Deadwood

[Bladesway]

Ah the shit analogy hour with BTL. Been a while.....

It's closer to the longest day rather than an hour TD.

 

[The Crab]

90% of the team will be deadwood if we get promoted. That's just the sad reality. 3 maybe 4 will make the grade, but the hypothetical prospect of Basham in the line up next season in the 2nd tier makes my blood freeze.

I think there is something in what you say. We have been stuck in this League for so long that our ability to attract "quality" has eroded somewhat. The side we have at the moment are doing a fantastic job, but when I look through the squad, largely its a squad that will "get us out of the division" and that's fine. Is it a side that would keep us in the Championship? I'm not so sure. If this season ends up how we all want it to end up then Mcabe and the Prince better have deep pockets because compared to the last 6 years or so, the game will really have changed and the investment will have to reflect that.

 

[Ricky]

When looking at players who could cut it in the Championship, there are a few who you might not consider good enough individually in normal circumstances, but some will always surprise you. When they're playing in a successful system, under a good manager, with good players in the team and the momentum and confidence promotion brings, they can comfortably make the step up.

The best example is probably Duffy. Previously he's not been able to make too much of an impact in the Championship, but he was generally played as a winger there. He's now playing centrally, and it seems to suit him. He has good players around him and is able to get on the ball a lot. When you look at some of his performances for us do you not think he'll at least be able to cope in the Championship?

Then the likes of Coutts and Fleck could cope very easily but perhaps they wouldn't be able to play in the same midfield we have now - we'd probably need more athleticism in there.

Maybe we have a number of players who won't be considered Championship quality but I think it'd be surprising how well some would cope if just 2/3 good players were brought in, and the team was kept in tact. Look at Barnsley this season. That's what momentum, good management and a bit of decent recruitment can do.

And Basham.... I can't believe anybody can criticise his tackling. It's excellent. The reason he may appear to lose too many tackles is because he commits to far more of them than anybody else. I've lose count of the amount of times he's made a key tackle this season, usually when he wasn't even favourite to win it. He's one who could cope in the Championship in the right team/position. He's played there (and above) plenty of times before, like Lafferty.

We still have the odd piece of 'deadwood' now but it's nothing like the same as last season where it could be said for half the squad. I'd say there are barely any who have no reason to be kept other than the Wallaces, but the following should probably be moved on:

K Wallace
J Wallace
Long (possibly on loan)
Reed (possibly on loan)
Hussey
McNulty

It really is nothing at all compared to last season.

 

[robbiez666]

I'd agree with the list above, but I think Hussey is fine at this level as cover.

It will be interesting whether someone like Wilson will want to leave to play first team football. Given their history, both Wilson and Hussey should be solid league 1 cover.

It's a balancing act really, as we need players to cover injury but it's not easy to persuade decent pros to come in to warm the bench or make up the numbers.