Out of contract players

forgot about Kavanagh, hardly surprising ,interest in this season has gone , roll on May and the re build

 

Mr Gent being in charge of transfers is what's giving me little hope. The amount of average at very best players he has brought in is shocking. We've more often than not played either a 5 at the back wing back tactic or a 4231 and seemingly recruited for neither tactic. And as he has said himself, he is in charge of the transfers and held responsible for all good and bad recommendations that sign.

It needs a re-think as this head of recruitment model hasn't worked thus far.

 

Wow. Smith & Oduor here for another 2 and a bit years. Gent should be hung drawn & quartered, and Sparks not far behind

 

It was the car crash interview he did with Sparks on Radio Leeds that did it for me. His signings have - on the whole - been atrocious. Listening to him speak...well what can I say without swearing

 

Trigger 1YE on Halliday and Walker. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Halliday leave for higher leagues. Keep Pointon! Suspect as he is under 24 then clubs would have to offer a fee for him even if he ends up out of contract. He wouldn’t be a free at his age unless city aren’t bothered which would be staggering. Alexander’s treatment of Pointon is abject. The rear out of contract can leave. We need significant change and headroom to do that. Unfortunately hughes & gent signed some duds who are under contract. Unless we can help them find another club we are stuck with them. Remember a fit and raring Young back next season could be a significant asset on the pitch. We need a more dynamic midfield. Players who can break beyond the frontmen. Smallwood and McDonald ain’t that. Pattison maybe but he has been made of glass.
We need similar at wingback if we are to overload teams. Armer at Carlisle was strong against us.

 

Fingers crossed there is change this summer above and around GA. He needs help, not hindering.

 

Get rid... Of the lot of them. Bottle jobs. Down tool easily.

Happy Tuesday everyone

 

Richardson (GK) will go.
Zak Hadi is a better prospect and should be number 2 next season as when I watch him at training he's got real quality.
All other players who's contracts expire this summer apart from Halliday and Platt should be released.
Walker as good as he is has a terrible injury record.
We can't afford to keep losing 1st team players for months on end.
Pointon if he was that good would be playing every week.
The 'blinded by the fact he's local' brigade will have to suck that one up.
Ash Taylor and Vadaine Oliver paying off to go.
Smallwood, Ridehalgh, Stubbs, Hendrie, Derbyshire and the youngsters Youmbi and Rowe to leave.
So that would be 12 less than this season's squad.
GA wants a smaller group so get 7 new players who have experience in this league and have won promotion from it.

 

Totally agree. I think Walker is a good player but we can only have him for a few games a season? We need the scouts to garner good young players from the Northern League. That is their job and if they are not producing find others who do!

 

Mal Benning LB (Port Vale)
Tom James RB (Orient)
JJ Mckiernan CM (Morecambe)

All out of contract this summer.
Would be trying to get them in.

Chris Conn Clarke - CM (Altrincham)
22 years old
Northern Ireland youth international
Scored 16 goals in 30 matches this season
10 in 33 last season.
2 footed.
Looks the part to make the step up.

 

Surprise surprise, Peterborough linked to Conn-Clarke. I swear they get linked to any U23 who has a decent run in any first team between L2 & NL. You've undercut him slightly too! He has 19 in 39 in the NL and 6 assists. Altrincham paid a record fee for him (although that could be a fiver) and Fleetwood have a big sell-on apparently.

 

If Peterborough are in for him, that's us out. Their interest will inflate the prices, as they tend to pay well and sell for huge amounts.

 

Now he looks like a very good prospect. Knows where the net is. Attacking midfielder.

 

If we had an ounce of ambition we should be after that lad now.

 

As I say, they are seemingly linked in the press with every lower league young player who is having a good run. I wouldn't be surprised if it is a tactic some clubs use, just lay out a story in the local paper, linked their name to it and see if that pushes up bids.

 

I'm surprised so many want to keep Walker. Always injured. When he isn't injured he spends half the time limping around kicking people. No more effective than some of the players they love to slag off.

I'd keep Pointon, Halliday and one of Stubbs or Platt. They rest can go.

Great news that Odisina and Oliver are under contract for another year.

 

Need a quality attacking mid like Keilor Dunn, to replace Walker. Pattison is injury prone.

Lack of goals from midfield is a major problem.

 

A very stats based post, but we need an approach change, that much is clear when the clear out happens and the new squad takes shape.

We are 20th in the table for goals and assists at 74 with Harrogate, Sutton, FGR & Gillingham below us. Our 468 shots on goal leaves us 16th in the table. In fact, with most shooting metrics like shots, shots on target, shots per 90, we are between 14th - 16th in the table, just an underwhelming unit all-round. The telling one is shots on targets to goals ratio, which is 0.27 and is the 4th worst in the league with only Accrington, FGR & Gillingham worse at converting an on target chance, than us. We weren't performing much better under Hughes in pretty much any stat either. Defensively, it's way better but there are issues.

We have had 412 shots against us so far in the league, which puts us 3rd in the table behind Barrow and Stockport for least shots against. However, we are joint second worst in the table in shots on targets to goals ratio, with every 0.34 shots on target going in, only beaten by Salford at 0.38. So we are good at limiting teams, but when they do get a shot off its going in more frequently than the rest of the league bar one team. Bad goalkeeping? Bad coaching? Or have we solved it?

The teams save percentage is 64.4% which is the 4th worst in the league with Salford, Grimsby and Sutton having a worst save percentage than us. This has improved massively with Walker in goal. Lewis had a save percentage of 58.4% whereas Walkers is 75.6% which is the 9th best in the league. But the improvement in goals hasn't really pushed the team on as we still struggle to move it on at the other end.

Has too much chopping and changing hurt us? Hallidays 87% of minutes played in the league is our highest and he ranks 53rd in the league for minutes played. Andy Cook has featured in 85% so far and Alex Gillieads 82% rounds out the list of City players who have featured in over 80% of the minutes so far. Could be something said in why the attacking output is so low? When we have a carousel of supporting wide players/attacking mids who are in and out of form and minutes more than the hokey cokey.

 

Interesting stats. It is like we have this huge squad of players but only 25% are players who are up to standard. Such a waste of money. What would you say is the ideal squad number?

 

About the 20 outfielder mark would be my limit. I think you need maybe 14/15 great to dependable at worst players who'll always be in the 11 or coming on, then the rest should be lads from the academy poking through or loans to cover gaps.

I don't like the idea of loaning out players at our level if they are over 21, as they'll likely be on a decent whack and you'll never get the loaning club to cover wages. You'll always have circumstances where its needed like Young escaping Hughes. But Hendrie, why did we re-sign him? Utter waste of money and his wages will still have a good share paid by the club. Odusina is another one, we've still got him for at least another season and he cant keep a spot in the Woking team. He'll be 25 early into next season so it's past the point of seeing him as a prospect, he should be a first teamer. When you have so many on the books like we do, we have to take the option of shipping out on loan to try claw money back. I know it comes down to bad recruitment, but we have made so many dumb mistakes with contracts over the last 2/3 seasons.