and had a free reign to change the squad, who would you keep and who would you let go, regardless of regulations re transfer deadlines and loans? Nelson - keep Fish - keep Harriman - keep Davies - keep Barratt - go Legge - go Martin - keep Lee - keep Whelps - keep Gregory - go Hollands - go Allen - keep Keds - keep but make it clear to him as a midfield role Linganzi - undecided Bayo - go Cody - go Dack - keep German - keep Weston - keep That is six players I would let go, of those six I would let three go immediately...Gregory, Cody, Bayo. Followed eventually by Hollands, Legge, Barratt. My doubtfuls are Linganzi who I need to see more and Weston who just stays in because of pace and potential to move into a striker role but I'm really hovering on him. My urgent priority would be to look for a new winger on the left and replacements for the back. Allen stays contrary to probably lots of opinion, sometimes I think the guy gets to much unwarranted stick and he is the one player I would like to give longer opportunity to prove himself. Cody will probably go and score a hat-trick now against Notts County tonight...lol Views...
Nelson - keep Fish - keep Harriman - keep Davies - keep Barratt - go Legge - keep Martin - keep Lee - keep Whelps - keep Gregory - go Hollands - keep Allen - go Keds - keep Linganzi - keep Bayo - go Cody - keep Dack - keep German - go Weston - go 6 gone for me too but a slightly different selection. Weston & German just dont do enough for me. When the game is stretched Weston is great if he can control the ball but a lot of the time he just doesnt look interested. Bayo was just a poor decision all round. Without the ball its like playing with 10, great guy but not what we need right now. Sadly Burton would walk into out starting XI right now! Gregory - just cant work him out although i think Hollands does have the quality in the right team. Allen, actually like the bloke and he is a top athlete but just doesn't do enough with the ball at his feet him afraid. Dont think we'll see him in the firstXI again
Nelson - keep Fish - keep Harriman - keep Davies - keep Barratt - go Legge - keep Martin - keep Lee - keep Whelps - keep Gregory - go Hollands - keep Allen - go Keds - keep Linganzi - keep Bayo - Keep Cody - keep Dack - keep German - Keep Weston - Keep I would only move 3 out, we need more bodies not less. Barrett is great for his leadership skills however im afraid, and evidently not for the first time, he is found wanting at this level, im desperate to see a legge/davies partnership at the back with Nelson as captain (imperitive he stays) Allen and Gregory are simply not good enough and as replacements we need 2 good centre midfielders in. Cody and Bayo will come good, in fact Bayo has 2 goals in i think 3 starts so not a bad return! We haven't played to Cody's strengths at all as yet and if you remember the first season he was here it took him until late October to score his first goal before going on an incredible run post Christmas once he hit his high confidence levels. He is a goalscorer, those of which are rare these days and casting him off now would be ridiculous.
Goodbye Gregory, Allen, German, Barratt & Linganzi and get the two midfielders I felt we wanted this summer plus a central defender. As soon as I saw Gregory I was puzzled as this was a step back, not forwards and we managed to score a goal or two then stop the league 2 opposition from scoring. This just didn't bode well for the future compared to those inspiring wins early in the season. Losing Payne was awful.
All of you forgot George Howard! Nelson - Keep Howard - I would have to assess him first hand before making a decision Fish - Keep Harriman - Keep and when Fish is fit use him as a Right Midfielder Davies - Keep Barrett - Keep only for experience, wouldn't be my first choice but helps lead the line well Legge - Go, too large and lumbered for this division Martin - Keep just because he proved brb wrong Linganzi - Keep, with the right mindset this guy could be championship player Gregory - Go unfortunately not consistent enough at this level, good ball player for a L2 team Hollands - Go, doesn't do anything for me we might aswell send him back now Lee - Keep, we need our pitbull and if played like he was under Hess then he should score us a few more goals Dack - Keep, so much potential, just needs to be reined in and played in the right system Whelpdale - Keep, easily the most gifted midfielder we have Weston - Keep him we need his pace and ability to change games Allen - I would just keep him but really work on converting him into a winger, he won't get anywhere as a centre mid but he has the athleticism and work ethic for a potentially decent winger Bayo - Go, I didn't want him in the first place Kedwell - Keep as our Centre Forward/Second Striker NOT as a midfielder. Top scorer last two years and already has 6, why do people think he's a midfielder? Analyse his game more and you will see he plays too similarly to Rooney's game and look how successful he is. Heskey never scored goals but always played at the top level, perspective guys! Cody - Keep, this is his club just get his confidence back and he will produce German - Keep, His pace and power makes him look a decent prospect So thats Legge, Gregory, Hollands and Bayo I would get rid of and Barrett, Allen and Howard just scrape through. I would want at least 1 more centre back and let McKain & Hare step up, 3 more centre mids but I would be happy to involve Hessenthaler more, at least one more left winger along with using Harry Grant more and another striker.4-4-1-1 would be the system I would utilise with the players left over making it look like this: Nelson Fish/Harriman Davies Barrett Martin Whelpdale Linganzi Lee Weston Kedwell Cody/German.
Nelson - keep (Brilliant Goalkeeper) Fish - go (Would rather have Harriman but did have a good season last year) Harriman - keep (Been terrific so far deserved his new deal at QPR) Davies - keep (Good young player who by Xmas should be a first team regular) Barratt - go (too old now, did well last year but the clock is ticking and errors are creeping in) Legge - keep (gets a lot of stick but is a big old fashioned CB not a footballing dynamo, room for them in League 1) Martin - keep (Mr. Consistent) Lee - keep (battles away and genuinely seems to care) Whelps - keep (had a rough patch but has game changing ability and is technically on another level) Gregory - go (never quite got fan support and never quite effective enough in his holding role) Hollands - keep (very good player for this level needs time to adapt but is potentially brilliant) Allen - go (too many mistakes, runs around but often without purpose) Linganzi - keep (cannot see what this guy has to do to play, most underrated gills player) Dack - keep (very exciting young prospect but a short spell in League 2 on loan would do wonders) Bayo - keep (effective if played in the right way, Northampton did it why cant we?) Cody - keep (been poor this season but his record warrants more time) Kedwell - keep (gives his all for the team, personally not my type of striker, but gets the job done) German - keep (has to be loaned out to gain confidence, maybe another Steph Payne? Last chance for the kid) Weston - keep (gets stick but his pace is immense and seems to be getting back to his best under taylor)
GillsPegLeg - i've been waiting for someone to remind me of Martin...lol...thought I had got away with it for so long. But just in case you don't know...Gregory is my new Martin haha...troubled times ahead, until I'm proved wrong again. In regards to Howard...never forgot him mate...just never included him for obvious reasons.
Was just biding my time to bring it back up, you do have to admit the responsibility and freedom that him and Fish got under MA worked wonders and made them look so much better. Hopefully Taylor can still utilise their abilities.
This is who I would keep and who I would release KEEP Stuart Nelson - One of the few players who has been playing well for Gillingham this season George Howard - I keep George Howard at the club as he is a young goalkeeper who will be on cheap wages Matt Fish - Last Season Matt Fish was sensational for us at right back, he is a young player who clearly has improved after a shaky start to his Gillingham Career Callum Davies - Callum Davies is one for the future, a very good centre back who should be starting on a week in, week out basis Adam Barrett - I would keep Adam Barrett as a squad player, his experience would be beneficial for the younger players we will looking to push into the first team as I would look to bring several young players to the club who has been released by bigger clubs. Charlie Lee & Chris Whelpdale - Both players are sensational when they are form but at the moment Chris Whelpdale and Charlie Lee have been hit and miss, but I would keep both players because on their day they can run the midfield for Gillingham. Bradley Dack - Another young player who I would look to build The Gillingham Team around, providing that we play Bradley Dack in his natural position as a central attacking midfielder. Danny Kedwell - Currently in the goal-scoring form of his life and Danny Kedwell's all round contribution to the team just makes Danny Kedwell a fans favourite and if it was up to me I would be offering Danny Kedwell a two year contract extension now Cody McDonald - I would keep Cody McDonald at the club, capable of scoring goals like he did against Sheffield United on a regular basis if we play to his strengths and if we play Cody McDonald alongside a regular strike partner. RELEASE Leon Legge - Leon will win headers all day long and give 110% to the cause but he is not a fotballing footballer ( if that makes sense) his first touch is usually very poor and his distribution of the ball when in possession is normally a long ball over the top, normally you do need a big / little combination in the heart of our defence and usually that does work well, but I think you want your defenders to be your first line of attack as well as your last line of defence. Joe Martin - I am surprised Danny Jackman was not getting in the side ahead of Joe Martin last season, I think Joe Martin has improved a lot but I think we can sign someone better for the system we are looking to play. Amine Linganzi, Danny Hollands, Steven Gregory - I would release these three so we can look to sign better quality midfielders in the middle of the park Myles Weston - Myles Weston can only last for forty five minutes and at best he is a impact sub for Gillingham in League One, I rather see younger players like Ashley Miller or Nathan Nyafli play in Weston's role for the team where their enthusiasm will mean that they will try harder when they get their chance for the first team. Harry Grant, Antonio German, Tom Derry, Charlie Allen - all four are young players who I don't see making the step up into League One Adebayo Akinfenwa - Too big, too slow and not mobile enough for League One football or for the system we are looking to play, a good player in League Two but not good enough in League One. Adam Birchall - Such a shame that injuries have gotten the better of Adam Birchall because I was excited when we signed him and when he linked up with Danny Kedwell at Ramsgate there was a nice partnership building between both players. My Starting Eleven Plus Seven Subs would be........... --------------------------Nelson---------------------------------- Fish------------Davies---------------NewCB----------------NewLB ----------------Lee------------------NewCDM---------------------- NewRM------------------Dack-----------------------------Whelpdale ------------------------Kedwell------------------------------------- Subs: Howard, NewCB, Barrett, New CM, NewLM, McDonald, New Striker Six of my new Seven Signings will be between the ages of 17 and 23 as we look to inject some youth into the side, plus if these young players do well then we can sell them on for a profit and then look to sign more promising youngsters, I would add one player with a lot of experience to balance out all the youthful enthusiasm I would have in the squad. And I would stick with a 4.2.3.1 formation and look to build the side around Bradley Dack who I feel would excel in his more central attacking midfielder role. But what do you guys think of my keep / release write up ??? - am I thinking along the same-lines as a few of you, or do you feel I am talking a load of nonsense ???
Disagree on quite a few. Joe Martin, Linganzi, Weston, Allen and Grant. Joe Martin was in the PFA team of the year last season and easily one of our few decent performers still. Linganzi has got something about him that hopefully Taylor maybe able to tap into more. Weston changes games even if used as a sub, if he played like he did against Brackley in the replay more often he would appease fans more. Harry Grant looks a real prospect, I don't know if you've seen much of him FOM but in preseason he brought energy and crosses that were often lacking. Charlie Allen Im still neither here nor there about but if he develops as a RM then why not? Also please don't choose Whelpdale on the left, he hates it and as a result the team struggles.
An interesting selection. I agree about keeping Nelson. I also fully subscribe to your last line (sorry). On a more serious note - there isn't a lot to choose from out of the entire squad. None possess great quality, and each can put in a decent performance 'on their day.' I've previously stated that the squad is good enough to do reasonably well in L1 - but their committment needs to be 100%. It was the committment, determination, plus a bit of (deserved) luck that won it for Brackley - the same ingredients that won it for us at Sheffield. If we can do it, why not all the time ?
I thought Harry Grant was very impressive during pre-season and he did not look out of place against the likes of Ipswich Town, but I can see Harry Grant moving on in January and the same applies to Charlie Allen, with Martin Allen no longer at the club Peter Taylor isn't going to want to work with the former manager's son and nephew.
