|
|
Post by seriouslyred on Nov 29, 2023 21:38:36 GMT
Instead of the usual question about where we might be at the end of January, let's examine how many of the 15 most utilised players might contribute to a trip to Wembley.
Also please consider those who have just come up from the Academy who you consider will improve enough to contribute next season.
Please feel free to add views around what you think we need in 2024 in terms of tactics, talent and approach.
Edit: please include currently injured players if you think that they will play enough / are good enough to contribute to c. 77 points over 46 games
|
|
|
|
Post by aucklandaddick on Nov 29, 2023 21:47:18 GMT
Instead of the usual question about where we might be at the end of January, let's examine how many of the 15 most utilised players might contribute to a trip to Wembley. Also please consider those who have just come up from the Academy who you consider will improve enough to contribute next season. Please feel free to add views around what you think we need in 2024 in terms of tactics, talent and approach. AMB Edun Jones Dobson Louis Watson CBT What we need is pretty obvious 1 possibly 2 dominant centre backs that can actually provide us with an aerial threat in both boxes, a goal scoring box to to box midfielder and a forward to replace the injured Aneke and Leaburn |
|
|
|
Post by seriouslyred on Nov 29, 2023 21:59:39 GMT
Instead of the usual question about where we might be at the end of January, let's examine how many of the 15 most utilised players might contribute to a trip to Wembley. Also please consider those who have just come up from the Academy who you consider will improve enough to contribute next season. Please feel free to add views around what you think we need in 2024 in terms of tactics, talent and approach. AMB Edun Jones Dobson Louis Watson CBT What we need is pretty obvious 1 possibly 2 dominant centre backs that can actually provide us with an aerial threat in both boxes, a goal scoring box to to box midfielder and a forward to replace the injured Aneke and Leaburn Thanks for reply - so that's a vote for 6-9 then. Thoughts on Asiimwe, Campbell, T. Watson and any others who might develop at pace? Obviously we should add May. And one of Leaburn or Aneke should be available in the New Year. So potentially 11?! |
|
|
|
Post by valleyfaithful on Nov 29, 2023 22:25:53 GMT
Jones, Dobson, L Watson, CBT every third game, Alfie. No more than that.
|
|
|
|
Post by aucklandaddick on Nov 29, 2023 22:29:09 GMT
Jones, Dobson, L Watson, CBT every third game, Alfie. No more than that. How the f..k could I forget Alfie? 😳 |
|
|
|
Post by wellingaddick on Nov 29, 2023 22:44:13 GMT
It's quite a tough one to think about. I'm assuming this includes injured players in the squad. Both goalies (AMB and Istead) have made errors this season. I don't think any of our defenders qualify, even Jones.
Dobbo
Watson (L)
Fraser when played in his correct position
Camara
May
|
|
|
|
Post by seriouslyred on Nov 29, 2023 22:54:29 GMT
It's quite a tough one to think about. I'm assuming this includes injured players in the squad. Both goalies (AMB and Istead) have made errors this season. I don't think any of our defenders qualify, even Jones. Dobbo Watson (L) Fraser when played in his correct position Camara May Tough? Certainly different from the typical binary question of promotion vs mid-table. Have edited the question in respect of your comment on injuries. |
|
|
|
Post by aucklandaddick on Nov 29, 2023 22:55:24 GMT
It's quite a tough one to think about. I'm assuming this includes injured players in the squad. Both goalies (AMB and Istead) have made errors this season. I don't think any of our defenders qualify, even Jones. Dobbo Watson (L) Fraser when played in his correct position Camara May That’s an interesting viewpoint Welling that you don’t include Jones who I think has held our back four together this season, All about opinions I know but I think he has done pretty well overall in his first season and if you held a half yearly POTY award I would imagine he would be in amongst it |
|
|
|
Post by wellingaddick on Nov 30, 2023 9:12:31 GMT
It's quite a tough one to think about. I'm assuming this includes injured players in the squad. Both goalies (AMB and Istead) have made errors this season. I don't think any of our defenders qualify, even Jones. Dobbo Watson (L) Fraser when played in his correct position Camara May Tough? Certainly different from the typical binary question of promotion vs mid-table. Have edited the question in respect of your comment on injuries. I just feel that we have a lot of players who are very inconsistent, capable of being a threat in one game, but nowhere to be seen the next. CBT being a prime example. Not the formula for top six consistency. |
|
|
|
Post by wellingaddick on Nov 30, 2023 9:23:05 GMT
It's quite a tough one to think about. I'm assuming this includes injured players in the squad. Both goalies (AMB and Istead) have made errors this season. I don't think any of our defenders qualify, even Jones. Dobbo Watson (L) Fraser when played in his correct position Camara May That’s an interesting viewpoint Welling that you don’t include Jones who I think has held our back four together this season, All about opinions I know but I think he has done pretty well overall in his first season and if you held a half yearly POTY award I would imagine he would be in amongst it It is a thread about opinions of course. I looked back at our last two promotions from L1. The central defenders were Morrison, Taylor and Cort from 2011 and Bauer, Pearce and Sarr from 2019. I just wouldn't put Jones in ahead of any of those players, though I do agree he has been our best defender this season, I don't think he quite matches up to the standard asked by this poll. |
|
|
|
Post by aaronaldo on Nov 30, 2023 10:22:08 GMT
Top six in league one:
Jones
Edun
Dobson
CBT
May
Louie Watson (Loan)
Camara - If he can stay fit (Loan)
Aneke - We know he can't stay fit
If we were talking about who can make the step up to Championship. I'd struggle to name more than 2.
|
|
|
|
Post by manikin on Nov 30, 2023 11:31:48 GMT
Louie Watson and May, that's it. Don't think anyone else has truly proved themselves regarding fitness and form.
|
|
|
|
Post by seriouslyred on Nov 30, 2023 12:40:40 GMT
I'd say at least six. We need to strengthen the spine of the side as well as recruit another winger.
We have three decent full backs - need three decent players for every position.
And a director of performance with a top CV! I'm fed up of hearing new owners spout on about how they'll do things differently at Sparrows Lane but then refuse to appoint industry professionals.
Time will tell whether our side in Feb / March looks more like the real deal.
|
|
|
|
Post by aaronaldo on Nov 30, 2023 14:02:55 GMT
And a director of performance with a top CV! I'm fed up of hearing new owners spout on about how they'll do things differently at Sparrows Lane but then refuse to appoint industry professionals. Seen the thread on this...? Seems a good appointment on paper |
|
|
|
Post by whynot on Nov 30, 2023 18:19:08 GMT
May
Dobbo
Edun
Fraser
Jones
Louie Watson
The only other player I could see making the List is CBT but is just too inconsistent and 2 of the players I pick would just be good enough as a sub and not in the starting 11.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mundell on Nov 30, 2023 21:54:12 GMT
Not wishing to be difficult, but this is the wrong question. Every player who started on Tuesday against Cheltenham Town is capable of playing regularly in a top six side. Anyone doubting that might want to consider that in the 2020-21 season, when Lincoln made the playoffs, both Edun and McGrandles made over 50 appearances in all competitions. Tennai Watson played regularly for MK Dons the following season when they finished third. Last season Boban Tedic played for Barnsley in the playoff final.
The question is not how many players in the current squad are good enough to play top six football, it’s how many players do we need to recruit, in which positions and at what level (cost), to enable the players in the existing squad, like those above, to make the required contribution as part of a collective effort?
Put another way, somewhat paradoxically, our issue may not be that players like T Watson and Edun aren’t top six capable (they all are), but instead that our best players aren’t good enough to provide the necessary leadership and to get the best out of our ‘support’ players.
Somewhat controversially perhaps, I’d suggest that within our 4-3-3 system a significant upgrade of the midfield three and an upgrade to the third player in the front three, to play alongside May and Blackett-Taylor, could be transformational to our chances. With the right players in these positions we might well find that everyone else is suddenly then good enough.
The challenge, of course, is finding the three or four leaders who would complete the jigsaw puzzle and get the best out of everyone else. Imagine Josh Cullen, Joe Aribo and Karlan Grant playing on Tuesday in place of Dobson, McGrandles and Leaburn/Tedic. We’d have been a completely different proposition. What might Andy Scott be able to conjure up?
|
|
|
|
Post by huddy1978 on Dec 1, 2023 7:49:46 GMT
Hi have to agree with you Mundell, sometimes it only takes 1 or 2 new decent players to complete the jigsaw which transforms a team from mid table to top 6.
Our playoff season with Taylor in the side was that peice in my opinion.
I think most of our players are capable actually, alot have potential but are either inconsistent or injury prone.
Remember when Clive joined us from Grimsby, we were just a mid table championship side before then.
|
|
|
|
Post by seriouslyred on Dec 1, 2023 7:54:44 GMT
Not wishing to be difficult, but this is the wrong question. Every player who started on Tuesday against Cheltenham Town is capable of playing regularly in a top six side. Anyone doubting that might want to consider that in the 2020-21 season, when Lincoln made the playoffs, both Edun and McGrandles made over 50 appearances in all competitions. Tennai Watson played regularly for MK Dons the following season when they finished third. Last season Boban Tedic played for Barnsley in the playoff final. The question is not how many players in the current squad are good enough to play top six football, it’s how many players do we need to recruit, in which positions and at what level (cost), to enable the players in the existing squad, like those above, to make the required contribution as part of a collective effort? Put another way, somewhat paradoxically, our issue may not be that players like T Watson and Edun aren’t top six capable (they all are), but instead that our best players aren’t good enough to provide the necessary leadership and to get the best out of our ‘support’ players. Somewhat controversially perhaps, I’d suggest that within our 4-3-3 system a significant upgrade of the midfield three and an upgrade to the third player in the front three, to play alongside May and Blackett-Taylor, could be transformational to our chances. With the right players in these positions we might well find that everyone else is suddenly then good enough. The challenge, of course, is finding the three or four leaders who would complete the jigsaw puzzle and get the best out of everyone else. Imagine Josh Cullen, Joe Aribo and Karlan Grant playing on Tuesday in place of Dobson, McGrandles and Leaburn/Tedic. We’d have been a completely different proposition. What might Andy Scott be able to conjure up? Thank you for applying a different lens to what is essentially the exact same challenge: how many more players to we need to perform as per our top six budget? This question appears different to the one asked but the overall logic is that a top six manager / head coach will use 15 players in the main. How many do we need rests upon how many do we have already. Maximum leverage of confirmation bias re 2018/19 suggests that adding the likes of Bielik, Bauer, Cullen and Taylor could well move us to the magic two points per game. Can Scott work today's player market and EPL loans in the same way? Forty years ago CAFC was somewhat ahead of the curve when it came to signing players to improve the side and "Fill The Valley": www.thesportsman.com/articles/allan-simonsen-the-ballon-d-or-winner-who-almost-bankrupted-charltonPS if one seeks a contemporaneous view of 2018/19 rather than rose tinted hindsight then turn to page 100 of this site to see threads from that time. Really hope we might emulate the squad building from that time. |
|
|
|
Post by seriouslyred on Dec 1, 2023 15:48:10 GMT
Many thanks for the 25 responses to date. We normally secure 30-40 replies so will leave this open for a couple more weeks / games.
|
|
crapgame
Season Ticket Holder
Posts: 114
|
Post by crapgame on Dec 1, 2023 17:08:20 GMT
Jones, Dobson, L Watson, CBT every third game, Alfie. No more than that. Pretty much agree with that, although I think Edun has shown some promise, if only CBT would notice him more during the game! |
|
|
|
Post by aaronaldo on Dec 1, 2023 20:59:48 GMT
Jones, Dobson, L Watson, CBT every third game, Alfie. No more than that. Pretty much agree with that, although I think Edun has shown some promise, if only CBT would notice him more during the game! I’m glad I’m not the only thinking CBT never passes to Edun when he overlaps! |
|
|
|
Post by manikin on Dec 2, 2023 17:13:49 GMT
Louie Watson and May, that's it. Don't think anyone else has truly proved themselves regarding fitness and form. I was being polite, I should have said the rest are utterly crap. Beginning to have serious doubts about Appleton. |
|
|
|
Post by aaronaldo on Dec 4, 2023 9:56:35 GMT
The answer is really "Not enough!"
|
|
|
|
Post by aaronaldo on Dec 7, 2023 15:22:26 GMT
There is also the other side to the coin. "How many players in the squad aren't good enough for League One / mid table League One?" That is potentially a bigger problem
|
|
|
|
Post by seriouslyred on Dec 17, 2023 0:11:02 GMT
There is also the other side to the coin. "How many players in the squad aren't good enough for League One / mid table League One?" That is potentially a bigger problem That's a very valid question and the SMT / Scott will demonstrate throughout 2024 how many they can exit through loans, sales or not renewing contracts. At the same time talent might opt to move away if better offers are available elsewhere. This will always happen - one hopes we might provide a stage and supporting cast that convinces talent to stay engaged. That's down to Scott, the SMT and investors throughout 2024. Locked the poll with roughly 1/3 stating six or more players that are good enough for a play-off team (best 15) already in place. But 2/3 think otherwise! Wonder where we'll be end February after both the window as well as certain players coming back from injury. |
|
|
|
Post by chertseyaddick on Dec 19, 2023 16:11:35 GMT
I wouldn't have Fraser as one of the top six players outfield on the bench.
Despite a few poor performances, I can see Asiimwe and Anderson coming into their own by close season, especially if we upgrade their team mates and play Alfie in front of goal with a unit/diversion beside him, rather than on the wing.
|
|
