Is this team not good enough to challenged added Craig to starting line up

Winning makes you happier, of course it does; but I’ve seen us have bad seasons and good - there’s always another one next year, and one often follows the other. I’m not sure I’m happier in a higher league, nor with a team of bought in mercenaries than local lads who are proud to be getting their chance to wear the shirt. We find a level and turn up each week, so long as there is still a club.

 

Give it a go and see what happens, we'll all come watch

 

Thats just how football works mate. Weve poached plenty of good players from clubs lower than us, and then the clubs we buy from, buy from even lower clubs.

Regarding the managers, Duff for instance, if the only way we could appoint him was to offer him a buyout fee, then its worth doing it. Better than missing out all together.

It is getting harder and harder to love the game though.

 

No - not good enough.

I think we’re pretty strong in midfield If benson can stay fit enough for him to play when hourihane doesn’t.

Killip /cotter / cosgrove/ jalo weren’t good enough last season and I can’t see how they will be this season.

Hopefully Jalo can be given some more game time and be brought on - and I guess we’re hoping cosgrove is more like the 2 games he played at the end rather than the multitude of other games he was poor in.

for me we still need full backs and strikers better than we have.

im honestly not convinced with:
The keeper options - apart from hoping the new lad is good
Either cotter (or O’Keefe on left side)
Any of the strikers we have based on last seasons performances

maybe harsh but that’s how I see it

 

At best we're trying to buy players but we are not an attractive enough proposition.

At worst we're making a half-arsed attempt to sign players we know others will buy because we already have a plan in place, to play the youngsters. Signing Hourihane and Roberts, plus Hassell's comments prior to Clarke signing, suggest the latter.

“No one will be employed as head coach unless they show interest in the academy. That is the remit of the owners. Next season they want to promote players into the first team training group a lot more.
There will be five or six there every day then it’s up to them to impress"

Becoming a new-age Crewe Alexandra makes more financial sense and seems to fit with the mentality of these owners. Plus we may actually have a team of players who want to be here. As Spain showed in the Euros, you need to have the courage to play the younger ones at some point and the owners want to see ROI. At the same time, our league position and performances could be literally anywhere. You'd think bottom end of the division until they get used to the rigours of League 1 but maybe not, who knows. I don't see League position as being the first priority for the owners. They want to get the younger players playing, gaining experience and in the shop window.

 

Don’t disagree with that at all. I think the reality is we have a season of rebuilding to do and I don’t want additional pressure on DC to complete a rebuild and ‘expect’ success. He could of course be completely inspirational and all our signings could come off and anything can happen.

There are idiots on social media and in real life not much anyone can do about them.

 

Depends what you mean by challenge TBH.
If you mean top 10 then yes, I think that team will be good enough to be around top 10.
Top 6 and I think not as we don’t have enough goal threat at the moment.
That said I don’t believe for a minute that will be our forward line and we are only a few additional signings away.

 

Thing is, we may have already agreed a deal with Mansfield and the player but part of the deal is Mansfield won’t complete until they get their replacement over the line. I’m not saying we have just giving a valid example of why it’s not happened yet.

It never ceases to amaze me how some people think it’s as simple as we will pay X, there’s a reason why the vast majority of transfers happen at the end of a window and it’s not always as some say cos the player doesn’t want to train in the Summer or clubs are too tight to spend too soon.

 

No it's not.. would you agree that last season's squad under Collins was weaker than the one under Duff the year before.? Then we've lost 6 of our starting 11 from last season and both squads failed in there promotion challenge...

We've replaced 3.. One being a player/coach and another the keeper, the head coach as said publicly if he's not ready wr may have to bring in another experienced keeper on loan. Which says to me he may have not been Clarke's first choice signing for No1

So we were weaker under Collins than Duff.. and we haven't replaced our six automatic starters from Collins side last season... Plus the league is way stronger this season than last..

I believe you're just banging the drum here and don't seriously believe it yourself.. at present I stick with my top 8 forecast.. and only that because I think Clarke will be a decent coach and be able to organise us better than recent seasons especially defensively...

But again we still need better players in the door to have a realistic go for promotion..

 

Of course I don't, nobody does...... Purely based on the team you've put together above, that team would struggle in my opinion. Very little to be positive about at the moment in terms of recruitment.

 

We'll go up.

 

So if you start by replacing the squad in my Op with players who left last season - Clarke with Collins, Roberts with McCart, Hourihane with Kane, Pines with Williams, okeefe with Cadden, Cosgrove with Cole and Macatee with Jalo.

Out of 7 changes I'd say 6 are an improvement or equal to last year and only Macatee is a drop but I really want Jalo to be given a run.

I wouldn't bring Cole back to replace Cosgrove.

Killip and Smith will not be any worse than Roberts was after his injury last season

We obviously need a LWB but O Keefe played there at times last season when Cadden was subbed for not defending and blowing.

We also need another striker obviously. Cole had a spell where everything he hit went in then couldnt hit the net when it mattered.

So if my points are correct, we may be currently stronger than we were last season with more to come in.

 

If we don't finish top 6 like we have the last 2 seasons that then will show me we are on the decline then I'd be happy to join the owners out club.

Not at that point yet and I think we are only 2 seasons on from Conway Lee being pushed out so I sm happy to give the current directors a bit more time.

 

I'm happy with the Squad so far an with a few more weeks to go before the big day i'm sure we'll be reight, its a decent league 1 team as it is but a couple of additions wouldnt hurt, an aving the Styles saga sorted would be a bonus. C,O,Y,R,

 

Can we play the pick the best or same game.

Roberts or Smith
Williams or Roberts
McCart or Pines
Cadden or Okeefe
Kane or Hourihane
Cole or Cosgrove
Macatee or Jalo

Out of the 7 to leave 3 were loans but even so this seasons replacements currently I'd say 3 are better than last season, 3 equal and 1 loss but big potential to come good.

Squad stronger currently than last year and also Clarke will perform significantly better than Collins.

 

But he was quite open about it.
A reluctant custodian.

 

Cloud cuckoo land but I admire your optimism

 

The team wasn’t good enough last season.

We haven’t improved thus far and are still progressively weaker than last season.

Not rocket science is it? End. Of. Thread.

 

Instead of just insulting him just answer his question about replacements. Its even more cuckoo that people have been saying for 3 years in a row now we will be fighting relegation

 

Don’t worry that guys won the lottery landing the Barnsley job, absolute journeyman.