I hoping to generate a brief flurry of activity before the season ends.
Tomorrow we're at Notts County who will be desperate for the points. It will be tough, they'll be fired up and from what I've seen on the Football League Show their pitch is total pants. It will be a good test.
Little Alex Pritchard will be playing his last game for us. In my opinion he's been a great success for us, scoring some sublime free kicks and his willingness to run at defenders has given us an extra dimension on occasion. He's gained from his spell with us and seems to have matured in his attitude. A good example of both clubs benefiting from the loan system.
There are opportunities for some of the fringe players to make their case for retention for next season. Who do you see as the core of next season's team?
Thoughts?
Magpies v Town
posted on 27/4/14
Hey Don.
Well, it was nice to have a good run, but we were never quite good enough for the play-offs in my opinion. Overall, I'm very satisfied with the season.
Pritchard - a rare commodity at this level. We'll certainly miss him next season. As for how we'll go forward....it's always difficult to predict who stays, goes, arrives etc. Stability of personnel in short supply in the modern game!
Wes is a concern for me. I think he has one year left on his contract, and fear he's getting a bit too good, if that makes any sense...! I worry that we may cash in. I'm confident that the Thompsons will still be here, and Luongo as well, which is a plus. Not sure what the situation is with Smith, but hopefully he'll be in the mix. Byrne is another one I'm very happy with. Fantastic work rate, and should hang around for another season. Not a bad base all in all, but it depends who we can bring in. With Sherwood being dead man walking at Spurs, that could be the end of good loans from that direction...
I feel we're in the situation where it could go either way. If it's done well, we could challenge for promotion, If not, we could struggle...such is life in a competitive division!
What do you/others think? Red...?
Oh, and PS, looks like Ranger's in trouble again. Enough is enough - I don't like being in the headlines for these reasons. Just lose him....
posted on 28/4/14
George & Don,
Very good appraisal. Who will be available for next season is being delayed by another boardroom wrangle. I just hope that it is settled quickly so that we can get plans in motion. Sadly, I fear that it won't.
Pritchard is a good player & ideally we should be looking to sign his likes on a permanent basis. Though, what is permanent these days?
The loss of Wes would be a blow. But, with the current situation with the strikers, Ranger being a doubt again, we might need to splash out a lot of cash in that area, & what we might get for Wes could fund it.
I think that we have a lot of adaptable players in midfield & defence. Pritchard was the outstanding one, the rest are all good enough without uprooting any trees. On balance, I would try to keep the younger ones. That would probably be cheaper for the club.
But the main thing is to get it sorted now, not wait until after the hols.
posted on 28/4/14
Nice to hear from you you guys, two very good posts.
Ranger is a Muppet and despite his undoubted talent we need to get shot. You can't build on unreliability. The only thing you can be sure of is that he's trouble.
I hope we can hang on to Wes but I think we'll get an offer we can't refuse. I just hope we can use the proceeds, and wisely.
We have the Thompsons, Byrne, Luongo, Kasim, Smith B, Smith M (who should improve) to build on. I'm not convinced about Storey. Stephens on a season loan would be great.
If we can get it sorted early and bring in some well selected new players to replace the legacy players we could do well. Big 'ifs' perhaps.
posted on 28/4/14
Yes, Ranger is a good player, but a liability. He must be commanding good wages, but what contribution has he made to the club since Christmas? We cannot afford to pay someone who only plays half a season, if that.