Good post mate. I'd like to see Clarke on loan again! I'd give Gooch a new contract and I don't think he will take much persuading! Roberts signed on. I'd be tempted to look at sticking couple extra years on Stewart and Pritchard and have a look at Patterson is he on a fair wage for being 1st choice or is he still on a prospects wage? If he isn't being paid for being 1st choice get a new contract on the table we all know how that turns out if not sorted out! AN give him 3 year deal.
Yeah he's still learning and has a way to go yet but the foundation looks solid to me. I liked Hume but I'd say Cirkin has him beaten in every aspect other than raw pace although he's no slouch. As you say it's great how well our young players have done they've had a massive part to play from Patterson to Clarke. I'd be very happy if we started next season with Roberts and Clarke out wide I think they're both spot on.
Do I agree we have some decent players ...yes However, whilst AN has tightened our defence, we cannot assume that next season it will be good enough against better strikers. It has to be strengthened. So at least another good CB, LB and RB. We do not know about Willis's fitness. If we want to play 3 CBs and 2 WBs, Gooch fits the bill as a WB I am not sure about Clarke and Roberts (the German lad Dajaku). Even if Broadhead stays he appears to be injury prone so another quality striker is a must. We want both Neil and Pritchard to stay, but probably they will not appear on the pitch at the same time. Embo.
I don't. Defoe was a mistake and the Keane thing turned into a mess (and we don't really know how much of that was down to Speakman) but of the players that have come in since he arrived, more have turned out to be a success than haven't.
He isn't getting his thread for this but it's to do with contracts etc But Mbappes news contract and in the times we live in is absolutely disgusting. Grotesque amounts of money, 85 million signing bonus and a contract worth over half a billion, that's 1.6 million pounds a week...a f**kin week?!.He has a say in transfers and who the new manager is or will be sacked. A footballer now officially has the power over a club. PSG can't sustain the cash flow. 700 million loss last year. Just when you thought football couldn't be any further away from the average fan.
Having a manager who knows what to do with a squad of players makes the difference, and I am confident enough in our recruitment set up to leave it to them ,.
I am not so sure mate. I think he has some questions to answer. Defoe was ridiculous and you have to question his football judgement after that. Selling Flannagan, and trying to sell Gooch, in January, for me was incredibly naieve. As for the 2 games after Johnson went the less said the better. I was talking to lads on the way back yesterday about our squad yesterday. We all agreed that in the last 18 months, since Parkinson went, it is 100% better. I wonder how many were down to our new structure, and how many were more down to Johnson. In my opinion some were clearly down to Johnson, Winchester, Stewart, Baath, Doyle, plus likely Pritchard and Roberts. Others down to the bigger team such as Cirkin, Huggins, Clarke, Hume, Evans, Broadhead. There are definitely good signs from our recruitment team, when they are allowed to work properly (they wouldnt have identified Defoe for example) but I hope AN is given a big role too, like Johnson had, because there will be players he knows and wants as well.
If Gooch was allowed to leave, I don't think we would be sat here talking about Championship football next year! His form under AN has been essential to this run of games!
summer recruitment was good and possibly, if you remove the defoe/keane saga the january window was not too bad...said a few times but any div 3 club that has the likes of keane and defoe showing an interest simply have to go with it but it did slightly derail things.