Most liked posts in thread: Players who could seriously help us not a promotion challenge?

This is the crux of the matter. A few weeks ago I felt Gilliead should probably be offered a new deal as a squad player due to his versatility of being able to cover a few areas. Now I'm not so sure that's a good idea because Hughes clearly rates him and if he does get a new deal, I think it will be because Hughes sees him as one of the first names on the team sheet. Smallwood is still going to be here so not a lot we can do about that, but the other two in Gilliead and Clayton have to be on their way for there to be any chance of improvement in CM. If the retained list comes out and those two names are on there under players offered new deals, we might as well forget about promotion next season before a ball is kicked in anger.

 

That's what worries me Onside. If Gilliead and Clayton are offered new deals, it will tell me that Hughes has learnt nothing and won't give me much hope for next season.

 

Hughes has next season to deliver. Promotion or piss off.

 

Talking of goals we've got Oliver with 3 goals on a 3yr contract.

Whoever sanctioned that contract needs sacking.

 

My favourite City player bar none. That goal at Everton will live in the memory for ever. We were side on to the pitch at that end and I could see Southall was off his line. As the ball fell for him I just shouted, 'Go on Chrissie, hit it.' Did we ever see a better City goal? Incidentally, I once went down to VP for some reason mid-afternoon. It was pouring with rain but I could see a lone figure on the pitch practising free kicks. All the rest of the players were long gone, but at the age of 39 or whatever there was Chris Waddle, still trying to improve. What a guy.

 

I have been thinking about that. We have players that have not played or when they do are not up to standard. Somebody needs to hold their hands up, because signing players on three year contracts or even two years when they offer nothing to the squad is not on. We are not a charity club for failed players!

 

If they do not restructure that midfield, we are done before we kick off. As you say East is the only one who has impressed me. I think we let both Clayton and Gilliead go, and replace with better. Unfortunately Smallwood is with us for the foreseeable, but it would be back up.

 

That's a shocking statistic and we cannot afford to stick with the trio next season.

 

As others have said, take Cook's goal contribution out of the equation and we'd have ended up mid to bottom end of the table. There's talk of progress this season but how much has there really been? We ended up in the top 7 mainly due to one player being in the form of his life. I think that's more down to luck than progress, considering Hughes didn't even consider said player as his first choice striker at the start of the season.

 

We will have a competitive budget this season based on excellent season ticket sales and commercial activity, but we now need to go a step further. I think of Bolton and Derby who were both financial basket cases but are now strong league one sides. It is time to push the boat out a little and get some real quality in, midfield players who score a lot more than 1or 2 goals a season that the likes of Gilliead, Smallwood Clayton score, strikers with pace and quality.If it means Hughes and Sparks having a meeting with Stefan Rupp to invest in quality then it’s something they need to do. The fans have backed the club as have commercial business, it’s time to get better than free transfers from Hartlepool and Walsall, veterans and young kids with little or no experience on loan.

 

Whatever happened this season will probably be immaterial next season if we lose Andy Cook. Without his fantastic season I'm not that convinced by this squad as it stands as an attacking outfit. With Hughes favouring 4-2-3-1 and with two very defensive minded players also being favoured, we don't have the creative outlet in the '10' role. And for all apparent strong squad stuff I kept hearing about in the end we had one option in the 10 role, one option upfront and no one to take up the left side mantle after Wright left.
I'm hoping for some good recruitment in this summer cos that squad to me is just bang average.

 

Yes and Stubbs fronted up for interview after the match.

Where was our captain. He's been useless as both a player and captain. He is not a leader, when have you ever seen him urge the team or a player on.

 

Hughes ain't getting sacked and I don't think he quite deserves that, but I wouldn't mind if he goes of his own accord, although not sure why Brum supposedly want him. I'd probably take the Cowleys as they are now probably our level.
I'd have taken Evans or Whellans but they are in jobs now.

Cook - would he wanna warm the bench at Wrexham? Will he be as good next year? Are we too focussed on him scoring to play as a team? Although we haven't looked like giving him the ball for 4 games.

Lewis - he's not a champ keeper yet and L1 and L2 clubs don't pay money for keepers. I think we'll have him for another year.

Banks - whatever he thinks (T&A yday), he's not getting in at Palace, nowhere near good enough. L1 at best next season, he may make Champ eventually.

Critchlow - depends where he wants to live. If he likes it around here, he may give us a go, knowing he still has little things to work on. He's not quite top of L1 ready yet.

Of the OOC players, try keep Cook, prob Gilly too, rest can go, other than the kids I know nothing about.
Smallwood - needs an energetic midfield with wide options around him.
Try get Wright back from PLymouth. We've been his one success.

Osadebe has shown the very fleeting glimpse. Stress on the very! But he's had an horrific injury, close season and a defined position for him, there could be something there.

Walker is far better when we have 2 wide players to stretch the pitch and defenders. Since we have had no left side, and Ridehalgh can't bomb on, he has been well shackled.

For all our failings this season, had we kept Wright on the left, I think we would have been autos.

We have a top keeper, 2 of Stubbs/Rom/Platt is okay L2 centre back pairing, Halliday has got better (would prefer someone quicker but he's solid and getting over his season out), definitely need a decent, quick, left back. Midfield needs a revamp. Wright back on the left. Decent replacement for Banks, as I tihnk he'll be in L1.

 

If we offered the job to Evans right now he’d dump Stevenage in a heartbeat and be in Bradford by the end of the day.

 

Do we need a new fitness coach? We seem to always look the less fitter side. Like both Carlisle legs, sometimes in the second halves it looked like some of our lads were just chasing shadows, where as Carlisle fitness wise looked like they could go up another gear. Not the first time this season either.

Think that mentality is something that might need addressing. All those points dropped from 90+ minutes. All those times we were "1 win from the autos" or "if we just win our game in hand" type scenarios over the last few months, we never capitalised on any of those games, we always looked like we weren't sure of ourselves when we got into positions. There were spots when everything was in our hands, but mentally they crumbled.

 

That will be the acid test for me. If Gilliead or Clayton are still with us then we really have lost the plot.

 

The one thing that stood out this year was our sheer lack of pace, we desperately need to get that into the squad - especially in the middle of the park where we always looked lethargic. It's okay having a player like Smallwood or Clayton, but you really can't play them both together, it's just far too slow and it exposes the back 4 - the amount of times you'd have an opposing player breaking from midfield and running at them was frightening.

Onto the back 4, I think we've got far too many problems in midfield and attack to fully focus on this area. Hopefully we get Critchlow back to partner Stubbs, I think Halliday will do at RB but we 100% need an understudy in this position as we have no depth. At left back, we need to improve on Ridehalgh - I do think Foulds is a decent backup to whoever we can get in.

I'd keep everyone that you've noted on your list, but really feel that we're going to not get Banks back on loan and think that we'll also end up losing Cook - so we're going to have fully rebuild that forward line.

Walker is fine to keep if he plays in a No.10 role and supports the striker, I just worry that since his injury he tends to go missing in games.

We've been crying out for width all season on the left and, with Chapman out, rotating between Osadebe, Nevers, Eisa in that position has been truly dreadful - then when playing Walker out there he loves to drift in too much so we just became far too narrow.

Very big summer ahead.