The Squad 2023-24

[Ian]

New thread for comings and goings leading up to next season.

 

[Sparky]

Chris Merrie signs a new one year deal. Makes sense as he can be decent on his day and can fill in at left back if needed.

 

[Ian]

Actually as a fill in probably not too bad but I'd rather he wasn't playing regularly. Id be quite happy if we managed to sign Hendry as I'm sure there will be quite a few offers for his services.

 

[Sparky]

Actually as a fill in probably not too bad but I'd rather he wasn't playing regularly. Id be quite happy if we managed to sign Hendry as I'm sure there will be quite a few offers for his services.

Yes only a one year deal and I doubt merrie is a big earner. Not sure we’ll get promoted with him a regular in the midfield but time will tell. It may be that we wanted to keep him if OConnor is going to be at RB

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I think O'Connor might leave, particularly now that Merrie has re-signed. We are a bit overloaded in midfield at the moment and will probably have to move somebody out to bring in Hendry, or another creative midfielder.

 

[bigmart]

I think O'Connor might leave, particularly now that Merrie has re-signed. We are a bit overloaded in midfield at the moment and will probably have to move somebody out to bring in Hendry, or another creative midfielder.

O'Connor, Lewis, Merrie, Walker and McAlear so would think at least 1 of them will leave, could also include Hughes though not sure he's a central midfielder

 

[ONIGP]

If we are looking at Merrie's standard for bench-warming / standing in then I'd be pretty happy with that.

 

[ADD]

O'Connor, Lewis, Merrie, Walker and McAlear so would think at least 1 of them will leave, could also include Hughes though not sure he's a central midfielder

Pleased about Merrie - I think he is perhaps undervalued and in a team looking to play more attacking football will do better as he has an eye for a pass.

Walker will likelly be injured so best to exclude from the list perhaps. McAlear based on reports from those that have the masochistic tendencies to watch Scottish football as well as us appears to have done very little whilst on loan so I wouldn't be surprised if we tried to terminate his contract mutually or else offload him.

 

[Boz]

Mentioned elsewhere that Merrie on crutches at the Northampton game, suggested he might not be fit to start the season, so suppose in that context a shorter contract makes sense.

Pleased with this news. Merrie can pick a pass, Walker is the other of the current midfielders who has an eye for a longer pass to open things up. Hendry, who hopefully we will sign tends to play shorter passes and to get the full benefit of his creativity is best deployed in a fairjy advanced position.

 

[Ian]

Yes, it's disappointing how McAlear's season fizzled out. He's still young though and maybe with a bit more coaching and encouragement can get his career back on track.

 

[bigmart]

Mentioned elsewhere that Merrie on crutches at the Northampton game, suggested he might not be fit to start the season, so suppose in that context a shorter contract makes sense.

Pleased with this news. Merrie can pick a pass, Walker is the other of the current midfielders who has an eye for a longer pass to open things up. Hendry, who hopefully we will sign tends to play shorter passes and to get the full benefit of his creativity is best deployed in a fairjy advanced position.

According to the OS Merrie will be fit enough to start training early July

 

[ONIGP]

Mentioned elsewhere that Merrie on crutches at the Northampton game, suggested he might not be fit to start the season, so suppose in that context a shorter contract makes sense.

I've heard a rumour that we now have a scout permanently placed at Arrowe Park Hospital and are thinking of extending the network to some of the major NHS Trusts in London. Apparently it's part of a new development model, but I'm not sure how much truth there is in it...

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

I've heard a rumour that we now have a scout permanently placed at Arrowe Park Hospital and are thinking of extending the network to some of the major NHS Trusts in London. Apparently it's part of a new development model, but I'm not sure how much truth there is in it...

Ha ha, ONIGP. With all the injuries we’ve had in recent years requiring lengthy treatment and numerous operations, I’m surprised we have not been officially sponsored by the NHS.

 

[overthewater]

Pleased about Merrie - I think he is perhaps undervalued and in a team looking to play more attacking football will do better as he has an eye for a pass.

Walker will likelly be injured so best to exclude from the list perhaps. McAlear based on reports from those that have the masochistic tendencies to watch Scottish football as well as us appears to have done very little whilst on loan so I wouldn't be surprised if we tried to terminate his contract mutually or else offload him.

McAlear "offers nothing, looks unfit and interested" according to one poster on an Ayr Utd forum

 

[overthewater]

McAlear "offers nothing, looks unfit and interested" according to one poster on an Ayr Utd forum

**uninterested**

 

[Am on mobile]

Just looking forward to see some new exciting players coming in hopefully

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I still think Hendry offers more creativity than Merrie and we need a better creative option in midfield. We also need more goals from the centre of midfield, which is something that Merrie certainly does not offer.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Just thought I'd post the latest situation as I understand it. Here is a list of players currently under contract and when those deals expire. As we are all obsessed about the age of the players, I also show their age on the first day of next season. Murphy and JDC are in discussions with the club. I think Joe will stay but for Josh to re-sign would be a feather in Ian's cap. The club has an option to extend Ethan, Jordan and Kieron's deals next summer, assuming they are still here. I'll try to post updates occasionally, so we can all see how things develop during the summer.

		age at​
2023/24		05/08/2023​	Current contract expires​
Goalkeeper	Joe Murphy	41	Jun-23​
Defender	Tom Davies	31	Jun-25​
Defender	Josh Cogley	27	Jun-23​
Defender	Ben Hockenhull	21	Jun-24​
Defender	Ethan Bristow	21	Jun-24​
Defender	Jordan Turnbull	28	Jun-24​
Midfielder	Kieron Morris	29	Jun-24​
Midfielder	Chris Merrie	24	Jun-24​
Midfielder	Josh Hawkes	24	Jun-24​
Midfielder	Paul Lewis	28	Jun-24​
Midfielder	Lee O'Connor	23	Jun-24​
Midfielder	Reece McAlear	21	Jun-24​
Midfielder	Brad Walker	27​	Jun-25​
Midfielder	Rhys Hughes	21​	Jun-24​
Attacker	Charlie Jolley	22	Jun-24​
Attacker	Kane Hemmings	32	Jun-24​
Attacker	Harvey Saunders	26	Jun-24​
Attacker	Sam Taylor	19	Jun-25​

 

[Sparky]

Thanks BBTC.

What sticks out is the important players whose contract is up next season including Bristow, hawkes, turnbull and Morris.
The first two in particular will have interest so are we offering them new contracts now? Or extensions? Or are we not financially in a position to do this.
We could next year lose hawkes for free and the same for Bristow as although we may get a few due to his age it won’t be anything special

 

[bigmart]

Thanks BBTC.

What sticks out is the important players whose contract is up next season including Bristow, hawkes, turnbull and Morris.
The first two in particular will have interest so are we offering them new contracts now? Or extensions? Or are we not financially in a position to do this.
We could next year lose hawkes for free and the same for Bristow as although we may get a few due to his age it won’t be anything special

I think the first 2 will be sold this summer along with O'Connor and possibly a couple of others