Read quite a bit on here about our play off chances been over if we sell any of the four and we need to buy replacements, isn't buying replacements what we did in the summer, Moncur, Lee, Payne, Sessi, Jackson, Cole, now young Kay & Brown are being introduced too, obviously they've been on the fringe and in the background while better players have been in front of them but wasn't the plan always for these lads the step into the shoes of players that leave.
Replacements in the middle of a season generally do NOT work unless you are lucky. Hecky and his assistants have put many weeks of effort in getting the players to where they are now within a well run team. Chop and changing significant parts of the team mid season will or could undermine and disrupt all of that hard work
Which can wait until the summer, the point I'm trying to make is the situation we're in now were by we could be about to lose key players mid season, was spotted and addressed in the summer, we seem to have a young un ready to step into the side in the positions we need them, it's not happened by accident the club are working to a plan and have us covered.
You name Moncur, Lee, Payne, Sessi, Jackson and Cole. One is injured and won't be available. One is now behind Ryan Williams in the pecking order. One ran away to L1 and has just come back and is yet to start a league game. Two look shaky at best but may improve with time and the other has a long way to go to be owt like. Forgive me if I worry a little...
It's what we do isn't it ? bring in young hungry lads, coach and develope them, are you expecting us to go out and buy players to the standard of the ones that are off to pastures new ?. If you are you're in for a shock.
Its not what we do. Our better players the ones you are talking about weren't freebie punts. They were the best players from the league below as was Mawson signed for reasonably significant transfer fees. If we sell any off them I would expect us to reinvest some of the money on similar players again from the league below as we did with Moncur and Bradshaw. That's the policy. You seem to have misunderstood it maybe. The ones you mentioned other than Moncur run alongside it where you sign 4/5 players hoping to uncover 1 first teamer then selling/releasing the rest such as Tuton and Jackson.
for me the best replacement for hourihan is already at the club, bit controversial but why not try hammill in a central/playmaker role, good with either foot, can pass a ball, can beat a player, got some pace and knows where the goal is
Because he doesn't have the work-rate, same ability to tackle or intercept, or the positional sense of a central midfielder. If Hammill is the replacement in the middle of the park, we're f*cked.
We must continue with the plan/blueprint laid down by PC and Hecky. We have no choice - it is unrealistic for The Reds to suddenly say we have XX million in the bank to sign ready-made replacements for any of our players. If we spend £2/3 million on a player we simply cannot afford the wages that come along with that type of player. We have to take a leap of faith in the long term plan to nurture the next batch of talent to come along. The good news is that we will be doing it from a relatively better starting point than we were in last time round - maybe we can recruit (in the main) L1 talent this time round rather than L2 or non-league players but nevertheless by necessity it may be one step back to make further steps forward. I don`t want to lose any of our star players but I think it is inevitable and would be ultimately unfair to stop them making the next step forward. I for one consider that all our squad have maintained a fabulous attitude to our cause and don`t think they `owe` us anything.
we won't be selling anyone in january, unless hecky is confident we have a suitable replacement. and if said replacements are good enough for him, they're good enough for me. have faith.
and neither did hourihan when he 1st came and we weren't f*cked then apart from that how do you know he hasn't got the positional sense, same tackle ability or intercept............................ you dont