Not heard a whisper of him since the Brentford debacle (he was awful to be fair!).....anyone got any news? i ask as Hughes now appears to have nudged in front of him Ditto Benno...........Not a peep about him for ages..........finished at CAFC?
Was actually thinking the exact same thing earlier- I guess they are probably putting him through an intense training regime. Have to be honest though- I was doubting whether we will see him feature much, if ever again. I hope not though- still think he has a fair bit to offer if we get him ready!
Alonso has played in three reserve matches since return from his latest injury. A 1-0 win over West Ham, a 3-1 win over AFC Wimbledon, and then a 3-0 win over Millwall, so somebody must be doing something right as West Ham and Millwall both fielded strong teams. (Racon and Bouazza were in the Millwall team, by the way). Alonso didn't finish that match. I hope that is because CP thinks he is now ready to join the first team squad rather than another injury. Benson has played one match since his return from injury, the win over Millwall in which he scored. He may be finished at CAFC because the directors want to sell him, but I don't think he particularly wants to go and I don't think CP wants him to go, at least until he can sign a decent replacement. If BWP were injured, who could we rely on to score goals? There is only Benson. He is a bit limited as a footballer, Div One standard at best, but he does reliably score goals if given the chances and we have the players to give him those chances, especially now his old mucker Green is back in the team and on form.
I've been saying this for at least the last year now. Imo BWP is the one and only player/position where we have inadequate cover. My only worry with things at present is BWP getting injured. If he does i can see the wheels coming off big time...!! I fear that Powell may have a couple of potential loan signings waiting in the wings, in the event that BWP goes lame. Loan signings haven't exactly worked out for us in the past though, especially in the striking department. Is BWP the most important player in our squad...?
Thanks, but instead of my uninformed speculations it would be nice to hear from someone privileged to be at those private "development matches" (especially the most recent one) who could tell us how Alonso is doing. Any takers? I don't think we need anyone to tell us how Benson is playing. If he is fit he always plays to the same standard, for better or (as Ponders would assert) for worse.
Shame we didnt put a huge effort into signing Adam Le Fondre, he's on fire in the Championship at the moment. In regards to Alonso I still think we'll see him before too long once suspensions and injuries come into play. The current crop is doing more than well enough so dont wish to see anyone from the reserves too soon. Dont forget in two months we'll hit the Christmas Period, we'll need everyone fit and heathly for that rush of matches
I agree he looks good value for £350,000 but you need to answer two questions: (1) Why would he have agreed to sign for a Div One club instead of a Championship club? (2) Who would we drop to make room for him? BWP or Kermorgant? Had we signed him, Kermorgant might not have signed on a free. Hard to put a value on Kermorgant because of his age and patchy playing history but I reckon he is worth around £250,000. And there there must be considerable doubt whether BWP and ALF would work any better than BWP and Kermit. Our owners are trying to run the club on a balanced budget. We cannot sign every player we fancy. The only two entities in British football who can do that are Manchester City and Jonathan Acworth.
Alonso will need to be fit and ready for when Hughes' wife gives birth I believe that yes, BWP is our most important player but I don't think our goals would dry up without him, there are so many players in our squad who can (and do) score goals that we should hopefully be okay in the event that BWP gets injured. Out of interest I wonder how well Euell and Kermorgant would play together up front. Maybe that combo should be tried out for the last 15 minutes or so in a few games time.
I think Euell/Kermo both like to come very deep.. they need a BWP next to them to push further up and pull defenders apart with runs.
Good point Super, its just hard to think of the type of striker who Jason Euell could play well against, he hasn't got the physical presence or link-up ability to play alongside a speedier striker, yet plays too deep to play alongside a target man. Ironic really, he's not getting much of a look-in up front, yet before he signed, many fans were melting at the thought of Jason Euell returning - "He'd tear League One defences to shreds" etc etc
I'm still a fan and think there is a job there for him. Unfortunately for him though, CP found a little gem in Kermo afterwards. You can only ever only play one of Euell/Hayes/Kermo.. so unfortunately for him he has become fourth choice. Something we can say for him though- I imagine him being a huge presence in that dressing room, and I can't see him being any way disruptive because he isn't in the team. There's a lot to be said for these kind of professionals.
Bang on Super... For me BWP is without any shadow of a doubt our most important player. Goals win games and championships, and our man BWP gets em by the bucket load. Anyone who thinks he wouldn't be missed or that Waggy, Kermit, Hayes or Euell could score enough goals to compensate is Imo off their rocker.
