smiddy Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 Lets pay them all hope there good stay up for another year Hunt them all at EOS Start afresh n still be back at this point next year GOOD NIGHT ⚽️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 So the window is closed. How do we reflect on it? On the one hand, we still have our prize asset who is 2-4 weeks away from resuming training. Probably too late to effect whether we end up top or bottom 6, but hopefully with enough time to come in and flourish under a new manager and generate the kind of revenue we are hoping for at the end of the season. Ive always hoped he might get a Scotland cap before he left and with 2 friendlies at the start of June, it would be nice to see him sign off like that and get his dream move. As for the rest of the squad...... GK - Balcombe and Ward. Injured - Oxborough Bit of a chaotic window in this regard with Heygi being recalled, Ox and Mair both breaking fingers and having to go out and source 2 more keepers. Given the circumstances, Balcombe looks like he will do fine for now and Ward, well, we will see. Defence........ Kaleta, Koutroumbis, SOD, Casey, Balmer, Gordon, Blaney, Wilson, Thompson. Injured - McGinn, Seddon. Certainly sufficient cover for all positions, whether there is enough quality remains to be seen, but the new manager will certainly have sufficient numbers to work with to try and identify a successful formula. Thompson coming in at least allows Wilson to be rested long enough for Seddon to get back and provide competition. Midfield....... Halliday, Davor, Paton, Sparrow, Slattery, Andrews. Injured -Miller, Callachan This has been the problem area of the team all season and we dont seem to have addressed it in any meaningful way. It restricts our ability to alter formations and we dont have enough legs in the team to allow us to press higher up the park and win the ball back. Our best hope is that Slattery can build his fitness up and he and Miller can form some sort of partnership. Sparrow is a willing runner and Paton, although much maligned, does flourish when playing with better players alongside him. Andrews has talent and may also come under that category, but unfair to ask him to shoulder the pressure on his own. Much will depend on the new manager, formation and our ability to get guys fit and keep them fit. Still missing a proper defensive mid. Forwards......... Armstrong, Maswanhise, Nicholson, Watt, Moses, Plange, Dickson. Injured - Robinson, Tavares, Vale, Stamatelopoulos. There should be enough there for the new manager to work with. Key will be getting them enough actual possession to create chances and score goals. Summary..... We have covered most of the problem areas with numbers at least. Midfield is a problem, but with a different manager, set up and outlook to playing the game there looks like there could be sufficient to turn results and performances around to at least keep us out of a relegation dogfight. The huge BUT, is that it all hinges on the right managerial appointment. First big test for the new Board / Chairman. Get it right, and we could have a positive end to the season. Get it wrong and we could be up shit creek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellfan Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 10 minutes ago, joewarkfanclub said: So the window is closed. How do we reflect on it? On the one hand, we still have our prize asset who is 2-4 weeks away from resuming training. Probably too late to effect whether we end up top or bottom 6, but hopefully with enough time to come in and flourish under a new manager and generate the kind of revenue we are hoping for at the end of the season. Ive always hoped he might get a Scotland cap before he left and with 2 friendlies at the start of June, it would be nice to see him sign off like that and get his dream move. As for the rest of the squad...... GK - Balcombe and Ward. Injured - Oxborough Bit of a chaotic window in this regard with Heygi being recalled, Ox and Mair both breaking fingers and having to go out and source 2 more keepers. Given the circumstances, Balcombe looks like he will do fine for now and Ward, well, we will see. Defence........ Kaleta, Koutroumbis, SOD, Casey, Balmer, Gordon, Blaney, Wilson, Thompson. Injured - McGinn, Seddon. Certainly sufficient cover for all positions, whether there is enough quality remains to be seen, but the new manager will certainly have sufficient numbers to work with to try and identify a successful formula. Thompson coming in at least allows Wilson to be rested long enough for Seddon to get back and provide competition. Midfield....... Halliday, Davor, Paton, Sparrow, Slattery, Andrews. Injured -Miller, Callachan This has been the problem area of the team all season and we dont seem to have addressed it in any meaningful way. It restricts our ability to alter formations and we dont have enough legs in the team to allow us to press higher up the park and win the ball back. Our best hope is that Slattery can build his fitness up and he and Miller can form some sort of partnership. Sparrow is a willing runner and Paton, although much maligned, does flourish when playing with better players alongside him. Andrews has talent and may also come under that category, but unfair to ask him to shoulder the pressure on his own. Much will depend on the new manager, formation and our ability to get guys fit and keep them fit. Still missing a proper defensive mid. Forwards......... Armstrong, Maswanhise, Nicholson, Watt, Moses, Plange, Dickson. Injured - Robinson, Tavares, Vale. There should be enough there for the new manager to work with. Key will be getting them enough actual possession to create chances and score goals. Summary..... We have covered most of the problem areas with numbers at least. Midfield is a problem, but with a different manager, set up and outlook to playing the game there looks like there could be sufficient to turn results and performances around to at least keep us out of a relegation dogfight. The huge BUT, is that it all hinges on the right managerial appointment. First big test for the new Board / Chairman. Get it right, and we could have a positive end to the season. Get it wrong and we could be up shit creek. The end of season leaving party is going to be well attended. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 2 minutes ago, wellfan said: The end of season leaving party is going to be well attended. There will be a few needing to be emptied for sure. Particularly once the new manager comes in and see's who he fancies and who he doesnt. Thankfully there are a lot of loanees who will go and quite a few out of contract. Sonthere should be plenty of room for manoevre. Discussions need to be be had about signing policy though. We either pick a formation that suits the players, or sign the right players to suit a formation. SK got the first part right initially. Its after that it all went wrong for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellfan Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 1 hour ago, joewarkfanclub said: Discussions need to be be had about signing policy though. We either pick a formation that suits the players, or sign the right players to suit a formation. SK got the first part right initially. Its after that it all went wrong for him. Questions need to be asked of Daws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couttsy Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 2 hours ago, joewarkfanclub said: So the window is closed. How do we reflect on it? On the one hand, we still have our prize asset who is 2-4 weeks away from resuming training. Probably too late to effect whether we end up top or bottom 6, but hopefully with enough time to come in and flourish under a new manager and generate the kind of revenue we are hoping for at the end of the season. Ive always hoped he might get a Scotland cap before he left and with 2 friendlies at the start of June, it would be nice to see him sign off like that and get his dream move. As for the rest of the squad...... GK - Balcombe and Ward. Injured - Oxborough Bit of a chaotic window in this regard with Heygi being recalled, Ox and Mair both breaking fingers and having to go out and source 2 more keepers. Given the circumstances, Balcombe looks like he will do fine for now and Ward, well, we will see. Defence........ Kaleta, Koutroumbis, SOD, Casey, Balmer, Gordon, Blaney, Wilson, Thompson. Injured - McGinn, Seddon. Certainly sufficient cover for all positions, whether there is enough quality remains to be seen, but the new manager will certainly have sufficient numbers to work with to try and identify a successful formula. Thompson coming in at least allows Wilson to be rested long enough for Seddon to get back and provide competition. Midfield....... Halliday, Davor, Paton, Sparrow, Slattery, Andrews. Injured -Miller, Callachan This has been the problem area of the team all season and we dont seem to have addressed it in any meaningful way. It restricts our ability to alter formations and we dont have enough legs in the team to allow us to press higher up the park and win the ball back. Our best hope is that Slattery can build his fitness up and he and Miller can form some sort of partnership. Sparrow is a willing runner and Paton, although much maligned, does flourish when playing with better players alongside him. Andrews has talent and may also come under that category, but unfair to ask him to shoulder the pressure on his own. Much will depend on the new manager, formation and our ability to get guys fit and keep them fit. Still missing a proper defensive mid. Forwards......... Armstrong, Maswanhise, Nicholson, Watt, Moses, Plange, Dickson. Injured - Robinson, Tavares, Vale. There should be enough there for the new manager to work with. Key will be getting them enough actual possession to create chances and score goals. Summary..... We have covered most of the problem areas with numbers at least. Midfield is a problem, but with a different manager, set up and outlook to playing the game there looks like there could be sufficient to turn results and performances around to at least keep us out of a relegation dogfight. The huge BUT, is that it all hinges on the right managerial appointment. First big test for the new Board / Chairman. Get it right, and we could have a positive end to the season. Get it wrong and we could be up shit creek. Great post, agree with everything here. We should have enough to stay out of trouble, but a lot rests on the new manger getting the best out of them, and Miller getting fit soon given how poor our midfield options are without him. A little surprised we didn’t bring in another midfielder late in the window. I’m assuming Stama is out for a while given the fact we’ve brought 3 strikers in this window, but you’ve missed him out! Pity as I felt he was just coming onto a game pre his injury! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onthefringes Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 1 hour ago, wellfan said: Questions need to be asked of Daws. See this often. Daws doesn’t sign players. Oversees a data driven process, that’s a different debate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 36 minutes ago, couttsy said: Great post, agree with everything here. We should have enough to stay out of trouble, but a lot rests on the new manger getting the best out of them, and Miller getting fit soon given how poor our midfield options are without him. A little surprised we didn’t bring in another midfielder late in the window. I’m assuming Stama is out for a while given the fact we’ve brought 3 strikers in this window, but you’ve missed him out! Pity as I felt he was just coming onto a game pre his injury! Oops! So I did! Out of sight out of mind! Fixed it! 😆😆😆 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellfan Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 21 minutes ago, Onthefringes said: See this often. Daws doesn’t sign players. Oversees a data driven process, that’s a different debate. That was my point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 21 minutes ago, Onthefringes said: See this often. Daws doesn’t sign players. Oversees a data driven process, that’s a different debate. Stats seem to be the be all and end all theses days. Not saying thats wrong, I guess in the global world we live in, it can cut out a lot of time searching for the right kind of player. I guess Im at an age that Id still like the manager to go and actually see the player play before we sign them. Obviously that wont be possible all the time, but given the markets we usually shop in, shouldnt be impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewelllfan Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 3 hours ago, joewarkfanclub said: Discussions need to be be had about signing policy though. I disagree with this we done exactly what we should of done in this window loans and short-term deals. The St signings with no manager are a bit baffling but I assume the club think we have sufficent depth for who ever we appoint to get a few results and try sneak into the top 6. Based on previous seasons we'll need 4 Wins out of our last 8 to make the top 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 3 hours ago, thewelllfan said: I disagree with this we done exactly what we should of done in this window loans and short-term deals. The St signings with no manager are a bit baffling but I assume the club think we have sufficent depth for who ever we appoint to get a few results and try sneak into the top 6. Based on previous seasons we'll need 4 Wins out of our last 8 to make the top 6. If you read my previous post, you will see I dont have many issues with this window. Its not just this window Im talking about though. SK stubbornly stuck to his 3 at the back system all season. Our tactics have clearly to be to allow the opposition to have the ball and break quickly on the counter. But we didnt sign the correct players to do that. Sure injuries conspired against him and he had absolutley no luck in that regard as it left him with so few midfielders that he was unable or unwilling to change the system to make us more functional. Being unable to field his preferred 11 obviously made things very difficult, buy he didnt address the main issue in this window either. The priority should have been midfield. We have signed 1 youth player on loan. Now I realise that you cant get every target you are after, and the order in which you get them cant always be predicted or controlled, but with Nicholson and Slattery not 100% and the possibility that the injured Miller could have been sold, I would have expected more business in that area of the pitch. Anyway, whats done is done. The new manager will have their own thoughts on how they want to do things. Be interesting to see which way we go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewelllfan Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 25 minutes ago, joewarkfanclub said: If you read my previous post, you will see I dont have many issues with this window. Its not just this window Im talking about though. In that case fair enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grizzlyg Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 5 hours ago, Onthefringes said: See this often. Daws doesn’t sign players. Oversees a data driven process, that’s a different debate. I think that was how we got Danzaki, the data must have got corrupted that day 🤪 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santheman Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 Data only goes so far. It doesn't tell you what a players personality is like and whether or not he would fit in with the existing dressing room or thrive in a different environment. I seem to recall Robinson saying that he didn't just look at stats and looked into a potential players background as well and whether he would fit into his vision before deciding whether to sign him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellfan Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 15 minutes ago, santheman said: Data only goes so far. It doesn't tell you what a players personality is like and whether or not he would fit in with the existing dressing room or thrive in a different environment. I seem to recall Robinson saying that he didn't just look at stats and looked into a potential players background as well and whether he would fit into his vision before deciding whether to sign him. Kettlewell and Daws’ signing policy: Goalkeeper? Yes Forward? Yes Injury prone? Yes Loan? Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellsince75 Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 14 minutes ago, santheman said: I seem to recall Robinson saying that he didn't just look at stats and looked into a potential players background as well and whether he would fit into his vision before deciding whether to sign him. Yes to fit with Robinsons vision you had to be wiling to play anywhere ocross the front 3 :). On a serious note we've been wasteful in recent years and wasted a lot of money. I can't ever remember a time when we signed players who don't event get a game. The guy from Japan, New Zealand, Koutrombous, Stuparevic, Tavares and that's before we reference the perm a crocks. We must have pi55ed away the money from KVV & Bair on some these non starters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spit_It_Out Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 I was reading an interview with Jim Goodwin not too long ago and he was saying they have probably got the smallest squad in the league but they key to it is Utility players. That is something we don't have we have players that are pretty much set in positions and maybe a market we should be really looking into after this seasons injury issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewelllfan Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 5 minutes ago, Spit_It_Out said: I was reading an interview with Jim Goodwin not too long ago and he was saying they have probably got the smallest squad in the league but they key to it is Utility players. That is something we don't have we have players that are pretty much set in positions and maybe a market we should be really looking into after this seasons injury issues. we have utility players within the squad. Sparrow, SOD, Halliday, Kaleta, Wilson have all played in minimum 2 different positions for us this season. Our issue is we have around 10-12 players who have been out/will be out for a miminimum of 1-2 months. We've also signed 4 players in the summer that have about 7 apearances between them in Jair, Callahan, Stuperavic, Koutrmombis. Dundee Utd have been pretty lucky with injuries compared to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spit_It_Out Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 7 minutes ago, thewelllfan said: we have utility players within the squad. Sparrow, SOD, Halliday, Kaleta, Wilson have all played in minimum 2 different positions for us this season. Our issue is we have around 10-12 players who have been out/will be out for a miminimum of 1-2 months. We've also signed 4 players in the summer that have about 7 apearances between them in Jair, Callahan, Stuperavic, Koutrmombis. Dundee Utd have been pretty lucky with injuries compared to us. But they haven't been very good at playing those positions let's be honest now. Sparrow gets pass marks that's about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewelllfan Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 I found out of the current 33 man squad only 12 have contracts for next season. Aston Oxborough - 2027 Liam Gordon - 2026, Kofi Balmer- 2026, Johnny Koutrombis- 2026, Stephen O'Donnell- 2026, Ewan Wilson- 2027 Lennon Miller- 2026, Tom Sparrow - 2026, Sam Nicholson- 2026, Twanda Maswanhise- 2026, Zach Robinson- 2026, Apostolos Stamatelopolous- 2027 2 of the guys out on loan have deals utill 2026 Dylan Wells and Fillip Stuparevic So 14 under contract for next season and I'd probably be looking at moving 2/3 of them on as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfc Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 We just need to get through this season and hopefully get the right manager in and with not many players signed up for next season there should be enough scope to make the desired changes,hopefully we move odonnell on but were most likely stuck with him making mistakes after mistake for another season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewelllfan Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 12 minutes ago, Spit_It_Out said: But they haven't been very good at playing those positions let's be honest now. Sparrow gets pass marks that's about it. I think Sparrow has been good in whatever position he gets asked to do a job in. Kaleta been solid enough at LWB when asked to play there. Wilson was brilliant in Cm away at Dundee Utd not a position he should be playing long-term tho. Halliday was ok in the game he had to play LWB and SOD had a good start to the season playing both RWB and Cb. I think in terms of the games they've played out of position they've all done fine. Your not going to get many good utility players in the SPL the last good one we had was Richard Tait and he's been gone what 5/6 years. If we hadn't had so many injuries the squad size would of been 25/26 as it is most seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spit_It_Out Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 47 minutes ago, mfc said: We just need to get through this season and hopefully get the right manager in and with not many players signed up for next season there should be enough scope to make the desired changes,hopefully we move odonnell on but were most likely stuck with him making mistakes after mistake for another season. Yep hopefully we can add a few bits of quality over quantity. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joewarkfanclub Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 I think the biggest thing this squad lacks is energy. We dont have a lot of legs in the team, particularly in midfield, even with everyone fit. Its good there are a lot out of contract at end of season as it will allow the new manager scope to carry out a rebuilding job (again). I wouldnt be renewing Halliday or Davor. Paton would be okay as a squad player but not essential. Slattery will depend on his recovery and whether he is interested in staying. But if he returns to full fitness Id offer him something. Id punt Robinson and Stuparevic. Koutroumbis, I really have no idea as we have barely seen him play. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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