Squad 25/26

[bakajack]

Marko is almost exclusively a holding mf. Does a similar job to Grimes position wise. Sits in front of the back line. Distributes the ball when we have it and gets tackles in when we do not.

He would free up Franco & AN Other to play more centrally and offensively. He would be an excellent addition if it happens. 6ft 2 so that helps with aerial duels too.

30+ International caps. Played in Champions League for Red Star Belgrade.

Please dont turn this into a Grimes thread just because I likened Marko to that role/position

In my mind currently we will see Franco playing at the base, Widell as the more roaming number 8 and Eom playing as the number 10.

The issue we have right now is that the cupboard is extremely bare when it comes to reinforcements for that setup. Fulton (assuming the club doesn't try to shift him on and succeed) is the only other senior midfielder currently at the club, we have some promising youth products as T8AD365 mentioned and it surely is time to see if they are good enough for first team squad involvement.

 

[Martyn - Derwydd]

Yup, we need 2 MF players. Only have 3 Fulton, Widell & Franco. I'd take Marko on a 1 year loan with option to buy. Then we need LOB or similar and we will be OK in that MF 3 or 2 depending on formation.

Think from what I have read the current shopping list is
Defender who can play across the back 4, or RB/LB, not necessarily a starter.
Midfield X 2
Striker

 

[Gar]

Anything to be said for giving Cotterill a chance next season? Had a very successful loan spell at Swindon, playing almost every game (some as a defensive midfielder) and will be 21 in October so needs to be involved with the first team if he's going to have a future here.

Then we have Ben Lloyd who's only a year younger and Congreve who's 22 in March. It must be sink or swim time for Josh Thomas as well, as he'll be 23 in September.

I'd prefer to see the youngsters get the chance to fill some of the gaps in the squad, rather than signing older players on higher wages just to pad out the bench

Josh Thomas has never been considered by coaches to be a serious first team prospect. He'll be off this summer if a half decent fee is forthcoming. Bear in mind his loans have been less than impressive.

The other three, perhaps fringe players but can't see any of them making it. Lloyd failed to kick on in youth games, could probably do with a loan.

 

[Gar]

In my mind currently we will see Franco playing at the base, Widell as the more roaming number 8 and Eom playing as the number 10.

The issue we have right now is that the cupboard is extremely bare when it comes to reinforcements for that setup. Fulton (assuming the club doesn't try to shift him on and succeed) is the only other senior midfielder currently at the club, we have some promising youth products as T8AD365 mentioned and it surely is time to see if they are good enough for first team squad involvement.

Franco played exclusively as an 8 for us last year. He didn't display anything like the tactical discipline or passing ability required for the deepest role.

If he was to become a cdm it would be a big departure from his first season. We've seen zero to suggest it's a good idea other than he works hard.

Best keeping him as the box to box player he was last year.

 

[bakajack]

Franco played exclusively as an 8 for us last year. He didn't display anything like the tactical discipline or passing ability required for the deepest role.

If he was to become a cdm it would be a big departure from his first season. We've seen zero to suggest it's a good idea other than he works hard.

Best keeping him as the box to box player he was last year.

He was used as the number six whenever we used this lineup (we used the same lineup against Sunderland too) with Fulton as the more roaming player. We also used it in the 1-0 defeat against Watford, in that game O'Brien was playing as the 8 and Cullen as the 10 behind Vipotnik.

He has definitely played a not insignificant number of games as the holding midfielder

 

[T8AD365]

Josh Thomas has never been considered by coaches to be a serious first team prospect. He'll be off this summer if a half decent fee is forthcoming. Bear in mind his loans have been less than impressive.

The other three, perhaps fringe players but can't see any of them making it. Lloyd failed to kick on in youth games, could probably do with a loan.

It's so hard to judge the quality of players in the youth teams because the standard is usually quite poor. Kyrell Wilson, for example, scores goals for fun in the reserves but only scored 1 goal in 15 games in the National League for Yeovil.

I just think if a player isn't involved regularly with the first team squad by the age of 21, they probably aren't going to be good enough and should be let go. It's pointless keeping 22/23 year olds at the club when they're either playing for the reserves or out on loan

 

[bakajack]

It's so hard to judge the quality of players in the youth teams because the standard is usually quite poor. Kyrell Wilson, for example, scores goals for fun in the reserves but only scored 1 goal in 15 games in the National League for Yeovil.

I just think if a player isn't involved regularly with the first team squad by the age of 21, they probably aren't going to be good enough and should be let go. It's pointless keeping 22/23 year olds at the club when they're either playing for the reserves or out on loan

To be fair I take that with a pinch of salt, 15 appearances doesn't give a fair representation when his game time for Yeovil was sporadic at best.

He played the entirety of the first 4 games getting two assists in that time, after that he played the full 90 only twice and was used constantly out on the wing for a side that misfired terribly scoring only 51 goals in 46 games all season.

Added to that he only played more than 15 minutes in the final six games on two occasions, one where he played the full game against Eastleigh and the other he was given half hour against Aldershot.

 

[T8AD365]

To be fair I take that with a pinch of salt, 15 appearances doesn't give a fair representation when his game time for Yeovil was sporadic at best.

He played the entirety of the first 4 games getting two assists in that time, after that he played the full 90 only twice and was used constantly out on the wing for a side that misfired terribly scoring only 51 goals in 46 games all season.

Added to that he only played more than 15 minutes in the final six games on two occasions, one where he played the full game against Eastleigh and the other he was given half hour against Aldershot.

View attachment 5857

That's interesting, I wonder why his minutes dropped off the longer he was there

 

[bakajack]

Looking at their results I am going to guess manager under pressure after horrible results, changing anything and everything looking for a winning formula. Yeovil went on a 4 game losing streak without scoring a single goal, then they won two on the bounce where he wasn't involved at all so the manager likely stuck to a winning formula once he found it.

In either case, Yeovil were hardly a free flowing attacking side when you look at their results which likely didn't suit an attacker like Wilson one bit.

 

[Martyn - Derwydd]

Looking at their results I am going to guess manager under pressure after horrible results, changing anything and everything looking for a winning formula. Yeovil went on a 4 game losing streak without scoring a single goal, then they won two on the bounce where he wasn't involved at all so the manager likely stuck to a winning formula once he found it.

In either case, Yeovil were hardly a free flowing attacking side when you look at their results which likely didn't suit an attacker like Wilson one bit.

Think Wyn is starting to rub off on you. What's that? Three/four stat screenshots in the last 2 days.

Hope your not going down with statto syndrome. Its a difficult thing to cope with.

You become alienated. People make fun of you all the time while your brain keeps saying I know I'm right, I know I'm right. Why dont people believe me

 

[bakajack]

Think Wyn is starting to rub off on you. What's that? Three/four stat screenshots in the last 2 days.

Hope your not going down with statto syndrome. Its a difficult thing to cope with.

You become alienated. People make fun of you all the time while your brain keeps saying I know I'm right, I know I'm right. Why dont people believe me

I've always been a stat mine, I just don't always post the screenshots to back up my opinions

In this case its just a lot of guesswork and assumptions based on his amount of game time and their run of results in the final 18 games of the season after he joined them

 

[Dillwyn the Dog]

Anything to be said for giving Cotterill a chance next season? Had a very successful loan spell at Swindon, playing almost every game (some as a defensive midfielder) and will be 21 in October so needs to be involved with the first team if he's going to have a future here.

Then we have Ben Lloyd who's only a year younger and Congreve who's 22 in March. It must be sink or swim time for Josh Thomas as well, as he'll be 23 in September.

I'd prefer to see the youngsters get the chance to fill some of the gaps in the squad, rather than signing older players on higher wages just to pad out the bench

Have him on the bench when we’re either a few goals to the good or behind - needs to be eased in. Cup games a good option too

 

[Dillwyn the Dog]

Marko is almost exclusively a holding mf. Does a similar job to Grimes position wise. Sits in front of the back line. Distributes the ball when we have it and gets tackles in when we do not.

He would free up Franco & AN Other to play more centrally and offensively. He would be an excellent addition if it happens. 6ft 2 so that helps with aerial duels too.

30+ International caps. Played in Champions League for Red Star Belgrade.

Please dont turn this into a Grimes thread just because I likened Marko to that role/position

There you go - on about Grimes again

Only joking - if he plays that role well and can move the ball forward (not backwards like the aforementioned) I’d welcome him with open arms. Means Franco can try and play the 8 role which I think he would enjoy and having him close or around Widdell would help carve out a lot of chances and some exciting football

 

[Gar]

View attachment 5856

He was used as the number six whenever we used this lineup (we used the same lineup against Sunderland too) with Fulton as the more roaming player. We also used it in the 1-0 defeat against Watford, in that game O'Brien was playing as the 8 and Cullen as the 10 behind Vipotnik.

He has definitely played a not insignificant number of games as the holding midfielder

I can only assume you didn't watch many games.

 

[bakajack]

I can only assume you didn't watch many games.

the problem when you assume is it makes an ass out of u and me (but mostly you in this case). I watch just about every game barring those on a Tuesday evening due to other commitments.

For example Francos unfortunate howler in the loss to Watford came from when he played the ball blind to where he assumed Tymon was at left back from… you guessed it… the defensive midfield position when he tried to transition quickly after we won the ball back midway from in our own half.