Squad as it is (1 Viewer)

block16 said:

Did Allassani go on tour?

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Mr Panda said:

Wakefield hasn't had much of a chance. I think he'll stick around?

Allassani posted some weird message the other day on social media about people not understanding him or something.

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larry_david said:

Allasanni is is a weird one. Bigged up as some England under 21 superstar who had a bad injury, started pre season last year on fire never to be seen again.

Punt that hasn't worked out? Victim of CET over hype? (see Bosma the 6ft 3 leggy box to box player in the viera mould) or a player who can come good this year?

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ccfchoi87 said:

The squad, as it is, is not better than last year.

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Esoterica said:

Are you comparing to the start or end of last season? I'd say it's better now than this point a year ago.

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ccfchoi87 said:

The squad, as it is, is not better than last year.

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ccfchoi87 said:

The squad, as it is, is not better than last year.

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shmmeee said:

Ridiculous statement.

We’ve swapped Burge for a top 6 goalie.

Sterling for someone further along in his development.

Willis for a proven Championship defender.

Brought in Allen who looks better than Shipley or Bayliss

Brought in pace and trickery on the flanks.

And our young squad is a year older and more experienced at this level.

Plus the likes of Chaplin and Baka have had a full pre season.

Definitely better placed now than this time last year.

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Littlewood CCFC said:

Really? lol Lets have a look then:

Marosi - Surely cant be worse then Burge, right!?

Mason - 1st year in mens football last season can only get better
Hyam - Player of season retained for this season
Mcfazdean - only seen him play once but looks miles better on the ball than willis
Dabo - We will see but personally i only felt that Sterling gave 80% last season and was capable of more

Jabello - Again only seen him play once but was beating the full back and putting in quality balls with both feet. More good balls in a pre season friendly than L Thomas put in the whole of last season!
Allen - Looks a quality buy, takes up good positions
Kelly - quality last season and expect the same this season
Bayliss - think he will have something to prove this season after a bang average one just gone
Kasteneer - Looks a gamble for me but has the physical attributes to do well in this league

And then we still have the same forwards as last season with Bright hopefully on the way, so i cant really see your point about the squad not being in better shape than last season. Im excited to see how far this team can go especially if we get Bright in the 10 as well.

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shmmeee said:

Ridiculous statement.

We’ve swapped Burge for a top 6 goalie.

Sterling for someone further along in his development.

Willis for a proven Championship defender.

Brought in Allen who looks better than Shipley or Bayliss

Brought in pace and trickery on the flanks.

And our young squad is a year older and more experienced at this level.

Plus the likes of Chaplin and Baka have had a full pre season.

Definitely better placed now than this time last year.

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larry_david said:

Allasanni is is a weird one. Bigged up as some England under 21 superstar who had a bad injury, started pre season last year on fire never to be seen again.

Punt that hasn't worked out? Victim of CET over hype? (see Bosma the 6ft 3 leggy box to box player in the viera mould) or a player who can come good this year?

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shmmeee said:

Ridiculous statement.

We’ve swapped Burge for a top 6 goalie.

Sterling for someone further along in his development.

Willis for a proven Championship defender.

Brought in Allen who looks better than Shipley or Bayliss

Brought in pace and trickery on the flanks.

And our young squad is a year older and more experienced at this level.

Plus the likes of Chaplin and Baka have had a full pre season.

Definitely better placed now than this time last year.

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fernandopartridge said:

Yep, worth remembering that we started last season with Doyle and Ogogo in the side.

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fernandopartridge said:

No, just people writing players off straight away

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GaryMabbuttsLeftKnee said:

Definitely, this. However, the reality is we don't really know where we are. There is obvious optimism (I am in this camp) but I do think some are getting a little ahead given the uncertainty. You can kind of flip what CC4L said up there to put negative spins on each. Both keepers swapped for 2 new keepers, we don't really know if these are improvements (god help us if they're not). Dabo for Sterling, Sterling is thought of in much higher regard at Chelsea, Thomas although massively frustrating in final ball did a fantastic job defensively on the wing and has been picked up by a team in the division above, do we know if either Kastaneer or Jobello will have that intensity? McFadzean for Willis? Everyone is certain this is a great replacement or in some instances an upgrade. We don't really know. Davies for Rose? Similar. I am optimistic about the season ahead and as someone mentioned before, we are better equipped at this point this season than last, but I do think some people are over-egging some of the signings that have been made. Likewise, some are being ridiculosuly negative. One thing you can't argue with, having a full preseason together and a young squad being a year older and more experienced can only be a good thing.

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ccfchoi87 said:

Marosi for Burge - Should be an improvement but Doncaster fans have expressed concerns about him. I don’t think we can be convinced it’s an improvement just yet but let’s see. I will at least concede we haven’t gone backwards here. - Doncaster fans expressed concerns about him when he left them - Like every football fan, as soon as a player expresses a desire to leave their club they instantly point to the he is not any good anyway, he took them to the play offs semi final, and is much more comfortable commanding his box and using his feet than Lee Burge is, Burge was a shot stopper that was it, he never improved since seeing him in the under 23s many years ago - certainly was not the goal keeper required to meet our aspirations.

McFadzean and Rose for Willis and Davies - Willis was a classy defender for this level. We have replaced him by someone who is much older and less pace. He’ll be an adequate replacement for sure but again not convinced it’s an improvement. Davies is proven in this league, rose is not. Again may be proven to be an improvement but we cannot say that yet. - Granted Willis had significant pace, however it was his pace that gets him out of trouble, for a big stocky lad he doesn't half get bullied aerially and on corners as well as when coming touch tight very rarely would he jump in front of the striker to nick the ball, his distribution lacked conviction alot of the time, these points would of been one of the reasons championship clubs would not commit to him on a free transfer as for obvious reasons he would of been expecting a place in a first 11. - Mcfazdean is older more experienced and a better footballing brain, he has a better pedigree and leadership qualities to organise the back 4, I know for a fact he had many options at his disposal before coming here.
Rose is a ball playing centre back who is highly regarded in Scotland, and has been well thought off and watched on many occasions, he will certainly be coming to fight for a place in the first 11. Davies was having injections every few days after games and could not train all week due to his knee, its ok interacting with fans and being a nice guy on social media, but we could not afford to carry someone who could not maintain their fitness, so we had to look to the future.

Dabo for Sterling - Backwards step. - Not entirely sure where you are going with this one if judging on 45 minutes at Leamington - Dabo I have seen on many occasions both whilst at Swindon and when at Vitesse - Dabo is a full back in the right mould for our level, he is not afraid to make sure his man knows he is there, not afraid of a physical battle, is a leader and make his opinion known, his displays at Vitesse were generally solid and was a key ingredient in there attacks, he will have no qualms in overlapping - Sterling was a mardy sod who would not even train properly during the week, a young lad who thought he was better than he was, and towards the end of the season was getting beaten far too easily for someone who was extremely quick, he hardly bothered chasing back when beaten - move on from Sterling.

Allen for ??? - Personally I think Bayliss is a fantastic player and will be one of the first names on the team sheet. Allen looks very good on first impressions but I don’t know just how much he will improve our existing midfield 2. - Allen was Burtons main man in their midfield three and the guy who made their team tick he is proven in this division and has played in the championship, Allen is extremely highly thought off and is a real talent on our hands now, he is exactly what we were missing last season someone who will get into gaps and make the play, a 443 if no Bright, will cause problems for teams with Allen and Bayliss allowed to move forward, Bayliss had a quiet season last year, alot of scouts were coming weekly to see Tom and yet no one has made a move for him yet.. tells you something.

Jobello for Thomas - I wasn’t Thomas’ biggest fan but I can’t deny his contributions. Hopefully Jobello will be an improvement but I would rather have Thomas at this point. - Thomas is the one that we could all debate on all day long and your opinion is obviously unquestionably welcomed, Thomas offered us outlet of course, he was brought in to stretch teams and pose a real problem that would open up space for the likes of Bright Bayliss etc to express themselves, however Thomas problem was his footballing brain and his lack of conviction either to put a ball into the box or find the target not necessarily score on a more consistent basis, ultimately this was his downfall. Jobello looks quite similar to Thomas in terms of he can stretch the game and put his man on the backfoot, however, Jobello can go either way, right and left foot and put a ball into the box, it might not always be the best ball into the box as he is at our level, but never the less he is not afraid to look to supply or shoot. Someone who is unpredictable and can go either way, he will excite.

Kastaneer for ??? - If he replaces bright or Hiwula it’s a backwards step. Can’t see him featuring much. - Again your point is valid, however, not entirely sure why you would write him off so soon, is it because a few bitter former fans said he was rubbish and you read twitter too much? or you not like what you seen?
Kastaneer is someone brought in who is a box of tricks his physical attributes are perfect for league one football and has lightening pace to match, he can go either way and play across a number of positions so having that adaptability in your locker gives us several dimensions to use and again unpredictability vs defences can cause problems for the opposition instead of the likes of Hiwula who was asked to do a job on the left knowing he will come inside every time. Bright obviously he is a talented individual but they are two very different players.

Our attacking threat is non-existent now we have lost Bright. Number 10 and goal scorer needed. - Correct we need a goalscorer, however if Bright does not happen there is a number of formations and players at our disposal who can fill that void. Hiwula will most likely be pushed down the middle more this season too - Lets just see who it pans out, our transfer business is not completed yet ;-)

Our three main acquisitions (Allen, McFadzean and Jobello) have just covered positions that were perfectly fine last year. We haven’t improved on our weaknesses (Burge aside?) - Allen - Lightyears ahead of Shipley, Westbrooke, and in a midfield 3 of Allen Bayliss unless sold and Kelly, then we will dominate possession most of the time, McFazdean, better on the ball, better in the air, better at reading the game, Jobello you will be surprised.

Hopefully this will be addressed in the coming weeks and the risky signings of Dabo, Jobello and Kastaneer come good

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ccfchoi87 said:

Marosi for Burge - Should be an improvement but Doncaster fans have expressed concerns about him. I don’t think we can be convinced it’s an improvement just yet but let’s see. I will at least concede we haven’t gone backwards here.

McFadzean and Rose for Willis and Davies - Willis was a classy defender for this level. We have replaced him by someone who is much older and less pace. He’ll be an adequate replacement for sure but again not convinced it’s an improvement. Davies is proven in this league, rose is not. Again may be proven to be an improvement but we cannot say that yet.

Dabo for Sterling - Backwards step.

Allen for ??? - Personally I think Bayliss is a fantastic player and will be one of the first names on the team sheet. Allen looks very good on first impressions but I don’t know just how much he will improve our existing midfield 2.

Jobello for Thomas - I wasn’t Thomas’ biggest fan but I can’t deny his contributions. Hopefully Jobello will be an improvement but I would rather have Thomas at this point.

Kastaneer for ??? - If he replaces bright or Hiwula it’s a backwards step. Can’t see him featuring much.

Our attacking threat is non-existent now we have lost Bright. Number 10 and goal scorer needed.

Our three main acquisitions (Allen, McFadzean and Jobello) have just covered positions that were perfectly fine last year. We haven’t improved on our weaknesses (Burge aside?)

Hopefully this will be addressed in the coming weeks and the risky signings of Dabo, Jobello and Kastaneer come good

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larry_david said:

Allasanni is is a weird one. Bigged up as some England under 21 superstar who had a bad injury, started pre season last year on fire never to be seen again.

Punt that hasn't worked out? Victim of CET over hype? (see Bosma the 6ft 3 leggy box to box player in the viera mould) or a player who can come good this year?

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MatthewWallis said:

I don’t understand this ‘Chaplin has had a full pre season’ he had one last year with Portsmouth, what’s so different about this one? Because he is training with us this time, like he has been since September?

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Saddlebrains said:

Looking through the squad, i feel there is still a bit of a clearout needed. Including all the rumblings of current ins and outs i see at as something like this needing to be done.

LOAN OUT
Williams
Walters

FIND A NEW CLUB
Maycock
Hickman
Bosma (already gone?)
Wakefield
Addai
Allassani

SELL
Chaplin

BRING IN
Walker
Bright
Middleton.

This takes place i can see top 2. Thoughts?

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MatthewWallis said:

I don’t understand this ‘Chaplin has had a full pre season’ he had one last year with Portsmouth, what’s so different about this one? Because he is training with us this time, like he has been since September?

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mark82 said:

Sorry, but Dabo played in the Eredivisie 2 years ago, and was promoted from the Erstedivisie with Sparta last year. How can you say with such confidence he's a backward step from Sterling? Sterling may have greater potential but Dabo is further along in his development. Dabo is also ours.

Also, Kasteneer was playing in the Eredivisie last season, what makes you think he's not good enough for league one?

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Astute said:

The optimistic of us can see the squad is a bit better. The pessimistic of us can see the squad is a bit worse.

Those who are realistic will want to see how we start the season before deciding.

Willis v McFazdean? Someone we know the strengths and weaknesses of against a very experienced pro. Speed to make up for mistakes against slower but seems to read the game better. Not celebrating Willis leaving but looks like a more than adequate short term replacement. This can and will be disagreed with.

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LB87ccfc said:

- Just relax its not all done just yet, we had too many on loan and have given players who have massive amounts of improvement in them 3 year deals to try and put a team together that can mould and stay together for a push for promotion, an exciting season ahead.....


Some interesting points, have added some thoughts on your opinions.

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