The time has come for managers across the land to fine tune their squads. Some players are asked to leave, some are begged to stay and get extra added to their pay, whilst others make a career improving move. Hopefully these changes work out well for all involved. Town are in need of a few additional players but need to shift a few out to make room. On the cards for changes are probably Ellis, Demetriou, and Caton. Leutwiler is also a possible player leaving. We have plenty out of contract in the summer and talks are in place with Brown and possibly Whitbread and Gerrard. There are also a slightly chance of signings being made today. What positions need strengthening and who do you think need to stay or go? Who should we sign?
http://www.shrewsburytown.com/news/article/micky-mellon-on-transfers-2879823.aspx MM talks about loanees and potential signings.
Unless the first names of the incoming two players are Christiano and Lionel (not Ainsworth!) we are doomed.
I am now recovered from my Chesterfield trauma and can make some sensible suggestions. Apparently we may be signing Conor Townsend a 23 year old left back from Hull currently on loan at Grimsby. That would allow us to play Brown in his best position wide left midfield. Steve Bruce says it is between us and Oxford for Towwsend's signature. We desperately need a left back and a right back above all else. We also need a centre midfielder. If we cannot sign a right back I would play Ogogo there. With the emergence of Halstead and some decent young keepers at the club I would sell Leutwiler to free up some wages. I am not convinced by Gerrard because of his lack of pace and would rather see Grandison back in the middle if he can get fully fit. I think we should keep Whitbread. I think Cole is a bit hit and miss but we should probably try to keep him until the end of the season As for who should go the list is too long to mention - about half the squad have not shown themselves good enough for League 1 at present. I would like Lawrence to see out his contract as we need his experience and touch of class in the run in but clearly there are other issues there. We also need some mobility up front to complement Collins and Barnett but I do not think Mangan will be the answer in League 1. Over to you MM - you have a massive job to do and the next few weeks will determine both your and the club's fate.
I'm worried by Black, on a 2 1/2 year contract I think and destined to get a yellow within 20mins of each game, yet can also do some great tackling. We definitely need an improvement at both lb and rb. We also need some inspiring player to light up midfield. Oh and a striker with pace, accuracy and an eye for goal/assists! JLAA is almost there for the striker bar the accuracy and assists.
Yes - one of the many disappointing things about this season has been the lack of effective contributions from Akpro and Grandison despite their good contributions to our promotion. Obviously there seem to have been some personal issues with Akpro and fitness issues with Grandison. However, I wonder in both cases whether they are fully committed to the club as they took an age to sign their deals and clearly thought they would get offers from better clubs. Black had an absolute nightmare game yesterday (as did several others) but I have seen enough of him to think he could be a useful acquisition.
Mangan is coming back (lets hope it revitalises Collins or whoever he partners) but I am not convinced about this move. Demitriou is back - please restore him at left back and push Brown further up the field. Caton is back - have not seen much of him but if he cant get in Wrexham's team its unlikely he will feature much. Ellis probably extending his loan at Carlisle - by no means has he been our worst defender this season. Barnett possibly going to Oxford on loan - that would be strange one. Ogogo out for six weeks - that is a big loss and we need to replace him now otherwise we might be bottom of the league by the time he gets back. Lawrence staying - good, we might need him and at least he looks as if he cares. A 'mystey departure' promised - suspect it could be Leutwiler though his injury might complicate that. It is certainly going to be an interesting few weeks at the Greeenhous Meadow.
We now know what the mystery departure was -Collins has not been at his best this season (who has?) but I am absolutely stunned that we can let our top scorer go. Do we want to avoid relegation? Barnett or Akpro better step up to the plate mighty quick unless we have another striker coming in. On a more positive note welcome back Jack Grimmer - one of our best loan signings ever - we do not need to worry about right back if he stays fit this season.I remember the second half at Dagenham last year when he repeatedly destroyed their defence - sign him up permanently if we can.
What a busy day. To see so much movement early on is far better than the differing that Turner did. Not too bothered about Collins, perhaps it was poor supply but he never seemed to be in the right place that a striker should be. Grimmer will hopefully be a great move and hopefully he's almost match fit. Demetriou and Caton played in the reserves today and played well with both getting an assist, Demetriou and Barnett getting goals. Hopefully that'll give mm something to think about.
Barnett and Mangan up front will work but we need someone to temporarily replace Ogogo. Noone at present remotely fits that bill.
What is going on? There must be another striker coming in to play alongside Mangan unless we are going to rely on Akpro or Vernon (how many goals between them this season, 2?). It seems like we are trying to build a new team in the middle of the season with all sorts of uninspiring names as targets being bandied about on B and A. So far I have supported MM but I am beginning to wonder as at the moment the club seems to be in complete meltdown. What sort of team are we going to put out against Cardiff? I know many don't rate the Cup highly but if we take another hammering on Sunday the morale will be even lower for the next vital few league games. That incredible statistic that we apparently have the ninth highest budget in this league (if anywhere near true) must mean that a substantial amount of it has been squandered on players who are not good enough or not fit enough (or both in some cases). This reminds me of Ratcliffe's last stand when we dropped out of the League because we did not have the legs to defend.
Good Evening, Apparently we (Gas) are having Lawrence. I like the player - experienced and with a touch of Championship-standard class. Which position have you been playing him?
Well, you've got him. No matter what others might say, Lawrence is a class above. Capable of finding space, beating a man (even though lacking in pace) and dictating play. In my opinion....a huge loss for Shrewsbury.
I would have preferred to keep him for our coming relegation battle and he was our best player in the closing stages of last season - should be a good addition for the Gas in League 2.
Just seen we are apparently signing Kyle Vassell. Looking at his scoring record can anyone tell me how this lad is any improvement on Collins or Barnett? We are going down big style.
He allegedly likes playing away games. Can be an excellent player with a deft touch, but is losing some pace.
Probably likes playing away games because the home (Shrewsbury) support doesn't recognise a class player if he bit them in the face.. Class always overcomes lack of pace as Lawrence frequently demonstrates.
