Who's good enough IF...... (3 Viewers)

[pastythegreat]

It was a breath of fresh air in the summer, we'd gone from Mowbray signing players on 1 year deals and 6 month loans to Robins "building a squad for the future". For season after season it's been complete overhaul of our squad every summer rather than the odd addition to strengthen like most successful teams.
He came in with a plan for the future and set about securing some long term signings.
But the more I watch this squad, the more I wonder, What bloody future was he building for?? So it got me thinking, who, if any of our current squad/team, would cut it in L1 IF we were to make it.

Personally I think we'd be bare bones.

GK. We all know about the goalkeeping situation. I don't think either of our keepers are good enough, but regardless of what league were in, Burge will still be our No1 next season

Defence
Grimmer, gets forward well but is wrong sided far too often, don't have stats but would say he's given away the most penalties this season from being wrong sided.

Stokes
Career seems to be going backwards. Getting worse as the season goes on. We know he can/has played in L1, but currently he'd be my cover for LB/LCH and not in the starting 11.
So were already on 3 new signings.

Willis
I like Willis, but for me he's caught out of position a lot. He'd be my 1st choice RB but not my CH.

McDonald.
Will head literally anything and everything all day. He does very well against direct teams, but as soon as a team gets it down (FGR, Acrington) we concede easy, poorly defended goals. And with L1 being a little less direct will he manage the step up. Northampton didn't think so, let's hope they're wrong.

Midfield.
Doyle
I'm not sure he's got the legs for another season, especially in a higher league.

Kelly.
Nope, simply not good enough. Poor man's Sammy Clingan. Shame we did lose Stevenson as he was a ready made replacement. No more needs to be said.

Bayliss and Shipley.
We will do well to keep hold of the former, but both are hungry and talented enough to do a job. Even if it is as squad players.

Reid.
Unless something drastic happens between now and the end of the season, he'll most likely be playing against us rather than for us.

JJ. Showed us he has glimpses in L1 but still not the finished player. Again, like Bayliss, if he's still here will be a great squad player.

Andreu.
Hopefully be fully fit and ready to go come next season. Regardless of what league were in he'll be like a brand new signing and I'm looking forward to it.

Strikers.
JCH.
Still no garuntee we'll sign him at the end of this season, even if we do, he's yet to prove himself in any league so the jury is out on the one.

Biamou.
I really like Biamou. But for all his work rate and effort, cam he make the step up? I'm not sure.

McNulty.
Never really been given a crack at the league 1 whip but given the service he can Definately score and has the odd bit of magic from outside the box too. I'd happily have him in our L1 team.

So just for a starting 11 I'd say we need at least 7 or 8 players for a decent crack at L1. I think our current squad would manage OK in L1 but would never push for promotion.

Any other thoughts?

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[Otis]

Yep.

 

[Grendel]

Grimmer Willis Davis McNulty Jones are good enough. You’d keep the young players and see how they develop. Andreu hasn’t played enough.

The rest are never going to be good enough.

 

[pastythegreat]

Grimmer Willis Davis McNulty Jones are good enough. You’d keep the young players and see how they develop. Andreu hasn’t played enough.

The rest are never going to be good enough.

See I'm 50/50 on Grimmer.

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[pastythegreat]

Grimmer Willis Davis McNulty Jones are good enough. You’d keep the young players and see how they develop. Andreu hasn’t played enough.

The rest are never going to be good enough.

But then all of that in a squad that was surely built with promotion in mind?!?!

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[Grendel]

But then all of that in a squad that was surely built with promotion in mind?!?!

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I’m not sure what you mean.

There’s no way on earth the current squad would survive in league one. Other than mcnukty we have non league forwards.

 

[pastythegreat]

I’m not sure what you mean.

There’s no way on earth the current squad would survive in league one. Other than mcnukty we have non league forwards.

I'm trying to say that all summer robins kept saying how he's building a squad not just a team. Looking to the future etc. But the players he bought in are not good enough for the league above, so has he bought players in for the long term of L2 football? Or has he bought players in for promotion?
Surely he's bought players in looking for promotion, problem is, IF we get promoted, we have all these players on long contracts that simply aren't good enough to cut it! So what then? Cancel contracts, wasting money and budget? Or stick with the current crop?

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[Grendel]

I'm trying to say that all summer robins kept saying how he's building a squad not just a team. Looking to the future etc. But the players he bought in are not good enough for the league above, so has he bought players in for the long term of L2 football? Or has he bought players in for promotion?
Surely he's bought players in looking for promotion, problem is, IF we get promoted, we have all these players on long contracts that simply aren't good enough to cut it! So what then? Cancel contracts, wasting money and budget? Or stick with the current crop?

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Just hope we fluke promotion and prepare for a relegation battle next season.

Definitely bin biamou and Beavon and sign a decent forward and prey.

 

[stevefloyd]

Maybe we are looking through our sky blue eyes here, the players have got us to within touching distance of the play offs and if we had had the budget to go try and get another experienced midfielder and a goal scoring striker we would almost definitely be higher placed than now but I guess all the off field shite puts some potential players off coming here..
That said I think we need a goalkeeper and bin 1 of Burge or O'Brien need a decent cover for right back and a decent cover for left back. Centre backs are fine. Certainly need someone centre mid driving the team forward also a decent wide player, we have Andreu to come back in as well as Jones but we need to add more competition for them. Out of the forwards only McNulty to keep with maybe JCH IF he comes good.
Players to bin are Burge or O'Brien Dion KE, Haynes, Devon KE, Vincenti, Kelly, Reid, Stokes unless he gets his act together, Beavon, Biamou, thats 9 maybe 10 to come off the wage bill but if we dont get promoted the squad does need overhauling

 

[ccfcway]

If we win promotion, people will see this bunch of players in a whole new light in a couple of months.

 

[Terry_dactyl]

Grimmer Willis Davis McNulty Jones are good enough. You’d keep the young players and see how they develop. Andreu hasn’t played enough.

The rest are never going to be good enough.

I’d go with that. See what happens with JCH as well. As with Andreu he’s an unknown quantity at the moment.
Macdonald is the strange one for me. I thought he looked like a world beater at the start of the season.

 

[Fergusons_Beard]

We’ve played 2 League 1 teams this season and not looked out of place.

It’s hardly a massive step up in quality to League 1. Unlike the step to Championship, which is huge.

This squad is definitely good enough to compete in league 1.

A lot of the players have already played there.

First we argue about whether we are good enough to get promoted and now we saying we having got the quality to stay up even if we actually get to league 1.

It’s like we have a Smiths/Radiohead soundtrack as City fans.

Heaven knows I’m miserable now....


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[Sick Boy]

We’ve played 2 League 1 teams this season and not looked out of place.

It’s hardly a massive step up in quality to League 1. Unlike the step to Championship, which is huge.

This squad is definitely good enough to compete in league 1.

A lot of the players have already played there.

First we argue about whether we are good enough to get promoted and now we saying we having got the quality to stay up even if we actually get to league 1.

It’s like we have a Smiths/Radiohead soundtrack as City fans.

Heaven knows I’m miserable now....


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I'd say that there a large step from where we are now to being able to do more than scrap for survival in League 2. The difference between the top of League 2 and League 1 is pretry big, you only had to look at how much technically better the MK players were than ours.

 

[Skyblueweeman]

but I guess all the off field shite puts some potential players off coming here.

I disagree here Steve. Despite all the off the field stuff, we still manage to attract players here, like Jones, Andreu, McDonald etc when they could all have gone to better clubs. I suspect it's a money thing and we can't/won't offer as much as others for certain players.

 

[ccfcricoh]

We’ve played 2 League 1 teams this season and not looked out of place.

It’s hardly a massive step up in quality to League 1. Unlike the step to Championship, which is huge.

This squad is definitely good enough to compete in league 1.

A lot of the players have already played there.

First we argue about whether we are good enough to get promoted and now we saying we having got the quality to stay up even if we actually get to league 1.

It’s like we have a Smiths/Radiohead soundtrack as City fans.

Heaven knows I’m miserable now....


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Depends what you mean by compete....

Where do you think we would finish if we had this squad in League 1? i think we would be pretty lucky to stay up

 

[JulianDarbyFTW]

I stopped reading at 'Willis first choice right back'.

 

[Nick]

Grimmer played a fair bit in League 1 for Shrewsbury didn't he?

Andreu in theory / on paper should be able to do a job in League One and I think with a bit more experience / decision making Jones would be able to.

McNulty would in terms of finishing but he would need service which is where the major issue would be.

I am not sure about McDonald either, disagree with head everything all day as well. Davies is much better in the air.

 

[steve82]

Maybe we are looking through our sky blue eyes here, the players have got us to within touching distance of the play offs and if we had had the budget to go try and get another experienced midfielder and a goal scoring striker we would almost definitely be higher placed than now but I guess all the off field shite puts some potential players off coming here..
That said I think we need a goalkeeper and bin 1 of Burge or O'Brien need a decent cover for right back and a decent cover for left back. Centre backs are fine. Certainly need someone centre mid driving the team forward also a decent wide player, we have Andreu to come back in as well as Jones but we need to add more competition for them. Out of the forwards only McNulty to keep with maybe JCH IF he comes good.
Players to bin are Burge or O'Brien Dion KE, Haynes, Devon KE, Vincenti, Kelly, Reid, Stokes unless he gets his act together, Beavon, Biamou, thats 9 maybe 10 to come off the wage bill but if we dont get promoted the squad does need overhauling

We may of been better equipped to do good business in January if we'd of been getting more fans through the turnstiles at the Ricoh.

We're not so did the business we did which looks worse by the game

 

[wal3590]

I’m not sure what you mean.

There’s no way on earth the current squad would survive in league one. Other than mcnukty we have non league forwards.

Biamou could play higher up, Sure of it. every game I have seen he puts a shift in. I would say the only one on sat who came away with a tiny bit of credit

 

[chiefdave]

If we go up one of the key things will be the budget. I can't imagine they'll whack ticket prices up or that we'll suddenly have thousands of extra season ticket holders so the depressing reality is if we manage to get up we'll have a budget not too different to this season.

 

[Fergusons_Beard]

I'd say that there a large step from where we are now to being able to do more than scrap for survival in League 2. The difference between the top of League 2 and League 1 is pretry big, you only had to look at how much technically better the MK players were than ours.

MK are in a similar position to what we were at under Mowbray etc last year. Lots of technically gifted players but no grind and grit.

We should have beaten Shrewsbury and they are challenging for promotion!

I feel this years squad is better than last years.

We nearly stayed up last year!


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[Fergusons_Beard]

Depends what you mean by compete....

Where do you think we would finish if we had this squad in League 1? i think we would be pretty lucky to stay up

I agree with you-we’d definitely need a few more additions to challenge for promotion but this years squad (I’m talking about the injured players too) is more than capable of finishing mid-table league 1.


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[SlowerThanPlatt]

Biamou could play higher up, Sure of it. every game I have seen he puts a shift in. I would say the only one on sat who came away with a tiny bit of credit

Really? Putting a shift in doesn’t make him good enough to play in L1. I’d say L2 is his limit and even at this level he’s scored one goal in 17 starts

If we were promoted most likely we’d be in the lower reaches of the table next season and so would need players who can score to help us avoid relegation not work hard.

 

[Grendel]

Biamou could play higher up, Sure of it. every game I have seen he puts a shift in. I would say the only one on sat who came away with a tiny bit of credit

Lol he’s abysmal. People don’t player higher up by putting a shift in or Andy Morrell would have been a starter every week in the Premier League.

 

[ccfcricoh]

If we go up one of the key things will be the budget. I can't imagine they'll whack ticket prices up or that we'll suddenly have thousands of extra season ticket holders so the depressing reality is if we manage to get up we'll have a budget not too different to this season.

I think we would get an extra couple of thousand ST holders if we went up, so potentially from 4 to 6k. 50% increase which is pretty big but in reality your right, its not like the budget would increase by 50%!

 

[SlowerThanPlatt]

Lol he’s abysmal. People don’t player higher up by putting a shift in or Andy Morrell would have been a starter every week in the Premier League.

Indeed.

Surely ‘putting a shift in’ is the least you can ask of a professional footballer?

 

[Otis]

Indeed.

Surely ‘putting a shift in’ is the least you can ask of a professional footballer?

Which is why many of us didn't want Kyel Reid back at the club.

 

[covcity4life]

good enough for league 1

willis
macdonald
grimmer
stokes
jones
andreu
mcnulty
bayliss(will only improve)
jch(proven in league 1?)

and thats about it

jury is out on

shipley
biamou
kelly
doyle
hyam
davies
vincente
burge
LOB
reid

definitely not good enough

beavon
haynes
dke x2


think thats whole squad?

 

[RoboCCFC90]

It's an interesting question..

Personally I don't think we'd be too far off, I would keep;

Burge
McNulty
Grimmer
Willis
McDonald
Davies
Andreu
Jones
Bayliss
Shipley
Ponticelli
Biamou

I am undecided on;

Haynes
Stokes
JCH
Reid
Kelly
Beavon
Vincenti
O'Brien

The players I have listed to keep would make decent first team regulars or alternatives, those in the undecided column haven't convinced me..

 

[Earlsdon_Skyblue1]

Interesting thread. I'd rather get promoted first, especially with the hysteria at the moment, but let's just suppose it did happen...

Good enough to at least have a squad place:

Willis
McDonald
Grimmer
Jones
Andreu
McNulty
Bayliss
Kelly
Doyle
Davies

Need to prove themselves between now and the end of the season:

Stokes
JCH
Shipley
Hyam
Vincenti
LOB
Haynes
Burge

Probably not good enough:

Reid
Biamou
Beavon
DKE x2

 

[pastythegreat]

We’ve played 2 League 1 teams this season and not looked out of place.

It’s hardly a massive step up in quality to League 1. Unlike the step to Championship, which is huge.

This squad is definitely good enough to compete in league 1.

A lot of the players have already played there.

First we argue about whether we are good enough to get promoted and now we saying we having got the quality to stay up even if we actually get to league 1.

It’s like we have a Smiths/Radiohead soundtrack as City fans.

Heaven knows I’m miserable now....


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We've played more than that, we've played 4. Blackburn gave us a footballing lesson.
Walsall who we beat on penalties.
Shrewsbury who, despite a 2nd half fight back, got what I thought was a deserving win as they were much better than us..
And MK Dons, who despite languishing around relegation looked a lot quicker at moving the ball than us and luckily for us couldn't shoot.

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[pastythegreat]

I stopped reading at 'Willis first choice right back'.

He'd not exactly a world beater at CH is He?!?!
The closest this club has come to any kind of promotion in my lifetime guess where Willis played?? Was it RB by any chance??!!

Oooh look at you trying to make out how little I know about football!!!

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[Nick]

To be fair in the Blackburn game we had the reserves out mostly.

Shipley / Stevenson central midfield pairing is never going to realistically do much.

MK Dons have a system, their full backs get right to the byline and attack. They did it in the pre season friendly too.

 

[pastythegreat]

Lol he’s abysmal. People don’t player higher up by putting a shift in or Andy Morrell would have been a starter every week in the Premier League.

Paul Telfer put a shift in with Strachans daughter and that seemed to help his career?!?!

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[Otis]

If we went up I think we need to get rid of both keepers.

I would also lose the DKE's and Haynes.