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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. 10:49 - Apr 21 with 3320 viewsITFC_Forever

GKs:
Bart - Been excellent for the last few seasons, unfortunately it looks like he'll be gone. £2m and he'll on his way. It'll be a miracle if he's still with us at the end of the transfer window.
Assuming he goes, he'll need to be replaced.
Gerken - Decent back-up, but not good enough for first choice. Poor communication, poor on crosses and parries too many balls straight back in to the danger zone.
Crowe - Will be gone. Hopefully Wright or Marsden will be able to step up, certainly Marsden at 19 should be able to now or he never will.

Full-Backs:
Emmanuel & Kenlock- Been decent this season, well worth keeping and continuing to develop them.
Knudsen - Limited, but decent enough squad player as we can't rely on Emmanuel and Kenlock to play every game.
Spence - Quietly effective addition to the squad and seems to have a good attitude, well worth offering a contract and a solid full-back, shoring up one side of the defence.

Centre Backs:
Berra - Likely to be back up to Scotland.... we've had 4 decent seasons out of him and he's given us good service. Assuming he goes, I'd like to think we'd send him on his way with our thanks and good wishes.
Chambers - Decent enough CB and amazing how much better he is when he's played in his proper position. Need to sort his contract out ASAP, a disgrace this hasn't been done yet and hopefully he felt the love and support from the fans from the uproar when it looked like it might be going in January.
Smith - Still prone to the odd lapse in concentration / confidence / rick / all three at once, but generally another solid CB.
Webster - Excellent prospect who generally looked classy before he got injured. Another one who is still learning and as a result will make the odd mistake, but has massive potential - a CB who can bring the ball out from defence is a rarity in the modern game.
Taylor - Great influence on the pitch and off it, but too injury prone, I could see the benefit of some kind of pay-as-you-play deal if he impresses in pre-season.
Digby - Useful enough as a squad player, but seems to be at the bottom of the pecking order, not sure his long-term future is at ITFC.

Midfield:
Douglas - Almost certainly on his way.
Skuse - Newcastle home game proved there is a role for him in the team, but needs to be surrounded by the likes of Ward and Huws to allow the team to still have enough attacking focus while Skuse is carrying the water.
Huws - Exactly what we have missed for too long. Genuine box-to-box midfielder who can drive the team forward and who has plenty of energy. Sign him up. Not doing so would send a very clear signal as to the lack of ambition at the club.
Ward - Bit up and down this season after an explosive start, but people forget this is his first season as a genuine first team player at his home club (as in not being on loan). Certainly more effective in the middle.
Bishop - Desperately needs to re-find his 2014-15 form or his career could sadly fade away. Injuries obviously haven't helped, so he / we somehow need to get him over them and put them in the past.
Bru - Not sure he'll ever be a regular first-choice, but his passing when coming on from the bench can be effective when the game is starting to stretch.
Dozzell - Excellent prospect, but too lightweight at the moment. Two moments in the season summed him up.... Wigan away, had the ball and was out-muscled by a typical Champ midfielder, grabbed the guy's shirt to stop him getting away and was booked. Then came on as sub v Brizzle City and showed a superb range of passing as the game opened up to move us forward.
McDonnell - Always looks good for the U-23s, but will he ever make it?
Rowe - Needs some game time to see what he can do, but highly rated by fans at his previous level.
Joniesta - Needs game time to see if he's worth putting a cheeky bid in for in the summer.
Dave - Can be a bit and miss, but generally been decent enough loan player.
Hyam - Should not be used at the same time as Skuse, but can play alongside the more creative players to carry the water.

Forwards:
McGoldrick - Class act. The trouble is getting him and keeping him fit, we should build the side around him if we can do so. Benefits from a Murphy-style player to physically engage the opponents defence and create the room for him to play.
Sears - Amazing what a difference some confidence makes gained from playing in his correct position makes.
Pitman - The best finisher at the club, his perceived lack of form this season is due to a complete lack of service.
Moore - Found his level, and it's not in the Championship. Can't head, control, run, move or pass. Bet he can't believe his luck he has a contract at a Champ club.
Samuel - Might have something, but injuries have prevented him showing his best.

Manager: Mick needs to play with the handbrake off like on Monday far more. The awful football we have seen for most of the last 18 months has alienated far, far too many fans for his own good. Very lucky to survive the Lincoln debacle - most clubs would have sacked him there and then.
Unfortunately for him, I think he's lost too many of the supporters, the ST sales may force ME's hand to make the final decision.

Ower: ME puts in £6m a year. All very noble, but unfortunately it's not enough for us to compete at the level we think we should be (challenging in the POs).
No-one is saying we should spend £10m on one player, we all know that's unrealistic for us. But £10m - £12m on five or so decent players of £1.5m - £2.5m each could make the world of difference. Monday showed we have got good players at the club, but we need a few injections of quality to allow us to build a stronger squad capable of competing in the midst of the POs.

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:17 - Apr 21 with 1021 viewshoppy

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:15 - Apr 21 by Radlett_blue

Bart will be 30 in the summer. Richard Wright went to Arsenal when aged 23. Big difference.


Yes, but is there also a big difference between playing as a number one choice somewhere, and watching more from the bench, rarely likely to get a look-in however well you might play in the odd League Cup game?

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:17 - Apr 21 with 1022 viewsTIB

I really don't want Pitman to go this summer, the lad is capable of getting 15+ goals a season if he gets the service and plays.

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:22 - Apr 21 with 1006 viewsRadlett_blue

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:17 - Apr 21 by hoppy

Yes, but is there also a big difference between playing as a number one choice somewhere, and watching more from the bench, rarely likely to get a look-in however well you might play in the odd League Cup game?


Yes, that's a valid point & I doubt Bart would initially be more than back-up at a PL club. However, at 30, I can see why he might fancy earning £20k a year for a few seasons of bench warming.
The one I never really understood was Steve Harper, a decent keeper, who played a grand total of 2 PL games for Newcastle between 2001 & 2006, when in the prime of his career, aged 26-31.

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:29 - Apr 21 with 991 viewsclive_baker

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:22 - Apr 21 by Radlett_blue

Yes, that's a valid point & I doubt Bart would initially be more than back-up at a PL club. However, at 30, I can see why he might fancy earning £20k a year for a few seasons of bench warming.
The one I never really understood was Steve Harper, a decent keeper, who played a grand total of 2 PL games for Newcastle between 2001 & 2006, when in the prime of his career, aged 26-31.


The issue with Bart is he's never played at that level before, or had that kind of earning potential before. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's not short of a bob or 2 but he's probably on around £400k per annum. You never know when an injury could happen etc, and if he wants to set himself and his family up for life then it could be now or never for a £1m-a-year 3 year contact and juicy signing on fee. Not to mention fulfilling an ambition of playing in the Premier League and perhaps even his country. It would be hard to stand in his way if a Palace or a Newcastle came in with a £3m big for him.

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:39 - Apr 21 with 982 viewsClausThomsen

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 12:41 - Apr 21 by LankHenners

Good shout re: Marshall. I think people are going to need to give themselves a bit of a reality check and realise that 'keepers don't often go for that much, relative to other positions.

£3-4 million would be a good deal realistically, anything more and we're laughing.


With Gerken in goal we aren't laughing.
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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:48 - Apr 21 with 972 viewshoppy

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:39 - Apr 21 by ClausThomsen

With Gerken in goal we aren't laughing.


There may well be laughter though, to be fair. Probably at us, rather than us doing the laughing.

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:56 - Apr 21 with 960 viewssouthnorfolkblue

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 12:35 - Apr 21 by SWGF

David Marshall is probably a decent comparison when he moved from Cardiff to Hull.

Just looked it up, and it was reported as £3.5m. Sounds about right, I think.

We need to be careful with the blue-tinted specs. Bart, despite how outstanding he has been for us, is almost 30, has never played above mid-table Championship, has only played regularly at this level this season and has never played international football.


I would also suggest that some of the OP's criticisms of Gerken could equally be levelled at Bart. He's done well this season, but is not irreplaceable in my book.

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 15:13 - Apr 21 with 942 viewsClausThomsen

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:56 - Apr 21 by southnorfolkblue

I would also suggest that some of the OP's criticisms of Gerken could equally be levelled at Bart. He's done well this season, but is not irreplaceable in my book.


Sounds like we're gonna find that out next season.

If we do try and replace him, MM will have a painstaking shortlist of keepers currently first choice at other rival championship clubs who aren't looking to sell the player.

And then everyone will blame ME for not forking out £4 million on Adam Davies.

Exackly.
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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 15:23 - Apr 21 with 926 viewsWadeyBlue

Smoking crack mate.

You clearly havent seen some of those players play, been to an away game, or know alot about how to play football.

However about 50% of what you have written is marginaly ok.

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 15:25 - Apr 21 with 924 viewsNo9

The basic question is simple- would he same players perform any better under MM?
Without a major rethink on tactics I struggle to see how thing will improve next season
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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 15:27 - Apr 21 with 920 viewshoppy

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 15:23 - Apr 21 by WadeyBlue

Smoking crack mate.

You clearly havent seen some of those players play, been to an away game, or know alot about how to play football.

However about 50% of what you have written is marginaly ok.


I'm glad you took the time to mention at the start of your post what you were doing, as it helped whilst reading the rest of it to know that.

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 15:35 - Apr 21 with 908 viewsWadeyBlue

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 15:27 - Apr 21 by hoppy

I'm glad you took the time to mention at the start of your post what you were doing, as it helped whilst reading the rest of it to know that.


If you want to let yourself be a victim of stockholm syndrome this season then go for it. I wont stand in your way fella.

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 16:09 - Apr 21 with 885 viewsSWGF

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:56 - Apr 21 by southnorfolkblue

I would also suggest that some of the OP's criticisms of Gerken could equally be levelled at Bart. He's done well this season, but is not irreplaceable in my book.


Not "irreplaceable" but he'll take some replacing. We'd be bottom three without him, this season, IMO.

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 16:14 - Apr 21 with 880 viewsjaykay

barrt would walk straight into bournemouths and west hams side. wouldnt be a bit suprised if either of these teams put a bid in for him

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 16:19 - Apr 21 with 871 viewsITFC_Forever

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 15:23 - Apr 21 by WadeyBlue

Smoking crack mate.

You clearly havent seen some of those players play, been to an away game, or know alot about how to play football.

However about 50% of what you have written is marginaly ok.


Without wanting to go all "Superfan", I attend pretty much all home games and around 6-8 away games a season and have done for the last 30 or so years (used to be most aways until we started a family), and seen ITFC players / squads come and go, so I think I have half an idea about what I'm looking at.

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 16:20 - Apr 21 with 867 viewsLord_Lucan

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 14:15 - Apr 21 by Radlett_blue

Bart will be 30 in the summer. Richard Wright went to Arsenal when aged 23. Big difference.


And made a fortune.

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My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 17:06 - Apr 21 with 835 viewssouthnorfolkblue

My take on the curent squad - FWIW.. on 16:09 - Apr 21 by SWGF

Not "irreplaceable" but he'll take some replacing. We'd be bottom three without him, this season, IMO.


Not sure on that tbh. Yes he's made some great saves, but that's what professional keepers do, including Gerken.

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