STFC Transfer Rumours

[Peter Venkman]

I would welcome Bennett and Robinson back.

They are 2 of the 4 attacking signings wanted by Wellens, if the other 2 players we bring in are of similar calibre then it all bodes well IMO.

I understand what Sutton and others are saying about Notts County, they spent big last Summer and fell like a stone but they didint have the nucleus of the team from the season before which we still do, especially if Bennett and Robinson arrive, that will be 8 starting players still here from last season rather than an almost whole new team like County tried to make.

Yes of course we could still go down, but just as likely we could go up even as Champions.

Who knows what will happen.

I actually met an Exeter fan this winter.  He was in my bar and found out I was a Swindon fan, he said he and friends wanted Dunne back.  He was a personal friend of Matt Taylor and actually showed me pre-existing exchanges with him asking if there was any way they could get him back.

Horses for courses, I wouldn't begrudge someone like him a place in the squad assuming he was on a very performance based contract with a very basic salary.

I understand what you are saying about Dunne but at best he was no more than a squad player.

I know a lot of Exeter fans, living on the border of Devon about 25 miles from Exeter and from Yeovil righ in the middle and I have yet to find one that spoke very highly of Dunne when we signed him, they all said he runs around a lot and gets a lot of bookings for kicking people....that part was definately true!

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

The proper test of a promotion chasing club is the quality of its back up players. Unless a club is extremely lucky with injuries/suspensions if a couple of your better players are missing for a chunk of matches things tend to go tits up very quickly.

[Peter Venkman]

The proper test of a promotion chasing club is the quality of its back up players. Unless a club is extremely lucky with injuries/suspensions if a couple of your better players are missing for a chunk of matches things tend to go tits up very quickly.

Injuries have ruined many a Town side and many other teams going for the play offs/promotion.

Some of that must come down to training methods and fitness levels, something Macari had down to a tee, never seen a team so fit for a whole season as he had us. Players are built much more like Usain Bolt rather than Mo Farah, short term speed not long term stamina, especially lower down the leagues.

[Bob's Orange]

Romanski looked like he has bulked up over the summer which was much needed.

[Tails]

Romanski looked like he has bulked up over the summer which was much needed.

Yeah he has. Think I mentioned it before but he goes to the same gym as me and he's spending hours on the weights.

Dont think he'll feature much next season though. Wellens said we have 4 centre backs so I assume he means Baudry, Conroy, Broadbent and Curran (who has also bulked up by the looks of it)

[Reg Smeeton]

 Certainly it's a welcome novelty to see what looks like a proper plan evolve... and it should augur an improvement.

However it's being judged against recent incompetency, and as such only brings us up to a minimum expectation.

How far that improvement might carry us, is difficult to gauge yet, when studying the entrails of recent STFC history.

[Peter Venkman]

Romanski looked like he has bulked up over the summer which was much needed.

Over the last say 10 years or so I have noticed that when we get players in on loan from Premier League academies they are not always talented skill wise and don't always have an ability any higher than our own youth players.

But, and its a big but, they have a massive physical presence for their age, young boys physically with mens bodies. They seem to have a bulk and strength about them which our players of the same age do not have.

Its like the academies pick up players with a decent level of ability but have a physical level way above other players of their own age, so many get to a level and seem to stay there as they get older they then start playing against other men of similar physique but their ability does not improve.

That is almost every loanee we have had in the last 10 years, the only one that may not be true about was Alzate who has an obvious ability but needs to work on his strength and fitness to reach his peak where as many other players are exactly the opposite of that.

Look at Fryers and Reid for instance, both ex Man Utd trainees, both massive physical presence but both have had their actual progress stalled as they have got older.

[RedRag]

You'd think the Premiership Academies could afford to be a bit more patient about the physical development of their players seeing as they make no meaningful Premiership appearances.  Both bizarre and interesting.

[Myshkin]

Over the last say 10 years or so I have noticed that when we get players in on loan from Premier League academies they are not always talented skill wise and don't always have an ability any higher than our own youth players.

But, and its a big but, they have a massive physical presence for their age, young boys physically with mens bodies. They seem to have a bulk and strength about them which our players of the same age do not have.

Its like the academies pick up players with a decent level of ability but have a physical level way above other players of their own age, so many get to a level and seem to stay there as they get older they then start playing against other men of similar physique but their ability does not improve.

That is almost every loanee we have had in the last 10 years, the only one that may not be true about was Alzate who has an obvious ability but needs to work on his strength and fitness to reach his peak where as many other players are exactly the opposite of that.

Look at Fryers and Reid for instance, both ex Man Utd trainees, both massive physical presence but both have had their actual progress stalled as they have got older.

I'm not sure that is entirely true. Over the last 10 years we've had the likes of Mason, Pritchard, Bostock, Stephens and Alazate, all of whose technical ability was significantly better than our own youth players who play in the same or similar positions. We've even hade twirps like Charlie Colkett and Dean Parrett who, clearly gifted technically, weren't up to it physically or mentally.

[Peter Venkman]

Pritchard, Stephens and Mason all had superb levels of fitness and strength for their age, Bostock I thought was pretty average TBH.

Look at Koiki, Turnbull, Furlong, Dabo, Jones, Williams, Stewart, Boateng and thats just the last 6 years.

it could be said that Premiership teams won't send their more talented players down to the bottom 2 divisions because they know they will get kicked so they send out their more physical players? that could be possible.

[Trashbat?]

Over the last say 10 years or so I have noticed that when we get players in on loan from Premier League academies they are not always talented skill wise and don't always have an ability any higher than our own youth players.

But, and its a big but, they have a massive physical presence for their age, young boys physically with mens bodies. They seem to have a bulk and strength about them which our players of the same age do not have.

Its like the academies pick up players with a decent level of ability but have a physical level way above other players of their own age, so many get to a level and seem to stay there as they get older they then start playing against other men of similar physique but their ability does not improve.

That is almost every loanee we have had in the last 10 years, the only one that may not be true about was Alzate who has an obvious ability but needs to work on his strength and fitness to reach his peak where as many other players are exactly the opposite of that.

Look at Fryers and Reid for instance, both ex Man Utd trainees, both massive physical presence but both have had their actual progress stalled as they have got older.

Wasn't it Charlie Austin that was released from Reading academy for being too small?

[Peter Venkman]

Wasn't it Charlie Austin that was released from Reading academy for being too small?

He was, and Gladwin too and look at the size of him now!

[Myshkin]

Pritchard, Stephens and Mason all had superb levels of fitness and strength for their age, Bostock I thought was pretty average TBH.

I take your point. But I'd also say that they were much better footballers than the likes of Tom Smith, Miles Storey, or whatever other youth players they were playing ahead of at the time.

[Peter Venkman]

I take your point. But I'd also say that they were much better footballers than the likes of Tom Smith, Miles Storey, or whatever other youth players they were playing ahead of at the time.

Not if you listen to some of the Town fans when you say Smith and Storey

[Peter Venkman]

I see in the Adver it says there were "several trialists were present" yesterday at Southampton.

D'ath was obviously one of them it seems, look forward to hearing of any others.