley would be a great loss as his turn around since signing has been magnificent. The amount of times I read ‘great save’ or ‘superb double save’ this season is unreal. But remember we still have Ted Smith somewhere and if we lose Oxley I wouldn’t be upset if he was his replacement.

Our striking department is where we are seriously lacking at the moment. Fortune is old and pops up every now and again. Cox seems to be on a real dry spell, Robinson doesn’t seem to fit the bill. Then you have Ladapo and Harrison who haven’t really impressed. So a huge overhaul and the only two I would keep hold of is Cox and Fortune, obviously Wabo too.

Sammy Smodics is someone we would never sign as Bournemouth were rumoured to be trying to sign him for £1m. Even if not true he will be snapped up by a champ club.

Where SCP gets his players from will be interesting, we knew with PB he would normally sign players who’ve already played for us. I don’t know what SCP’s transfer policy was like a previous clubs.

I think this will be best to look at again once we are mathematically safe, then SCP can start vetting the players and deciding who to keep and who to bin, I do agree though a huge overhaul is required.
 
52/53/54/55 points (dependent on your view of safety) then I feel a poll coming on. Woo Hoo!
 
Safety doesn't concern me in the slightest. Although i think we will suffer a few more defeats for sure.

We have more than enough quality to stay ahead of the rest of the relegation pack.
 
Safety should concern you Tommy. We're not there yet and I can't see us getting any points out of our matches with Plymouth, Blackburn or Bradford City and I can imagine us failing to gain points at Oxford and at an Oldham team battling to avoid relegation. That leaves our home matches against MK Dons (a must win), Rotherham, Gillingham and Bristol Rovers. I reckon 53 or 54 points. We will, I think, be safe but it sure ain't nailed on. SCP doesn't seem to know his best team at the moment and our strikers can't score......

For next year I would obviously hope to keep Oxley, Coker, Turner, White, Demetriou, Kyprianou, Yearwood, Timlin, Wordsworth, Kightly, McLaughlin, Cox and Fortune. I'd also keep Elvis, Wabo, Ba and even McGlashan whose speed is a useful asset for the last 30 minutes of a match. We need a couple of midfielders and a couple of strikers who can score.
 
One issue is to hopefully keep Wordsworth, his goal scoring record from midfield has greatly helped our points tally since he has been here. His free kick skills once again produced a valuable point yesterday.
 
Are we really talking about next seasons players even before the new kit thread is out:stunned:
 
There are some tough decisions for CP to make. My thoughts on a few, I can see most being retained or aiming to be.

Oxley is the only one I'm really concerned about. His put in good enough performances to turn a head and there's still no news of negotiations. Turner has an option and has been great since coming back from injury. But what if we fall into the ageing defender trap again like with AF or do you take the chance to free up the budget and sign your own player. Coker has an option and it wouldn't surprise me if the club haven't already said in private we'll be exercising that clause. Timlin will probably be offered a year, but at at 32 will push for the more security, so I could see him leaving to find that elsewhere. Wordsworth I don't think we can offer him the deal he wants in length [when players have been offered three years] and monetary value. I would offer him a year with a option to see if he can stay fit.

Upfront is really were wholesale changes need to be made and for anyone that says 'we need to look in the non-league' I'll point you to Ladapo, an example right amongst us that it rarely works out. Shamir Mullings was another one that was turning heads by some posters and he hasn't panned out for him at Forest Green Rovers either. Do we work to retain Cox and build around him or we focus more on trying to find that out-and-out goalscorer?

MAF go on, offer him a pay-a-you-play deal. :smile:

There's a few unknowns for me Smith being one. The other being Hendrie who could maybe flourish under CP management. There's only two dead certain, viable released for me, McGlashan and Ladapo. The other are under contract.
 
Whether we stay up or go down, the only certainty, is that we need to radically change the team.

Oxley and Smith are keepers that are keepers.

Demi and Bwomono are fine.

Coker will suffice and who knows how Hendrie is going to turn out?

Ferdinand and Turner can move on and if we retain their services it says something about our lack of ambition. As good as they can be, we need younger blood, to take us forward.

White can be a versatile player so maybe retain as a squad member.

Kyps, well, whats going on there? Looked to be a solution and is now getting splinters. Still probably worth keeping.

Kiernan, who knows?

Timlin, thanks, but lets aim for better.

Dru, under contract and huge potential.

Wright, keep him, more to come I am sure.

SM, good steady player. Keep.

JM, not up to the required standard.

Kightly, played his best after leaving us and before rejoining us. Bye bye.

Wordy, his fitness cannot be relied on and his absences are too expensive. Shame

Cox, not firing and goes through too many periods of not firing. Time to go.

MAF, has been excellent but to retain him now would be on sentiment. Thanks and bye.

Ladapo, not sure. Would like to see him come good but its an ask.

Harrison, well, if we ever get to see him play in his preferred position, we might be able to cast an opinion.

Wabo, keep.

I think some of our youth set up is likely to see action in the first team next season and we need to blood youngsters that can take us onward. Gaining promotion with old legs means a rebuild after success. Its better to go up with the nucleus of a squad that can perform at the higher level.
 
I love a thread like this! There's plenty of quality in our squad - Powell's got us solid and picking up points without too much trouble, so I don't think it's a complete re-build. He will want to get a few of his own faces in, and he may want to get a few players out for reasons other than what we see on a Saturday. Contract situations may restrict him.

KEEPERS
I'd have thought that OXLEY and SMITH are ones we'd both want to retain unless Powell has someone he'd like lined up. Smith must want first team football soon to move his own career forwards.

DEFENDERS
WHITE is useful to have around whether in the first team or on the bench.
COKER I'd actually be happy to move on, although I suspect we've missed the boat in terms of getting a transfer fee, and Powell making him captain may mean he's one he wants to keep.
DEMETRIOU we'd surely like to retain even though he's not that solid defensively?
TURNER I'd retain if the physios think he's good for another season.
FERDINAND I think is under contract so moving him on may be tricky. Him and Turner at the back will catch up with us if we're not careful and for that reason I'd be happy to see him go.
KYPRIANOU should have ambitions of being much more involved in our team next season - a make or break for him.
KIERNAN needs to go unless physios would put money on him being actively involved.
HENDRIE release him

MIDFIELDERS
YEARWOOD should be under a long contract so we can hopefully get a season or 2 and then some cash.
WRIGHT is a nothing player for me, but seems to be rated by Powell so I suspect will stay.
TIMLIN should be retained as he's 100% committed and I don't think we'd find better on a free transfer.
WORDSWORTH is a quality player on his day but doesn't have his day often enough. A tough call for the management.
KIGHTLY is the best player in the league for me if we can play to his strengths.
McLAUGHLIN is one I'd be happy to move on. Good on his day, but inconsistent, and has never really hit the heights in his time with us.

FORWARDS
COX - like Kightly I think there's quality there which needs using correctly - we'd struggle to recruit better.
FORTUNE - has done a great job for us over the last couple of seasons but it's time for something new.
McGLASHAN - I think there's a player in there, but Powell clearly doesn't rate him so needs to drop a division I think.
LADAPO - probably still getting match fit to be fair, but there's better out there surely.
WABO - seen nothing to suggest he's a league 1 player.
ROBINSON - under contract, but if we can't get him scoring we need to move him on because he offers little else.

So in short that's Coker, Hendrie, Ferdinand, McLaughlin, Fortune, McGlashan, Ladapo, Wabo, out for me, if it can be achieved.
Possibly also Smith, Kiernan, Wordsworth, Robinson.
Leaves plenty of space for new faces!
 
I love a thread like this! There's plenty of quality in our squad - Powell's got us solid and picking up points without too much trouble, so I don't think it's a complete re-build. He will want to get a few of his own faces in, and he may want to get a few players out for reasons other than what we see on a Saturday. Contract situations may restrict him.

KEEPERS
I'd have thought that OXLEY and SMITH are ones we'd both want to retain unless Powell has someone he'd like lined up. Smith must want first team football soon to move his own career forwards.

DEFENDERS
WHITE is useful to have around whether in the first team or on the bench.
COKER I'd actually be happy to move on, although I suspect we've missed the boat in terms of getting a transfer fee, and Powell making him captain may mean he's one he wants to keep.
DEMETRIOU we'd surely like to retain even though he's not that solid defensively?
TURNER I'd retain if the physios think he's good for another season.
FERDINAND I think is under contract so moving him on may be tricky. Him and Turner at the back will catch up with us if we're not careful and for that reason I'd be happy to see him go.
KYPRIANOU should have ambitions of being much more involved in our team next season - a make or break for him.
KIERNAN needs to go unless physios would put money on him being actively involved.
HENDRIE release him

MIDFIELDERS
YEARWOOD should be under a long contract so we can hopefully get a season or 2 and then some cash.
WRIGHT is a nothing player for me, but seems to be rated by Powell so I suspect will stay.
TIMLIN should be retained as he's 100% committed and I don't think we'd find better on a free transfer.
WORDSWORTH is a quality player on his day but doesn't have his day often enough. A tough call for the management.
KIGHTLY is the best player in the league for me if we can play to his strengths.
McLAUGHLIN is one I'd be happy to move on. Good on his day, but inconsistent, and has never really hit the heights in his time with us.

FORWARDS
COX - like Kightly I think there's quality there which needs using correctly - we'd struggle to recruit better.
FORTUNE - has done a great job for us over the last couple of seasons but it's time for something new.
McGLASHAN - I think there's a player in there, but Powell clearly doesn't rate him so needs to drop a division I think.
LADAPO - probably still getting match fit to be fair, but there's better out there surely.
WABO - seen nothing to suggest he's a league 1 player.
ROBINSON - under contract, but if we can't get him scoring we need to move him on because he offers little else.

So in short that's Coker, Hendrie, Ferdinand, McLaughlin, Fortune, McGlashan, Ladapo, Wabo, out for me, if it can be achieved.
Possibly also Smith, Kiernan, Wordsworth, Robinson.

Leaves plenty of space for new faces!

So a possible 12 players out is not a rebuild? You should be a marriage guidance counsellor. Most broken marriages need less putting back together than your squad. :smile:
 
There is quality in our squad, but if you look at our big hitters ( on paper)

Ferdinand: Too old and looks shot
Turner: Solid but missed a chunk and is only going to get slower.
Kightly: Expected a lot more and again at 33 years old his best days are way behind him.
Fortune: Works hard and is a team player but is 35 years old and scores rarely.
Cox: Hugely dissapointing season. A player of his quality should be hitting 15+ league goals.

All of the above have been out shone this season by an 18 year old who most of us hadnt heard of. It's very likely that scouts will already be keeping tabs and i wouldn't be surprised to see a club in the prem offer say 2 million for him either pre season or next. 2 million is peanuts for a shot at a young talent.
 
"What needs to happen for next season to be a success?" Firstly the club needs to define what success is and build a squad accordingly.

Following promotion our goal was to maintain League One status. That was achieved so overall a successful season. Last season our goal was to consolidate our position in League One. Whilst it was frustrating to fall just short of the play-offs we exceeded the expectations of most so overall a successful season.

This season the bar was set higher with the play offs a clear target. Phil Brown also talked up our play off ambitions and the transfer policy of targeting fewer higher quality players (on paper at least) did not work. After flirting with relegation a top half finish could now be considered a success?

So what is a successful season for next year?
 
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