RETAINED/RELEASED/NEW TARGETS...Summer WINDOW 2023

Going back for a minute to Morgan Whittaker. I have always believed that some players excel in one place where they have appeared to fail in every other. Not sure what it is and why exactly but it happens with players al the time. It is perhaps the style of play, the surrounding, the team togetherness like a sort of family, the Manager, the Fans. Or of course a combination of all of those factors clicking at once or a combination of some of them. Over the years we have had players who have failed to perform elsewhere and have come here and been outstanding. Contrasting we have had plenty who have great reputations elsewhere and come here and flop badly.

As for the above list, we have always known for a while now that Danny was going home. Not one ounce of a surprise there. Bolton has been an injury worry throughout as he was when we got him. Can't afford to take more risks with him in a higher league. The one surprise is Connor Grant for me. Unless he already expressed a wish to leave aka Danny then I thought he would be offered a chance. Jephcott was always going and now he isn't being bought then no shock it's release. I hope those offered new contracts take them.

 

The main talking point seems to be the leaving of Danny Mayor & Conor Grant.

As already mentioned Mayor returning north to be nearer his young family has been on the cards for awhile.....and not being retained confirms that.

Grant isn't so clear....he has been very unlucky this season with injuries and he is a northener as well so might wish also to be nearer home.....maybe also his position in the team isn't so clear anymore and Schumacher reluctantly has decided to let him go.

James Bolton is a good defender but came to Argyle getting over an injury and continued throughout the season having difficulty staying fit....ashame really but if he didn't have fitness problems would he ever have been with us...maybe not.....With Brendan Galloway having triggered an extension in his contract and also being a gifted defender could Argyle risk the possibility of having two injury prone defenders with the extra requirements that the Championship would demand upon the squad....maybe a risk too far.

 

So these are the five we want to keep.......Houghton, Scarr, Wilson, Hardie & Ennis......and offered them new contracts.

I think Scarr will stay.....not seen as a fast mover....an area we might need to upgrade with a more mobile and faster central defender....but he is experienced and good in the air.

Wilson & Houghton also will be caught out with lack of speed....we just need to bring in players that can deal with Championship attackers.

But all three of these defenders have done a good job for Argyle this past season....they might need some quality around them to be able to continue doing their job in the coming season.

We scored our fair share of goals last season from all over the park......Hardie did his fair share when allowed to run in behind defenders.....he might find that difficult at a higher level.....bur I think he will stay.

Ennis I'm more worried about....he is fast and skillful....lets hope not too many saw his bicycle kick to break the deadlock recently.....we might find he gets offers seeing that he is out of contract.....not sure why we allowed that to happen....did we offer him anything to continue his contract earlier in the season ?

Until we know if these five will stay...recruiting any needed replacements is on hold for awhile I would think.

 

So having spent a whole season on loan at Swindon with the possibility of being offered a contract.....Swindon have decided that they do not want Luke Jephcott full time.

 

Some of those named for Argyle to consider.

Conor Bradley.
Ryan Manning.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.
Tom Cannon.
Keshi Anderson.
Daniel Jebbison.
Ben Osborn.
Josh Ginnelly.
Craig Cathcart.
Ashley Barnes.
And of course...Morgan Whittaker.

 

I don't know many of these but I don't see Craig Cathcart or Ashley Barnes fitting our template.

I suspect it'll be the same as usual. First reaction: "Who? Why?". Second reaction, having seen them play "Oh I see!"..

 

They fit into the....played for Argyle in the past and now available slot.....with Championship experience.

Cathcart could bring something for a season to the defence in our first year back into this league.

Surprising how many of these players have Irish background.

 

At Christmas, Argyle tried to sign players good enough to win League 1 promotion and with the potential to play in the Championship.

We have to face the fact we may well get relegated by bigger budgets, not better clubs. Simon Hallett said that on average, Championship teams lose £0.25m PER WEEK and we aren’t going there.

I have faith and I think we’ll survive. Simon Hallett also said our objective at the start of the season just gone was the playoffs but the objective next season is survival. That’s realistic and I believe achievable but not guaranteed.

So, I don’t think we’ll sign ageing Championship players on big money salaries. We’ll reverse it and sign younger players with the ability to play in the Championship now, probably. Ones with ability but not flourishing in bloated Championship squads.Not acknowledged, proven stars but ones who’ll make us a shoo-in for League 1 promotion if we do go down and aren’t too proud ti play a season there.

 

I don't know if you ever look at pasoti notdistant and I suspect the list above has come from that direction. It is the wasy of pasoti sadly. Many of them over there are underwhelmed no matter who we sign and some are writing them off before they have even got here. The second fact is that whenever a former Argyle player comes onto the market there is always a nomination for them to be resigned. Fortunately most of them don't get anywhere near coming back. We don't need players who have been there and done that. We need players who the management see potential in and are young and have a sell on value once developed. It's what the better run clubs do and some have been doing for years. Virtually all of the players signed last term the cry of "WHO" went up from the masses. Most if not all did well or well enough. You have to trust the system we use even if it isn't obvious to the majority of us.

 

Exactly. We haven’t been let down by recruitment in the last few years and it hasn’t been based on individual instinct but on an agreed budget, thorough research and a team decision. Nothing is guaranteed but if the system worked in League 1, there’s no reason it shouldn’t work in the Championship,

 

Absolutely. In the Management Team we trust and it's about time they all trusted them.

 

This list has come from the following websites....."Football League World".....and..." The 72".

 

One thing to note is that we’ve released a few on contract, albeit some of whom were out on loan with a subsidy coming in on their wages.

We’ve also lost several who were on loan to us.

We know the playing budget (including travel costs, agents fees etc as well as wages) will go up by a multiple (from £4m to £11m I think). Some of that will go to existing squad players as we go into a higher league but there’s theoretical room to bring in perhaps as many as 10 players of a better-than -League 1 basis.

However, following the recent releases. we don’t really have many who you could see going out on loan. The inner squad of say 18 have all had game time at some point. The young No 3 goalkeeper is one perhaps and the two who just played for Wales under whatever’s this week. They’d benefit from game time somewhere. Therefore we’re probably looking at say 6 or 7 incoming players.

It also shows the dangers of committing to long, expensive contracts if you get relegated and the playing budget goes back down to £4m…..

 

All's not well at Swansea "Martin ....was set to hold talks with the club's ownership group in Washington DC.......He wanted assurances over summer transfers, plus clarity on his own future, his players and staff........."I think everyone wants clarity on what the situation is,""

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65652047

 

He has been mention regarding the Southampton job .....along with the Ipswich manager....Schumacher not so much now.
But Whittaker it seems is still on Rangers shopping list.....£3 million seems to be the asking price....surely beyond our budget.

 

You have to admit plymborn that pasoti does have history of bigging up ex players and somebody always brings up a possible signing when one come onto the free market. I just don't get why some people are so kean on resigning players who we've had before. There are also posters who seem to scan the www for any hint of a player who looks vaguely interesting and throws the name into the mix. My view is that our existing recruiting method and crew have done a stirling job so far so apart from "a bit of fun" chucking names into a mix isn't really going to cut it. I trust them to bring in the right players personally and am content with them doing that. Apart from the fun aspect I don't see much need to surf the net for candidates.

As for Whittaker there is absolutely no chance on this planet we will be paying anywhere near £3m for anyone plus the wages that would go with that. If he comes cheap then we will pitch an argument and leave it up to him to make the choice. If he doesn't come cheap then would be nice but heyho it ain't happening.

 

So Ashley Barnes has gone on a free to Norwich....that's one less on the possible list then.

 

The story that was circulating during the January window was that Swansea wanted £2m and Rangers offered £1m (or in the region thereof in both cases).

Where £3m has now come from I don't know although for sure it's somewhere in the South Wales area. Nothing's happened to increase his value since he left Argyle: if anything the opposite is likely to have happened due to the fact Swansea haven't seen fit to pick him for their own side.

 

I can't see us paying £1m either. As for anyone else we have a formula and that isn't going to change no matter who comes up on offer.

 

Football League World are suggesting that both Blackburn & Swansea are interested in out of contract Niall Ennis.

And Steven Schumacher has been linked to the full time manager vacancy at Leicester.