Next Season.

Currently Duff is the Club's greatest asset. It took him 6 months to get the team playing like he wanted. If we had been at that level at the start of the season we'd have romped promotion. This week's priority for the board is to give Duff a new improved contract making him the highest paid at the club with a silly 'buy out' clause. Next they should sit down with Anderson, Connell, Williams and Kitching and give them extended and improved contracts. That means we start off next season in a similar (better) position than at the end of this. We don't want to be like other clubs starting from scratch with a new manager and a load of new recruits.

 

We can offer contracts, but cannot force them to sign. Andersen and Williams are in their final year, and will likely get offers we cannot match. Connell still has 2 years, while Kitching signed an extension during the season

 

That would be fabulous but where’s the conkers coming from?

 

The garden ! my conifers are thriving

 

Duff doesn't seem like a bloke that will take a slight move upwards if something gets offered much bigger he will be off unfortunately. Playing wise let's hope there's something in place already with Isted or that ship might have sailed I think Mads and Williams will go and that's where the budget will come from. You would think Bobby T will get offers from the championship unfortunately Connell will stay unless we get offered something stupid but time will tell.

 

I never understand how a club benefits from asking and getting big fees from a club for someone like Mads and then having to spend - including the agents 'cut' to buy an inferior unknown (obviously anyone prepared to settle for the lower wages is not going to be of the standard of the player he is replacing) . Bit like replacing a perfectly good car and then buying an inferior one that may or may not need a lot spending on it. Better to make 'em an offer they can't refuse. Also from the players point of view 'the grass is not always greener...." and all that! Guaranteed 1st team football ina winning side is better than bench warming in a higher League team unless you are only in it for the money. I am pretty sure Mads is NOT one of those type of players. Also a young team can only increase their value under expert development that someone like Duff provides.

 

It depends on where the player’s head is at. In the end, we were better off for getting Styles, Helik, Morris, Woodrow and Brittain out of the door last year because they simply didn’t want to be here. Mads can justifiably feel that he’s given us an extra year and deserves a move.
We should offer him an improved deal, and set his price tag accordingly. If he doesn’t sign, sell and offer that deal to another experienced centre back

 

I fully expect to have the team and manager pillaged. Why? because that's our business model.

 

Is it?

 

I could live with us selling a couple of players to free up space for a finisher up front. Just as long as we keep Duff, Isted, Mads, Connell and Norwood. They're the spine

 

I think we have to accept that Mads is very likely to leave. But we need to keep Duff, Connell, Norwood and one out of Collins and Isted. And replace Mads adequately.

 

I agree Duff is our biggest asset but that is not an ideal position for a club to ever be in.

Previously we had good, saleable young players and the idea was always to make changing managers seamless as we kept a consistent style of play and type of player. Which we don’t have now.

Aside from our defence and a half decent midfield weve merely been an above average squad punching quite a lot above our weight this season; strong, physical, hard working but limited on talent (contrast with the promotion squads of 2016 and 2019)

If Duff goes and possibly Anderson, we’d do well to even make playoffs next season let alone top 2

I’d like to see the board and recruitment back to where it was before Chien Lee and Conway signed their agents’ mates and lined their own pockets

 

I think you do the squad a disservice. There aren’t many in that wednesday team that I’d have in our starting 11. If it wasn’t for all the upheaval in the summer, resulting in a slow start to the season we’d have pushed Plymouth and Ipswich even further for an automatic spot.

Recruitment this season has been good in the main. Cadden, Connell, Norwood, Edwards/Thomas, Phillips. All good signings.

 

Much as I think this team has done really well, I do think in terms of quality it is a long, long way short of the one manged by Daniel Stendel or Hecky for that matter. I'm not sure any of this year's team would get in Daniel's side. That underlines just how well Duff has done. I suspect the only way to get him to stay is for the board to make it worth his while in terms of giving him the players he needs and keeping the better ones he's got.

 

Agree. I reckon if you replaced Kane, Phillips and Cole with Hourihane, Hammill and Fletcher or Winnall at their peak, you'd have a side at least as good overall as 2016 or 2019, if not better.

This current team is extremely hard-working and fantastically well-organised. All we're lacking is a prolific striker and a bit of flair going forwards. If we can find that over the summer then we'll be close to completing the jigsaw.

 

Gonna be a little controversial here but if we had a Bannan in our side we would be a completely different proposition and think our strikers would be more prolific.

 

We would, if they were the kind of strikers to benefit from hoof ball.

Or in Wednesday’s case, trotter ball.

 

Nah, we should let him go, I'd keep Andersen though

 

He only o,has that way cos he plays to the strikers strengths, he wouldn’t play the same balls to ours.