4 or 5 new signings!?

by Eddie Hitler Fri Apr 04, 2014 11:36 am

From the Chronic:
...they have already brought well-travelled midfielder Danny Wring into the squad. He was cup-tied for Tuesday’s game but could be involved on Saturday.
“I like what we have squad-wise but we need to get another four or five in,” said Howells. “We’re already looking for those players, so it will be interesting between now and the end of the season."

Are we really looking at an extra 4 or 5 players? What are we looking to achieve exactly? Are we so desperate for a play-off position? Have we won the lottery?

by Luton Roman Fri Apr 04, 2014 12:06 pm

I think extra quality players are required to the squad to push on from here. The reason we are likely to miss out is the number of draws, the lack of goals, and some defensive brittleness at set pieces. As good as our attacking players are they need better supply. I dont see Connolly or Keates offering the consistent quality we need.

by BenE Fri Apr 04, 2014 2:10 pm

I can't imagine Lee means an extra anything apart from quality. Where is the money coming from to improve squad numbers?

by stillmanjunior Fri Apr 04, 2014 2:16 pm

I'll be surprised if we bring them in now. If they have these players in mind now for next season then that's fair enough, forward thinking and that. I'd personally just stick with what we have then sort it out after the Concord game. Would take something special for them to gel, even if we did win every game the play-offs still appears out of reach to me.

I did wonder why Wring didn't feature but the above makes it obvious.

by Luton Roman Fri Apr 04, 2014 2:17 pm

No one is coming now, the transfer and loan periods have expired. They will be identifiyng their target list, if not already spoken to them.

by comrade powell Fri Apr 04, 2014 2:57 pm

presumably some of the present squad will be shown the door to accommodate these 4 or 5 players. i just hope it leads to a more balanced squad next season. will be good to see wring get an outing tomorrow and maybe some of the remaining games will be used to trial some of the under 21s...

by Mcnulty Sat Apr 05, 2014 8:02 pm

Low, Brown and possibly Connolly might well call it a day. I hope Burnell keeps playing as he still is a great organiser for us, with the usual proviso -when fit.

by BenE Sat Apr 05, 2014 8:11 pm

...and suspect passing

by LB Sat Apr 05, 2014 8:56 pm

Presumably we have seen something in Danny Wring that nobody else has, in view of the fact that he seems to have been around for a while but never played at this level.

If we are planning to go with a more youthful approach next season, and I will believe that when it happens, then it seems unlikely that Aaron Brown, Joe Burnell and Josh Low will be around. I agree with an earlier poster that Joe might be worth keeping because of his organising skills, although he doesn't appear to be able to last a whole 90 minutes, and if only Josh Low could always play like he did today... I also wonder, with Chris Allen and Ben Adelsbury looking to have secured two of the midfield places, what the future will be for Adam Connolly.

by the demon headmaster Sat Apr 05, 2014 11:24 pm

I don't think there is a future for Adam.

by stillmanjunior Sat Apr 05, 2014 11:50 pm

I think he will be kept on. Low? Probably not, would say him, Brown and Wilson are near guarantees for being releaseds

by irishroman Sat Apr 05, 2014 11:59 pm

we will finish exactly where the board wanted us to, if financially promotion was out of the question this season then why should that be any different the next and every season for the foreseeable future, surely any players brought in will replace higher earners in the squad...

by Mcnulty Sun Apr 06, 2014 12:34 pm

stillmanjunior wrote:I think he will be kept on. Low? Probably not, would say him, Brown and Wilson are near guarantees for being releaseds

Agree with all this. Forgot about Wilson - he isn't the answer for striker cover. our top two strikers should be guaranteed picks every week and if we need a plan b then Wilson isn't the big target man we'd look for.
Lots of players we would look to retain. 6 weeks ago I thought Adelsbury was average but he has done very well recently. Allen too looked too lightweight but has been excellent in recent games.
Back four? I'd keep them all if we can plus obviously bowman who is not necessarily a defender. he was just what we needed yesterday when Eastbourne were upping their game. really provided an outlet.

by stillmanjunior Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:15 pm

I agree with all that as well (isn't this pleasant Smile

). I think the squad we have now is much stronger than this time a year ago too.

Adelsbury has improved but been so unfortunate with injuries. If he can stay fully fit it'll make a difference, didn't look good when he came off yesterday.

by comrade powell Sun Apr 06, 2014 6:14 pm

stillmanjunior wrote: I think the squad we have now is much stronger than this time a year ago too.

yes, i agree. for me, the big difference are the front 2. even when they are not scoring regularly, they are a real handful for defences. i thought pratt's season was epitomized by the way he charged down the keeper's clearance in the last minute yesterday. if wlashy stays, he could well solve the problem we've had for some time in central defence and young players like bowman and allen should only improve. a similar goals return from stearn next season would be very welcome, but his body language yesterday suggested he had run out of patience over being left out. if he's not around, we'll certainly need to look for someone with similar pace. as others have said, a target man would compliment the other strikers nicely (but not hemmings!)

where do you think the squad needs strengthening?

by Mcnulty Sun Apr 06, 2014 6:25 pm

where do you think the squad needs strengthening?

Another guy of the same sort of stature as Walsh /Adelsbury would be handy in central defence. I don't know if we have the luxury of having such a person as a squad player but I feel we are at a serious disadvantage on set plays if Walsh doesn't meet it and Mellor doesn't claim.

Elsewhere I don't actually think we need much. Possibly a big target man as I have said but Watkins and Pratt would be first choice every time.
Its really a depth issue. I actually think our first 11 (whatever that is) can beat pretty much any team in the division. When a few of those are out injured we struggle badly at times. I think the management's decision to go for quality is actually a good one. We dropped points several times at home when we shouldn't have and ought really to be pushing for the play offs ( I think we've had it on that front).
We were almost there this year and credit is due for the generally exciting displays. Only complaint I have is I'd like to see a bit more of young Stearn and the even younger Bowman. I think they both add something to the team even if its coming on for the last 20-30 minutes when the opposition is tired. hopefully we retain most of the current first XI and I wouldn't have felt the same way at the end of the last two seasons.

by the demon headmaster Sun Apr 06, 2014 6:38 pm

A strong target man as others have suggested,although one with a bit of pace too. A younger Jo Burnell sweeper type player,another utility defender, a ball winning midfielder, to keep almost all the current squad. A goalkeeping coach, and all these players to have height.

by Eddie Hitler Sun Apr 06, 2014 7:39 pm

the demon headmaster wrote:A strong target man as others have suggested,although one with a bit of pace too. A younger Jo Burnell sweeper type player,another utility defender, a ball winning midfielder, to keep almost all the current squad. A goalkeeping coach, and all these players to have height.

a ball winning midfielder - deffo. A young Lewis Hogg.

by BenE Mon Apr 07, 2014 9:10 am

If you had asked two months ago then Adelsbury and Allen would have been my favourites to go. Now they are two of the most important players.

It is clear we can only strengthen by shifting players out. Unfortunately the older players ought to be the ones to make way and that's not because they don't do a job but because we need to improve and that's the only way we can afford it.

We need a big target man. Low has been played in that position a couple of times and it is obviously in Adie/Archie's mind. We could do with an out and out left back. If only Mitchell were bigger. I don't agree that we need a midfield ball winner, what we need is someone who can pick up the ball in midfield and pick out a pass rather than lumping it over the top (although that may be counter to the management's intention for how we play). We need another big defender.

by comrade powell Mon Apr 07, 2014 11:08 am

yes, we get the message, Big Ben! Cool

by stillmanjunior Mon Apr 07, 2014 11:34 am

I found it a mystery last Tuesday that Mitchell didn't get on. Brown was having one of those nights, should have given him a run-out. Or maybe they were going to bring him on for extra-time, I don't know. He's a decent player.

by BenE Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:12 pm

comrade powell wrote:yes, we get the message, Big Ben!

I mention size with regard Mitchell because Adie has made disparaging comments before about players being too small.

With regard the other positions I am quite weary of seeing us
a) never winning a header in midfield
b) rarely having anyone on the end of a cross in attack
c) conceding headed goals especially from set pieces

I put this down to the height of the team.

by comrade powell Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:45 pm

BenE wrote:
comrade powell wrote:yes, we get the message, Big Ben!

I mention size with regard Mitchell because Adie has made disparaging comments before about players being too small.

With regard the other positions I am quite weary of seeing us
a) never winning a header in midfield adelsbury's department
b) rarely having anyone on the end of a cross in attack agreed, and needs fixing this summer!
c) conceding headed goals especially from set pieces wlashy's dept

I put this down to the height of the team.

by BenE Tue Apr 08, 2014 8:38 am

comrade powell wrote:
BenE wrote:
comrade powell wrote:yes, we get the message, Big Ben!

I mention size with regard Mitchell because Adie has made disparaging comments before about players being too small.

With regard the other positions I am quite weary of seeing us
a) never winning a header in midfield adelsbury's department what happens when adelsbury is injured - out of form - not in the right area of the pitch?
b) rarely having anyone on the end of a cross in attack agreed, and needs fixing this summer!
c) conceding headed goals especially from set pieces wlashy's dept as for adelsbury

I put this down to the height of the team.

by comrade powell Tue Apr 08, 2014 9:28 am

If the management think that Adelsbury is not considered adequate at fulfilling the role, there seems little point in him being retained. To me, he has certainly looked a lot more effective recently and deserves to be here next season. I would not have been saying that before Xmas...

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