Thetownend.com

Just went through the current squad and its a weird one. A few i have said keep but to be honest it may be a case of best of a bad bunch syndrome as they aren't that good in reality

What you saying, here is mine

Goalkeepers (2)
1. Jack Bycroft - keep
25. Conor Brann keep

Defenders (10)
3. Pharrell Johnson DC keep
4. Tom Clayton Get Rid
5. Frazer Blake-Tracy DLC keep
12. Tom Brewitt  DC get rid
14. Brooklyn Genesini get rid
17. Williams Kokolo keep
18. Reece Devine Put him down
22. Udoka Godwin-Malife keep
24. Conor McCarthy - buy
31. Harrison Minturn - cash in

Midfielders (8)
6. George McEachran get rid
8. Saidou Khan keep
12. Jake Cain loan out
15. Sean McGurk keep
19. Tariq Uwakwe get rid
20. Dawson Devoy unsure
26. Anton Dworzak Loan out
29. Ricky Aguiar get rid

Forwards (6)
7. Zach Elbouzedi unsure
9. Paul Glatzel  keep
10. Harry McKirdy keep if fit
11. Rushian Hepburn-Murphy get rid
23. Aaron Drinan not seen enough
32. Charlie Austin Think he retires

I’ll just name the players I’d release or sell

Clayton
Brewitt
Genesini
Uwakwe
Aguiar
Cain
Austin
Hepburn-Murphy

I’m tempted to say McEachran but sometimes I see a great player in there, so I’d be edging towards keeping him. I’m sure by the time he retires, he would have played most of his career in League One.

If you go through the list and filter it down to those likely to be here next season or who you want to be here it’s actually scary. A squad of 8, 2 of which are keepers.

Goalkeepers (2)
1. Jack Bycroft - keep
25. Conor Brann keep

Defenders (3)
3. Pharrell Johnson DC keep
17. Williams Kokolo keep
22. Udoka Godwin-Malife keep

Midfielders (1)
15. Sean McGurk keep

Forwards (2)
9. Paul Glatzel  keep
23. Aaron Drinan not seen enough

Massive rebuilding job, not necessarily a bad think but also very risky.

I'm a little surprised about McEachran, I really like him, yes he's a little inconsistent and has probably been let down by not having a bit of physical presence around him but personally I'd try and keep him. He's still only 23 so can improve and in the last couple of games under Gunning, I think he's been pretty good.

I like McEachran, but I think it's a question of balancing the midfield. Him, Cain and Devoy are all pretty similar players - good in possession, technical skill, not the biggest. Personally I think McEachran is the best of the three but they're not that far apart. One of them alongside a Khan type box to box and a Grant/Kinsella type destroyer is a nice, balanced midfield, but we keep playing two or three of the same type of player together. If Cain is under contract, I'd probably keep him, but in a straight pick I'd rather have McEachran.

The main question is, out if those we’d like to keep but are OOC, who wants to sign on again.

3 or 4 let go’s try and keep the others and add 4 strong, experienced newbies. Try and keep away from loans.

Franchise fans don’t seem keen on Kemp. Reckon his heart isn’t in it there. Young isn’t pulling up trees either.

I would rather keep McEachran than Devoy.

Can't see Kemp being in L2 next year no matter how badly the rest of the season goes. He's shown what he can do. Jake Young perhaps less so, might be more realistic.

Here's what I'd be looking for next year:

Keepers:
Bycroft
Brann (loan out)
+ 1 first team standard

Defence:
FBT
Kokolo
UGM
Pharrell Johnson
+ 1 experienced CB (McCarthy perhaps unrealistic?)
+ 2x RB
+ 1x LB

Midfield:
McEachran
Khan
Cain
McGurk
+2 CDM
+1 CAM

Forwards:
Glatzel
Drinnan
McKirdy (if released/free) or similar wide player
+1 Austin replacement
+ a better version of RHM

Get rid of Genesini,Devine,Uwakwe,Khan,RHM,Aguilar,Dvorzak,
Try to buy McCarthy, Devoy and McKirdy

I like what I’ve seen of Devoy - don’t quite understand why some don’t rate him.

Same here. I'd definitely be ok with a permanent

Probably because he is not quite Kemp

Devoy isn't bad, he just seems a similar player to what we already have in style and standard, whereas Kemp was something special.

Personally would like to see Redmen Evans get a pro deal, perhaps that pushes Brann out the way?

He just doesn't offer enough.  He is very similar, on what I have seen, to Aguiar.  He is going to have flashes of good play, usually in attack and with space.  However, the game seems to bypass him for large amounts of time - he doesn't make an imprint on the game.  He has zero defensive ability based on performances to date, with that age old midfield problem of watching as play develops around him before reacting.  Yesterdays game for example, was like watching basketball when we were put under any sort of pressure - the midfield was a big gaping hole.

For me, he'd be fighting for the more attacking role in midfield, in which case he is up against McEahran and Cain (as things stand).  I can only see one of those working, and he is the least effective of those three, it seems.  I'd actually not want any of those three in an ideal world and building a squad for promotion.  Our two have been part of a pretty lacklustre midfield for the past year.  They look good when we are on top, they are a liability when any pressure is applied.  Compare them to a Doughty for example, or even a Rose.  I'm not saying jettison them all, just adding Devoy does nothing to solve the issues with our squad.

From what I’ve seen Devoy has more potential than our other midfielders. Potential to be a Luongo type?

Yes, I think this is it. He’s not good defensively and under Flynn that’s what he was being asked to do, which isn’t his game. Stick a physical DM in there and I’m sure will see the best of him. He already seems like he’s enjoying his football a lot more under Gunning.

I’d like a 2024 version of Nile Ranger up top and Anthony Grant in midfield.

It's really interesting how people view the game so differently.

I feel like Devoy has a good weight of pass. You can just sort of tell he's a good player.

He's off the back of an awful time at Franchise. New team, system. This should be his pre season really.

I'd be more than happy if we picked him up on a free.

Are we keeping Dave Clark Five on the tannoy though?

From what I’ve seen we have these players under contract

Jack Bycroft
Pharrell Johnson
Udoka Godwin-Malife
Harrison Minturn
Jake Cain
Sean McGurk
Anton Dworzak
Ricky Aguiar
Paul Glatzel
Aaron Drinan

Would be good to keep Blake-Tracy, Khan & Kokolo.
Clearly it would be great if we could sign McCarthy.

Goalkeepers (2)
1. Jack Bycroft - keep
25. Conor Brann keep

Defenders (10)
3. Pharrell Johnson  keep
4. Tom Clayton Get Rid
5. Frazer Blake-Tracy DLC keep
12. Tom Brewitt  DC get rid
14. Brooklyn Genesini get rid
17. Williams Kokolo get rid
18. Reece Devine get rid
22. Udoka Godwin-Malife keep
24. Conor McCarthy - no chance
31. Harrison Minturn - keep (,loan)

Midfielders (8)
6. George McEachran get rid
8. Saidou Khan - indifferent
12. Jake Cain get rid
15. Sean McGurk keep
19. Tariq Uwakwe get rid
20. Dawson Devoy get rid
26. Anton Dworzak keep (loan)
29. Ricky Aguiar get rid

Forwards (6)
7. Zach Elbouzedi - too early to tell
9. Paul Glatzel  keep
10. Harry McKirdy, no chance
11. Rushian Hepburn-Murphy keep
23. Aaron Drinan too early to tell
32. Charlie Austin player coach but not likely

Think it’s safe to assume Khan will be gone, gut feel says FBT will look to move on as he seemed visibly distressed during the payment fiasco period in November so will probably want a more stable environment.

Goalkeepers (2)
1. Jack Bycroft - keep
25. Conor Brann - never seen him play? Is he a prospect or just a bench filler? How old is Redman Evans?

Defenders (10)
3. Pharrell Johnson - keep
4. Tom Clayton - keep on a short term contract
5. Frazer Blake-Tracy - keep
12. Tom Brewitt - time to go
14. Brooklyn Genesini - would have liked to have seen more of him. Looked ok in limited time but as no one wants to play him we might as well get rid
17. Williams Kokolo - keep
18. Reece Devine - keep on a short term deal
22. Udoka Godwin-Malife - keep
24. Conor McCarthy - do whatever we can to sign
31. Harrison Minturn - Really undecided. I’d probably keep him as a rotational squad player and hope that improves him enough that he reaches decent potential and either we cash in then or he becomes good enough to be first choice CB here

Midfielders (8)
6. George McEachran - keep
8. Saidou Khan - keep
12. Jake Cain - keep
15. Sean McGurk - keep
19. Tariq Uwakwe - let go
20. Dawson Devoy - would have to see vast improvement between now and EOS to consider keeping
26. Anton Dworzak - decent National League loan ideally
29. Ricky Aguiar - Undecided maybe look for a Nation League loan

Forwards (6)
7. Zach Elbouzedi - sign if possible
9. Paul Glatzel - keep
10. Harry McKirdy - sign if we can
11. Rushian Hepburn-Murphy - keep
23. Aaron Drinan - not a clue
32. Charlie Austin - providing he isn’t on a substantial wage I’d keep him. His experience is valuable & with the right game plan I think he still offers something. Would not be worth it if he was on big wages comparatively



I still think we are just a few players short. The problem is we’ve always been the same type of players short. We’ve shuffled the pack around but it’s like swapping hearts with diamonds - they’re still red when  we want some black cards in there…or something like that…

We are all forgetting our loaned out players - Shade and Adeloye. I imagine most will want to keep them?

Redman Evans is a second year scholar so he'll be 17/18 and up for a pro contract.

I'd have to check who the other second years up for a pro deal are but definitely Abu Kanu (may be able to extend his scholarship because of injury as they did with Harvey Fox this year) and Sonny Hart.

Edit: I think second years are Evans, Hart, Kanu, Jaxon Brown, Josh Keyes, Harvey Fox (third year as he had extended). Possibly Alston and Hubbard who definitely played u18 last year but may have been playing up a category


Fwiw I'd like to keep most people with caveats - Clayton and Devine on pay as you play or some sort of highly incentivised deal, Austin assuming he's not on more than an average salary, McEachran similarly. The ones who need to go are fairly obvious - Shade, Genesini, Uwakwe, Adeloye.

Problem with keeping all those defenders we will be exactly where we are this season with a real shit defence

Is our defence that shit today? Kokolo-FBT-McCarthy-UGM doesn't seem that bad, it's just getting no cover at all from midfield.

What Nemo said….

Yet most want Brewitt gone. Don't get that especially as everyone thinks we've "no chance" of signing McCarthy

probably just seeing unrealistic expectations of challenging for promotion and adjusting to suit

I thought he was pretty good early season and would have kept him on that forum. But he's been injury prone and shaky recently which skews opinion.

kokolo - jury out for me

I just think signing McCarthy + Brewitts sub appearance at Newport just showed how erratic Brewitt is when defending.

That erraticness makes all his defending re-active defending rather than pro-active. It means his last second tackles and blocks are good but he should be doing a better job of not letting it get that far in the first place.

I always gave him the benefit of the doubt in our back 3 because the whole set up of that defence isolated Brewitt and was never set up to be solid defensively.

At Newport thought we looked more solid than we had all season till he came on.

Sure, that’s one game but it felt like a real eye opener for me…

I’d rather see him played at DM than CB in truth. Like I don’t see a McCarthy making Brewitt a better defender the same way a Greer made Cuthbert a better defender or a Adi Williams made Ifil a better defender…

Fair enough but to be honest it was a bit of a ridiculous time to bring on a CH just after we'd conceded. Bit of a panic sub? I know KOko had just been booked but I don't think he was injured. Brewitt for me has not generally let us down

I agree with all of that right till the last part, Brewitt came on at Gills in a DMC position and looked totally lost for 12 mins, all over the place.

I appreciate Brewitt had to play when we had no CB defensive options but now we have McCarthy and Johnson for me his time has passed and he needs to move on.

I've said it before about Brewitt, he's a 1 v 1 player - loves getting involved up close and personal.  he does not have the right skillset to defend for a game.  His one game in midfield showed how he could be become and even bigger liability there, chasing around like a puppy.

The problem with reviewing our squad is we have a plethora of players who you'd keep around to flesh out the squad, if we had a first eleven worthy of promotion.  Therefore, Many of them are players you'd want competing for one spot, and they are quite similar.  Take Cain, McEachran and Devoy - one of them is worth keeping.  I don't rate Devoy but the sample size is small - however, regardless, you don't need three of that player.  You need a much better player to be first choice, then one of them to be a rotation option and cover suspensions and injuries. 

Our squad has no sense of planning about it.  There are loads I'd be OK with staying, with the right squad make-up and the same players I'd be happy to lose, assuming the right squad make-up!

Depend what we want from the season i suppose. That back 4 for me personally is nowhere near good enough for a top 7 finish

We have one of the worst defences in the entire football league and people are wanting to keep most of them? Nah.

That is the way i would say it. If i thought it was realistic i would get rid of all of them bar 2 and those 2 i wouldn't be confident of starting every week

It’s not the defenders - it’s the complete lack of defensive midfield cover.

.

I agree. FBT is a very decent centre half for this level.

I had heard a few rumours that he wasn't particularly happy at times this season. I think he's played really well recently so if we can get him tied down onto an extended contract that would be a big statement.

FBT is as good as it gets at this level. Good on the ball, left footed. Dominant in the air.

Yeah he looks exposed in transitions but that's usually because of our lack of defensive structure throughout the team.

He is the absolute least of our problems. I hope he signs.

Yep, FBT is a must keep.

He has said publicly he turned down more money to sign here when he did last season. I hope his enthusiasm for the club is unchanged!

This.

But I fear he has been let down by the club and may look to pastures new in the Summer, huge loss IMO.

Not sure I see FBT in the same light. He’s fine, but eminently replaceable

This has been the problem all season and would be so easily rectified.

I think as fans we can see, or think that is the problem, yet first Flynn and now Gunning, as well as Russell seem to disagree with us.

For me its been a gaping hole in the team all season and most of last season too. Plenty of freebies out there that would do the job I am sure.

I suppose it’s not just having a bespoke DM, it’s the fact the midfielders we do have are all small, slightly built players. There’s no physicality there.

I haven’t bothered to look but do those teams up the top play with DMs?

And Chorley, Garner, Lindsey, Sandro & Morris too to be fair - Garner had Grant but preferred Reed, a much more "in possession" DM and everyone since has used Khan as a DM despite him being a lot more of an all round industrious midfielder than a true screen/destroyer/anchor type.

Completely agree that it seems obvious to me but there must be a reason where so many experienced football people (and Sandro Di Michele) have overlooked it.

Off the top of my head Crewe use Offord and Mansfield Boateng and Wrexham use Evans as DMC's not sure about the rest though.

Absolutely, the only DMC we brought in that specialised in the role really in the last 2 years was Kadji from the Shitheads and he was utterly terrible.

Reed and Kinsella were as you say more possession style DMC but certainly not tough tackers by any way shape or form.

Plus, with the exception again of Kadji, all were midget proportions with zero presence physically.

Kinsella could definitely tackle, but he wasn't super physical and frankly, we barely used him until a month before we sold him again!

I honestly think it just comes down to ability.

Look at the season under Garner, did a midfield of Payne Reed and Williams offer that much protection? We moaned about the likes of Conroy and Baudry but based on the last 2 seasons do we have much better than that

Mansfield use Reed at the base of a diamond - but for starting things off rather than destroying - as we know. Boateng on the right of the diamond but he hasn’t played much at all this season.

Again, Evans at Wrexham starts things off. So maybe a DM in the sense of what we are all calling for isn’t that widely used by the better teams.

It's  horses for courses isn't it?
An element of luck (large dollop of I suspect) combined with some forward planning sees success in this division.

We'd started well in 2019-20 & Grant came in to initially replace Lyden I think & didn't put a foot wrong thereafter.

We had the luck with pretty much all of the signings paying off that season.
Established experience in defence coupled with a variety of talented forward options were also part of the jigsaw.

That season could have panned out differently if circumstances dictated an over reliance on a misfiring Adam May for example.

If we can keep the majority of the current front 6 or 7 options together for next season then that would be a start.

A McCarthy like figure or two at CB would be crucial.
Low confidence on ability of club to effect retention of key players over the summer though.
Agree with PV's mantra that successful sides are built from the back.

Benchmark for me would be the removal of the majority of the squad involved in the Aldershot game & progress has been made towards this.

Then depends on how Gunning wants to play next season (I reckon that he'll get the gig barring a dismal run which I don't think will happen). If he wants to mirror Garner then I'd like to see George retained & recruit accordingly in midfield around that.

Promotion winning sides are always about whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
A low rent approach could still work in that respect with clever being the operative word in terms of recruitment.

Loads of variables involved.
Even more so with us it would seem & herein lies the problem, possibly.

Chucking money at it isn't always the solution.
Wouldn't be surprised if visits to North Wales & Nottingham were still on the schedule next season.
Not an issue if the powers that be don't shit themselves as a result.

Yeah, it's all bollocks.

 :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:  You’re spot on!

Not read back but perhaps he's exerting himself a little more in order to make more smooth a move/be attractive to other employers in the Summer? Signing an extension obviously helps the club if he were still intending to move on.

I personally feel he'll be gone in the Summer. A shame because in the right team, he's probably good enough at the top end of L2, if not the lower steppes of L1