If we’ve got a saleable player and we can get a good price for him, there’s no harm in selling him, it’s the way a club like ours has to be run. If you don’t do that, you’re going to struggle to get those players to join the club in the first place.
Already 2 CB’s down, RB down, best striker down and possibly best midfielder heading out. And into the mix we have a shite GK who keeps dropping clangers.
I see a top 6 finish this season.
On a more serious note, if we sell Eisa and use that money to sign 3 players then so be it, if we sell him and sit on the money, I’ll have a serious problem with moving him on.
Now, if we’re clever with the money..sign a CB, RB and possibly a GK, if Swann comes to his sense then fair enough.
Come to think of it, you take Van Veen out upfront…we have no depth up there either. Be an interesting old season this.
I was optimistic but with these injuries it’s dawned on me that the strength and depth just isn’t there. I think I was kidding myself that the kids would be enough but now the season’s starting and the reality is hitting home with these injuries I fear I may have been extremely naive.
I’ll be crossing everything we get a few players in at least before the season starts.
Hope I’m wrong but I’d say it was the club who are extremely naive.
We know we are threadbare and inexperienced in defence but let’s have a look at midfield.
Experience in Colclough, Eisa & Gilliead, fair enough. But then we have a host of similar, yet to prove themselves, youngsters. Dales, Hallam, Beestin, Vincent, Spence, Hornshaw and Pugh. Seven basically chasing one position. Surely it would have made more sense to cut that seven down to 3/4 and bring in a bit of experience.
Similarly the forwards. KvV is (was) our go to striker with McAtee his obvious replacement. But who partners him? Jarvis, Olomola, Green, Mooney, Silva? Again, seven players chasing two positions.
A balanced squad it ain’t. If Eisa was given shirt number 11 then I doubt we were looking to sell. So if the OP has any credence then perhaps it’s because the club has realised we have a platoon of rookies but no sergeant major!
I get what you mean, it appears we’ve gone down the quantity over quality route. I’d rather have 4 strikers who are a bit more of known quantities, instead we have 6 or 7 and they’re all of a similar standing.
You never know our unknowns may turn out to be the next crop of top talents we sell on in the future, awfully risky though taking the approach we’re doing.
Swann seems to think you can replicate Crewe Alexandra and field a team full of kids but the big difference is that that’s been their ethos now for years and years and they’re fully geared up for that approach.
Completely changing tack and doing what we’re doing is starting to give me nightmares for what could be in store.
If, and this is a big if, we sign an experienced CB, RB and Gk before a ball is kicked then we’ll be ok but a young team like this needs an experienced spine. Expecting to do what Crewe is doing all i one go is more than a bit dicey.
There must be players out there on free’s we can look at surely ?. I hope something is done anyway, if not then I genuinely do fear for us.
Fingers crossed it all comes together…we seriously need experience now though.
but Crewe didn’t have a team full of kids Burny, Olly Lancashire, Eddie Nolan, Daniel Powell, Chris Porter, Paul Green and Nicky Hunt were all experienced players.
A few observations following earlier posts:-
FBs – we have 3 for 2 positions, 1 permacrock & 2 inexperienced
CBs – 4 for 2 positions, ideal number except that 2 are injured and only 1 has much league experience, can’t see anything other than a short-term loan to cover.
WMFs – 5 for 2 positions, 1 too many, all right footed. (I’ve got Green & Dales in there)
CMFs – 6 for 2 positions, too many, minimal league experience.
Ss – 5 for 2 positions, too many as we would have Eisa/Green in an emergency.
Suggestions:-
GK – Sign one, loan out youngster.
FB – Sign one/two
CB – re-sign Song’o
WMF – One out (Not Eisa/Gillead)
CM – Loan out two youngsters, sign one experienced ( see CB also)
S – One out.
Total – 7 out 6/7 in. Over to you Mr. Chairman.
but Crewe didn’t have a team full of kids Burny, Olly Lancashire, Eddie Nolan, Daniel Powell, Chris Porter, Paul Green and Nicky Hunt were all experienced players.
They had experience in their squad but from the middle of the season towards the end, the team picked was largely kids.
Songo’o was a decent enough player but he suffered his fair share of injuries too. Is there one out there who experienced, without a club who doesn’t pick up injuries ever week or two ?
The thing about Crewe was that their young players had been playing together for a few years before making the first team. Most of ours likely to be in L2 were strangers until a couple of weeks ago.
Sutton ain’t here no longer, which is even harder to fathom out given that we have brought in several midfielders with less experience than Levi (who could also play RB of course).
Butroid will be the most experienced defender with 26 appearances and he’s not yet 22!
I find it a bit odd we let Sutton leave, especially given how versatile he was. Swann and co then decide to re sign Clarke as captain even though he’ll most likely be out for 70% of the season.
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