[jack bauer]

i wanted to pose this question a few games ago but for whatever reason decided not to, opening statement because this is not a reaction to losing at home to Bromley.
The question is let's assume we remain in the play offs (we won't make top spot) and we win through to gain a place in league 2 next season, how close is this squad to being able to compete at that level? how many of our players could realistically cut it right now? i would suggest that the recent injuries we've heard of may mean that the likes of Hollis and asante may not play much a meaninful part next season, the latter i think would be fine in league 2.

of our current squad how many do we see as being players able to compete a league above? i always feel that when going for promotion the majority of your current squad should be players you would trust to mix it at the next level. i'm not offering any answers here but questioning how close we are to that point. i think we have some players who would be fine, but do we have enough? not convinced, a year from now i'd like to think James Rowe can replace the definitely nots with yes's. discuss....

[Wooden Spoon]

jack bauer said:

1618695423[/url]' post='1575531']
i wanted to pose this question a few games ago but for whatever reason decided not to, opening statement because this is not a reaction to losing at home to Bromley.
The question is let's assume we remain in the play offs (we won't make top spot) and we win through to gain a place in league 2 next season, how close is this squad to being able to compete at that level? how many of our players could realistically cut it right now? i would suggest that the recent injuries we've heard of may mean that the likes of Hollis and asante may not play much a meaninful part next season, the latter i think would be fine in league 2.

of our current squad how many do we see as being players able to compete a league above? i always feel that when going for promotion the majority of your current squad should be players you would trust to mix it at the next level. i'm not offering any answers here but questioning how close we are to that point. i think we have some players who would be fine, but do we have enough? not convinced, a year from now i'd like to think James Rowe can replace the definitely nots with yes's. discuss....

Without Asante, we’d really struggle to score goals in L2 we’d be in a similar position to the yellow stain bottom 6



Rowe has his work cut out now, to find a replacement of the same calibre and the same salary bracket

This post has been edited by DEATH: 17 April 2021 - 09:46 PM

[spireitetoo]

Will the lad from Gloucester be brought in now?

[jack bauer]

spireitetoo, on 17 April 2021 - 09:43 PM, said:

Will the lad from Gloucester be brought in now?

i suppose the answer to that will be dependent upon the type of signing it is. if we buy him then maybe yes, if we intend to play him as a short term loan in effect why would Gloucester agree to it? they could risk losing a key player to injury for next season, it has to be made worth their while. our forward options without asante currently would not inspire me in league 2

[spireitetoo]

jack bauer, on 17 April 2021 - 09:46 PM, said:

i suppose the answer to that will be dependent upon the type of signing it is. if we buy him then maybe yes, if we intend to play him as a short term loan in effect why would Gloucester agree to it? they could risk losing a key player to injury for next season, it has to be made worth their while. our forward options without asante currently would not inspire me in league 2

Our forward options don't inspire in this league now asante is injured.... we can forget league 2 for another yr.

[jack bauer]

i'll offer my an answer to my own question and wait for the bullets to fly.

keeper smith - yesish
carline - think so
taylor - yes
kerr - yes
gunning - yesish
clarke - ? erm go on then
wheelan - yes i think so
asante - yes

rest - not sure to no

[dim view]

jack bauer, on 17 April 2021 - 10:36 PM, said:

i'll offer my an answer to my own question and wait for the bullets to fly.

keeper smith - yesish
carline - think so
taylor - yes
kerr - yes
gunning - yesish
clarke - ? erm go on then
wheelan - yes i think so
asante - yes

rest - not sure to no

Good topic.
Discounting any age considerations, I think our CM's :- McCourt, Smith, Weston, Oyeleke
Our goalie :- Smith
Our defenders :- Carline, Hollis, Kerr, Gunning, Whittle
Our forwards :- Asante, Tyson

are all good enough to make up a squad.

I'm approaching the stage where I could have an outright argument with JR about how much better Rowley is than either Clarke or Mandeville. He has got to be given a chance now.

Then there's a group : Maguire, Whelan, Yarney, Denton who in my opinion have question marks about the step up.

Then there's another group : Taylor, Rawson, Sharman, Mitchell who we've not seen enough of.

So, at present we are in a period of uncertainty about our overall playing quality but I comfort myself in the knowledge that that uncertainty doesn't extend to my trust in the owners and the management, unlike in previous poisonous seasons. So we've just got to let things evolve.

This post has been edited by dim view: 18 April 2021 - 07:17 AM

[Wooden Spoon]

jack bauer, on 17 April 2021 - 10:36 PM, said:

i'll offer my an answer to my own question and wait for the bullets to fly.

keeper smith - yesish
carline - think so
taylor - yes
kerr - yes
gunning - yesish
clarke - ? erm go on then
wheelan - yes i think so
asante - yes

rest - not sure to no

Nothing wron with that assessment

[DerbySpireite59]

spireitetoo, on 17 April 2021 - 10:24 PM, said:

Our forward options don't inspire in this league now asante is injured.... we can forget league 2 for another yr.

Perhaps then, now's the time to try and win games 3-2 rather than 1-0?

[metallilad]

jack bauer, on 17 April 2021 - 10:36 PM, said:

i'll offer my an answer to my own question and wait for the bullets to fly.

keeper smith - yesish
carline - think so
taylor - yes
kerr - yes
gunning - yesish
clarke - ? erm go on then
wheelan - yes i think so
asante - yes

rest - not sure to no

I'd definitely add both Whittle and Maguire.
Whittle is good enough already and Maguire (I'm confident) will grow into league two standard easily should we ever get back.

[dtp]

I don't see the point of this thread really.

Come the end of the season we will know what league we are in. Something like 17 players are out of contract plus 4 players on loan to us. Whichever league we are in new signings will be made to strengthen the squad according to that league. If we are lucky enough to rise to L2 then our budget might increase accordingly with the increased guaranteed revenues.

Of the players we have already signed up for next season they could all do a job in either league. The real question is how consistently well they can do that job but with better players around them and a proper pre-season under JR some players could show further improvement too.

[dim view]

dtp, on 18 April 2021 - 10:27 AM, said:

I don't see the point of this thread really.

The real question is how consistently well they can do that job but with better players around them and a proper pre-season under JR some players could show further improvement too.

I don't think the topic creator would mind you expanding the discussion in that way if you are bored with it's scope. Have a go.

This post has been edited by dim view: 18 April 2021 - 10:59 AM

[jack bauer]

dim view, on 18 April 2021 - 10:57 AM, said:

I don't think the topic creator would mind you expanding the discussion in that way if you are bored with it's scope. Have a go.

i can never quite understand why people who don't see the point of a thread bother replying to it, there's loads of topics i read on here and think "erm not really sure what to contribute to that" so simply don't bother, doesn't mean the thread isn't worthy of discussion just that i have nothing to say or add to it, each to their own i suppose.

[dtp]

jack bauer, on 18 April 2021 - 11:02 AM, said:

i can never quite understand why people who don't see the point of a thread bother replying to it, there's loads of topics i read on here and think "erm not really sure what to contribute to that" so simply don't bother, doesn't mean the thread isn't worthy of discussion just that i have nothing to say or add to it, each to their own i suppose.

Fair comment.

But, we ain't in league 2. The actual number of players signed up for next season isn't enough to make up a squad for any league so it's a bit like discussing the merits of players yet to come in.

Then, if we think of just one who has departed. I didn't think Letheran was good enough for the NL but Morecambe aren't doing too badly with him as their No1 despite whatever one may think.

Anyway, that's my thoughts for what they are worth. The current squad will be supplemented by more players whichever league we are in and I expect those players to improve us further.

[metallilad]

dtp, on 18 April 2021 - 10:27 AM, said:

I don't see the point of this thread really.

It's a topic that has been added to a debate board. The whole point of the board is to discuss different topics. If we aren't going to do that because there's no point to them then it's going to be a pretty boring debate board.

[dim view]

dtp, on 18 April 2021 - 11:13 AM, said:

Fair comment.

But, we ain't in league 2. The actual number of players signed up for next season isn't enough to make up a squad for any league so it's a bit like discussing the merits of players yet to come in.

Then, if we think of just one who has departed. I didn't think Letheran was good enough for the NL but Morecambe aren't doing too badly with him as their No1 despite whatever one may think.

Anyway, that's my thoughts for what they are worth. The current squad will be supplemented by more players whichever league we are in and I expect those players to improve us further.

What could be more interesting on a footie forum than a debate about which current players could play at a higher level?

[jack bauer]

metallilad, on 18 April 2021 - 09:32 AM, said:

I'd definitely add both Whittle and Maguire.
Whittle is good enough already and Maguire (I'm confident) will grow into league two standard easily should we ever get back.

good shout re: Whittle, i do like him, would just like to see a bit more from him when he gets into the final third, on the occassions where he does back himself he has shown he can be effective at making things happen, quite often for whatever reason he doesn't quite go for it, now that may well be because when watching on stream you can't see the whole picture so perhaps players are not in the box so he has to turn back but as a full back/wing back he's decent.

This post has been edited by jack bauer: 18 April 2021 - 11:54 AM

[frearsghost]

jack bauer, on 17 April 2021 - 09:37 PM, said:

i wanted to pose this question a few games ago but for whatever reason decided not to, opening statement because this is not a reaction to losing at home to Bromley.
The question is let's assume we remain in the play offs (we won't make top spot) and we win through to gain a place in league 2 next season, how close is this squad to being able to compete at that level? how many of our players could realistically cut it right now? i would suggest that the recent injuries we've heard of may mean that the likes of Hollis and asante may not play much a meaninful part next season, the latter i think would be fine in league 2.

of our current squad how many do we see as being players able to compete a league above? i always feel that when going for promotion the majority of your current squad should be players you would trust to mix it at the next level. i'm not offering any answers here but questioning how close we are to that point. i think we have some players who would be fine, but do we have enough? not convinced, a year from now i'd like to think James Rowe can replace the definitely nots with yes's. discuss....

I was thinking this against Sutton who were the closest, defensively, I've seen to an average L2 side this season. We struggled to break them down, a situation which we have seen become more frequent.

We have some good players - at this level - but for those who remember League Two football, the players and standards are much better. Breaks my heart to think so but I think this squad would struggle. Better players would be required.

Desperate as we all are to get out of this **** league, JR is a success at this level because he knows the league and the players but does he know League Two and have the right players' knowledge and contacts? I'd like to think so but the worse possible scenario would be to go up and come straight back down again.

Then I look at clubs like Donny Rovers, Luton, Bristol Rovers and Leyton Orient, all of whom have fallen into the pit but have re-established themselves and become stable league clubs again.


The Asante injury well mean another season in this awful league because none of the forward signings look like leading the line and making the big difference he did.


Football is a funny game and James Rowe could well build and manage a successful League Two outfit. Let's hope we can get there and worry about it then.

This post has been edited by frearsghost: 18 April 2021 - 03:30 PM

[Siberian Spireite]

I think the current squad may survive in League Two, though I think Rowe will overhaul the squad drastically whether or not we go up.

I don’t think we will go up, as of the moment Asante picked up his injury.

[azul]

Siberian Spireite, on 18 April 2021 - 10:48 PM, said:

I think the current squad may survive in League Two, though I think Rowe will overhaul the squad drastically whether or not we go up.

I don’t think we will go up, as of the moment Asante picked up his injury.

All our real rivals have at least one quality striker. Have we got one currently; perhaps one will step up to the plate, it sometimes happens.

As far as overhauling the squad goes it is much harder now than it was a couple of weeks ago. We have 13 under contract, two who have long term injuries, so his hands are tied somewhat if we adhere to this much heralded wage reduction.

This post has been edited by azul: 19 April 2021 - 12:10 AM