The Squad List (2024/25 Edition)

[DV]

Nichols is Marmite....I never saw one game that he impressed me...my mate agreed BUT many are delighted with his play. Hope he has a good season anyway.

I wouldn’t say he was marmite - but I’ve found him to be niche.

He’s decent at linking up midfield with attack but doesn’t offer much else outside of that.
Systematic player - fits one role in a team well, can’t do anything else.

[jayohaitchenn]

Nichols is Marmite....I never saw one game that he impressed me...my mate agreed BUT many are delighted with his play. Hope he has a good season anyway.

There was a cracking article from Sam M on the Moonraker that explained this:

You need only look at Swindon’s points-per-game return to see his impact.

Across the campaign, Town recorded an average of 1.35 points per match in League Two. With Nichols in the team, that leapt to 1.85.

That was the best of any player to have racked up at least 1,000 minutes for the club in 2024/25, and only 0.01 behind Billy Kirkman’s squad-leading 1.86.

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[Nemo]

There's a bit of cause and effect in there, Nichols also signed in January after we'd improved dramatically through Holloway. Kirkman likewise returned then. Anyone who played in the first half of the season is likely to have a pretty crap PPG.

It'll be interesting to see how he does this season and where he plays, Sam seems to think he's playing wide forward tomorrow.

[Audrey]

Big fan of Kirkman. Hope he’s not sidelined by a loanee.

[iParadise]

Big fan of Kirkman. Hope he’s not sidelined by a loanee.

I think Kirkman will be fine. There's so many game, he'll get chances. It's RWB that worries me. With McGregor a doubt for Walsall all we have is Snowdon in that position, who is a natural midfielder and never played a professional game before. If Snowdon's not up to the level, defensively, or gets injured we're fuck in that position. 

[Anonymous77]

Ryan Delaney is in U18’s training photos. May just be he’s not involved in tomorrow’s squad therefore not needed at training preparing for the game.

[Crozzer]

Ryan Delaney is in U18’s training photos. May just be he’s not involved in tomorrow’s squad therefore not needed at training preparing for the game.

In Holloway's presser he said that he is now restricted to prematch training of the the matchday squad, or something to that effect.  So, that might explain Delaney appearing in u18s training photos.

[dagrumpymunki]

I wouldn’t say he was marmite - but I’ve found him to be niche.

He’s decent at linking up midfield with attack but doesn’t offer much else outside of that.
Systematic player - fits one role in a team well, can’t do anything else.

As a creative midfielder that's kind of what I'd want him to be good at. That and chipping in with the odd goal.

This is like criticising a goalkeeper for only really being good at stopping the opposition scoring or Gary Lineker for doing nothing but score goals.

Particularly in this league having players that are good at doing the thing they're primarily in the team for is more than half the battle. Having a manager that recognises what a player is good at and sets him to do it is most of the other half. The few months at the beginning of the season when Ofoborh seemed to be tasked with trying to play that Nichols role and looked a bit clueless is what happens to a decent player when a manager isn't able to see their strengths and limitations.

I'd love us to be a team full of multifaceted players capable of playing total football, with centre backs making runs down the wing and delivering inch perfect crosses, whilst a midfielder covers for them but it's not very League 2.