I think the Curbs way was if there was somebody better available to us to bring them in.
He also said at the season end that this ream needs goals. He stressed if you take them out (player leaves) then you have to replace them. Obvious statement, but does Holden expect May to replace Rak Sakyi's goals and add some. Much as I'm happy with the signing, I doubt he will get 20 plus AND his sidekick will score 20+. If we need 80+ goals and a solid defence, who is going to get them? Last seasons top 4 all scored over 80.
The team that lost 2-1 to Cheltenham a few weeks later is even better…
What about this bad boy
we actually won this game.
I actually don’t think this is that bad compared to the other one. It’s worth remembering that this is before the full Charlton malaise set in, so some of those players were still alright. The keeper is good, Purrington was a promotion L1 LB, Gilbey had just signed and not collapsed, JFC was returning from injury but still quality and Lapslie was at a point where he was pushing to be a L1 player. Plenty were unhappy when we let him go. The frontline was pretty good; Bonne had just done well in the Championship and started off looking decent, Washington was a decent player and Doughty’s pace was too much for L1 defenders. The back line with Barker (who did well), an out of position Pratley and goddamn Deji was terrible but there was enough in front of them to not be too worried about beating a team like Crewe
Seems really important we get a striker, L(W)B and R(W)B in this week, I feel the rest can come in a little later.
Hopefully the silence is deafening and work is well underway, I can’t believe for a second the new owners have spent 12m+ to start the season as is
After those three it’s less obvious where we’d make further signings.
There’s a good case for another player in each of those positions.
In central midfield Fraser, Dobson, Camara, McGrandles, Anderson, Henry and Payne may be seen as enough. Bringing in another player either means upgrading on Fraser or Dobson (not convinced we’ll try) or signing a squad player which will block Anderson and Henry’s progress (not convinced by Henry but Holden might be). So that might only happen if someone leaves.
Similar situation at centre back, we have six players in Jones, Hector, Thomas, Mitchell, Elerewe and Ness. Any of the latter three could be loaned out which might leave room for a signing.
For me the only way we sign a winger is if they can also comfortably play up front.
No matter how good the "kids" are I would always feel more comfortable if we had senior players in place. Last season we got a bit lucky with how well Leaburn and Campbell did but at times they were playing because they were literally the only players in their positions we had.
Anderson and Asiimwe might end up forcing their way past the "senior" players which is great. Playing them because we don't have a senior alternative is bad IMO.
I still think we need a CM of the same sort of quality as Dobson amd Fraser. 2 left full/ wing backs, 1 right sided one and 2 strikers. Being greedy I want an experienced center back, even if it was someone that could help the u21s and provide cover so we aren't forced to play kids.
It’ll interesting to see how it all develops, including who’s sold and loaned out with what appears to be a bigger budget than recent years.
I don’t think luck fully explains it, especially in the case of Leaburn. He did better than expected but he was correctly judged to be ready to be a first team player.
We could waste budget bringing in average back up players if a youngster is capable, but what we don’t want is too many of them covering as it becomes a problem if they’re all playing due to injuries and suspensions. That’s where Holden needs to get the balance right.
Having the pathway is part of the reason we get the majority of our promising kids signed up on pro contracts.
They need to be judged individually rather than a blanket rule that every youngster must have two senior players ahead of them. Sometimes they’re clearly ready and need the opportunity in order to develop and keep them at the club.
But the point with Leaburn is two fold. He hadn't even played a full season of U21 football, in fact he made his u21s debut at the end of the previous season. By October he was our best number 9. Was he good enough to play? Yes clearly. Should he of had to play 90 minutes every week because there were no viable alternatives? Certainly not.
He should have been a bonus not the be all and end all.
Very, very, few first or second year pros can play 30+ games a season. Gomez didn't, he was dipped in and out.
You have also got, hopefully this year, the pressure of being expected to win every game.
Having the "kids" on the bench also stops them playing 90 minutes for the u21s which doesn't help their development either.
The aims for this season should obviously be promotion and doing the right thing for protect, grow and nurture this wonderful crop of 18 and 19 year olds we have.
There are people that would have had Barker in the match day squad for the last 3 seasons and have played Deji for the last 2 seasons.
TLDR: If they get in on merit it's a bonus, if they are plan A or even B your setting your self up to fail, and doing them no favours either.
It always happens every year that people moan about this page during a lean spell of rumours.
In order for us to see rumours on here, there must actually be rumours to see.
In the intervening periods, this page has always been about ‘what we need’, ‘what formation would work with what we’ve got’ and ‘who I’d like’. It’s part and parcel of the transfer window. It’s interesting to see who have caught others attention over the year.
Seems really important we get a striker, L(W)B and R(W)B in this week, I feel the rest can come in a little later.
Hopefully the silence is deafening and work is well underway, I can’t believe for a second the new owners have spent 12m+ to start the season as is
After those three it’s less obvious where we’d make further signings.
There’s a good case for another player in each of those positions.
In central midfield Fraser, Dobson, Camara, McGrandles, Anderson, Henry and Payne may be seen as enough. Bringing in another player either means upgrading on Fraser or Dobson (not convinced we’ll try) or signing a squad player which will block Anderson and Henry’s progress (not convinced by Henry but Holden might be). So that might only happen if someone leaves.
Similar situation at centre back, we have six players in Jones, Hector, Thomas, Mitchell, Elerewe and Ness. Any of the latter three could be loaned out which might leave room for a signing.
For me the only way we sign a winger is if they can also comfortably play up front.
No matter how good the "kids" are I would always feel more comfortable if we had senior players in place. Last season we got a bit lucky with how well Leaburn and Campbell did but at times they were playing because they were literally the only players in their positions we had.
Anderson and Asiimwe might end up forcing their way past the "senior" players which is great. Playing them because we don't have a senior alternative is bad IMO.
I still think we need a CM of the same sort of quality as Dobson amd Fraser. 2 left full/ wing backs, 1 right sided one and 2 strikers. Being greedy I want an experienced center back, even if it was someone that could help the u21s and provide cover so we aren't forced to play kids.
It’ll interesting to see how it all develops, including who’s sold and loaned out with what appears to be a bigger budget than recent years.
I don’t think luck fully explains it, especially in the case of Leaburn. He did better than expected but he was correctly judged to be ready to be a first team player.
We could waste budget bringing in average back up players if a youngster is capable, but what we don’t want is too many of them covering as it becomes a problem if they’re all playing due to injuries and suspensions. That’s where Holden needs to get the balance right.
Having the pathway is part of the reason we get the majority of our promising kids signed up on pro contracts.
They need to be judged individually rather than a blanket rule that every youngster must have two senior players ahead of them. Sometimes they’re clearly ready and need the opportunity in order to develop and keep them at the club.
But the point with Leaburn is two fold. He hadn't even played a full season of U21 football, in fact he made his u21s debut at the end of the previous season. By October he was our best number 9. Was he good enough to play? Yes clearly. Should he of had to play 90 minutes every week because there were no viable alternatives? Certainly not.
He should have been a bonus not the be all and end all.
Very, very, few first or second year pros can play 30+ games a season. Gomez didn't, he was dipped in and out.
You have also got, hopefully this year, the pressure of being expected to win every game.
Having the "kids" on the bench also stops them playing 90 minutes for the u21s which doesn't help their development either.
The aims for this season should obviously be promotion and doing the right thing for protect, grow and nurture this wonderful crop of 18 and 19 year olds we have.
There are people that would have had Barker in the match day squad for the last 3 seasons and have played Deji for the last 2 seasons.
TLDR: If they get in on merit it's a bonus, if they are plan A or even B you’re setting your self up to fail, and doing them no favours either.
Overall I agree, it was one of my frustrations in the RD years when players like Charles-Cook and Kennedy were thrown in. My point though is there are negatives by going too far the other way. Russell Slade is a good example - he didn’t give Aribo a proper chance and instead thought he could rely on the experience of Jackson, Crofts and Foley in midfield.
This is where Holden’s judgement comes into it. While we don’t want Charlie Barker types padding out the squad and playing when they’re not up to it, neither do we want to sign too many in the mould of Jack Payne, i.e. they aren’t quite good enough to regularly start and if it blocks a youngster ready for game time who has a lot of potential.
I’m not calling for any young player to play 30+ games, but there’s a clear difference between say Leaburn who is ready to contribute and Henry who needs game time out on loan. Leaburn’s progress would have been slower had we signed a couple of Bonne level strikers. Bringing in too many back ups doesn’t do much to improve our promotion chances either.
It’s an all about getting the balance right and being brave enough to create the space for youngsters to get opportunities. It’s got to be because the player is ready and not because it’s the cheap option or because we have no one else - I’m saying there may be one or two seen as ready to do that, as there usually has been in our recent history.
Tom Davies from Everton is training with Bristol Rovers. Doubt he’ll end up in league one but surely he’d be worth a punt if he’s willing to play at this level. They could just be doing him a favour but you never know.
Don’t know if this helps but I dreamt we signed Richard Gough, Dom Jolly and Penn & Teller last night.
I dreamt William Shatner (who i insisted on calling Don) was digging big holes in my garden and wouldn’t stop. Might pay to checkout MK Dons squad list…
Tom Davies from Everton is training with Bristol Rovers. Doubt he’ll end up in league one but surely he’d be worth a punt if he’s willing to play at this level. They could just be doing him a favour but you never know.
Would be very shocked if he dropped to league 1. Would guess he knows someone on the coaching staff and just there to keep fit
Don’t know if this helps but I dreamt we signed Richard Gough, Dom Jolly and Penn & Teller last night.
I dreamt William Shatner (who i insisted on calling Don) was digging big holes in my garden and wouldn’t stop. Might pay to checkout MK Dons squad list…
And I dreamt that I was head hunted by Ben Dover to assist with his latest projects...
Seems really important we get a striker, L(W)B and R(W)B in this week, I feel the rest can come in a little later.
Hopefully the silence is deafening and work is well underway, I can’t believe for a second the new owners have spent 12m+ to start the season as is
After those three it’s less obvious where we’d make further signings.
There’s a good case for another player in each of those positions.
In central midfield Fraser, Dobson, Camara, McGrandles, Anderson, Henry and Payne may be seen as enough. Bringing in another player either means upgrading on Fraser or Dobson (not convinced we’ll try) or signing a squad player which will block Anderson and Henry’s progress (not convinced by Henry but Holden might be). So that might only happen if someone leaves.
Similar situation at centre back, we have six players in Jones, Hector, Thomas, Mitchell, Elerewe and Ness. Any of the latter three could be loaned out which might leave room for a signing.
For me the only way we sign a winger is if they can also comfortably play up front.
No matter how good the "kids" are I would always feel more comfortable if we had senior players in place. Last season we got a bit lucky with how well Leaburn and Campbell did but at times they were playing because they were literally the only players in their positions we had.
Anderson and Asiimwe might end up forcing their way past the "senior" players which is great. Playing them because we don't have a senior alternative is bad IMO.
I still think we need a CM of the same sort of quality as Dobson amd Fraser. 2 left full/ wing backs, 1 right sided one and 2 strikers. Being greedy I want an experienced center back, even if it was someone that could help the u21s and provide cover so we aren't forced to play kids.
It’ll interesting to see how it all develops, including who’s sold and loaned out with what appears to be a bigger budget than recent years.
I don’t think luck fully explains it, especially in the case of Leaburn. He did better than expected but he was correctly judged to be ready to be a first team player.
We could waste budget bringing in average back up players if a youngster is capable, but what we don’t want is too many of them covering as it becomes a problem if they’re all playing due to injuries and suspensions. That’s where Holden needs to get the balance right.
Having the pathway is part of the reason we get the majority of our promising kids signed up on pro contracts.
They need to be judged individually rather than a blanket rule that every youngster must have two senior players ahead of them. Sometimes they’re clearly ready and need the opportunity in order to develop and keep them at the club.
But the point with Leaburn is two fold. He hadn't even played a full season of U21 football, in fact he made his u21s debut at the end of the previous season. By October he was our best number 9. Was he good enough to play? Yes clearly. Should he of had to play 90 minutes every week because there were no viable alternatives? Certainly not.
He should have been a bonus not the be all and end all.
Very, very, few first or second year pros can play 30+ games a season. Gomez didn't, he was dipped in and out.
You have also got, hopefully this year, the pressure of being expected to win every game.
Having the "kids" on the bench also stops them playing 90 minutes for the u21s which doesn't help their development either.
The aims for this season should obviously be promotion and doing the right thing for protect, grow and nurture this wonderful crop of 18 and 19 year olds we have.
There are people that would have had Barker in the match day squad for the last 3 seasons and have played Deji for the last 2 seasons.
TLDR: If they get in on merit it's a bonus, if they are plan A or even B you’re setting your self up to fail, and doing them no favours either.
Overall I agree, it was one of my frustrations in the RD years when players like Charles-Cook and Kennedy were thrown in. My point though is there are negatives by going too far the other way. Russell Slade is a good example - he didn’t give Aribo a proper chance and instead thought he could rely on the experience of Jackson, Crofts and Foley in midfield.
This is where Holden’s judgement comes into it. While we don’t want Charlie Barker types padding out the squad and playing when they’re not up to it, neither do we want to sign too many in the mould of Jack Payne, i.e. they aren’t quite good enough to regularly start and if it blocks a youngster ready for game time who has a lot of potential.
I’m not calling for any young player to play 30+ games, but there’s a clear difference between say Leaburn who is ready to contribute and Henry who needs game time out on loan. Leaburn’s progress would have been slower had we signed a couple of Bonne level strikers. Bringing in too many back ups doesn’t do much to improve our promotion chances either.
It’s an all about getting the balance right and being brave enough to create the space for youngsters to get opportunities. It’s got to be because the player is ready and not because it’s the cheap option or because we have no one else - I’m saying there may be one or two seen as ready to do that, as there usually has been in our recent history.
i don't expect anybody to be signed as back up this window. The first 11 needs improving by 4 or 5 players still - once that's sorted, we can start looking at taking punts and developing players etc - 4 or 5 first team ready loans and perms, offload as much dead wood as we can and promote the best couple of youngsters - the addition of a proven centre forward with some physical presence will compliment both may and leaburn as first choice and enable kanu to be used as a bit part if he doesn't go out on loan and the same for chucks on the rare occasions he may be available.
Seems really important we get a striker, L(W)B and R(W)B in this week, I feel the rest can come in a little later.
Hopefully the silence is deafening and work is well underway, I can’t believe for a second the new owners have spent 12m+ to start the season as is
After those three it’s less obvious where we’d make further signings.
There’s a good case for another player in each of those positions.
In central midfield Fraser, Dobson, Camara, McGrandles, Anderson, Henry and Payne may be seen as enough. Bringing in another player either means upgrading on Fraser or Dobson (not convinced we’ll try) or signing a squad player which will block Anderson and Henry’s progress (not convinced by Henry but Holden might be). So that might only happen if someone leaves.
Similar situation at centre back, we have six players in Jones, Hector, Thomas, Mitchell, Elerewe and Ness. Any of the latter three could be loaned out which might leave room for a signing.
For me the only way we sign a winger is if they can also comfortably play up front.
No matter how good the "kids" are I would always feel more comfortable if we had senior players in place. Last season we got a bit lucky with how well Leaburn and Campbell did but at times they were playing because they were literally the only players in their positions we had.
Anderson and Asiimwe might end up forcing their way past the "senior" players which is great. Playing them because we don't have a senior alternative is bad IMO.
I still think we need a CM of the same sort of quality as Dobson amd Fraser. 2 left full/ wing backs, 1 right sided one and 2 strikers. Being greedy I want an experienced center back, even if it was someone that could help the u21s and provide cover so we aren't forced to play kids.
It’ll interesting to see how it all develops, including who’s sold and loaned out with what appears to be a bigger budget than recent years.
I don’t think luck fully explains it, especially in the case of Leaburn. He did better than expected but he was correctly judged to be ready to be a first team player.
We could waste budget bringing in average back up players if a youngster is capable, but what we don’t want is too many of them covering as it becomes a problem if they’re all playing due to injuries and suspensions. That’s where Holden needs to get the balance right.
Having the pathway is part of the reason we get the majority of our promising kids signed up on pro contracts.
They need to be judged individually rather than a blanket rule that every youngster must have two senior players ahead of them. Sometimes they’re clearly ready and need the opportunity in order to develop and keep them at the club.
But the point with Leaburn is two fold. He hadn't even played a full season of U21 football, in fact he made his u21s debut at the end of the previous season. By October he was our best number 9. Was he good enough to play? Yes clearly. Should he of had to play 90 minutes every week because there were no viable alternatives? Certainly not.
He should have been a bonus not the be all and end all.
Very, very, few first or second year pros can play 30+ games a season. Gomez didn't, he was dipped in and out.
You have also got, hopefully this year, the pressure of being expected to win every game.
Having the "kids" on the bench also stops them playing 90 minutes for the u21s which doesn't help their development either.
The aims for this season should obviously be promotion and doing the right thing for protect, grow and nurture this wonderful crop of 18 and 19 year olds we have.
There are people that would have had Barker in the match day squad for the last 3 seasons and have played Deji for the last 2 seasons.
TLDR: If they get in on merit it's a bonus, if they are plan A or even B you’re setting your self up to fail, and doing them no favours either.
Overall I agree, it was one of my frustrations in the RD years when players like Charles-Cook and Kennedy were thrown in. My point though is there are negatives by going too far the other way. Russell Slade is a good example - he didn’t give Aribo a proper chance and instead thought he could rely on the experience of Jackson, Crofts and Foley in midfield.
This is where Holden’s judgement comes into it. While we don’t want Charlie Barker types padding out the squad and playing when they’re not up to it, neither do we want to sign too many in the mould of Jack Payne, i.e. they aren’t quite good enough to regularly start and if it blocks a youngster ready for game time who has a lot of potential.
I’m not calling for any young player to play 30+ games, but there’s a clear difference between say Leaburn who is ready to contribute and Henry who needs game time out on loan. Leaburn’s progress would have been slower had we signed a couple of Bonne level strikers. Bringing in too many back ups doesn’t do much to improve our promotion chances either.
It’s an all about getting the balance right and being brave enough to create the space for youngsters to get opportunities. It’s got to be because the player is ready and not because it’s the cheap option or because we have no one else - I’m saying there may be one or two seen as ready to do that, as there usually has been in our recent history.
i don't expect anybody to be signed as back up this window. The first 11 needs improving by 4 or 5 players still - once that's sorted, we can start looking at taking punts and developing players etc - 4 or 5 first team ready loans and perms, offload as much dead wood as we can and promote the best couple of youngsters - the addition of a proven centre forward with some physical presence will compliment both may and leaburn as first choice and enable kanu to be used as a bit part if he doesn't go out on loan and the same for chucks on the rare occasions he may be available.
Yes and no. I don't think we'll be looking at anyone to come in to be back up, any players we get will be ones intended to be starters.
That said I expect that as things go over season players will drop off or someone will break through and our "best" 11 won't be the same by January as it will in September even.
Tom Davies from Everton is training with Bristol Rovers. Doubt he’ll end up in league one but surely he’d be worth a punt if he’s willing to play at this level. They could just be doing him a favour but you never know.
Worked in a cocktail bar in Shoreditch and he came in with a small group of friends, it was a Saturday night and Everton were playing in the 4pm kick off on Sunday. Between him and 5 others they drunk about 900 quids worth of booze (baring in mind cocktails were about £12 a pop and even the big sharing ones were £100 tops)
He was on the bench that day and I can't remember if he came on, but I couldn't believe how much he drunk that night. At one point halfway through the night he leant across the bar and took off his hat, and shouted "I'm Tom Fuckin Davies" in one of the bartender's face, and he replied back "I know, I'm a Liverpool fan, why do you think I'm still serving you?"
Seems really important we get a striker, L(W)B and R(W)B in this week, I feel the rest can come in a little later.
Hopefully the silence is deafening and work is well underway, I can’t believe for a second the new owners have spent 12m+ to start the season as is
After those three it’s less obvious where we’d make further signings.
There’s a good case for another player in each of those positions.
In central midfield Fraser, Dobson, Camara, McGrandles, Anderson, Henry and Payne may be seen as enough. Bringing in another player either means upgrading on Fraser or Dobson (not convinced we’ll try) or signing a squad player which will block Anderson and Henry’s progress (not convinced by Henry but Holden might be). So that might only happen if someone leaves.
Similar situation at centre back, we have six players in Jones, Hector, Thomas, Mitchell, Elerewe and Ness. Any of the latter three could be loaned out which might leave room for a signing.
For me the only way we sign a winger is if they can also comfortably play up front.
No matter how good the "kids" are I would always feel more comfortable if we had senior players in place. Last season we got a bit lucky with how well Leaburn and Campbell did but at times they were playing because they were literally the only players in their positions we had.
Anderson and Asiimwe might end up forcing their way past the "senior" players which is great. Playing them because we don't have a senior alternative is bad IMO.
I still think we need a CM of the same sort of quality as Dobson amd Fraser. 2 left full/ wing backs, 1 right sided one and 2 strikers. Being greedy I want an experienced center back, even if it was someone that could help the u21s and provide cover so we aren't forced to play kids.
It’ll interesting to see how it all develops, including who’s sold and loaned out with what appears to be a bigger budget than recent years.
I don’t think luck fully explains it, especially in the case of Leaburn. He did better than expected but he was correctly judged to be ready to be a first team player.
We could waste budget bringing in average back up players if a youngster is capable, but what we don’t want is too many of them covering as it becomes a problem if they’re all playing due to injuries and suspensions. That’s where Holden needs to get the balance right.
Having the pathway is part of the reason we get the majority of our promising kids signed up on pro contracts.
They need to be judged individually rather than a blanket rule that every youngster must have two senior players ahead of them. Sometimes they’re clearly ready and need the opportunity in order to develop and keep them at the club.
But the point with Leaburn is two fold. He hadn't even played a full season of U21 football, in fact he made his u21s debut at the end of the previous season. By October he was our best number 9. Was he good enough to play? Yes clearly. Should he of had to play 90 minutes every week because there were no viable alternatives? Certainly not.
He should have been a bonus not the be all and end all.
Very, very, few first or second year pros can play 30+ games a season. Gomez didn't, he was dipped in and out.
You have also got, hopefully this year, the pressure of being expected to win every game.
Having the "kids" on the bench also stops them playing 90 minutes for the u21s which doesn't help their development either.
The aims for this season should obviously be promotion and doing the right thing for protect, grow and nurture this wonderful crop of 18 and 19 year olds we have.
There are people that would have had Barker in the match day squad for the last 3 seasons and have played Deji for the last 2 seasons.
TLDR: If they get in on merit it's a bonus, if they are plan A or even B you’re setting your self up to fail, and doing them no favours either.
Overall I agree, it was one of my frustrations in the RD years when players like Charles-Cook and Kennedy were thrown in. My point though is there are negatives by going too far the other way. Russell Slade is a good example - he didn’t give Aribo a proper chance and instead thought he could rely on the experience of Jackson, Crofts and Foley in midfield.
This is where Holden’s judgement comes into it. While we don’t want Charlie Barker types padding out the squad and playing when they’re not up to it, neither do we want to sign too many in the mould of Jack Payne, i.e. they aren’t quite good enough to regularly start and if it blocks a youngster ready for game time who has a lot of potential.
I’m not calling for any young player to play 30+ games, but there’s a clear difference between say Leaburn who is ready to contribute and Henry who needs game time out on loan. Leaburn’s progress would have been slower had we signed a couple of Bonne level strikers. Bringing in too many back ups doesn’t do much to improve our promotion chances either.
It’s an all about getting the balance right and being brave enough to create the space for youngsters to get opportunities. It’s got to be because the player is ready and not because it’s the cheap option or because we have no one else - I’m saying there may be one or two seen as ready to do that, as there usually has been in our recent history.
i don't expect anybody to be signed as back up this window. The first 11 needs improving by 4 or 5 players still - once that's sorted, we can start looking at taking punts and developing players etc - 4 or 5 first team ready loans and perms, offload as much dead wood as we can and promote the best couple of youngsters - the addition of a proven centre forward with some physical presence will compliment both may and leaburn as first choice and enable kanu to be used as a bit part if he doesn't go out on loan and the same for chucks on the rare occasions he may be available.
You would only sign one LWB? I would say as well as the 4 or 5 first team players we still need another left wing/full back, 4th striker and IMO a senior center back, unless we can get one better than Hector, Ness and Jones which I would be surprised, but excited, about.
DJ and Kirk need to go because a they aren't good enough and b there isn't a place for them in system and they aren't good enough to be wild cards.
Don’t know if this helps but I dreamt we signed Richard Gough, Dom Jolly and Penn & Teller last night.
I dreamt William Shatner (who i insisted on calling Don) was digging big holes in my garden and wouldn’t stop. Might pay to checkout MK Dons squad list…
And I dreamt that I was head hunted by Ben Dover to assist with his latest projects...
Tom Davies from Everton is training with Bristol Rovers. Doubt he’ll end up in league one but surely he’d be worth a punt if he’s willing to play at this level. They could just be doing him a favour but you never know.
Worked in a cocktail bar in Shoreditch and he came in with a small group of friends, it was a Saturday night and Everton were playing in the 4pm kick off on Sunday. Between him and 5 others they drunk about 900 quids worth of booze (baring in mind cocktails were about £12 a pop and even the big sharing ones were £100 tops)
He was on the bench that day and I can't remember if he came on, but I couldn't believe how much he drunk that night. At one point halfway through the night he leant across the bar and took off his hat, and shouted "I'm Tom Fuckin Davies" in one of the bartender's face, and he replied back "I know, I'm a Liverpool fan, why do you think I'm still serving you?"
I’ll go out on a limb and say he doesn't fit the no dickheads policy then
A LWB and a striker are the priority and then we can put out a starting 11 that can compete with the best in league one.
Then we have until the end of Aug to bring in another CM, CB and cover for the WB positions - Sess would be good cover for both sides.
If we do manage to get Sess he won’t be cover, been offered a very good wage for this level. Personally still think he will get a championship gig, Plymouth are keen on him.
Sess would start over Egbo if we signed him and a proper LWB
I've been disappointed with Egbo's attacking side as wing back in the friendlies so far, maybe he's simply a right back.
A LWB and a striker are the priority and then we can put out a starting 11 that can compete with the best in league one.
Then we have until the end of Aug to bring in another CM, CB and cover for the WB positions - Sess would be good cover for both sides.
If we do manage to get Sess he won’t be cover, been offered a very good wage for this level. Personally still think he will get a championship gig, Plymouth are keen on him.
Sess would start over Egbo if we signed him and a proper LWB
I've been disappointed with Egbo's attacking side as wing back in the friendlies so far, maybe he's simply a right back.
I think we’ll see three leave and five or six come in.
Pretty small squad if this is the case or at least we can expect to see 2-3 step ups (eg Anderson) on the bench every week. I would have hoped 5-6 if none leave, 7-8 if 2 or 3 go.
DJ and Kirk must be on their way out and I would also give Kanu a year or 6 months in League 2.
I think we’ll see three leave and five or six come in.
Pretty small squad if this is the case or at least we can expect to see 2-3 step ups (eg Anderson) on the bench every week. I would have hoped 5-6 if none leave, 7-8 if 2 or 3 go.
DJ and Kirk must be on their way out and I would also give Kanu a year or 6 months in League 2.
Comments
He should have been a bonus not the be all and end all.
Very, very, few first or second year pros can play 30+ games a season. Gomez didn't, he was dipped in and out.
You have also got, hopefully this year, the pressure of being expected to win every game.
Having the "kids" on the bench also stops them playing 90 minutes for the u21s which doesn't help their development either.
The aims for this season should obviously be promotion and doing the right thing for protect, grow and nurture this wonderful crop of 18 and 19 year olds we have.
There are people that would have had Barker in the match day squad for the last 3 seasons and have played Deji for the last 2 seasons.
TLDR: If they get in on merit it's a bonus, if they are plan A or even B your setting your self up to fail, and doing them no favours either.
This is where Holden’s judgement comes into it. While we don’t want Charlie Barker types padding out the squad and playing when they’re not up to it, neither do we want to sign too many in the mould of Jack Payne, i.e. they aren’t quite good enough to regularly start and if it blocks a youngster ready for game time who has a lot of potential.
I’m not calling for any young player to play 30+ games, but there’s a clear difference between say Leaburn who is ready to contribute and Henry who needs game time out on loan. Leaburn’s progress would have been slower had we signed a couple of Bonne level strikers. Bringing in too many back ups doesn’t do much to improve our promotion chances either.
It’s an all about getting the balance right and being brave enough to create the space for youngsters to get opportunities. It’s got to be because the player is ready and not because it’s the cheap option or because we have no one else - I’m saying there may be one or two seen as ready to do that, as there usually has been in our recent history.
I dreamt William Shatner (who i insisted on calling Don) was digging big holes in my garden and wouldn’t stop. Might pay to checkout MK Dons squad list…
"Trouble is, teams just park the bus whenever they come to the valley"
Mrs Kips no longer speaking to me today.
A. foresee that happening and
B. coach the team to work against it
That said I expect that as things go over season players will drop off or someone will break through and our "best" 11 won't be the same by January as it will in September even.
He was on the bench that day and I can't remember if he came on, but I couldn't believe how much he drunk that night. At one point halfway through the night he leant across the bar and took off his hat, and shouted "I'm Tom Fuckin Davies" in one of the bartender's face, and he replied back "I know, I'm a Liverpool fan, why do you think I'm still serving you?"
DJ and Kirk need to go because a they aren't good enough and b there isn't a place for them in system and they aren't good enough to be wild cards.
DJ and Kirk must be on their way out and I would also give Kanu a year or 6 months in League 2.