Core For Next Season

To be fair to Bachmann, Choudhury called for and wanted the ball quickly then mis-controlled it under pressure when he got it. Whether Bachmann should have ignored him is still a valid question.

 

Didn't see that. But TBF, Choudhury is also a ******* idiot as demonstrated many times this season. And therefore should not be passed to in a holding MF position under any circumstance.

 

Yawn

 

He also concentrated very hard on definitely under no circumstances leaving his line when their player did a high, hanging header for the second goal ending up with it being knocked on within the six yard box. That was great.

 

Yep, Ngakia is very poor. League 1/2 player

 

Is League 0.5 between the Championship and League 1?

Some kind of purgatory version of platform 9 and 3/4 perhaps. I can see us ending up there if Gino keeps pushing us towards a brick wall.

 

I agree he isn’t great but felt he was worth keeping as a squad player - seems to at least have a decent attitude

 

We destroy promising young keepers. Get an old knackered one.

 

Is that Foster guy still playing?

 

Worth a cheeky £5m offer to Wrexham ?

 

I feel like there's taking 'risks' as part of a drastic cultural reset (as clearly required) and then there's rank moonman stupidity, which would be appointing someone who is literally not a manager/coach to be our manager/coach and charge them with entirely reshaping the club from the nadir of a decade. We have absolutely no evidence or reason to believe at this point that he would be an appropriate or even capable choice, whatsoever.

 

Could hardly do worse than the last few, frankly.

 

Don't forget he'll have Martin O'Neil for guidance

 

You and I both know that's utter nonsense - it has to be good old 'Arry Redders.

 

As you go through the trapdoor out of League 1 you end up in a different realm

 

Well Rotherham have been in a permanent state of flux between the two divisions, and we drew to them twice...

 

Watford FC: Hold my beer, challenge accepted.

 

This is one of those lines that gets peddled about but without much truth - similar to Kienan Davis "he doesn't score goals but his hold up play is great". Davis' hold up play is crap and Bachmann is a bang average shot stopper and crap at everything else.

 

Updated (assuming JP and Sarr follow the loanees straight out the door):

GK
Bachmann: sell, a decent enough shot-stopper, but you need more than that

Okoye: jury's out, let's see how he does at Coventry and possibly beyond (we might as well give him the rest of the season

Buy at least one GK and have Hamer in reserve

Cathcart: send to the glue factory

Porteous: keep, he's rather rash but at least seems to care and is young enough to develop

Hoedt: I'd get rid, but I don't think we will as we just got him

Sierralta: ideally would have liked to have kept him, but probably goes as he's not had much gametime over the last two years

Kabasele: like Hoedt, I'd get rid, but there'll be no takers sadly

Pollock: ideally loan out again, but I fear he'll play a role next season

Sign 1-2 CBs

Full-backs/wing-backs

Morris: (formation dependent) keep

Sema: absolutely keep

Ferreira: I'd keep him, he's better than Ngakia and still young

Ngakia: sell, just hasn't kicked on

Gaspar: we'll need some experience in the squad, and he can play in a few positions, I'd keep him even though his main position isn't a thing now and might not be next season

Sign 1 RWB and one LWB if we are going to go for a back 3 system, or 1 RB and 1 LB if a back 4 system

CM:

Cleverley: see Cathcart

Kone: keep, he's raw but he's shown some promise at least, though I fear he'll be packed off to Udinese

Louza: really wouldn't be that upset if he goes, probably to Udinese

Bacuna: really should go, but I fear he stays

TDB: keep, it's weird to say he's in a sort of last chance saloon at the age of 23, but he's had soooo many injury problems. Shown flashes, but really needs to get playing and make them more than just flashes

Asprilla: keep and build the team around him (hopefully he'll have bulked up a bit by August too)

Sign 1-2 CMs

Strikers:
Assombalonga: again, I'd get rid, but I think in these more austere times we'll be living in, he's probably played his way to a deal for next season

Bayo: I'd keep, but there isn't usually a way back for players who get loaned out

Adeyemo: probably gets loaned out

Sign 1-2 strikers

Wingers:
Martins: Surely won't want to come back here

Kalu: we'll pay up his contract won't we?

Anyone else there? Formation dependent, this is the area that will need the most work, as literally only Sema looks like he might stay and play a role next season

Formation dependent: Buy 1 LW, 2 RWs

 

15 players out the door - release, sent back, sold.

sign 10-12 players, and throw in the best players in our u21 team.

keep 9

Hamer
Porteous
Sierralta
Ferreira
Morris
Kone
Louza
Asprilla
Sema

 

I'd take any offer for Louza. He just isn't up to the fight.

 

Sell Sarr, Pedro, Bayo, Louza, Bachmann

Release Cathcart, Cleverley

Bacuna and Assombolonga do not resign.

Grieves, Adeyamo, Blake in the squad.

Bring in Willock or Dack on a free.

Give Asprilla the Pedro role.

 

Grim stuff. Good luck, Ben Manga

 

What's Luther doing these days?

 

Like many before us, went all out for promotion with no plan or method and failed dismally. The only way is down.

 

He'll surely be gone by the end of the summer? I honestly wouldn't be shocked.

 

My big fear is that they will still harbour hopes of promotion next season and will splash out a bit on more unsuitable players

 

Just realised I forgot Kayembe, I highly doubt there'll be any takers for him anyway, but regardless, if we accept that we'll be a mid to lower table Championship team next season, he might be useful. He usually puts in 6 out of 10 performances when he plays as a sort of pure ball-winning midfielder, but he's put in the odd stormer where he's absolutely marauded his way through the field as a sort of poor man's Abdoulaye Doucoure, I'm not sure whether it's tactical instructions, a lack of confidence or something else which holds him back those other times

 

There is a concern that the owners may name him in the starting 11 without first asking whether he’s prepared to play.

 

Hamer
Ferreira
Porteous
Hoedt
Morris
Kone
Dele-Bashiru
Kayembe
Hungbo
Adeyemo
Kalu

League 1 here we come!

 

Where is Kayembe? Is he still at the club? Or is he injured? Genuinely no idea what happened to him.

 

... and watch us get relegated with a record low points total!