January 2025 Transfer Window

Pointon? or do you mean Campbell, as he liked a pint , similar to big Jim i believe.

 

Campbell of course. Would the current “ Bobby” get in a pub ?

Only kidding…

 

He might get into the pub but he'd be asked to show his ID ?.

 

I wonder if a Tompkinson return in January is a possibility with others going back?

 

Nah, he's brassed off.

 

Yeh, if a reasonable offer comes in he will be offski. Despite been injury free this term he isnt having the same impacts on games. He will be gone for £0 in the summer regardless.

We really need to find a Keillor-Dunn, Kemp or Diamond type that can add 10-15 goals from MF. We could have signed all 3 of those at some point if we really wanted them.

 

We were talking about free scoring strikers though. Not someone who went over a seasons with of games without scoring a single goal.

Mostly did well for City but terrible everywhere else.

 

I wish most players would be good for city and terrible elsewhere, unfortunately we have the complete opposite.

 

From memory without checking I think they got nearly 40 goals between them in a season.

 

Chapel House apparently.

 

Absolutely agree!

 

25 and 17 in the two years they played together.

Hanson got 11 and 13, Clarke got 14 and 4.

 

We have the joint 5th best defence in the division. Given that we also have a man at the other end on course for 20 + goals it’s pretty obvious where our issues lie.

 

Joint 5th best in the goals against and 5th best defence are two massively different things. Until last Saturday there were still 20-odd teams in the league with more clean sheets than us. We're pretty much mid table at every other defensive stat, we are just really good so far this season at keeping teams to just 1 goal against. Defence maybe just needs a tweak (pace!).

Up front, it's just a consistent partner. There's 3 of our 5 strikers that clearly aren't the best fit for us. For me, the problem is midfield but its the way they are setup to play. We play a back 3, do we also need a sitting midfielder to have 4 bodies in that block? The other two are made up of attacking minded players but are asked to play like old fashioned box to box types and more often than not this season, the middle 3 just cant click. If all are fit and available (which they rarely are for us) it's Smallwood/Evans partnered by Pattison for me in a 2 man mid partnership and play Walker or Pointon as an actual attacking mid, playing closer to the strikers than they have managed all this season to this point. I really think its time GA let this team have a bit more freedom to try get bodies forward.

 

Stats, stats and more stats can be used how one wants to interpret them….Best defence, doesn’t equate to best defender like some want to claim , best goal scorer doesn’t equate to best “ attack”. All utter nonsense as you rightly point out .

It’s adequate points on the board at the end of the day….we aren’t good enough as yet and could be said like the rest of the division, bar maybe a couple of exceptions based on results , pretty much bang average. Consistency is lacking, not stats.

 

The issue is that I feel we have that statistic due to negative football. If we were more open and created more, we may score more but also concede more. So, I'm not sure it is as simple as buying one or two new attacking players. Under GA, I can't see us becoming a free-flowing attacking team.

 

I’m all for being a solid defensive side, but not to the detriment of scoring goals and entertaining the supporters. McCalls teams were great to watch but were easily countered, often from our own corner kicks. Somewhere between that philosophy and GA’s defensive strategy would be fine by me. One pacy defensive midfielder would allow the rest of the midfield to take more risks. Smallwood sits back because he has no pace to recover if he pushes forward. Add to that he can’t pass accurately over 10 yards and would get caught out.

 

The team needs an injection of pace for sure. I know it feels like every summer there is the talk of a rebuild, especially when we finish outside the play off spots. But this team needs some faster and younger options.

There's only Tranmere that on average field an older side starting 11 than City this season with us only having 4 players who will be on the books in the summer in the first team under the age of 25 in Pointon (20 - will be 21 by the summer), Richards (23), Wright (23) & Kavanagh (21). Obviously there could be someone who makes the jump from the youth team, but at the minute we have a lot of players in their late 20s or 30s than under 25. Experienced heads are needed don't get me wrong, but I feel like the balance needs altering slightly in the team so youthful energy and pace compliments the experienced knowledge.

 

I think the focus in recruitment is getting over the line ASAP and they may feel that experience trumps youth in most cases. As you point out it'll be another rebuild in the summer regardless of which division we are in, but pace is a must.

 

We need a consistent partner for Cook, absolutely. The fact it hasn’t been addressed in three years is pretty poor.
But we also need to look at other things, playing five men at the back AND two defensive / holding midfielders on many occasions smacks a risk averse approach, there’s no wonder we don’t have a goal threat