trev
1st team skipper
In Matt We Trust
Posts: 2,477
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Post by trev on Jun 26, 2019 15:38:16 GMT
Agreed. But sending out a training clip showing how depleted our squad is at a time when fans have expressed concern about how few players we currently have at our disposal does little to alleviate those concerns. I think that's more to do with those heading up the social media strategy rather than any real indicator either way on how doomed/not doomed we are!
The jury's out on doomed/not doomed. I have no doubt we'll be bringing in new players over the coming weeks and I await their arrival with interest.
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Post by swedishchapter on Jun 26, 2019 16:07:55 GMT
I prefer it this way rather than the Kingstonian way, they have signed 16 (sixteen) players of wich 11 come from Mertsham! :-o
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Post by mca on Jun 26, 2019 18:57:13 GMT
Er, no surprise here. Transfer-listed at end of last season as have most of the recent departures except for Gime T and his exit followed the arrival of Omar B. We have to remember our form from January and realise that a cull was inevitable and announcements were made at the end of the season to that effect. I think this is why I have concerns. Were all those that left transfer listed? Up until the point where the previous manager decided he'd had enough, the squad was looking like it would make the play offs again. It fell apart about the same time Dos felt he'd didn't want it anymore. Which says to me that it was the lack of direction and motivation from the management fallout which derailed the season far more than the players becoming bad overnight. In which case a new manager might think, I can do good things with these players, they've been top 8ish for the last 18 months up until Feb, rather than think most of the 1st team needs to be replaced, knowing we don't have cash for transfer fees. Just thinking out loud, well, out quiet.
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Post by backhome2016 on Jun 26, 2019 19:14:03 GMT
I felt that there were warning signs about the team’s progress prior to Dos’s sabbatical. We had stumbled over the line several times in the Jan-Feb period, picking up points that, quite frankly, we didn’t deserve. I really started to worry from then on, especially after that dreadful performance at home to Braintree. When Dos announced that he was leaving, with the squad thin and the form table looking very poor indeed, I started to believe that the 2019-20 season was going to be tough. I’m yet to feel any different.
Of course there is time to strengthen, but a slow start to the season, with a squad still gelling, could mean playing catch up all the way to April. That is why player recruitment should be prioritised above all else.
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Post by halftimet on Jun 26, 2019 19:37:09 GMT
Looking at our new management team there is plenty of lower league experience and no doubt contacts. If it is true that many contracts expire at the end of June I would expect some news next week.
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oohaah
Top Performer
Posts: 3,075
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Post by oohaah on Jun 26, 2019 19:59:52 GMT
I felt that there were warning signs about the team’s progress prior to Dos’s sabbatical. We had stumbled over the line several times in the Jan-Feb period, picking up points that, quite frankly, we didn’t deserve. I really started to worry from then on, especially after that dreadful performance at home to Braintree. When Dos announced that he was leaving, with the squad thin and the form table looking very poor indeed, I started to believe that the 2019-20 season was going to be tough. I’m yet to feel any different. Of course there is time to strengthen, but a slow start to the season, with a squad still gelling, could mean playing catch up all the way to April. That is why player recruitment should be prioritised above all else. I thought we hadn't set the world alight since the 23rd September against Wrexham, so I'm really looking forward to a brand new season.
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Post by surreyu on Jun 26, 2019 20:00:14 GMT
Looking at our new management team there is plenty of lower league experience and no doubt contacts. If it is true that many contracts expire at the end of June I would expect some news next week. The contracts ending on June 30th should only impact signings from full time teams so they should be interesting. The LB position is the one i'll be most keen to see, he has judged Aswad as not good enough and he quickly joined a rival in Ebbsfleet so lets see who he thinks is better
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Post by Amber Aleman on Jun 26, 2019 20:25:25 GMT
Worth noting that some of our NL rivals have squads that are thinner than ours at the moment. Ebbsfleet currently have only seven senior players signed on for next season. Aldershot have eleven.
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Post by os on Jun 26, 2019 20:30:30 GMT
Surreyu is absolutely right league contracts do not expire until 30th June, even if Matt Gray was set to sign Harry Kane he or the club could not let that be known. Many clubs below us are signing released National players such as Dos, and there have been a few moves National to National but not many. I sure Matt could have signed 20 players from below us, and then I might fear relegation as I will if he signs no one.
I suspect we will see 3 or 4 within the next few weeks.
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markf
Top Performer
Posts: 3,195
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Post by markf on Jun 26, 2019 21:41:20 GMT
Er, no surprise here. Transfer-listed at end of last season as have most of the recent departures except for Gime T and his exit followed the arrival of Omar B. We have to remember our form from January and realise that a cull was inevitable and announcements were made at the end of the season to that effect. I think this is why I have concerns. Were all those that left transfer listed? Up until the point where the previous manager decided he'd had enough, the squad was looking like it would make the play offs again. It fell apart about the same time Dos felt he'd didn't want it anymore. Which says to me that it was the lack of direction and motivation from the management fallout which derailed the season far more than the players becoming bad overnight. In which case a new manager might think, I can do good things with these players, they've been top 8ish for the last 18 months up until Feb, rather than think most of the 1st team needs to be replaced, knowing we don't have cash for transfer fees. Just thinking out loud, well, out quiet.
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markf
Top Performer
Posts: 3,195
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Post by markf on Jun 26, 2019 21:48:58 GMT
Oops. Meant to add that most of the players that we released or transfer listed have dropped a level. Ok, they have followed Dos but I could probably put a reason against each player that has gone but never has been my policy to follow such a course and I ain't starting to now.
Our form dropped off well before Dos announced his sabbatical with many different reasons as to why.
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Post by os on Jun 26, 2019 22:04:01 GMT
Oops. Meant to add that most of the players that we released or transfer listed have dropped a level. Ok, they have followed Dos but I could probably put a reason against each player that has gone but never has been my policy to follow such a course and I ain't starting to now. Our form dropped off well before Dos announced his sabbatical with many different reasons as to why. I think it goes back before last Christmas, the squad that had us up there contained the likes of Ross Lafayette Kieron Cadogan Tommy Wright 2 went 1 was out for the season, whatever the reasons behind the departures, the ability to bring in the right replacements and Dos's own situation. All probably played a part, but the one thing I am sure of is the squad that finished the season were not as good as the one that started it.
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Post by Amber Aleman on Jun 27, 2019 7:06:17 GMT
Last season can be divided into three roughly equal phases.
For the first three months the team was mostly playing pretty well and looking a decent bet for the play-offs again.
For the middle three months the performances dipped a bit but the players were still grinding out wins and staying on the fringe of the play-off places.
For the final three months a combination of fatigue, injuries and the loss of experienced players took its toll and performances became pedestrian. After the somewhat fortuitous victory at Barnet on 9 February the team only managed two wins in their last fifteen games, losing nine. As others have said, the rot had set in well before Dos announced on 18 March that he was relinquishing the hot seat. It was clear that the squad needed an overhaul.
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Post by steviem on Jun 27, 2019 9:00:37 GMT
Looking at our new management team there is plenty of lower league experience and no doubt contacts. If it is true that many contracts expire at the end of June I would expect some news next week. The contracts ending on June 30th should only impact signings from full time teams so they should be interesting. The LB position is the one i'll be most keen to see, he has judged Aswad as not good enough and he quickly joined a rival in Ebbsfleet so lets see who he thinks is better In the case of Aswad, it's worth remembering that it was Dos' practice to get players nearing the end of their contract to renew well before the season end. So, it can be assumed that either Dos had already decided to release him at the end of the season or, which I suspect is more likely, Aswad was unwilling to sign. Therefore, either Matt agreed with Dos and was willing to let Aswad go, or he didn't, and couldn't persuade him to resign.
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tonyd
1st team Player
Posts: 1,494
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Post by tonyd on Jun 27, 2019 9:24:34 GMT
I've made this point before but it's worth making again. Last season we had a management team free of charge. Obviously that no longer applies and that must have reduced the player budget. When we look at some of the players we are surprised have not been kept on, you should ask how much they were being paid. It's not just a case of who is better, it may ne a case of who we can afford. I'm guessing that players like Thomas, Toure and Ayunga (the 3 I'd like to have kept) were on full-time professional wages.
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