What do we need in January

I think the “ New “ super league will fold within the next 5-10 years when TV audiences dwindle . They could never share consistently with an EFL club unless games were played on fake grass. Remember it’s now a summer sport to bolster low TV viewing figures in summer . Give it a season and pitches wouldn’t ever recover .

 

The 2 minute version.

Stefan has donated money this season and it was several hundred thousand pounds to effectively enable us to break the cap.

Also, we have a full squad of 22 so any "ins" means there will need to be "outs"

 

Training base is the only thing that happens and there's no way a date gets slapped on that.

As it's up in 2ish years and theres no possible move and we are again talking up how the deal is do-able at L1 but a breeze in the CH, all signs point towards that 25 year extension being signed. So a new ground is a generation of fans away at least.

 

Fair play to stefan, sounds like he's really backed the club over the last few season from his own fortune.

 

It's worked long term for Wigan and Huddersfield so far and London have shared with a few EFL clubs.

 

It's in his own interest to back the club. The higher valuation of the value of the club following promotion will have far exceeded the extra investment of the last year or two.

 

Maybe those players out of contract next June and unlikely to be offered a new contract will want to leave in January ?

The players out of contract in June are Halliday, Byrne, Kavanah, Cook, Sarcevic, Pattison, T Wright, Kelly, Richards and Baldwin.

 

I can very easily see a world where none of those players are offered new deals, especially in the CH but maybe even in L1. Sparks even hinted similarly today, they know when the players have a kind of shelf life and let's be honest we have Halliday, Byrne, Kav, Cook, Kelly & Richards who aren't going to be first team regular starters in L1 or CH. Sarcevic wont get another deal at 34.

Leaves Pattison, Wright and Baldwin, all 3 have had issues holding down a starting slots in L1 and L2 due to injury and form. Baldwin I'd say is the most likely of the 3 and he probably gets something offered in L1. But he missed 14 L2 squads last year with injury or suspension, missed 7 in L1 so far this season and he'll be 29 next summer. Do we give another deal to a guy who has missed a decent chunk of time in 2 seasons running and hasn't a lot of L1 football to his name?

 

Will come down to money in the end. If the likes of Kelly will extend their deal for another 12 months (and for a relatively modest wage by L1 standards) then I think they'll get an offer on the basis that they're useful as backup.

From that list, I'd offer a new deal to Kav and Richards, as I think they're two players who could realistically improve a bit and will retain some value given their age. Kav then needs to be loaned to a club where he'll play striker and get minutes there. Patto is clearly good enough to warrant a new deal if only he could stay fit...which he can't. Same could be said of Baldwin to a lesser extent, I suppose.

The rest should be moved on. They're either too old or not good enough for a L1 promotion challenge, which is the most likely aim of next season.

 

Jack Hunt has signed for Stockport County on a short-term deal until January. Suggests they've got a few injury challenges at the moment as well.

 

So far. I know tech has moved on from our days at Odsal , but it’s not something I’d support .Once is enough.

 

One of my main concerns is, every knows now that all of a sudden this elephant in the room of rents and overheads being a millstone around the club has gone and its now at a very manageable rate.

Id argue that this now puts the Pension fund in a better position than the club. There is no necessity on their part to offer the same deal, they could start at quite a high position knowing that we dont have much wriggle room either with the cost of new stadium or a groundshare being a million miles away.

It may well be case of who calls the other's bluff first

 

I'd keep Cook, Pattison, Baldwin, and Sarcevic around. They could be important squad members as we improve the team. We've seen before how removing these kinds of personalities at the club has set us back, with Killgallon being a standout example

 

What was interesting listening to the the part about transfers and the squad limit was that Ryan mentioned about players like Metcalfe making over 40 EFL appearance and implied that they would now count to the limit. I don't know if he meant after this season or from the moment the window opens. If it does apply then unless there is an exemption academy players then Pointon is way over 40 games so he should be counting.
I've never heard of this clause in the squad limit and can't see it in the regulations so don't know if it's new or I've just missed it.
Next season it won't make a difference as both will be over 21 so hopefully it doesn't kick in until next season or it will make January tougher.

 

Also an interesting insight into how owners can pump money into their clubs.

 

Looks like Paul Huntington is the new Scout that Sparks referenced on the BBC interview. He's listed on the clubs website now as a scout for the north/Scotland. He's also a BBC Cumbria commentator for Carlisle games now.

 

Our back line certainly needs looking at.

 

I'm pleased Paul has got some work.Seems a really genuine guy,and never let us down.