What's your realistic 18 till May ?

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Keen Blade

Look Sharp !
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The General Forum is getting swamped by the big day out so I've put this on here.
Instead of naming individual ins and outs rumours , come at if from a different but realistic angle.
Let's say we get 3 players down the spine of the team this window (CB, CM & CF) and a LW (total 4).
Who else would make up your realistic matchday 18 till May ?

Apart from Long & Howard , who I don't see being replaced, I'll start us off with :

new CB, Brayford, Edgar, McGahey, Freeman, Harris, K. Wallace
new CM, new LW, JCR, Coutts, Basham, Hammond, Flynn
new CF, Sharp, Done, Adams

So the expendables are :

McFadzean (where is he anyway ?)
Alcock (gone)
McEveley (end of useful life component)
Collins (end of useful life component)
Kennedy (lovely lad but nowhere near tall enough in this League)
J. Wallace (fitness issues)
Scougall (too small in his position for League 1)
Reed (possibly keep him in background as could develop but worried about size)
Baxter (not a winner in League 1)
Cuvelier (who ?)
Woolford (old pals act , not worked out)
Dimaio (keep in backround , might develop)
McNulty (gone)
Sammon (send him back with a compensatory cheque in Derby's favour).
Higdon
DCL (keep in background, might develop)
De Giro (if he hasn't developed by now, why not ?)

That's 17 expendables who wouldn't be in the matchday 18.
Or 14 expendables if you don't count McFadzean, Alcock & McNulty

Surely we can offload enough of those 14 to fund the wages of just 4 decent new players in the positions I've mentioned (CB, CM, CF, LW) ?

NA has to decide which 3 or 4 of the 14 might be kept to develop in the future - and then work like hell to get rid of the others.

What do you say ?
 

The problem is with your comment "Surely we can offload enough of those 14 to fund the wages of just 4 decent new players in the positions I've mentioned (CB, CM, CF, LW) ?" is that who, realistically would want to take most of them?

I also think a few on that list may surprise people in the second half of the season, particularly Cuvelier.
 
You never know your luck till you take the barrow back :

An ex-Manager of Alcock's has just paid us money for him.
Carlisle want Higdon as a sandbag (according to reports).
Pompey have got the hots for McNutts.
Sammon should head to Derby (well, he can't head a ball).
I still don't know where McFadzean is.
We could claim on the insurance for Kennedy's knees.
We could claim a "write-off" for J. Wallace's entire body.
A Scottish club will take Scougall , if only to wear in their sporran.
Let another club try and fit the skillful enigma that is Baxter into their formation.
Pay-off the old boys McEveley & Collins.
Cash-in De Giro.

Levity apart , I accept that we are stuck with (1)Woolford due to the NA friendship and we have to keep (2)DCL & (3)Dimaio in case they develop.
If (4)Cuvelier is a prospect , let Reed go on loan (there will be takers).

So that's 4 of the expendables to keep.
But it's still 13 to jettison and you wouldn't miss any of them.

Especially if you get the new 4 in the key positions, which was the object of shipping the 13 out.

Squad size reduced by 9. Quality of matchday 18 increased beyond measure.

Be positive, Nigel, and get it done.
 
I think it’s fair to say that McEveley, Woolford, Sammon and Collins will not be going anywhere until the summer as they seem to be very much in the first team picture in the summer. Based on the positions for new recruits stated in the OP, how about this for the matchday 18?



--------------------------Long


Brayford-------Edgar------Burn-------McEveley


Coutts--------Morsy-------Basham------Dack*


-------------------Sharp---Ikpeazu


Subs

Howard

Freeman

Hammond

Woolford

Adams

Done

Sammon


Reserves: McGahey, Collins, Wallace, Reed, JCR, Calvert Lewin


Move out: Harris, Flynn, J. Wallace, Cuvelier, Kennedy, Higdon, Scougall, Baxter.


I’d hope as the season wears on that Freeman or Wallace could displace McEveley. Hammond to be rotated with Morsy and Basham.


*Dack is probably unrealistic by now but struggling for a good alternative off the top of my head. If we’d gone for him in the summer, I reckon we could have got him.
 
I think it’s fair to say that McEveley, Woolford, Sammon and Collins will not be going anywhere until the summer as they seem to be very much in the first team picture in the summer. Based on the positions for new recruits stated in the OP, how about this for the matchday 18?



--------------------------Long


Brayford-------Edgar------Burn-------McEveley


Coutts--------Morsy-------Basham------Dack*


-------------------Sharp---Ikpeazu


Subs

Howard

Freeman

Hammond

Woolford

Adams

Done

Sammon


Reserves: McGahey, Collins, Wallace, Reed, JCR, Calvert Lewin


Move out: Harris, Flynn, J. Wallace, Cuvelier, Kennedy, Higdon, Scougall, Baxter.


I’d hope as the season wears on that Freeman or Wallace could displace McEveley. Hammond to be rotated with Morsy and Basham.


*Dack is probably unrealistic by now but struggling for a good alternative off the top of my head. If we’d gone for him in the summer, I reckon we could have got him.

Got to say I am a bit perplexed. You made a few transfers and outs etc; yet Sammon is still in the 18?
 
Got to say I am a bit perplexed. You made a few transfers and outs etc; yet Sammon is still in the 18?

I just don't see Sammon, McEveley, Collins or Woolford going anywhere until the summer (longer for Woolford). Plus, I don't mind Sammon as much as a lot fans seem to though I do think a better alternative option than Higdon would be nice hence the Ikpeazu signing.
 

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