The Squad for 2017/18

[Ian]

However Alabi is a proven striker at this level, so no.

I'm not sure one good season is enough to call him a proven striker. If he'd been scoring 15+ for a few seasons then yeah but not after one. If you take away the penalty goals, his games/goals ratio isn't that impressive.

 

[Boz]

Think you can differentiate them in that Stephenson only played about 6 times at NL level and never scored. Penalties aren't that easy to convert as last season showed, but deducting them from any players record will clearly make their goals:games ratio worse. Take the penalties out of Norwood's first season stats and they look distinctly average for example. I don't think we should have signed Alabi though.

Re Sparky's post on keepers, when we can't fund a proper right wing-back, I don't see the point of this. Pilling's going nowhere now the window has shut and we've still got Wharton as a bench warmer.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

The idea with the keeper might be to put him on the bench and send Pilling out on loan to get some games. It would actually be to Luke's benefit to do that, as he is not going to develop by watching 46 matches this season.

I agree with Boz that Alabi has a better CV than Stephenson and his goals tally last season was impressive if you consider how bad Chester were (and still are). He scored pretty much the same number of goals in open play as Norwood two seasons ago, but in a dreadful team as opposed to one chasing promotion. I still doubt he is at the standard we require, however.

 

[aldoes mustache]

Just heard the news that dale jennings daughter . Has cancer . Hope she pulls through .

 

[aldoes mustache]

If. No one can be arsed . Im donating to dales. Jennings donation page to mila leukaemia . one family we are white . He is one of are own . Come on guys show support an girls

 

[aldoes mustache]

I have a little girle she is a little monster one day then so cute the next i would be heartbroken if it was my little monkey . Puts football in prospective .

 

[Sparky]

Very sad. Especially when kids are involved. Fingers crossed she gets through it

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Awful to hear. She can't be that old. Hope the family get the,support they need.

 

[Sparky]

The rumour mill starting up again (don't you just love it?!), Hartlepool who may have funds from the sale of Amond are reportedly in touch about Cook.

MP has said not for sale but the big man wants to leave (and who could blame him), so will be interesting how things pan out.

Hopefully rubbish as I love cookie but with his contract up at the end of the season and a manager who clearly doesn't fancy him, it wouldn't be a surprise if he left.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

If he does not leave now I think he will certainly go in January, assuming Mellon is still the manager. Such a waste as he is far better than any of our other forwards and we will be in dire straits without him. There is no way we will find a suitable replacement mid-season.

 

[Ian]

If Cook goes it shows you what state we are in at the moment. It's bad enough our best striker sits on the bench when we are desperate for goals. Crazy times!

 

[Boz]

If Mellon remains as manager, Cook is (wrongly imo) going to get few opportunities. Is there any merit in doing some sort of deal, where we raise funds or do a trade for say a right wing-back or a central defender with pace? There's not much point having a players in a squad who are rarely used, save that, if you have him one of your rivals doesn't.The merit of that approach depends on whether you believe that Rovers are still in with a good chance of the play-offs. While the jury's still out on that one, it's too early to write us off in my view, so I wouldn't sell.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Boz, I see two problems with your idea. Firstly, if MM gets the sack, Andy Cook is likely to be the first player a new manager will look to for goals. Secondly, now that the transfer window is closed, we can't sell him to an EFL club. He won't want to drop a division, so the only option is to sell to another NL club, which would help a rival.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I think another problem with the idea is that no matter how good a right wing back we sign, if he has nobody who can head a ball or score a goal to cross to, we would be no better off than we were previously.

Strikers are still by far the most difficult players to recruit. We have got a good one and we don't use him.

 

[Boz]

The points both BBTC and RLC make above are valid and I don't want Cook to be sold. A player who's rarely used is of little benefit to us though, save for the negative one that he's not playing for our rivals.

Purely on headers, Norwood is decent in the air, Waring looks as though he might be. It could be other elements of his game that are missed more if Cookie moves on.

 

[aldoes mustache]

Wont be happy if cookie does go . Think it will cause a lot of upset . Plus he has a proven track record in the league . And wont be easy to replace. Cant judge alibi or wearing as both not playing . And as for rokka apparently he is struggling with his fitness.

 

[Sparky]

With Mickys pre match remarks yesterday suggesting he may play 4 at the back tomorrow, I couldn't help get a little bit excited that Adam Dawson may finally be giving a chance to play wide in a 4-4-2, when we're creating very little and he has obvious talent.

Silly me - Adam joins National League North side Darlington on a months loan - who knows he could come back in a months time totally invigorated (unlikely I know...)

 

[Ian]

It would be daft to think we need wingers for a 442 and then loan one of them out. Sorry, I just don't get it. What was the point of signing Dawson, he's never been given a decent run in the side.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Given Dawson's recent CV, any side interested in signing him would be wise to take him on loan first. So this may be step one on his exit path.
OR
If Micky wants to rehabilitate Adam, he needs to get match fit and regular games in NLN would do the trick. It's what worked for CJ earlier in the year.

Take your pick.

 

[Boz]

When MM first signed Dawson, he did get game time, but didn't impress that much. He's done or not done something behind the scenes which has pretty much put him out of the picture. Of the two options BBTC puts forward, the first seems more likely to me.