• Nigel Adkins has been given the Tranmere job on a permanent basis signing until the end of the 25/26 season. Continue the discussion here.

Who stays, who goes?

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Alan King, Barry Dyson
We are in the unusual position of having more than half our permanent players under contract until summer 2015 - fon Williams, Ramsbottom, Holmes, Ridehalgh, Rowe, Horwood, Bell-Baggie, Kirby, Power, Stockton, Davies and Lowe. The club will be deciding soon which of the following will be offered new contracts - Mooney, Taylor, Goodison, Thompson, Wallace, Koumas and Akpa Akpro. Jennings has been playing on a non-contract basis and loanee Brown may be available to sign permanently.

Who do you think will get offers and who will accept them? I would expect the club to try to keep most of the above with the exception of Ian Goodison. I'd like to see Mooney stay, if we can afford to have three pro keepers. I would hope we can hang onto Ash, Wallace and Jenno, but they may get more tempting offers. I would like to think James will sign for another year to get himself fully match fit and put himself back in the shop window, but I fear he's more likely to go.
 

drwhoman

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I agree with everything you have said BBTC on this and your Bradford blog. You really do wonder as to what was going on last summer. How in heavens name did we end up with Horwood and Bell- Baggie on two year contracts? At least they will be playing at their proper level next season although that will not help us get promoted! In addition to your three off contract players I would keep Koumas if he is willing. He makes a classy contribution when fit. Not sure what the position is with Thompson - it will be an awkward one - I am not really sure he justifies another contract but given what has happened.... The key is obviously to get a decent Manager in asap as he will need time to assess what he has and what he wants to do. The right man might encourage some guys to stay who might otherwise have gone elsewhere. He needs to have a decent understanding of the lower divisions and what is required to be successful. Ownership is another issue of course - we have to rely on Johnson to stick around unless he can find another philanthropist (which is what he is really) to be willing to keep putting his hand in his pocket, at least until this is no longer necessary. As a Rovers supporter for over fifty years I must admit to some pessimism. The game has changed so much with the heavy emphasis on the Premier League to the detriment of everyone else. Can we really make a go of it with Liverpool and Everton across the river? I hope so but we will see.
 

Ian

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I'd try and hang onto Mooney, Taylor, Goodson, Wallace and Koumas. Concerned about Wallace, he seems very injury prone. Koumas gives us quality in midfield, Taylor solid at the back, Mooney good young keeper and Goodison provides cover and should never be allowed to leave.
 

bigmart

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I can see Lowe Jennings Taylor Wallace & Fon Williams all leaving I think it will be tough to hang onto these players and Goodison could depend on whether he is eventually charged with spot fixing or not.
 
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I would try to keep Taylor, Wallace, Jennings, Koumas and perhaps Goody. I would let Akpro go and, despite defending him this season, I would not be too concerned if Fonners left as I think Mooney would be a solid keeper at League Two level. It is difficult to comment on Thompson's position as that is obviously a sensitive situation. If we could keep the players I have mentioned above, which I admit is unlikely, we would have quality way beyond League Two level in the spine of the team.

If possible I would also move Horwood and Kirby on, but it seems some of the poor decisions made last summer are going to have a knock-on effect for next season unfortunately.
 

bigmart

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Somebody on another site reckons that most under contract want to leave as there are clauses in contracts if we go down wages reduce by 40%
 

Ian

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Hardly surprising.. Going to be one tough summer. Squad will be almost unrecognisable next season.
 

Boz

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Somebody on another site reckons that most under contract want to leave as there are clauses in contracts if we go down wages reduce by 40%
I've seen that too, but it doesn't come from one of the sources with a good track record for inside information, so difficult to gauge it's accuracy. I could well imagine there is a clause for some reduction in wages through relegation but 40% seems an extremely large cut and if true, it would be understandable players want out. Are there similar clauses in Messrs Horton and Butler's contracts I wonder :).I can't envisage our income dropping by 40% as a result of going down.
 
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Are there similar clauses in Messrs Horton and Butler's contracts I wonder :).I can't envisage our income dropping by 40% as a result of going down.

If we had played in League Two this season our average gate would have been the eighth highest in the division, so there is no apparent reason why we should not be competitive next year. I would imagine season ticket sales will be at least equal to those of last season.

Regarding your second point, I would guess Jeremy certainly did not come cheap, which makes the failure to promptly appoint a manager all the more surprising really.
 
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Somebody on another site reckons that most under contract want to leave as there are clauses in contracts if we go down wages reduce by 40%
This might be true, as I expect the players would have expected a rise of at least 40% if they had got promotion! However, I would not expect the management to enforce it except for the players they want rid of. It's not the likes of fon Williams' or Lowe's fault we went down. No-one has ever faulted the commitment of the team or doubted the skill of many of them. At least 50% of the blame lies with events off the field coupled with financial/recruitment/match strategy. If we want to get back into League One (or even stay in the Football League), we need to retain the nucleus of the current squad, fill the gaps and find manager who can get the best out of them. Cutting the budget even more would be suicide. As I have said I another thread, our income is unlikely to fall by much and could even rise if we can attract more spectators by giving them an attractive, winning team.
 

Sparky

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Offered new contracts - Koumas, Jenno, Wallace, Ash, Mooney.

Agree with that. Expect Koumas and Mooney to stay - not sure about the others although considering how long we stood by Wallace with his injuries he should show some loyalty. Would love to keep Ash and Jenno.

Released - Goodi and JLAA.

A real shame that Goodi will not have a testimonial (I assume) but given the off the field issues, not a total suprise. Not too sad about JLAA. 18 months ago Ronnie touted him for the premiership when him and Cass were banging them in. How quickly things change...
 

Ian

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Fairly pleased with that. Little disappointed Goody will be leaving, he's part if the fabric now but if we can get these players signed up, surely that would be a good base for a decent side in division two. Can't see Wallace sticking around though. I hope some of the younger guys will get more time on the pitch next season. Mooney, Stockton etc.. Future also has to be youth development and these guys need games.
 
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I agree with most of the comments above. The decisions are sensible and I would imagine Goody will get a testimonial as he has served over ten years at the club.

My one concern is that the retentions have been decided before the appointment of a manager, whose hands will effectively be tied by decisions made by someone else. As I have said previously, we should really have a manager in place already given the time that has passed since Ronnie's initial suspension.
 

andrewesq

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Really sad for Goody to not get a testimonial which seems to have been scrapped, wonder if he will get one if hes proved innocent !
 

Boz

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Reduced income in L2

On reflection we are going to lose some monies due to the smaller pot available for L2 clubs, along with the reduction in season ticket prices, assuming roughly the same numbers signed up as this season. Even if home support stays about the same, due to the novelty factor (and hopefully good results), in L1 15 opponents brought at least 300 fans and 5 over 1000. I can only see a handful Shrewsbury/Carlisle/Bury/Portsmouth/Luton maybe bringing that number next season, so our gate revenue will inevitably fall.

Staying/Going

There are no real surprises here. Wonder would Goodison have been offered another deal if the spot fixing investigation hadn't been ongoing? Expect Ash and Wallace to go, maybe Mooney if he has the prospect of first team football elsewhere. Koumas will most likely stay if he keeps playing. Jennings is an interesting one as he wasn't swamped with offers after being freed by Coventry, so it is possible he'll stick around.

Antonie Boland also signed a 1 year deal, some favourable comment from reserves-watchers about this lad.
 

drwhoman

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I agree with RLC that it would have been ideal to have a new Manager in place. However, early decisions probably had to be taken re the players and I doubt whether any new Manager would seriously disagree with the action that has been taken. I just wonder whether the relegation issue has impacted on the type of Manager to be chosen? - as we all know the Division the team plays in will influence who will take the job. Now we are in Division Two then a good Conference Manager might be an option but not Coleman - he has too much negative form. We come back to someone like Micky Mellon. Not a well known player trying to make his way in management please Jeremy. The best Managers are often guys who have not quite made it as players, often for injury related reasons, and they have something to prove and are not just in it for some money (Barnes springs to mind).
 

bigmart

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The Echo reckons the playing budget will be cut from £1.2 million to about £1 million.
 
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Interesting quote from John McMahon on the OS:
"We've got ten or eleven under contract and the contracts will be honoured unless any player wants to leave, then it becomes a totally different proposition. The ones under contract will report back on the 1st of July for pre-season training unless they feel they don't want to be here."

Sounds like he's expecting one or two to hand in transfer requests.
 
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Alan King, Barry Dyson
I agree with RLC that it would have been ideal to have a new Manager in place. However, early decisions probably had to be taken re the players and I doubt whether any new Manager would seriously disagree with the action that has been taken. I just wonder whether the relegation issue has impacted on the type of Manager to be chosen? - as we all know the Division the team plays in will influence who will take the job. Now we are in Division Two then a good Conference Manager might be an option but not Coleman - he has too much negative form. We come back to someone like Micky Mellon. Not a well known player trying to make his way in management please Jeremy. The best Managers are often guys who have not quite made it as players, often for injury related reasons, and they have something to prove and are not just in it for some money (Barnes springs to mind).
I agree that we need a manager who knows the level we are playing at - ideally as a manager but I'd take a retired player with coaching experience. I can't see any point in delaying decisions on player retention. Even if a managerial appointment was imminent, he probably wouldn't have been the best to judge. I think they've got it right, although I think we'll lose two or three of our better players.
 
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I bet 20 teams from the league above want Ryan Lowe, including Preston if they don't get promoted. ( a £50,000 bid would sway P.J)

Wallace to Preston or Doncaster? Poss Sheffield
 
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