Morning fellow Chairboys!! What a weekend and what a season! While we let our promotion rivals scrap in the playoffs in the coming weeks, we shall undoubtedley see contracts offered and players being let go, while the transfer hype machine will get into overdrive as targets to lead us to League 1 glory are identified. Just want to know the following...... 1. Who is getting a new contract? Will Donnelly stay etc? 2. Who is going? Have we seen the last of Leon?? 3. Who would we like to see in a Blues shirt next season? Me personally..... 1. I would like to see Donnelly stay. I reckon he, Lewis and Rendell are the type of players who will play better football in a higher division as there will be more teams willing to get the ball down and play rather than kick each other. 2. I reckon JPP could be the suprise here. We are going to need another striker and Strevens and Beavon have both contributed at different times. JPP is ok but he is another MccSporran for me - quality in flashes but injured or inconsistent the rest of the time. Poss Leon is on his way too sadly 3. My heart says Charlie Adam and Ashley Young (both moving this summer!) but id like to see Waddock move Ainsworth into the middle as a holding midfielder (similar to what Rob Lee did for us). His legs arent going to go on forever but his head and passing are still great. Therefore, maybe another winger. Dont mind really as long as Duberry, Sutton and Revell all stay clear!! Happy Summer Rhubarb boys!
i have heard the rumour about jp being released and oxford are supposedly after leon,i think leon is a class act and i hope he stays.bennett can go as he is not good enough for div 2 let alone a division higher.i also think foster will be released along with westwood and matty bloomfield.i hope we hang on to bully because his performances this season are bound to have caught the eye of a number of scouts from bigger clubs.murtagh will be released as there are too many midfielders ahead of him as for the others who knows
It would seem that, for many, the elation of winning those last few games to clinch promotion will be short-lived as their services will be no longer required. Very sad. It's a cruel world but things have to be done in order to progress.
Yep. He's become my hero for Wycombe. I know Bully is the hero performance-wise but for me Ainsworth is a hero on and off the pitch, he's been around for ages. He's been against us in the two most exciting and vital matches I remember and now he gives his all for Wycombe. Great ambassador on and off the pitch, not forgetting his representing the football league in the war memorial ceremony in France (great honour). He's the player I talk about most over here. To see him involved in goals and scoring them is great to watch. An inspiration.
The only issue with Donnelly is his value, what will the Swans want for him, I think they will offload him if they make it to the Prem as although i think he is a class player, he is not a prem class player. If we dont get donnelly, I thought Anthony Grant was a class act for Southend on Sat and scott davies is now a free agent??? Leon must stay, Big Dave is learning by playing with him every week, agree with most that westwood will go, great servant to the club and although he reads the game brilliantly I think the pace of the league above may show him up. I think both Betsy and Gaz will stay but play bit parts when we need experienced heads, neither will be able to put in the same effort as they did this season. If we dont get donnelly, I thought Anthony Grant was a class act for Southend on Sat and scott davies is now a free agent??? Matt McClure has a future at WWFC the snippits we have seen of him look good, he could feel like a new signing if he gets some goals.
If Swansea go up we should hopefully be able to nab Donnelly. Since Morecambe away mid-March he has been excellent and played some key performances helping us to promotion. Would like to see him signed. If not Scott Davies has been released from Reading and has shown he can compete in League One. He clearly has a strong affiliation for our club and I would have him as the back up if Swansea do not allow us to sign Donnelly. One of the priorities must be getting Leon Johnson signed up. A real favourite of mine, since he's come back into the team he has had an excellent partnership with Winfield. He didn't even deserve to get dropped in the first place. He certainly deserves a new contract and as one of our longest serving players I would prefer to get it tied up as I can see League 1 sides being interested in him. Westwood has played his part, and has 5 promotions now! but I would think it's time for him to move on. Also look to ship out Bennett who has had a poor season. Another centre back is then needed alongside LJ & Big Dave. I think we need another winger as Ainsworth and Betsy won't both be able to play as much as they have this season. Don't get me wrong they still have key roles to play but we need another winger as competition. Either Gosney of AFC Totton who we have been monitoring (he's scored shed loads from the wing this season) or the pacey Grant at Crewe would be good shouts. Omar Daley is another possibility. I expect one of JPP / Beavon will go. Beavon although having a poor scoring record has been a revelation and deserves a crack IMO. I like Pittman but sadly he may have to move on. Another striker is needed alongside Beavon/Rendell/Strevens and we will have some decent options. Goes without saying keeping Bull is essential, but I'm sure he signed a new contract. Arnold will do for a back up, although I've never been impressed when i've seen him we need another keeper. If the worst happens and Bull gets injured / offered a deal elsewhere with cash we can look to the loan market. Although I am unsure of Sandell's defensive qualities, and Foster's attacking contribution, they are both good enough full backs to compete in League One. And both have been consistent and good enough to deserve a chance to stay on. McCoy is an upcoming talent who we should nurture into his role.
I would like Donnelly to stay too. He had a slow start with us while building up match fitness but he's been brilliant since. I don't see Swansea using him whether they go up or not, so it'll come down to money. Time could be up for Bloomfield though, will be sad to see him go if it happens. Gaz and Betsy need understudies who will take the load off them and allow them to take more breaks. Beavon should stay. His lack of goals are a concern but he brings so much to the game with his work rate, energy and direct running and I think he's a valuable player to us. Pittman, unfortunately, should go. He has failed to live up to the massively over the top rating given to him by a lot of Wycombe fans, he simply hasn't cut it at anywhere near a consistent level. The big question amongst the current strikers for me is whether Strevens stays or goes. A few weeks ago most would say go, but he's proven his worth lately as he did at the beginnning of the season. But do we need him and Beavon, who do pretty much the same thing - don't score but work extremely hard. McClure could also come into the mix next season, he looks very promising. In defence, I'm happy with the 2 right backs and big Dave. Leon should definitely stay too and I honestly think Westwood has another season in him. We need another centre half to come in and a left back as either a replacement for Sandell so he can move to left midfield or as cover/challenge him for a starting place. I won't speculate on who will come in to the club. There's plenty of rumours flying around, but I'll leave that up to Waddock to sort out!
So what is the consensus line-up for our first League 1 prep game (for unknown replacements use abbreviations eg NEW1) Then suggestions for NEW1, NEW2 etc can be put forward. Anyone keen to put up a straw man? As the transfer market opens up we may see opportunities to fill those NEW places.
LJ should stay. I think Westwood should stay as well. Bennett is the one to offload. I think Beavon should be given another chance in League One and I would play JPP as a winger... It's a funny old thing, but we seem to have been promoted with a squad no-one had much faith in for most of the season.
I think we have a decent starting 11, with Bull, Foster Winfield LJ Sandell, Ainsworth Lewis Donnelly (hopefully) Betsy, Strevens Rendell. This should be able to hold their own in Lg 1. As everyone says we need cover at centre back (along with Westwood who has great experience), left back, Davies would be ideal quality cover in midfield. Plus Le Fondre or someelse quality up front. I'm hopeing Harris could provide cover on both wings if needed. Strevens and Bevon are too similar so shouldn't play together, great work ethic but need someone like Rendell to put the ball away. I am quietly confident that we can stay up this season. Also, we don't want to let too many people leave as we obviosuly have a good team spirit in the changing room, which can go along way to helping us stay up. Right better go and do some work now.
players to go: murtagh, bennett, pittman(too inconsistent), betsy(poor in league 2 so will do nothing in league 1), foster and of course green. Hopefully we can sign Donnelly/Davies, maybe Donaldson from Crewe who I believe is out of contract, a new left back- Port Vale's left back Robert Taylor impressed me and is a similar mould to Andy Sandell which could work well. Lastly we need a new right and centre back (Geoghegan anyone?) my line up for next season: Bull Mccoy, Dave, Leon, NEW 1 (Taylor) Ainsworth, Lewis, Donnelly, Sandell Rendell, NEW2 (Donaldson) Subs: Arnold, Westwood, NEW3(Centre Back) Montrose, Bloomfield, Strevens, Beavon I still think Westwood has a future with the club- he can provide us with experience if nothing else. I would also like to see Sandell pushed up to left mid, as he seems much more capable there than left back. Lastly Mccoy was so good this season, why did we ever drop him?
Scott McGleish has been released by Orient, Omar Daley released by Bradford, Anthony Grant (didn't celebrate his goal on Saturday) and Donaldson would be decent choices. Le Fondre would cost too much in my opinion. TEAM: BULL, MCCOY (NEW1), SANDELL, WINFIELD, JOHNSON, LEWIS, DONNELLY/DAVIES, AINSWORTH, BETSY (NEW2 DALEY?), RENDELL, NEW3 (MCGLEISH/DONALDSON)
I would think if Swansea go up we should have a good chance at getting Donnelly. I was impressed with Strevens and Foster in the last few games (clearly their experience came to the fore) but ultimately though I think they should be kept on, they can also both be improved on. Another striker would certainly be nice - Donaldson has been mentioned but surely there will be bigger clubs looking at him after his goal spree this season? New wingers will be needed - Ainsworth will be a year older, and Betsy lacks consistency in my view, so that will need to be attended to. Sandell was dreadful for the first 25 minutes on Saturday, a sign of things to come perhaps? I think he needs some competition at left back, but could still be a useful player. It looks like being one of either Beavon or Pittman to be retained, and I think the former is a far more reliable bet in league one. If only he could add goals to his game. Note that these signings can be made on the cheap. It doesn't require huge fees and disproportionate wages, merely a canny ability to spot a decent team player, which Waddock seems to have in abundance. No rash signings, or flash stars who would upset the team spirit. Just players who will buy into the team ethos, and get on board, so to speak. I hope Steve Hayes notes this, and does not splurge out large amounts of money - as Exeter and Yeovil showed, league one stability can be achieved without breaking the bank. Then again, I'll never be sure about the long term future of WWFC under Hayes after his actions and comments over the past two years. The stadium issue will be the tie breaker. But that's another issue altogether. It can be done on a budget though
MBU - Grant is a good shout, btw. Just the sort of player I'd like to see. And I really hope Bloomfield stays.
