[The Earl of Chesterfield]

plannerj, on 23 March 2025 - 09:17 AM, said:

I don’t get this. What, in particular, is the problem with Boot that would prevent him being offered a contract extension and being our number 1 keeper? Come on, spell it out!


I don’t get this. What, in particular, is the problem with Boot that would prevent him being offered a contract extension and being our number 1 keeper? Come on, spell it out!

Boot was previously dropped for a number of cock-ups.

The same inconsistencies which saw many of the non league players sidelined.

For what it's worth Boot's an okay reserve 'keeper, but we need higher quality to progress...

[Phil V 72]

jack bauer, on 22 March 2025 - 09:21 PM, said:

palmer has been excellent since he came back in and just what we needed, as for new contract... not sure and grimes may have the edge on account of being left sided, we take dunkley (presumably) into next season, unsure what will happen with williams, then there's fadz,

We’ll end the season with only Dunkley at CB who is under contract. That leaves decisions to be made about McFadz, Williams, Grimes and Palmer.

I know we only saw a bit of him but I’d be tempted to offer McFadz another year, he looked like the organiser we need. Williams I suspect we will support him all we can but it’s looking like a long time until he’s going to be able to play football.

Grimes and Palmer will probably be looking for 2 year deals, but suspect we might not offer them that so wouldn’t be surprised one or both will shop around for a longer deal. The other consideration is that Naylor can fill in at CB if required so we do have a bit of cover there.

Total guess, but I think a left sided CB will be one of the priorities in the close season and Grimes will be off back to NL. Prior to his return I’d have said Palmer would be on his way too but he’s certainly put food for thought in the manager’s mind.

[Osborne again]

Phil V 72, on 23 March 2025 - 12:08 PM, said:

We’ll end the season with only Dunkley at CB who is under contract. That leaves decisions to be made about McFadz, Williams, Grimes and Palmer.

I know we only saw a bit of him but I’d be tempted to offer McFadz another year, he looked like the organiser we need. Williams I suspect we will support him all we can but it’s looking like a long time until he’s going to be able to play football.

Grimes and Palmer will probably be looking for 2 year deals, but suspect we might not offer them that so wouldn’t be surprised one or both will shop around for a longer deal. The other consideration is that Naylor can fill in at CB if required so we do have a bit of cover there.

Total guess, but I think a left sided CB will be one of the priorities in the close season and Grimes will be off back to NL. Prior to his return I’d have said Palmer would be on his way too but he’s certainly put food for thought in the manager’s mind.

I'd be surprised if Grimes doesn't get a contract at a league two club, if we don't offer him anything.
Macfadzean will definitely be here, he's just pure class. He was on the bench for a very decent Championship club before he came here, and I can't see him coming until the end of the season, not when he could have been dragging a very decent wage from Blackburn Rovers.

[dtp]

Phil V 72, on 23 March 2025 - 12:08 PM, said:

We’ll end the season with only Dunkley at CB who is under contract. That leaves decisions to be made about McFadz, Williams, Grimes and Palmer.

I know we only saw a bit of him but I’d be tempted to offer McFadz another year, he looked like the organiser we need. Williams I suspect we will support him all we can but it’s looking like a long time until he’s going to be able to play football.

Grimes and Palmer will probably be looking for 2 year deals, but suspect we might not offer them that so wouldn’t be surprised one or both will shop around for a longer deal. The other consideration is that Naylor can fill in at CB if required so we do have a bit of cover there.

Total guess, but I think a left sided CB will be one of the priorities in the close season and Grimes will be off back to NL. Prior to his return I’d have said Palmer would be on his way too but he’s certainly put food for thought in the manager’s mind.

There has to be a question mark regarding Dunkley. Yes, he remains under contract but will he be allowed to play from the off next season? If not, when?

We cannot go into next season not knowing when our first choice RCB is going to be able to play. This situation needs resolving one way or the other. Dunkley is an ageing RCB as are both MacFadzean and Palmer. For me, we do not want both Dunkley and MacFadzean. It has to be one or the other. Palmer is proving his capabilities but would only be back up should our first choice is injured. Currently, he is playing because Dunkley, MacFadzean and, indeed, Williams are not fit enough.

That is the conundrum Cook is faced with. Not an easy one but it has to be addressed.

LCB is a different scenario. We only have the ageing Grimes and the young Araujo on loan. Grimes as second choice. Sometimes Dunkley was on the left of Naylor but the plan seems to have been to play Araujo on the left of Dunkley. However, injuries prevented that plan taking shape. Pace is an issue with our ageing CBs and Araujo has this when fit. Unfortunately, like his Fulham mate, Tanton, Araujo has shown that injuries and the time it takes to recover from them is not just for the older players.

I think we might have had 6 or 7 players play RB this season and 4 at LB too. Having a settled defence is important for consistency. Hopefully, next season will provide this.

[boot]

dtp, on 23 March 2025 - 12:52 PM, said:

There has to be a question mark regarding Dunkley. Yes, he remains under contract but will he be allowed to play from the off next season? If not, when?

We cannot go into next season not knowing when our first choice RCB is going to be able to play. This situation needs resolving one way or the other. Dunkley is an ageing RCB as are both MacFadzean and Palmer. For me, we do not want both Dunkley and MacFadzean. It has to be one or the other. Palmer is proving his capabilities but would only be back up should our first choice is injured. Currently, he is playing because Dunkley, MacFadzean and, indeed, Williams are not fit enough.

That is the conundrum Cook is faced with. Not an easy one but it has to be addressed.

LCB is a different scenario. We only have the ageing Grimes and the young Araujo on loan. Grimes as second choice. Sometimes Dunkley was on the left of Naylor but the plan seems to have been to play Araujo on the left of Dunkley. However, injuries prevented that plan taking shape. Pace is an issue with our ageing CBs and Araujo has this when fit. Unfortunately, like his Fulham mate, Tanton, Araujo has shown that injuries and the time it takes to recover from them is not just for the older players.

I think we might have had 6 or 7 players play RB this season and 4 at LB too. Having a settled defence is important for consistency. Hopefully, next season will provide this.

The harsh reality is that for whatever reason - age, bad luck, injuries, medical history - the squad has been massively depleted most of the season - that needs to change.
Advice to a young Alex Ferguson with the ambition to be a manager, and on a coaching course. The wise old manager Jimmy Sirrel told him- "Don't let the buggers' contracts all go to the same year or you're knackered, and ALWAYS BUY PLAYERS WHO PLAY EVERY WEEK. " ( Ally McCoist meets Alex Ferguson)

[Wooden Spoon]

dtp, on 23 March 2025 - 09:58 AM, said:

I will repeat what I have said before -

In my opinion we will not get a better No2 than Ryan Boot and on that basis I would offer him another contract.

However, I do think we could get a better No1, and that should be our target. But, to date, I am not sure we have found better since he has been with us.

Cook was lucky to have Tommy Lee during his first spell with us. Fortunately, Tommy rarely missed a game because whoever was our No2 at that time seemed to struggle when called upon.

Boot, in comparison, is reliable when chosen and professional when not chosen. If he was to leave does anybody think we can sign 2 keepers better than him?

You’re right, he is a decent keeper for L2. But not a top keeper for this level or decent in L1. As a No2 he’s more than capable of stepping in if called upon.

[lindo-spireite]

Another good performance today, he’s giving himself a serious chance of being number one next season.

[Tha Knows...]

lindo-spireite, on 29 March 2025 - 05:58 PM, said:

Another good performance today, he’s giving himself a serious chance of being number one next season.

He deserves another contract but we should also be looking for a better keeper. Where possible we want better players in every position, obviously.

[danblue]

Good keepers in their prime are costly and like rocking horse dirt.
Younger keepers on loan are learning on the job
Older more experienced keepers on the tail end of their career are just that
I'd be more than happy with Boot in-between the sticks next season

Boot has shown his loyalty (when Tyrer was here) and he's improved his game to suit what Cook wants from a keeper.
It's a no brainer for me

[Blue5]

danblue, on 29 March 2025 - 06:25 PM, said:

he's improved his game to suit what Cook wants from a keeper.
It's a no brainer for me

I wish that I could agree with you, but I'm not convinced.

As I see it, one of the biggest strengths we require from a keeper is the ability to release the ball early and I think it's Ryan's biggest weakness.

Ryan might be here next season, but not as our first choice keeper.

[danblue]

Blue5, on 29 March 2025 - 07:02 PM, said:

I wish that I could agree with you, but I'm not convinced.

As I see it, one of the biggest strengths we require from a keeper is the ability to release the ball early and I think it's Ryan's biggest weakness.

Ryan might be here next season, but not as our first choice keeper.

It's all about opinions 🙂
I'll just say this...
A good keeper will earn you points. How many points has Boot earned us?
Without trawling though footage and results, off the top of my head, he's earned us a fair few - like today with another one on one save

[Westbars Spireite]

He's saved a one on one in all of the last 5 games.

[HaslandBlue58]

Westbars Spireite, on 29 March 2025 - 07:41 PM, said:

He's saved a one on one in all of the last 5 games.

I assume the downside to that is how exposed he has been with our defensive frailties?

[Westbars Spireite]

We've conceded 3 goals in the last 6 games so I don't think we can say we have frailties right now.

[Osborne again]

In my opinion, Ryan Boot is a decent keeper, and much improved on the keeper we brought in. The one thing he needs to improve on is his punching. As for releasing the ball early, we tend to pull everyone back when defending, so it isn't always feasible to release the ball early. Boot has to recognise when to release or when to hold the ball, but his teammates have to give him that opportunity.

[prolurker]

Boot is not the returning player that’s made the biggest difference.

Palmer looks 5 years younger!

[dtp]

prolurker, on 29 March 2025 - 09:20 PM, said:

Boot is not the returning player that’s made the biggest difference.

Palmer looks 5 years younger!

It must be his new haircut.

But, I agree, for a player returning from injury and a long time out he has been very good.

He has certainly made me think that we do have some good and professional squad players and it is just the first choice starting 11 which needs improvement.

This post has been edited by dtp: 29 March 2025 - 10:07 PM

[danblue]

The Earl of Chesterfield, on 23 March 2025 - 10:13 AM, said:

Boot was previously dropped for a number of cock-ups.

The same inconsistencies which saw many of the non league players sidelined.

For what it's worth Boot's an okay reserve 'keeper, but we need higher quality to progress...

I think the cock ups were down to Cook wanting Boot to play a particular way to which he was not used to.
To me, Boot has taken this on board and worked to improved in those weaker parts of his game.
He's added these strings to his bow taking him from good NL keeper to good L2 keeper.

[jack bauer]

danblue, on 29 March 2025 - 10:30 PM, said:

I think the cock ups were down to Cook wanting Boot to play a particular way to which he was not used to.
To me, Boot has taken this on board and worked to improved in those weaker parts of his game.
He's added these strings to his bow taking him from good NL keeper to good L2 keeper.

boot is 30 so possibly coming into his best years as a keeper, last season he played the role of back up extremely well, i think he showed some frustration this season when he lost his place to tommo, he got it back again and i recall a game where he didn't play great and got frustrated with a section of the fans, but since his latest recall he has shown what a good pro he is, he has done his job, no he has done an excellent job and earned us positions in games to go on and win, making crucial saves at crucial times, i think of all our OOC players he has done as much as anyone to get a new deal.

[HaslandBlue58]

Westbars Spireite, on 29 March 2025 - 08:22 PM, said:

We've conceded 3 goals in the last 6 games so I don't think we can say we have frailties right now.

So many one on ones in a short period of time would suggest a lack of defender support?Not having a dig, just the way we play with not necessarily the quality of players needed to play that way.A needs must season, with the majority of our luck being bad.